Meet Neil Bui | Founder & Editor-in-Chief

We had the good fortune of connecting with Neil Bui and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Neil, what are you inspired by?
I’m inspired by the storytellers and artists who can turn an idea in their minds into an experience and emotional journey shared by audiences, who can turn words on a page into captivating performances that transport us out of our lives.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Dorkaholics originally started as a blog back when I was in college, studying computer information systems and journalism at Chapman University. Writing articles was more enjoyable than writing code, but at the same time I enjoyed tinkering with technology to bring my ideas to life. My initial path out of undergrad was in tech, as I found myself working in roles related to software quality assurance. As I continued to work on the Dorkaholics website, I realized I was developing skills better suited for marketing and found myself wanting a career with more creative opportunities.

As I made this pivot towards digital marketing, I found myself working alongside different parts of the companies I worked at such as sales, finance, analytics, and product. These cross-functional moments provided me with a fascination for how startups operate and grow. I believed that by continuing to learn not just the ins and outs of my own roles and department, but also understanding other parts of the company, I could improve the impact of my own efforts, the marketing department, other departments, and ultimately the company.

This same cross-functional mindset was something I would apply to Dorkaholics as it was still primarily a one dork operation with me at the helm from content to marketing to video production. But eventually, I decided to return to school in order to pursue my MBA in order to both develop the skills and knowledge I wanted to further develop but also use this time to focus on Dorkaholics and turning it from a passion project to an actual company.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them all over Los Angeles. During the middle of the week, Sawtelle would be a good option with my favorite restaurant Tsujita. My favorite thing to do during grad school was going to Tsujita after class on Wednesday nights when the wait wouldn’t be long at all. However, Koreatown was my home during grad school and it was home to so many different places to eat, drink, and hang out. It’s unfortunate to say that some of the places I most enjoyed are no longer in business but I’ve also discovered new ones in their place. Anju House is a great place to kick off the weekend with great food and cozy outdoor seating.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout the team at Gold House for not just inspiring me with their mission and efforts to unite the Asian Pacific community, but also for their support through the Gold Publishers program which Dorkaholics is a part of. I’d also like to shoutout my fellow Gold Publishers, Natasha Jung of Cold Tea Collective, Giannina Ong of Mochi Magazine, and Azadeh Valanejad of EnVi Media, for their continuous encouragement and mutual support as fellow publications led by members of the AAPI community.

Website: https://dorkaholics.com

Instagram: dorkaholics

Twitter: dorkaholics

Facebook: dorkaholics

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dorkaholics

Image Credits
Rob Latour / Shutterstock for The Astras