John-Paul Lee aka 이창선 (born October 12, 1978) is the founder and CEO of

Tavalon Tea Tavalon Tea is a New York City based tea company that sells premium loose-leaf teas and related tea products from all over the world. The music inspired tea company categorizes their blends and infusions as Mixes, Remixes, & Uncuts. The company ...

, a New York City-based tea company that sells premium teas and related tea products from all over the world. Lee received his BBA from James Madison University in 2001 with degrees in finance and computer information systems (CIS). Lee began his career as a consultant at

Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...

(formerly Anderson Consulting) in 2001. Lee left

in 2005 to start Tavalon Tea in hopes of fulfilling a void in the US premium tea market and pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. In September 2012, Lee partnered up with Marja Vongerichten of the Kimchi Chronicles (and wife of 3 Michelin Star Chef - Jean-Georges Vongerichten) to create his latest Korean restaurant venture, BiBiFresh aka. Kosofresh.

Honors and awards

Lee has been profiled by many publications since he founded

in 2005, including '' Entrepreneur'', '' The New York Times'', ''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'',

theStreet.com ''TheStreet'' is a financial news and financial literacy website. It is a subsidiary of The Arena Group. The company provides both free content and subscription services such as Action Alerts Plus a stock recommendation portfolio co-managed by B ...

, NPR, etc... Most recently, America.gov featured Lee in their gallery of successful start up entrepreneurs alongside Bill Gates, Michael Dell,

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...

, Larry Page, Sergey Brin,

Kevin Plank Kevin Audette Plank (born August 13, 1972) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Plank is the founder and executive chairman of Under Armour, a manufacturer of sportswear, footwear and accessories, based in Baltimore, Maryland ...

, &

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...

. Lee was also recognized as a business leader by the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) and honored with the
Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award
in 2010. In 2011, the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce bestowed Lee with the Top 10 Asian American Business Award for his accomplishments as a young and emerging entrepreneur. In September 2011, Lee was selected as a member of the Entrepreneurial Sounding Board Committee for

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

, where he engages with MBA students and helps pursue their entrepreneurial ideas and ventures. Lee is also an official member and mentor within the Columbia Mentorship Program for Entrepreneurs at the Columbia University's Business School. In October 2011, Lee was honored with a committee board seat for the Asian American Business Development Center(AABDC). Oustanding 50 Award Ceremony

Personal life

Lee was born on October 12, 1978, in Fairfax, Virginia, and raised in Great Falls, Virginia. Originally given a Korean name, Chang Sun Lee (이창선), he was renamed John-Paul Lee upon being blessed by Pope John Paul II in Washington, D.C. He moved to Seoul, Korea, at the age of 10, where he spent four years of his childhood and returned to the United States of America in 2003. Lee currently resides in New York City but travels frequently to Asia, where he is in the process of expanding

Tavalon Tea

References

Sources

New York Times - On East 14th Street, It's Always Time for Tea
New York Times
뉴욕의 프리미엄 티 브랜드 타바론(TAVALON) 창업자 존-폴 리 John-Paul Lee
Asia Herald
John-Paul Lee and the New Ghost by Rolls-Royce

Noblesse Magazine The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armige ...

Dress to Impress
Entrepreneur Magazine
Interview with Tavalon's Founder - 존폴리
매일경제
An Interview with Tavalon Tea's CEO John-Paul Lee
T Ching
Tavalon Tea Founder John-Paul Lee
Asian Fusion Magazine
America.gov highlights 9 successful entrepreneurs
Photo Gallery

Article America.gov
Modern Tea Trends with John-Paul Lee
Momentum Women
TheStreet.com Interview with Tavalon CEO John-Paul Lee

Business Week Interviews John-Paul Lee

Starting a Tea Company-Interview with John-Paul Lee
Gaebler
공차 vs. 타바론 매일경제
매일경제
JMU Notable Alumni John-Paul Lee
Mainstreet
American's Turning Their Attention to Tea - Interview with Tavalon Tea's John-Paul Lee
National Public Radio (NPR)
Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award 2010
AABDC

The Modesto Bee
생방송투데이 - 스윗솔트 대표이사 이창선
SBS
Interview with John-Paul Lee, CEO of BEPL
TechM
John-Paul Lee Columbia University Business School
Columbia University {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, John-Paul American chief executives of food industry companies Living people Businesspeople from New York City American people of Korean descent James Madison University alumni 1978 births People from Fairfax, Virginia People from Great Falls, Virginia Columbia University faculty