Behind Her Empire Ep. 16 | Dr. Sabrina Kay
Behind Her Empire Podcast with Yasmin Nouri
Dr. Sabrina Kay is a serial entrepreneur, investor, fashion designer, and philanthropist. Born in South Korea, Sabrina moved to the U.S. with her family at 18. As a recent immigrant who barely spoke English, Sabrina became a janitor to help make ends meet and enrolled in a local college to pursue the education she always dreamed of. By the age of 20, Sabrina dropped out of school and was a single mother who was solely focused on creating a better life for her future daughter.
In less than a decade, she founded the Art Institute of Hollywood, grew it to one of the Big Four fashion colleges in North America, and sold it for 8-figures - making her a multi-millionaire in her 30s. Although she had more than enough money to retire, she decided to go back to school to earn her MBA and PhD. While in graduate school, Sabrina continued her entrepreneurial journey by founding and selling multiple businesses, including a fashion line, a community bank, and an accredited graduate-level college institution.
Show Notes
Life growing up in South Korea and its cultural expectations [2:42]
Sabrina shares what it was like moving to America at the age of 18 and working as a janitor [5:02]
Why Sabrina dropped out of college and the shame she felt when learning she was pregnant [8:38]
Sabrina explains why having her daughter was her biggest blessing and motivator to create a better life for herself [10:28]
The beginnings of Sabrina’s first business which started from a newspaper ad and cold call [13:44]
How the LA riots in ‘92 impacted Sabrina’s life and how she became famous overnight [19:57]
How Sabrina felt when she sold her company for 8-figures in her 30s and why it exposed her own insecurities [28:56]
Why Sabrina decided to pursue her multiple graduate degrees after selling her company [33:24]
Why Sabrina felt lost in her life and how she overcame being a workaholic [37:59]
How getting rejected from grad school led Sabrina down a new path in life and business [41:16]
Sabrina explains why 2015 to 2017 were the worst years of her professional life [48:21]
Advice for entrepreneurs and leaders when overcoming difficult and painful times [56:10]
The gift and competitive advantage women entrepreneurs have in business [58:48]