From Harvard MBA to Vietnamese Nail Salons

Truc Nguyen left a high-achieving path — JP Morgan, HP, Deloitte, Harvard MBA — to pursue a very different ambition: buying and operating small businesses. What started as a career reset turned into a deep exploration of Vietnamese-American entrepreneurship and the power of rolling up service businesses the right way.She shares how she evaluated which industry to pursue, why she focused on Vietnamese-owned nail salons, what people underestimate about SMB acquisitions, and how she rebuilt operations, culture, and processes from scratch. Her story blends corporate discipline with immigrant grit — and shows how business ownership can become a path to autonomy and long-term impact.We discuss search, buying your first company, managing older teams, building systems, learning humility, and how Truc thinks about the next decade of acquisitions, leadership, and eventually returning to Vietnam.-01:38 Harvard Business School & career reset02:28 Leaving Deloitte to pursue entrepreneurship & search04:06 Narrowing the buy-box: choosing Vietnamese-owned nail salons05:50 Parents’ sacrifice, ambition, and early definitions of success08:18 Moving to the US at 14: culture shock & rebuilding identity12:32 Parents’ non-tiger-parent philosophy on career & success14:02 Quitting corporate, craving ownership & independence18:43 Big corporate lessons: structure, mentorship, empowering others23:51 How she approaches mentorship & gets real support29:40 HBS as platform: exposure, networks & brand opening doors36:07 Funding & buying the first nail salon (self-funded + SBA loans)40:35 Reality of running a small business: doing every job & installing systems52:03 Generational mindset shifts: saving vs investing; competing on experience58:05 What most people underestimate about SMB acquisitions & search timelines1:02:47 10-year vision, legacy, return to Vietnam & advice to her younger self-Connect with Truc:https://www.linkedin.com/in/truc-nguyen-9697aa40https://www.instagram.com/trucish/Connect with Quang:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ovquang/https://www.instagram.com/quangJoin OV: https://joinov.com