Why the name DuckPunk
Over the years, we’ve always had people ask us how we came up with the name. It happened back in 2000 when I was trying to find a name for the company.
I was at a lake feeding ducks with breadcrumbs. There was one duck who had a mohawk, just like my logo. He was busy eating. After 40 minutes, I got up and started to leave. As I was throwing the last breadcrumbs into the lake, he would still charge over to get to the food. I looked at him, thinking “how can you still be hungry, you’ve been eating the whole time?”
That night, I went home and couldn’t shake the image off the head. I started playing with the words duck, mohawk, and punk rock. 6 weeks later, I named my company DuckPunk, but that’s only half the story. At the time, my justification was, since my last name is Tong, I’m always on the last or second last page by alphabetical order. So I thought I wanted my company name to be more in the front, so instead of calling it PunkDuck, I flipped the order and called it DuckPunk.
Year later, he became my inspiration. As a minority woman working in entertainment and advertising, it was very cutthroat. Every time I have to jump over a hurdle, I have to remind myself to be like him, never give up and keep going after what my heart desires. country.
Founder's Story
Life has a way to direct and re-direct you in ways you could never have imagined. I was a music composition major. I started learning how to play the piano at age seven and sang in a children’s choir until I was eighteen. When I was too old to stay in the choir, I became one of the choir instructors and conductors, teaching children from various ages how to sing. I thought music was my path. When it came time to pick a major in college, going into music was a natural progression. But since I also liked literature, I picked English Literature as a minor.
On the surface, I was living a fulfilled life, doing my music, studying comparative literature, enjoying college and making side money teaching piano and children’s choirs. But deep down, I always felt awkward, not because I couldn’t fit in. I didn’t know HOW to fit in. I grew up in a household where emotions were not shown or encouraged. Growing up, although I had friends, I always felt there was a barrier I couldn’t cross. I didn’t know how to connect. And if I stayed in Hong Kong, my birth place, I might never had a chance to discover personal development and do what I do today.
Armed with a strong desire to study abroad ever since I was a little girl, I came to the US in 1991 by myself. I was still feeling awkward at the time, and having to learn and understand American slang didn’t make things easier either. But, all that changed when I got hired as a TV Newscaster at one of the first satellite TV stations. While I was there, besides anchoring the daily broadcast, I was also put in charge of a daily 5 min human interest segment where I could cover anything but hard news. In those four years, I talked to countless strangers, interviewed thousands of people and crafted over 1,200 on-air stories. Looking back, that job was an end and beginning of a new chapter for me.
Through the newscaster job, I learned how to interview people, pull information out of people, and put together a story in a very short amount of time. That skillset became the key for me to discover what connection was all about. As human beings, we are wired to receive and digest information from a story.
When I started DuckPunk back in 2000, my initial goal was to tell stories in the movie and documentary formats, and we did several. One of my last indie films was called TOUCH, you can watch it on Amazon Prime. In 2005, we had a chance to get into telling stories through TV commercials and branded content. Over the years, we’ve done many award-winning campaigns for Nissan, Verizon, Wells Fargo, California Department of Health, Old Navy, McDonald’s, just to name a few. In 2005, we had a chance to get into telling stories through TV commercials and branded content. Over the years, we’ve done many award-winning campaigns for Nissan, Verizon, Wells Fargo, California Department of Health, Old Navy, McDonald’s, just to name a few.
Since the Pandemic, I realize we were even more hungry for connection. Our desire to connect more deeply, to relate and understand each other, and to use our stories to uplift and for change is ever more needed, especially in the world of commerce. The old way of selling has no effect anymore. People are looking for new ways and new reasons to spend their money. As a result, we have re-branded DuckPunk as a StorySelling agency. It is my hope that through StorySelling, businesses can stand out in the crowded and noisy market place and use their unique voice to connect to their customers, build their brands. drive sales, and attain more customers.
With that, I’ve come full circle, my biggest pain has become my biggest gain.
Aggie Clark
Aggie Clark is a seasoned financial services executive with 30+ years of leadership experience. As COO of Covenantz, Inc., she collaborates with a team of dedicated built-environment professionals to change how the world builds. As CEO of Symbol Advantage, a rising star in the home and community building space, she is applying her time and energy to creating affordable single-family housing options for families looking to launch their dream of home ownership and generational wealth building.
As a passionate UW alum, she recently served as President of the University of Washington Alumni Association and Advisory Board Co-Chair for the UW Foster School's Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC). She continues to serve the CBDC on its Advisory Board and as a professional advisor for its various student consulting programs, including the nationally-known Ascend Program.
Her experience steering company operations through growth and contraction business cycles, combined with navigating ongoing regulatory changes, gives her a multi-pronged perspective on the challenges growing businesses face. Her versatile communication skills, combined with the ability to learn and synthesize information quickly, operate successfully in a complex and ambiguous environment, and efficiently implement solutions, make her an effective contributor.
Jackie La Joie
Jackie LaJoie has over 30 years of experience creating, developing and successfully leading Supplier Diversity programs. In her role, she developed world class programs and driving impressive results supported by sound program strategies throughout the enterprise as well as supplier sustainability in areas such as environmental social governance and conflict minerals. Jackie believes that for a program to grow and succeed, it must be based on sound best practices that create jobs for supplier partners, economic growth for local communities, and customers for life.
Most recently, Jackie partnered with the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce to create and facilitate a series of workshops to prepare small businesses to do business with corporations and the Federal Government. Jackie was the senior manager at Ingersoll Rand / Trane Technologies, vice president of the Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, director of Supplier Diversity at Merck and senior manager of Supplier Diversity at legacy AT&T.
Jackie is also the co-founder of Diversity Alliance for Science in 2007, a non-profit organization focused on supplier diversity in the life science and healthcare industries. The organization unites healthcare, pharmaceutical, academic and government entities with industry diversity leaders to promote economic growth of small and diverse companies.
She has a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration and a B.S. in Economics from High Point University and an MBA from Wake Forest University.
John M. Birchbauer
Since retiring, I have actively mentored new entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners worldwide, with a primary focus on renewables. My expertise was recognized when I was invited to mentor for a program sponsored by the World Bank, Micro Mentor, and the Caribbean Climate Innovation Center. Besides DuckPunk, I also have joined an advisory board for a solar energy company.
Throughout my 30+ year career, I have consistently delivered results by increasing sales and developing sales territories. I am adept at developing training materials to elevate productivity and uniquely able to turn concepts into viable and profitable realities by collaborating with the necessary parties.
I have a track record of successfully nurturing new hires and experienced employees, guiding them to advance into management roles. My experience has taught me that effective organization and strategic planning are the keys to managing a single report or over seventy.
The most crucial lesson I have learned throughout my career is that regardless of one's position, whether sweeping floors or leading a Fortune 500 company, it is essential to listen, show respect, and demonstrate the value of each individual and their contributions.