From Fired to Forbes- The American Dream, Interrupted: From The Projects to Surgeon Founder
Created Sep 2, 2026
45 min PowerPoint inspirational Ted Talk Presentation style. My parents immigrated to the United States by building a raft and escaping armed guards. They sacrificed their lives to give me opportunities for a new life and education. I grew up in government projects in NYC. Years later, I graduated Brown University and became a board-certified urologic surgeon practicing robotic surgery: an Asian woman in a field where people who looked like me were underrepresented (<1%).
Then I was fired while pregnant for asking for equal pay to the males in my program. I no longer fit the “mold” they were looking for. I was considered a “cage-rattler” and I was told to stay in my lane and know my place.
This 45 minute presentation follows my journey from my parents’ immigration story to a surgical career, an unexpected professional rupture, and the work of rebuilding as a physician entrepreneur and founder to multiple Million dollar companies.
I will speak candidly about ambition, identity, rejection, and the difference between achieving a prestigious title and building a life and business that reflect your purpose. I will also share how my reinvention led me to connect Korean beauty and medical innovation with American physicians, patients, and industry through clinical practice, education, community, and international conferences.
The session will include 35 minutes of personal storytelling and practical lessons and advice on how to grow in business, scale successfully and knowing your worth, followed by 10 minutes of audience discussion and Q&A. It is a conversation about what we carry from our families, what happens when our plans fall apart, and how we begin again.
How should the session run?
Presentation
Preferred language
English
Who is this for?
Immigrant and first-generation founders, Asian and Asian American professionals, women in underrepresented fields, women who try to have better work life balance, and people navigating a career transition, rejection, or business setback. It is especially relevant to professionals moving from an established career into entrepreneurship, and founders seeking to turn their cross-cultural experience into a meaningful business connecting Asian and U.S. markets.
Why the host can lead this
I bring lived experience on both sides of this story: pursuing a demanding surgical career as the daughter of immigrants, and rebuilding after being fired. I am Dr. Lanna Cheuck, DO, FACS, a board-certified urologic surgeon and physician entrepreneur. I lead LC Medical, co-founded FACE Med Store and Aesthetic Nexus, and founded the KRAVE K-Beauty Regenerative Aesthetic Congress. Through clinical practice, professional education, and international collaborations, I connect Korean innovation with U.S. medical aesthetics and help bring physicians, founders, and industry leaders together. I can share both the personal cost of reinvention and the practical work behind it: identifying transferable skills, building relationships, developing a community, and turning a cross-cultural perspective into a business opportunity. My story includes setbacks as well as achievements, and I want participants to have access to both.
What you will take away
Participants will leave with: • A way to separate their identity and value from a job title, institution, or professional rejection. • A practical reinvention exercise: identify three transferable strengths, one unmet need they understand, and one next step they can take. • A clearer understanding of how cross-cultural experience can help them recognize opportunities and build trust across markets. • Lessons on creating a professional community through mutual value, rather than simply collecting contacts. • Permission to redefine success without dismissing the work—and family history—that brought them this far.
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