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The founder of Chesapeake Bay Candle credits her company’s success to her first Bank of America loan. Now she’s helping other women, especially her fellow immigrants, shine too.

“How do you transport people during the pandemic from their home to the beaches of Bora Bora or to a rainy evening in Seattle so that they feel the peace and joy of a vacation? And how, in doing so, do business founders create multi-million-dollar global brands?

Mei Xu on the Slow Burn to Success

POLITICO invites select subject matter experts, leaders from the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society, as well as alumna of past Women Rule programs, to join meetings in support of The Exchange’s mission. 

50 Over 50 Vision: Mei Xu

Online Boutique Yes She May Celebrates Global Women-Owned Businesses

Why go to a museum when you could buy a sculptural bag instead?

Between the global pandemic, supply-chain issues and product shortages, world travelers have been unable to connect with cultures, people and products from other countries.

Believing many home goods on the market looked like they belonged in “grandma’s house,” Mei Xu created and eventually sold Chesapeake Bay Candle in 2017. Her next goal? Elevating women entrepreneurs.

If you’ve ever bought a fragrant candle at Target to freshen up your house or look classy on an end table—then you know Mei Xu’s work. She’s the founder of Chesapeake Bay Candle Company, which she started in her basement just a couple of years after emigrating from China. Now she’s a retired CEO, a multi-millionaire, and a former advisor to President Obama on job creation. She just published "Burn: How Grit, Innovation, and a Dash of Luck Ignited a Multi-Million Dollar Success Story."