Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Chung.
Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My career history doesn’t really make a lot of sense on paper. I am an international from Singapore, and was a broadcast journalism major at The University of Texas at Austin (back when I thought I was going to be the next Lisa Ling). I was also active in my college campus ministry, as well as Texas Student Television where I worked my way up from news anchor and reporter, to executive producer of their entertainment news show, to staff development director, and eventually station manager. Between those 2 student orgs, I gained experience managing lots of people (300+ student volunteers and 10 TV shows at TSTV, and planning large campus-wide events with Campus Renewal).
After college, I felt called into full-time ministry so I joined Campus Renewal as their National Media Director and built out their media department to handle media and marketing for all their bases across the country. I also stayed involved in events at UT, leading student teams to plan campus-wide events for up to 1000 students at a time, helping to plan Campus Renewal’s annual gala fundraiser dinners, and also served as editor-in-chief of their online magazine.
After almost 10 years of ministry, I felt like it was time to exit and through a very random series of events, got hired as the head of marketing for a high-tech weapons manufacturer called TrackingPoint. I had absolutely zero experience with guns, but the CEO wanted someone who knew how to build a marketing team from scratch and could plan events. He hired me mainly because he wanted to put on a massive event called the American Sniper Shootout that was half shooting competition and half country music festival.
Held on his ranch in Mason, Texas – the event attracted 3500 attendees, featured performances from country music artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Easton Corbin, and Asleep at the Wheel, a shooting competition between Taya Kyle, widow of the famed ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle and the Bruce Piatt, the world shooting champion at the time, and culminated in a fundraiser gala dinner that raised over $500,000 for the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation.
After a year and a half at TP, I moved into the tech sector where I worked in a hybrid role of Enterprise Customer Success Management and Marketing for a company called TengoInternet which focused on managed WiFi systems for the outdoor hospitality industry. While I was there, I also joined the leadership team of the Austin Asian American Film Festival as their Director of Operations for 2 years. During covid, I helped the fest pivot into an online festival, helping to facilitate virtual panels with filmmakers and directors, and other online events.
Through my time at AAAFF, I became friends with the chair of the board and helped him with a kickstarter campaign for a documentary film called SeaDrift about Vietnamese refugees in Seadrift, Texas, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2019. The campaign raised $50,000 in 30 days and eventually aired on PBS a couple of years later. Eventually, he asked me to help launch an AAPI-focused media company called Amplify Asian, where I served as the Director of Marketing (all while still working at the tech company).
In 2022, I was made the offer to become CMO and a partner in that startup, but had a ‘come to Jesus moment’ where I realized that I 1) didn’t like marketing enough to be a CMO, and 2) didn’t like having a boss. So I took the leap, left the tech company and launched Orchid Events. By that point, I had experience in both the non-profit and corporate sector, and had planned and executed all kinds of events including gala fundraisers, conferences, festivals, concerts, private investor dinners, and weddings. Within my first month of launching, I booked my first client and it was off to the races.
These days Orchid Events is a luxury event production company that specializes in multi-day events and gala fundraisers. Clients come to us for full-service, turn key execution and production, and we are known for our ability to thoughtfully curate events that are tailor-made for clients and their unique needs. Smaller engagements can look like VIP investor dinners and invite-only conferences for 50-100 C-suite executives, while our largest event to date was a SXSW-sanctioned event that featured 3-stages, 29 panels, 15 music acts, an artisan market, and 7000+ attendees over 3 days.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly I think I’ve had an easier ride than some entrepreneurs. When I first started the company, I gave myself 6 months to see if I could get traction, and I figured if it didn’t work out, I’d just look for another corporate job. But I think because I had a reputation for planning and executing events by the time I started the company, it was easier for me to book clients, We were profitable within 3 months, and I was paying myself in 6 months.
My big break in determining whether this was a viable business was getting booked by the Travis County Democratic Party to plan and execute their annual JBR fundraiser dinner in 2023. The company was barely 6 months old, and it was a fairly large event of about 750 attendees and featured Hakeem Jeffries as their keynote, and Dan Rather as their lifetime achievement honoree. We had a tight 4-month turnaround time to plan their dinner, and there were some learning curves especially since I hadn’t worked in the political scene before. Still, we got it done and the dinner ended up raising about $350,000. Shortly after, we began getting other referrals for big gala dinners.
I’d say some of the struggles I’ve faced along the way have been figuring out the right processes and protocols in the company’s pre-production planning and logistics, and finding the right staff to serve clients well. As many entrepreneurs know, you’re only as good as your team, so it took a little while to find the right people for various roles. Additionally I’ve faced some growth pains that have resulted in needing to switch business banks, payroll and invoicing systems, and most recently, research for the right CRM system to manage the backend.
Still, all things considered, I’d say I’ve had a relatively smooth road compared to other startups and I largely credit that to choosing to invest in a personal board of sorts when I first started the company. The board consisted of a business coach, a CPA, a bookkeeper, a couple of mentors, and also recently completing a year-long CEO/Founder cohort so I could put myself around seasoned entrepreneurs and learn from them. I’m a big believer in mentorship, and I am pretty certain that choosing to invest my time in these things helped prevent me from making mistakes that a lot of first-time entrepreneurs make.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Orchid Events is a boutique, Asian-American and woman-owned luxury event production company based in Austin, Texas, led by founder and CEO Kimberly Chung. We specialize in thoughtfully curating tailored, high-impact events for luxury corporate clients, nonprofits, political galas, exclusive concerts, conferences, and premium weddings nationwide. Our hallmark is the flawless execution of complex, high-stakes experiences—balancing immersive storytelling and creative vision with precise, on-time orchestration—so clients can fully engage and enjoy their events without stress.
Clients choose Orchid Events because we deliver legendary moments through expert planning, meticulous attention to detail, and a seamless process that transforms anxiety and complexity into joyful presence and lasting impact. We don’t just produce events, we craft defining moments. From SXSW-style brand activations to seven-figure galas and once-in-a-lifetime weddings, our clients trust us to deliver cultural moments that resonate long after the last guest leaves.
What Sets Us Apart
Many clients often feel forced to choose between creative spectacle (impressive but chaotic) and flawless precision (safe but uninspired). We can credibly deliver both. Our events run on-time, every-time, while masterfully blending creative performances, decorations, and music to create iconic moments guests will keep talking about long after the event is over. At Orchid Events, we believe you deserve to enjoy every moment while your guests remember it for a lifetime. We handle the intricacy— you own the spotlight.
How do you think about happiness?
As cheesy as it sounds, I genuinely love what I do. There’s so much satisfaction in seeing an event coming together and seeing the delight from a client over a well executed event where they weren’t stressed about the details and actually got to enjoy it.
I also love music – I’ve been a musician my whole life and play piano, guitar, a little percussion, and sing a bit. Currently I manage a local R&B funk fusion band called The Foxtones and also play with them occasionally as their alternate keys player. I also love to bake, spend time with friends watching movies and checking out new restaurants, and am also involved with my church, Mosaic Church Austin.
I derive joy from really simple things – playing with my friends’ kids where I take my role as “Aunty Kim” very seriously, and may or may not do a happy dance every time I indulge in a scoop of ice cream.
Pricing:
- Our prices are custom quoted for client’s needs, so we typically do a consultation call before putting together a proposal for services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.orchideventsatx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orchideventsatx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orchideventsatx
Image Credits
Joi Conti
CCR Studios
Michelle Ray Photography
Chase Goulet
