Francois “Frankie” Le Nguyen opens up about his unlikely path — from teenage entrepreneur and $20,000 debt to leading at Entrepreneur First, launching a cybersecurity startup, selling it, and ultimately returning to Vietnam. He reflects on how ambition, identity, and purpose evolve across continents and careers.
Francois “Frankie” Le Nguyen opens up about his unlikely path — from teenage entrepreneur and $20,000 debt to leading at Entrepreneur First, launching a cybersecurity startup, selling it, and ultimately returning to Vietnam. He reflects on how ambition, identity, and purpose evolve across continents and careers.
Francois Le Nguyen is a Vietnamese-Canadian founder, investor, and former General Manager at Entrepreneur First in Singapore and Toronto. He has backed and built dozens of startups globally and now calls Saigon home, where he’s reconnecting with his heritage and helping bridge Vietnam with the world.
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We discuss:
00:00 Intro: who Frankie is and what this talk covers
00:35 The $20,000 debt at 17: lessons on failure and resilience
00:59 Bio snapshot: founder, investor, product manager; Vietnamese-Canadian identity
02:11 Growing up in Montreal: tiger-parent expectations vs. school encouragement
04:08 Early entrepreneurship: building gaming PCs, a web agency, and a hosting business ($50k revenue)
10:20 Education pivot: dropping CS, business school, first PM role at Lightspeed POS
22:03 Singapore chapter: TradeGecko, teaching at General Assembly, building community
26:12 Healthcare startup setback and joining Entrepreneur First (EF)
28:50 How EF works: co-founder matching, VC mindset, and why venture isn’t for everyone
46:06 Starting an anti-scam cybersecurity startup; pitching 200 VCs, 13 investors
52:01 Selling the company and redefining success; routines for founder resilience
1:04:01 Moving to Vietnam: why now, building bridges (OV, OV Ventures), and what’s next
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Connect with Francois:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoislenguyen/
https://www.instagram.com/frankiee/
Connect with Quang:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ovquang/
https://www.instagram.com/quang
Join OV: joinov.com
About OV: overseasvietnamese.com