567: From Refugee to U.S. Marine pilot to NASDAQ-listed biotech CEO | Leadership & Fundraising Lessons (with Quang Pham)

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

Quang Pham went from being a 10-year-old refugee airlifted out of Vietnam to becoming a Marine pilot, and the CEO of a NASDAQ-listed biotech company. In this conversation, he shares the exact lessons that guided each transition.

Key insight:

• On decision-making: “As a young officer, we were taught to make decisions… there’s not enough time to consult with everybody. You gotta make a decision to keep moving and then adjust along the way.” This became his foundational leadership principle across sectors.

• On capital discipline: “In the private sector and entrepreneurial world, resources are scarce… you have to treat it with the utmost respect and spend it wisely.” Military spending habits do not translate to startups.

• On performance and promotion: “You work hard, but you have to produce results.” Early in his corporate career, he assumed promotions would come automatically. They did not.

• On defining success: “You have to follow and pursue what makes you happy. Not what your family or your culture or society wants.” As a Vietnamese refugee, choosing the military was going against all cultural expectations.

• On raising capital without pedigree: “I lacked the skills to present to venture capitalists… so I spent a lot of time at Toastmasters picking up new speaking skills.” Within 90 days of leaving his corporate job, he secured venture funding as a first-time CEO.

• On pitch strategy: “You have to get to the key points… in the first seven or ten minutes, if not sooner.” Investors have limited attention. He focused his pitch on buyer, payment frequency, and execution, not theoretical market size.

• On cold outreach: “It was just three sentences. Who I was, what my company did, something about our common [background].” This approach led to two successful VC rounds.

• On leadership transitions: “I knew that I had the skills and the backing and that the baton had to be passed… the company flourished and I was then just a shareholder.” Founders must be willing to step aside to scale.

• On AI and decision-making: “There is somebody making decisions for AI, the decision to use AI, the decision to pay for AI… at the end of the day, we still need entrepreneurs and leaders.”

This episode offers practical reflections for those navigating leadership transitions, capital formation, and decision-making in complex, resource-constrained settings.

Get Quang’s new book here: https://quangxpham.com/

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