Ep 113: How Do You Build a 200,000+ community in 3 years?! | Bryan Pham (Co-Founder, Asian Hustle Network, AHNF, AHN Ventures, Hate Is A Virus)
Everyone wants to start a community while Bryan Pham (with his co-founder, Maggie Chui) has grown a global community from 0 to 200,000+ in 3 years! 😱 #casual Best of all? It started as a “screw you” moment. 😅 In all seriousness, Bryan is the founder of Asian Hustle Network (“AHN”), AHNF & AHN Ventures. And has had quite the unconventional journey: 😮Bryan’s parents fled the Vietnam War & taught him that investments and business were taboo 😮He worked as a software engineer & realised that companies didn’t have his back; you’d be fired even if you’d been working there for 20 years! 😮He tried an Amazon selling side hustle - and lost $22k Although: 🔥His roommate got him into property investment - and he made $200k+ from his first sale! 🔥He built a real estate investment community of 2,000 in 2 years in the Bay Area. But for 4 years, Bryan had been thinking about his why. And found himself wanting to build something for the Asian community. A trip to the Meiji Shrine gave his idea the spark, a rejection gave it the light (you’ll have to listen to find out what! 😏), and within 3 days of AHN being born, the Asian Hustle Network had 1,000 members. 👀 In 11 months: 60k members 👀In 1.5 years: 100k+ members 👀In 2 years: 120k+ members Talk about fulfilling a need! 😱 But things weren’t easy: ☹️Bryan was receiving hate messages (and wanted to quit after 8 months) ☹️ AHN wasn’t profitable for years. Things have since turned around 🔥AHN is incorporated in the USA, Singapore & Australia; 🔥Has its own venture fund; 🔥Also runs a non-profit fund; and 🔥Has expanded into Southeast Asia! To learn the details of this transformation, how AHN grew from a Facebook group to a massive global super connector platform & Bryan’s lesson from launching the Hate Is A Movement, just listen to the latest episode 113 on the So This Is My Why podcast! And do let us know what you think. 😊 Highlights: 2:17 Growing up with $25 4:02 Investments & business were taboo at home! 5:31 Why computer science? 6:45 Companies aren’t loyal 😕 9:43 Starting his side hustle & losing $22,000 😫 12:01 Getting into real estate investment 18:04 When you’re less reliant on your job, you start seeing what’s wrong with it 20:17 I don’t need to be an employee! 22:47 Depressed over finding the meaning of life 27:03 The Asian community is divided 31:04 Asian Hustle Network’s mission 32:35 Being inspired by the Meiji Shrine 34:33 Going viral (thanks, Subtle Asian Traits!) 39:14 How do you make everyone feel like they belong? 41:11 Wanting to quit after 8 months 41:43 Hate Is A Virus movement 45:44 Running successful events 48:51 The trick to networking 50:09 Constantly innovating 51:18 Becoming profitable 53:04 Sponsorships 55:00 Moving to Southeast Asia 57:57 Difference to EST Media 58:46 The Vietnamese Way 1:03:11 Bing Chen of Gold House 📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/113 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 🥳STIMY episodes are now open to sponsorship! Just email sothisismywhy@gmail.com to find out more.