Finding Founders

As if being trapped, seeking cover from bombs wasn’t scarring enough, just 24 hours later Hao was laid off from his dream job. He found himself across the globe, without a job or a clue what his next step would be. But somehow he’d find opportunity in Vietnam. Today, Hao Tran is the CEO and co-founder of Vietcetera, one of the biggest multimedia digital networks in Vietnam that connects Vietnam with the world, and the world with Vietnam. As a mentor, speaker, and innovative business leader, Hao has paved a new path through the world of business and culture, but it all started with a seemingly peaceful dinner in Paris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taku Tanaka’s burgeoning success in the food industry was slowly being torn apart by COVID and the isolation that came with it. So much hinged on the success of this business and it was up to him to save it. Taku proves that he can handle whatever comes across his plate, as today he stands as the CEO of Kamereo, Vietnam’s first tech-powered B2B food sourcing platform. The inspiration behind his company came from a life-long journey with food, from working at Pizzaria to growing up in his deliciously aromatic home with his family back in Tokyo… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marina hat hit bottom. At the start of a global pandemic, she found herself with a broken heart, in another country, isolated from the people she loved most. She had no stability. But it was at this moment she could define her character. The choices we make when we feel the world is against us, those choices define us. In this episode we’ll explore how Marina turned her life around and stands today as the founder and CEO of EQUO, a company that offers 100% plastic free straws, utensils, dishwash, and drinkware. Her success story was a long time coming, with many trials and tribulations, and it all started in the Canadian Vietnamese home office of two entrepreneurial refugees looking to make ends meet… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will hit another roadblock, but this wasn’t the first one he faced. He was told by the best chefs in Paris to get out of the way, that he’ll “never make it as a chef,” and yet today, he stands as the #1 pastry chef in the world, a Rising Star and a nominee for the James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef in America. So I was in Bali for a month and was lucky enough to be invited to Will’s restaurant Room 4 Dessert. I was greeted with a 15 course meal with a wine pairing – This wasn’t just food, this was artistry, and an experience I’ll never forget. But before we dive into how Will created this incredible experience , let’s start at the beginning, and go all the way back to childhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe it was Black magic, maybe it was the locals pushing back on the first signs of foreign development. Regardless, it’s a difficult and complicated thing to start a business when you are a foreigner. In spite of countless roadblocks Waterbom stands and Sayan Gulino, current CEO of Waterbom Bali, has pushed his father’s legacy forward. Today, Waterbom has won several awards and is recognized for its dedication to sustainability, but joining the family business doesn’t mean success was just handed to Sayan on a silver platter. Sayan’s journey to success involves music and nature, boarding schools and party planning, summer jobs and acting gigs. But let’s go back to the beginning, to when his parents, eager for adventure, left Europe for the mystical island of Bali.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somehow David has repeatedly found himself at the center of disaster. His most life changing trip through Asia was during the Asian financial crisis, his first big writing opportunity was during the 2008 financial crisis (which resulted in him losing his day job), this earthquake in Japan cemented that position as a writer, and now post covid the world needs the kind of community David is building more than ever. I actually think that’s something the best entrepreneurs have in common. Finding opportunity in disaster. And in David’s case I think he’s able to see opportunity because his breadth of experience is so wide. David was a resource strategist on Wall Street, oversaw natural resource programs at the white House, and even ran a water-focused NGO in Africa. His writing appears in the LA Times, the New York Times, and he’s published a book under Yale University Press called The Elements of Power. While writing this book in internet cafes around the world, David experienced firsthand how working remotely requires flexibility and breathable spaces–which is why he created OutPost, designed to be a safe place for digital nomads to break away from the conventional office. But before he was writing and traveling the world, a life of adventure in his hometown of Trumbull Connecticut had a pretty low bar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ayu Sudana bet everything on that first export of coffee beans; her family’s harvest, her personal savings, and years of hard work. This moment was the culmination of working her family coffee farm, of a shattered dream for higher education, of a desire to learn that took her around the world. From working as a receptionist at a five star hotel, to a waitress at a celebrity chef’s restaurant, to administrative work at a logistics company in Dubai, to finally founding Bali Beans in Bali. Now, Bali Beans is more than a coffee shop. It’s sustainable agriculture, it’s supporting the local community, it’s becoming the blueprint for coffee shops in Bali and it’s carrying on a family tradition. But this journey started very simply. It started on a farm in the countryside of Bali. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The french-born Nora Gasparini has dedicated her life to the craft of perfumery and has found her calling in scent. But it wasn’t an easy road to get here. Before establishing her perfumery laboratory, Nora was struggling to find her independence and see the value in herself. She was often stuck at home with her mom while her dad and brother went out, explored and handled the family business. But Nora wouldn’t be on the sideline for long. After igniting her flame in boarding school, tapping into her creative side in LA and learning what a perfumer even was in Paris, Nora was filled with a love for meeting new people and sharing new scents.Now settled in Bali, her company, L’Atelier Parfums & Créations, has introduced travelers and locals alike to the art of fragrance, and in turn the memories that smell can hold. But before all this Nora was on a different island surrounded by the smells of a bakery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamie was about to risk everything to create a travel towel company in Bali during covid. Maybe not the most opportune time but Jamie takes risks. From Ebay side hustles in his teens to transcontinental moves for new job opportunities, Jamie has learned that taking risks can forge new connections with people who were once strangers. Jamie’s learned that these new relationships have vastly changed the trajectory of his life and now he’s trying to give others that opportunity. Jamie’s company “Been There” works to connect aspiring entrepreneurs, thinkers, and leaders with advisors that have been there before. His company is trying to broaden who can be mentors, it’s not about knowing everything, it’s just about knowing a bit more than the person you’re advising. That way we can all be mentors. But before meeting strangers all over the world, he spent his childhood growing up in NewCastle, England, where he learned his father’s life motto , “a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is my Grandpa. He’s 92 and despite the long list of supplements that accompany his breakfast, he’s still got an expansive knowledge of the stock market, most of his hearing, and a full head of hair. More importantly he’s the OTHER co-founder of my family. Previously we spoke to my Grandma about her childhood, her challenges, and the creation of the Donner Family as I know it today but, of course, she didn’t do it alone. And also I didn’t do this podcast episode alone either. This is a full family affair. My sister Sophia is actually editing this episode with me.So Grandpa Donner or Frank Donner II, father to ten, and grandfather to double that, has been there for every moment, keeping his kids in line and then taking a step back to watch them continue forward. But that doesn’t mean he’s stopped. As we progress through his story, I began to realize that you never stop learning, no matter your age. Grandpa Donner has lived through his fair share of setbacks, failures, and heartbreaks but he’s a testament to the fact that every setback is a chance to start fresh, every failure a place to learn, and every heartbreak a moment to remember what’s important.So I once again pulled a grandparent back into a quiet room but unlike last time, Grandpa Donner wasn’t just visiting, he and my Grandma had recently moved down from Sacramento to a condo a short 5 minute drive from my family home. With that in mind, Grandpa Donner welcomed me into his house to tell me about his life up till now, starting of course, before he was even born. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices