Meet Juliet Sea Chen

We recently connected with Juliet Sea Chen and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Juliet Sea, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

Turns out, looking different my whole life gave me the exact superpowers I needed – when you feel like an outsider, you’re positioned at the perfect vantage point to observe and learn.

I grew up in Michigan in the ’90s and early 2000s, where I desperately wanted to fit in—but fitting in definitely didn’t look like a nerdy Asian girl with glasses and braces. Later, in real estate PE, I was often the only woman, the only Asian, and definitely the youngest in the room.

There’s something to be said about the phrase “Fake It ‘til You Make It.” I think we get hung up on the idea of “faking it.” But I think it’s really a method of maintaining external polish and composure while you give yourself time to become confident in a new skill.

When you don’t automatically feel included, you start to pay attention to patterns—to what people are wearing, what they’re saying, what they’re not saying. And unlike people who grew up inside the system, you don’t just inherit the rules—you choose which ones are worth keeping.

I started my real estate career at a very old school, white-shoe firm in NYC. There, I noticed that while the analysts wore button-downs, slacks, and backpacks, the sole female Partner wore sheath dresses, Louboutin heels, and Prada bags. So when I went out to interview for more roles, I mirrored the “Partner Look.”

Of course, just looking the part is never enough. At 27, I landed a huge role—leading investment negotiations on nine-figure deals with figureheads in the industry. In truth, I’d never led a deal on my own before! But I wanted to prove that I deserved a seat at the table, so I stayed late almost every night. I read industry news, studied other people’s pitch decks, legal agreements, and financial models, and incorporated the best practices into my own.

I still remember the moment I felt I had really “made it.” I was negotiating with the CFO and the Head of Development of one of the biggest publicly traded homebuilders in the country. These guys had been in the industry longer than I’d been alive. But I came with everything prepared: the numbers, the comps, and most importantly, my own perspective—rather than how it’s “usually done.” When I finished explaining, the CFO said, “You know, I think she’s right.” They agreed to our terms, and we signed the deal.

That moment taught me something: being the outsider doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you’re approaching from a different angle. That’s the power of being an outsider. You learn to study the landscape, master it, and then—if you want—you pave a new path to build your own. Which is what I’ve now done with Aces Wilder.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I never set out to be an entrepreneur. So it feels surreal to be asked to share this journey!

After 12 years in real estate investment, I started asking myself a harder question: Am I actually contributing anything meaningful to the world?

I’d built a successful career—making my parents proud, respected at my firm, sitting at the table with industry powerhouses. But something in me started to feel… restless. Like I had more to give, and I just couldn’t see what it was yet.

During COVID, I started visiting LA and found a city full of people doing big, purpose-driven things—founders, healers, artists, activists. I kept asking myself: What am I here to do? And for a while, nothing came.

I started an Artist’s Way circle. I journaled, meditated, overanalyzed. Still nothing—until I went to Burning Man for the first time. It was wild, maximalist, radically expressive—and to my surprise, I felt completely at home. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel the need to hold anything back. But even there, I noticed how many men still did—especially in how they dressed.

That’s when I saw what had been hiding in plain sight. So many men—smart, social, capable—struggle to get dressed for the environments they actually want to be in. Parties, dinners, festivals, dates. They want to show up with confidence, but not look like they are trying too hard. Most of what existed in the market was either bland and forgettable—or loud and unwearable.

That’s when I finally found a mission worth leaving behind a stable, successful career.

The mission hit home during the second year of Aces Wilder when I went to a wedding with my parents. My dad knew I’d started a men’s clothing company, and maybe as a quiet show of support, he asked me to help him get dressed.
We went through every detail: ties, shirts, slacks, a newsboy cap, tie pin, dress shoes from the back of his closet, even a navy peacoat. He looked so sharp—and more importantly, he felt it.

My dad’s a homebody. Usually the type to leave early or nap through social events. But that night, he was glowing. He even asked me to dance. We did a little Monkey dance to a Beach Boys song, arms swinging, both of us laughing.
Aces Wilder isn’t just about clothes—it’s about equipping men to live life to the fullest. We’re building this for all the fathers, future fathers, boyfriends, brothers—the ones who might never ask for attention, but absolutely deserve to feel confident and connected.

