kellie wong compassion culture

Interview with Kellie Wong, founder at Compassion Culture

Using tools like squishy egg tarts and tactile cardboard, Kellie’s products speak to children to help them build emotional intelligence and resilience.

What made you want to start this business?

Compassion Culture reflects something my younger self very much needed: to be heard, understood and nurtured throughout childhood in a chaotic upbringing and competitive world.

Through my products and workshops, I hope to spark that spirit of inner knowing, strength and self compassion that many children in today's results driven society don't have the privilege of growing up with.

What did you want to be as a child?

I wanted to be an astronaut as a child. It always felt like there was a bigger universe than the society we lived in, and I wanted to explore its vastness and mystery.

Culturally we have a tendency to sweep difficult topics under the carpet, which stunts a lot of children's development when challenges arise.

Few businesses focus on emotional intelligence, and in a place like Hong Kong that highly values education, I was surprised to see there were no kids' social emotional learning tools developed for the market. So I decided to take a first step, in creating tools for parents to connect better with their children and for children to stay kind to themselves no matter what life brings them.

What has been your biggest challenge in your business journey so far, and how have you/are you overcome/overcoming it?

My biggest challenge is speaking up, about parenting and my childhood, and speaking in front of a camera or audience! I have always been shy, and was determined to overcome it to share my story with others who can relate, and to help others feel less alone in their parenting journey, where many are working on breaking old cycles from their childhood so they can be better parents and have better relationships with their kids.

A bit of self compassion didn't hurt either, and people gave such supportive feedback it gave me the confidence to keep going!

Where is home for you?

You know what they say, home is where the heart is. For me, home is where the people I love reside.

I'm lucky to have been blessed with many supportive people, including my partner and friends, as well as my grandparents who are now in heaven, and whom our Mindful Habits cards are dedicated to.