While a penniless college student in Texas, Hong Kong native Dennis C.K. Poon’s first gig in the U.S. paid $2 an hour. At that rate, he knew he would never stay in school. Thus, he started buying cars from graduating seniors, fixing them up and selling them to other students. He still needed money. So during summers, he worked three shifts a day in a restaurant in New York City’s Chinatown.