Sometimes the right outfit doesn’t just change how you look—it shifts how you feel, how you move, how you show up. That’s why we’re pioneering a new category: athleisure for going out—for guys ready to move beyond the basics.
The big update: We’ve been developing a proprietary fabric that’s ultra-soft, breathable, and features custom-designed prints—masculine, but party- and festival-ready.

We’re launching on Kickstarter at the end of summer with our first piece: a sleeveless zip-up hoodie that’s designed to be the new go-to for going out.

If our mission resonates, or you’d love performance-driven apparel that fit easily, feel amazing, and carries just enough edge to open a conversation or shift a vibe, join the movement at aceswilder.com

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The truth is, I feel incredibly late to the entrepreneurship game. All we ever hear about is brilliant college drop-out tech billionaires. Whereas I spent the first 35 years of my life trying to shake off the first-generation immigrant guilt. I wanted to be impressive and so I followed the good school – good job formula.

But in reality, you’re never on the wrong path. Even if you chose it to make your parents proud. Even if it was about fitting in. The path only becomes wrong when you outgrow it—and the real work is having the courage to recognize that and walk toward something unknown. The only advice you need is to have courage.

That’s the thing about choosing your own life. If the path ahead looks perfectly laid out, you’re probably walking someone else’s.

As for what skills helped me most in my journey—especially transitioning from real estate and private equity into building Aces Wilder—these three qualities have been everything:

1. Learn from everything.

Actually I read almost exclusively fiction and fantasy until I was 31. It wasn’t “business reading”—but I was learning the whole time. I believe anything can be your teacher if you’re paying attention. A movie, a meme, a Jane Austen romance novel! I recently watched Netflix’s Drive to Survive about Formula One racing. I could have just been entertained by the adrenaline and crashes and walked away not just entertained, but instead was so inspired by the level of teamwork, focus and mental discipline those athletes bring to the table. In fact I recently brought those lessons to share at our company retreat!

Train yourself to see the deeper story in whatever the algorithm recommends or content you’ve decided to consume. Ask, What’s this trying to teach me?

2. Storytelling

Everything comes down to story. Whether you’re pitching investors, writing a market plan, building a brand, or just getting someone to believe in your idea—it’s all storytelling. The human mind prefers listening and learning from stories, not just facts and figures. How can you most quickly make your listener care about what you’re saying? And it’s not just external storytelling, don’t forget to constantly audit the one you’re telling yourself about who you are and what’s possible for you!

Learn the arc of the hero’s journey—but also learn when to break it. Your story doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.

3. Structured problem solving.

I’m a big believer in wide thinking before fast execution. Einstein said if he had an hour to solve a problem, he’d spend 55 minutes understanding the problem and just 5 minutes on the solution. That’s how I approach challenges—by mapping out every angle first, including creative or unconventional paths, and only then collapsing down into the most high-leverage solution. I use decision trees and frameworks to quickly evaluate what offers the biggest return for the least

Don’t jump straight to solving. First, zoom out. Train your mind to think both expansively and decisively. It’s not just about thinking outside the box—it’s about knowing which box is worth breaking.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Absolutely—we’re looking to collaborate.

We’re a young, bootstrapped company building something from the heart, and we need support across the board: design, marketing, production, supply chain, finance, accounting, operations—every department.

But more than anything, we’re looking for people who believe in something bigger.

We see Aces Wilder as a company that empowers men, but serves all of humanity. We’re doing this for love, with love, utilizing our individual gifts to better others’ lives.

We also believe in collective transformation—that as we build this brand, we’re also becoming more of who we’re meant to be. We believe work can feel like play. That a team can move with agility and alignment, like a flock of birds in migration. That everyone’s dreams matter, and that growth is non-linear. We’re especially excited to work with hungry, curious people—and often those people want to build their own thing someday. We support that.

If that resonates, we’d love to connect. Reach out via Instagram @aceswilderinc or email us at ahoy@aceswilder.com.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://aceswilder.com
• Instagram: @aceswilderinc
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aceswilderinc