Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Kittitanaphan Sotto.
Hi Anna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My parents immigrated to the United States from Thailand in the early 80s. They worked several jobs until they were able to open up their very own restaurant in ’89. When we first opened, we were among 2 total Thai restaurants in the city. By the time we closed our doors, there were over 10 competing businesses in our small town and hundreds more in surrounding cities.
I and my sisters’ childhoods and I were spent behind the tall counters of the restaurant with cooks and waitresses as our aunts and uncles. The restaurant fed us and sent all three generations of daughters to school in its 18 years of business.
Why it opened, how it succeeded, and how it fell short are all part of why my purpose now is to champion small businesses.
I studied Graphic Design and Marketing in college (Cal State University of Long Beach) and worked 10 years in that industry. With all the introspection that the pandemic allowed me, I thought a lot about how my career could better serve the world. Little by little, the idea of Akitso came together. Akitso is a dream I have to help family businesses, like the one that fed me, thrive in today’s super competitive landscape.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Hmmm. Not a smooth road, not necessarily a bumpy one either. The journey feels like a big blue ocean with just 10 ft visibility at all times. The only way to know you’re going the right direction is to #Dory and just keep swimming. The struggle has been not ever having a destination in mind to guide me. Through process of elimination, I find myself choosing a general direction in the dark and either course correct or swim further accordingly.
I never dreamed of starting a nonprofit. My teenage self’s decision to study Graphic Design came from knowing I was creative, thinking “Art” was unpractical, deciding that Architecture was too much math, and conceding to a family member’s opinion that Interior Design was not lucrative. My post-graduate experience entailed jumping from in-house to agency back to in-house with exposure to a wide variety of industries, design mediums, and team dynamics. All were net positive experiences, but I never felt like what I was doing was what I was supposed to be doing. Over time, I started to lose sight of where I was going with design. Trying to be part of cutting-edge design for the sake of making cool stuff felt less and less motivating (and my eyeballs started to really hurt staring at colors on a screen all day).
I actually decided to pursue a career change in 2019 and was deciding between events and teaching (lol). I lined up an apprenticeship-ish gig at a San Diego wedding venue and was in the process of researching teaching credential programs in San Diego. I left my agency job on Valentine’s Day of 2020. In a heartbeat, the whole world was on COVID lockdown. Then, all of a sudden, a career in events or teaching were both incredibly unappealing.
For me, I view covid as life removing all exterior distractions and forcing me to dive into my inner world for a year. I thought a lot about my childhood, my past, what made me, and what gave me joy. Then, my first solo travels to Europe in 2021 really inspired and reinvigorated my desire to create something that could be for me and the world.
We’ve been impressed with Akitso, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Akitso is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering concept design, business development, and operational support to underserved small business owners. We make restaurant improvements easier & more affordable for underserved small businesses owners. We’re currently focused on the following services:
❶ Strong Operational Fundamentals
Educating business owners in operational & financial best practices to help them build a strong foundation for growth
❷ Concept Development
Ideating and executing a unique concept to tell a deeper story through food
❸ Design
Developing a visual identity, graphic, and website design to connect their story to their target audiences
❹ Interior & Storefront Improvements
Creating a physical environment that is an extension of the brand, allowing these businesses to stand out from a hyper-competitive culinary landscape
❺ Expanded Reach
Marketing & social media support and education to help business owners attract new customers
What sets us apart from others…is who we’re working with. San Diego is blessed with so many great places to eat and drink at. Restaurants generating high revenue are often backed by investors and have a business-savvy team of experts with a close pulse on ever-changing market trends. It’s really hard for smaller mom-and-pop shops to be competing without anyone in their corner. Sometimes, their secret sauce is the food, but not the marketing and design, and not always the ops side. And this is where Akitso comes in. Through collaboration… Akitso with the design/marketing/ops support…and the business owner with their food, their culture, their identity…we both get to do meaningful work, and I’d say the local community gets to benefit from having these awesome businesses be set up for longevity too.
I’m most proud of the collaborative spirit that’s baked into Akitso. My grandmother immigrated to the US from Thailand and eventually brought her adult children over. My mother opened her restaurant as a way to support me and also share her culture. And now I’ve started Akitso to help businesses like my mom’s brace for longevity. As a child, I couldn’t help our restaurant, so Akitso is a bit of a love letter to that.
To the readers — please consider subscribing for updates on our website. We are early on our journey, but I promise we have some big dreams and ideas in the works. As our programs and efforts unfold, we will be sending updates to those who’d like to follow along! We’re on a mission to nurture genuine cultural exchange and cultivate more inclusive, vibrant communities by removing institutional barriers in food and hospitality. Any leads, ideas, comments you have, please send them my way: akitso.co@gmail.com.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
The vision I am holding onto is a world where prosperity, courageous self-expression, work, rest, and play are valued and accessible to all.
Everyone deserves to be able to work to live, live to play, and rest along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.akitso.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akitso.co
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/akitso-co
