Meet Tony Pham | World Traveler & Fresh Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony Pham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
To be blunt, I was tired of working on someone else’s time. I did not want to continue wasting my time to build up someone else’s wealth, prestige, and ideas. Instead. I want to chart my own course and dedicate my time to build up something that I’m passionate about. While that would entail more risks and a lowered pay (hopefully initially), I can at least say I am pursuing my dream and taking a chance on myself.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Time is a resource, and it is limited. In fact, from the day that we are born, we all have an internal ticking clock that continuously counts down to 0. This clock will always tick, regardless of what we’re doing, and eventually, it will hit 0 and our time on this blue marble will end. Thus, when I came to this realization, I knew that I could not be satisfied with just doing one thing for my entire life.

Instead, I spread my reach far and wide as I tried to learn new skills and enjoy new experiences. My journey to where I am today was a road full of contradictions and turns. I started off with a bachelor in Electrical Engineering, somehow went into System Engineering for a defense company, and then decided to pursue an MBA in Barcelona, Spain. After a stint at being a Sales Engineer for Samsung in Korea, I decided upon a passion that I continue to seek to this day: Traveling.

I started traveling in 2011, and after 11 years, I have visited over 92 countries on all 6 continents (Antarctica, I’m coming for you!). Getting here was not easy. Having come from a conservative family who only knew hard work to obtain the American dream (family, mortgage, death), it was difficult to convince them that traveling was my passion. Even to this day, getting the support of my family has been complex, but they’re slowly starting to come around. Maybe in another decade, they’ll finally understand!

If there’s one lesson I can say I learn from this journey, it is to be patient. In fact, traveling has taught me that not only is patience a virtue, it is a necessity. Try traveling to a developing country and not having patience. Trust me, you won’t enjoy it. I truly believe all good things come to those who work for it, but that’s the keyword. You have to work for it. It does not fall into your lap. You must commit and take your steps, no matter how small they might be.

My story is not unique, but it is a different look at the American dream. No longer is that dream about buying a house and having a nice family to live in that house. Instead, it is having the opportunity to travel the world. To see its people. To eat its food. To drink its culture. To learn about the human spirit and what makes us similar yet so distinctively different. If the world can learn that from my story, then I will know I have done my job well.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Food. That is what our week itinerary would be about. From California burritos at Lolitas to waffle ice cream in Long Beach. There is such an amazing food scene in San Diego that we could spend the entire week eating and we still wouldn’t have experienced it all. I always call San Diego a city of villages, and that is representative in the food. From the hipster-ish food scene of North Park to Vietnamese and Korean alley in Clairmont.

But besides food, I would take them to Mt. Soledad to get a view of the city from high above. After that, a nice stroll at La Jolla Shores to see the beautiful SD coastline. If it’s near sunset time, I would take them to the cliffside near UCSD, the sight of many memories during my time at UCSD.

To see my favorite beach. I would take them to Coronado. Of course, visiting San Diego is nothing without a hike, so a good trek to Potato Rock would be in the plan.

Finally, for some night fun, we would hit up the scene at PB on one night and check out Hillcrest the next.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My first dedication goes to my cat, Mochi. She inspires me to always try to be cute and I’ll eventually get my way. My second dedication is to my parents. Their sacrifice and humility are what made me the man I am today, and I will never forget that. And my last dedication, but not least, is to my girlfriend. Her support and encouragement help to shine lights on the dark days and provide the needed boost of motivation to keep walking, regardless of how high the next hill is.

Instagram: tonypotatosack

Twitter: trekwithtony

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