When I first hit record on my laptop in a small apartment in Saigon, I had no idea that one microphone and a dog snoring in the background would lead me to start a company. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about clients, revenue, or awards. I was simply curious. I wanted to share stories of the people around me who were more than “just teachers” or “just expats.”
That curiosity became Seven Million Bikes Podcasts. And what began as a hobby grew into my full-time business. But the road to get here wasn’t smooth. I faced setbacks, crises, and even a health scare that changed how I saw everything. Looking back, those moments were painful, but they shaped me as a founder.
From Passion to Purpose
I have always loved podcasts. Since the early iPod days, they were part of my life. I still remember listening to Ricky Gervais and laughing on the bus to university in 2002. In 2014, when Serial came out, my wife and I listened together every week. It was the first time a podcast felt like a cultural moment.
When we moved to Vietnam in 2016, I carried that passion with me. After working in fundraising and building schools for underprivileged children, I found myself with free time on Sundays. I didn’t want to waste those days, so I decided to try something new: start a podcast.
I called it Seven Million Bikes after reading that Saigon had 7.4 million motorbikes for 9 million people. It was quirky, memorable, and local.
Those first episodes were simple. I recorded at home with one microphone. Sometimes you could hear my dog snoring. I knew nothing about audio or editing. But people listened. At first, I thought maybe a few friends would tune in out of pity. Instead, hundreds downloaded the episodes. That gave me the motivation to keep going.
Losing, Learning, and Letting Go
As the podcast grew, I wanted to do more. I started running comedy shows, quiz nights, and events under the Seven Million Bikes name. For a while, it felt exciting. I was building an entertainment brand.
Then COVID arrived. At first, Vietnam stayed open while the rest of the world shut down. But in 2021, the lockdown hit us too. Events stopped overnight. I had just registered my company, paid the fees, and then lost everything.
To survive, I said yes to everything. I was teaching English, making TikTok videos, doing voiceovers, even working in pharmaceutical marketing. At one point, I counted eight different jobs.
From the outside, it looked like I was thriving. People told me, “You’re doing so much, you’re so successful.” But inside, I knew the truth. I was exhausted, unfocused, and not making much money.
That year taught me one of the most important lessons of my journey: being busy doesn’t mean being successful.
The Turning Point
In 2023, my wife and I went back to America. For the first time in years, I had space to reflect. I asked myself what I really wanted. I didn’t want to be a full-time teacher. I didn’t want to chase side jobs. I didn’t want to be a TikToker.
What I loved most was podcasting. Not just making my own show, but producing podcasts for other people. My wife reminded me that I had built skills that could help others. She told me to focus.
So I made a choice: stop saying yes to everything. Start saying no. Focus on podcast production.
I rebranded as Seven Million Bikes Podcasts to make it clear what we did. Almost immediately, things changed. Clients started coming in. I hired my first editor. For the first time, I felt like I was building something real.
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Recognition and Growth
2024 was a turning point. We signed our biggest client ever, RMIT Vietnam, to produce a podcast for their 25th anniversary. Episodes were recorded in London, Paris, Barcelona, and Saigon. I didn’t get flown out, but I was proud that we could handle such a complex project from Vietnam.
That same year, we won awards that validated everything I had worked for. At the Asia Podcast Awards, A Vietnam Podcast won Best Interview Podcast, and I was named Best Producer in Asia. Later, at the BritCham Gala, our company was awarded SME Company of the Year.
For the first time, I felt like all the late nights, failed experiments, and risks had been worth it.
A Setback I Never Expected
Just as things were going well, 2025 hit me with something I never saw coming.
In January, we lost our biggest client. It was our worst financial month ever. Then in February, I started experiencing severe dizziness. Doctors first thought it was vertigo, then told me it might be brain cancer. For a few days, I believed I had months to live.
Thankfully, more tests showed it was multiple sclerosis (MS), not cancer. Still serious, but treatable. I went through treatment and started to feel better.
That experience changed everything. It reminded me how fragile life is, but also how important it is to keep building.
Lying in the hospital bed, I thought about something I had always wanted to do: open a podcast studio. I had told myself it was too expensive, maybe $20,000. But when I sat down and listed everything, the real cost was closer to $6,000.
So when I recovered, I did it. We found a small place in Saigon, set it up, and opened the Saigon Podcast Studio. By September, we were breaking even each month. We even hired a studio assistant and started attracting international clients.
It was another reminder that sometimes the biggest setbacks can lead to the biggest steps forward.
Tips for Overcoming Struggles
My journey has been full of setbacks—professional, financial, and personal. Here are the lessons that helped me push through, and might help you too:
- Focus on one thing. Success comes when you stop chasing everything and double down on what matters most. For me, it was podcast production.
- Say no more often. Every “yes” to something that doesn’t fit your vision is a “no” to the thing that does. Don’t be afraid to turn down opportunities.
- Use setbacks as signals. Losing jobs, clients, or opportunities isn’t the end—it’s a sign to adjust. My worst months often led to my best decisions.
- Take care of yourself. Health scares remind us: without your health, nothing else matters. Build your business, but don’t sacrifice your wellbeing.
- Set long-term goals. In tough moments, a clear vision gives you direction. My goal of becoming the world’s #1 podcast production company by 2029 keeps me moving forward.
Where We’re Going
Today, Seven Million Bikes Podcasts is more than me and a microphone. We are a team, a studio, and a growing company. We’ve worked with universities, companies, and individuals across Vietnam and beyond.
The journey hasn’t been easy. But every setback prepared me for the next step. And as I look ahead, I know one thing for sure: the best way to succeed is to keep focusing, keep learning, and keep saying no to the things that don’t fit the vision.
This is only the beginning.
