HAM 65 - Asian Hustle Network In this episode Seibo interviews Bryan Pham, co-founder behind the Asian Hustle Network alongside his partner Maggie Chui. Originally a software engineer in LA, Bryan was staggered about the high cost of living in the Bay area. Because of this, Bryan began partnering up with a friend where he was able to navigate the real estate environment, and over time eventually became active in the start-up community.

This love of start-up inspired him to build a positive support network to connect and find others who were willing to support individuals who were turning their dreams into reality. With the boom of the meme page Subtle Asian Traits, wanting to combine his love of entrepreneurship, and support of his partner Maggie, Asian Hustle Network was born.

Continuing on, Bryan talks about his growth and some of the challenges he faced; this included challenges such as breaking out of his more introverted personality and overcoming his aversion to public speaking. Seibo and Bryan then reflect on Asian culture and its irrational fear of exploring the unknown outside of the more reliable STEM fields, as well as the self limiting beliefs commonly placed upon by ourselves or by our Asians parents.

The message about having the ability to look beyond traditional avenues, to stop boxing yourself in and to stop limiting your potential due self imposed beliefs is an important message everyone should take to heart, no matter what path we take. With the pair then advocating that we should begin to recognise that we may be underutilizing skill sets that can in fact be adapted to a variety of different areas and to also be comfortable when our paths may deviate from the traditional career paths we first set upon. Moving onto practical advice, Bryan talks about his own process on how to: tackle long-term goals, break these goals into more manageable segments, and recognise when you need to delegate or outsource your tasks. This can also lead to positive side effects such as: allowing people to work on areas they are personally passionate about, freeing you up to tackle other tasks, and allowing others the opportunity to shine.

Moving onto entrepreneurial pursuits, Seibo and Bryan contemplate the rise and grind culture associated with entrepreneurship. In this segment, the two discuss the need to take time to relax and recharge, realising the act of grinding and being busy can in fact be a futile endeavour, and the benefits of blocking out time to allow yourself to rest to be able to work more effectively. Rounding off, Bryan cautions listeners to not force themselves to fit into preconceived moulds commonly seen in the rise and grind culture and work with what feels natural to you.

As Seibo touts the positive benefits and continued positive momentum since joining the Asian Hustle Network, Bryan talks about how he was initially spurred into action by talking to a Jewish friend, where Bryan wanted to mirror the positive, supportive communities that he commonly saw in the Jewish community, leading him to try and develop a more united network regardless of what Asian ethnicity you are. As Bryan and Seibo continue to talk about the positive impacts of the Asian Hustle Network, Bryan reiterates that all members have something to bring to the table regardless of what stage they are at; Asian Hustle Network is not just about the fantastic achievements other members have (deservedly) achieved, and in actuality the stories Bryan and Seibo found that were the most inspirational were from members who came out on top despite the odds or expressed vulnerability, but had the courage to talk about challenges or struggles they were facing.

Branching off the topic about overcoming challenges, Bryan expresses his own vulnerability regarding his journey to develop his EQ, realising the power of developing high EQ, and how developing these skills helped him bring together quality people - By getting out and doing one thing that made him uncomfortable, but having the fortitude to power through the short lived awkwardness, Bryan demonstrates firsthand how these "talents" can be worked on over time.

As the podcast comes to its end, Seibo then closes out the podcast by asking Brian about the future direction of Asian Hustle Network, where Bryan envisions other Asians will be in the future, and the most surprising thing that came out of creating Asian Hustle Network.

For more information, Asian Hustle Network can be found on Facebook and Patreon, where the Patreon fund is used to fund events all around the world.

To contact Bryan Pham personally, Bryan can be found on Instagram - @bryanvuongpham Facebook - Bryan Pham