By Alexandria Kenney, AsAmNews Intern
Less than a month after launching its Kickstarter fundraiser for the first AAPI bookstore in Brooklyn, Yellow Peril Books co-owners announced that it has secured sufficient funding for a physical storefront — but the funds aren’t from the Kickstarter.
A significant portion of the unexpected funding came from donations outside of the Kickstarter — from none other than Rachel Lau and Michelle Ming’s own family and friends, who were moved by the pair’s story and their project’s impact over the past few weeks.
AsAmNews sat down again with them to talk about the new funding and the store’s future.
Last month they were fundraising for Brooklyn’s first and only in-person AAPI hub, offering books, beverages, and most importantly, belonging.
A brick-and-mortar location is still set for its Spring 2025 launch in Brooklyn, Lau said.
The newfound support even motivated Lau and Ming to take tangible steps towards their vision, including taking out low-cost loans. These investments, paired with the aforementioned contributions from their loved ones and their own capital from additional jobs, came out to approximately $115,000 — just $10,000 shy of the original funding goal they posted on Kickstarter.
Finding out that they had enough to pursue the physical location came with “excitement and relief,” Ming said.
Lau said the project likely would not have been possible without its supporters, most of whom have chosen to remain private. Ming added that the small business and literary communities have been bastions of support as they navigate the necessary processes to see Yellow Peril Books come to life.
“We’re just so grateful for how much this has resonated within the community and how they’ve shared it,” Lau noted. “The reach has been just remarkable.”
Looking forward, Lau and Ming have much to do to realize their Spring 2025 timeline, and they will be starting with a series of pop-ups and community events in the fall. While the duo is ultimately passionate about selling books, Ming maintained that the financial and logistical planning is a prerequisite to their goals.
“It felt like being a kid and getting your homework done so you could watch TV at night,” Ming said.
By virtue of Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing approach, all contributors to the now-canceled fundraiser will also be refunded, Lau said. But they may not be completely done with the Kickstarter, as smaller, more specific costs may arise in the near future.
In a culture that both stigmatizes those who ask for help yet hesitates to work with banking institutions, Asian and Asian American business owners have been found to struggle, particularly when it comes to fundraising, as previously reported by AsAmNews. Instead, Lau and Ming broke through the mold and planted the seed of community — a gift that can sprout into their sky-high vision and nourish the surrounding AAPI ecosystem for years to come.
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