In this episode, I am joined by Minh Tsai, CEO of Hodo Soy. Minh is inspirational, both in the way he runs Hodo, and the story he tells of growing up in Viet Nam and later as a teenager in San Francisco.
Coming from humble beginnings, Minh started Hodo with a stand at a farmer’s market in San Francisco, and has grown to become one of the most sought-after plant-based brands today. You can find Hodo ingredients at popular retailers such as Target and Whole Foods.
Minh Tsai is a pioneer in marrying consciously healthy eating with a friendly, family centric business model. You won’t want to miss hearing him share his story.
Minh Tsai Quotable!
"We’re pushing each other to maintain quality, because that’s how it’s going to grow the entire space. Quality, accessibility, and more education for everybody. I hate to say it, but I don’t really think of other companies as competitors.” – Minh discussing competition in his field.
Listening to Minh during these harshly polarized times is like breathing a deep breath of hope. His uplifting and encouraging take on competitors is a model of what it really means to be mission driven.
Highlights from The Episode:
- Minh’s story, and how it has impacted Hodo today - 3:56
- Minh’s stance on plant-based eating - 8:59
- The Hodo Culture - 17:34
- Minh shares about a time he had to confront laying off employees - 26:00
“I don't look at what we do as mind-blowing. I think of what we do as following sort of a mission of making something tastier, using as much, if not all organic ingredients, process it in a very artisan, not highly processed kind of way, and educating the consumer and allowing them to acquire it at the lowest price possible.”
“We believe in promoting within. We believe in allowing people to grow.”
“What's also nice is we have a combination of older employees and young employees. I think that balance, it's super helpful for both sides. And we also have a balance of gender. I think it's something that we've invested a lot of effort and time to build and to see it come to fruition, it makes me really proud.”
