Conquering obstacles: From Biotech to an MBA classroom

Conquering obstacles: From Biotech to an MBA classroom

Nguyen Le Hoang Phuc was not hindered from taking action to begin his MBA journey with RMIT, despite coming from a biotech engineering background. Learn how he “just found a way” to overcome the obstacles he faced and is currently enroute to fulfilling his dream in creating something big that benefits both his family and society.

Nguyen Le Hoang Phuc took a less travelled path to commence his MBA. A graduate with a Bachelor of Biotechnology Engineering, Phuc worked for a biotech lab for two years before coming to the realisation that a career which was only about science and technology did not suit him. 

At the time, Phuc had a few friends who were RMIT alumna, as well as knew some community leaders whom he admired who had also graduated from RMIT. Thus, choosing RMIT for his postgraduate degree was an easy choice. “Essentially, I saw people with a similar mindset to myself taking a master’s at RMIT. But due to my background, I was at a disadvantage in some ways,” Phuc relates. “Thus, around the same time of starting my classes, I also launched my own small FnB business. I did so as a way to both discover what it’s like to run a business and utilise what we learn, placing those lessons into direct practice.”

Although not a common way to educate oneself in business, Phuc’s idea has nonetheless borne fruit. “Within my first three months I already had 500 customers trying my Japanese eel rice.  Thankfully through my studies I was able to realise that a lot of our internal processes had been created without stopping for a moment and testing them to see if they were the most optimal or effective way to operate.  I was able to apply the brakes a bit and make more informed decisions.”

Nguyen Le Hoang Phuc, RMIT Vietnam MBA student Nguyen Le Hoang Phuc, RMIT Vietnam MBA student

Phuc’s company concept was created thanks to his desire to network as much as possible within the RMIT community.  Not only joining a number of different clubs, such as badminton, tennis and debate, Phuc also joined MBA networking events and met with MBA students that were ahead of him in their studies. “With my group of MBA friends, we meet and go on small trips and food tours around HCMC,” Phuc explains. “It was during one of these food tours, while asking about and discussing Japanese rice bowls, that my idea for a business first popped up. Not being from HCMC, my assumption was that one could get any type of food they wanted here – and yet I could not find inexpensive eel rice. The prices for this type of dish were quite high. So, to firstly to satisfy my own craving, and secondly to bring an inexpensive option for this type of Japanese rice bowl to the market, I started Tiệm Cơm Lươn Hời Hợt.”

Now in his 3rd semester, Phuc states that his favourite course so far has been Financial Analytics for Managerial Decisions, taught by Dr. Linh Nguyen. Phuc relates that he was impressed with the passion and ability of Dr. Nguyen, and even though the subject involved a substantial amount of new financial concepts that had to be grasped within a short period, he nonetheless liked the subject matter. “This course surprised me for how much I enjoyed it, but I guess it’s because I love numbers so much. We had to learn a lot of business data to make strategic decisions, which is quite different from previous courses that mainly focused on mindsets and insights. What truly amazed me though, was how Dr. Nguyen took the time to explain to the class how we achieved some final results. Not only this, but she was asked some difficult questions about real-life cases studies, ones that were not from a book, and she was able to answer them immediately.”

Phuc carries with him a “turn obstacles into opportunities” mantra. He believes that even in the face of failure, you should not lose heart. The experience should be about just that - the experience - and when you lose one round, it may help you to win the next one. “Most importantly,” Phuc states, “don't lose yourself. Your background doesn’t matter. What matters is passion and mindset and how much love do you bring to what you are doing”

Are you wondering how you too can network and gain the right mindset to conquer your obstacles? Check out RMIT Vietnam’s MBA program here:

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