At about age five, Soon Hagerty spent 12 days on a crowded boat with roughly 40 others, fleeing Vietnam for a refugee camp in Indonesia. Her family reached America with just $300 and a large household to support. Today, she has launched a luxury PR firm, co-founded a global communications agency, opened a restaurant and created a foundation that gives female founders $50,000 grants.
From Backyard Vegetables to a Family Business
Her father fought alongside South Vietnamese and American forces, and after the fall of Saigon the family left to avoid re-education camps. In California, her mother grew Asian fruits and vegetables in the backyard and sold them door to door, with young Soon helping. Those efforts grew into Mai’s Produce, a distribution warehouse the family ran for forty years. Hagerty says hard work is only the baseline. Her mother succeeded by spotting a gap in what her community needed.
Hagerty later spent seven years at a PR agency on luxury and automotive accounts, including Lamborghini. When a promised promotion fell through, she quit on the spot and launched her first agency 48 hours later. She went on to open The Good Bowl, a northern Michigan restaurant that donates a dollar per bowl to charity. Despite having no restaurant experience, she brought in financial help and learned from other owners.
Action Over Confidence
Hagerty says confidence is overrated because it only comes through action. She describes courage, not fearlessness, as acting despite fear. She starts each day with ten minutes of meditation and journaling before touching a device, a habit she says sharpens her thinking and communication.
Her Boundless Futures Foundation offers female founders $50,000 grants plus a $2,500 learning grant. Grantees first meet with a financial expert, then get a year of access to an Advisory Circle covering areas like scaling, leadership and PR. Grants are awarded in spring and fall, and Hagerty says most recipients find the mentorship more valuable than the money.