1 session inside Boa
Thu Nguyen
Founder, COO and Board Advisor, Unhinged Business
Thu Nguyen is a COO, board advisor and founder of consultancy Unhinged Business, with around 16 to 17 years across fashion, beauty and FMCG. She started as a buyer at Myer, moved into category management for fashion brands expanding into the US, Asia and China, and worked with retailers including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Walmart and John Lewis. She later shifted into FMCG manufacturing, food and beverage and wellness businesses, serving as CEO of several startups before launching her own consultancy just under two years ago.
The session
What Thu teaches
Do five things at 100 percent instead of 20 things at 20 percent
Thu says the brands that scale well pick a strict strategy and stick to it with conviction, while the ones that plateau chase 20 different ideas at once. Her advice to visionary founders who arrive with 10 ideas is to filter down to three, execute those fully, then move to the next. Also know when to quit a strategy that clearly is not working rather than staying fixated on it.
From Thu Nguyen on Profit, Focus and Going Global →Judge growth on EBITDA, not the revenue headline
Founders proudly report 100 percent year on year revenue growth while their spend has gone up 400 percent. Thu's framing: there is no point making an extra dollar if it costs you two dollars to do it. Protect profit as the number, and treat revenue growth as meaningless without the margin behind it.
From Thu Nguyen on Profit, Focus and Going Global →Bank a few quarters of profitability before you scale
Thu's test for readiness is several consecutive quarters of stable profitability, not appetite or ambition. She sees founders raise capital during a plateau and then use that money to survive rather than grow. Before you take investment, ask honestly whether the capital funds growth or just keeps the lights on.
From Thu Nguyen on Profit, Focus and Going Global →Market beyond LA and New York when entering the US
Thu notes the rough industry benchmark that every dollar made in Australia can be $15 in the US, but most founders she speaks to have only ever visited LA or New York. The Midwest, Southwest and East Coast are culturally different markets, and states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Utah often generate serious money. Target the regions where your customer actually lives instead of the flashy cities.
From Thu Nguyen on Profit, Focus and Going Global →
Watch the full sessioninside Boa.
Session notes are free. The recordings, the live advisories and the founders in the room are for members.