About Me

Background

1. The Beginning

I'm An Phan, and I come from a poor village in Vietnam where people struggle with money and existential constraints. My childhood was traumatic—my father was an alcoholic who abused my mother and me. That home shaped me in ways I didn't understand until much later.

I was an average student in high school—nothing special, just a kid trying to find a way out.

When it came time for university, I wanted to study architecture. I failed the entrance exam. Instead of accepting defeat, I tried again. After my second attempt, I finally got into Van Lang University to study architecture.

At first, I excelled. I became a top student, and my projects became models for the next generation. For a moment, I thought I had found my path.

2. The Journey

But the architecture industry felt hollow. It was boring. Too many people had huge egos. I saw no promising future there, so I made a decision that would change everything: I dropped out of university to self-study.

That decision could have destroyed me, but I was fortunate. A teacher directed me to books and the Saigon City Library. That moment—walking into that library for the first time—changed my life. I devoured knowledge on my own terms.

To test my limits and see the real world, I traveled across Vietnam by bicycle. No permanent shelter, just the road and my thoughts. It forced me to confront my mentality and experience life stripped bare.

Then came Bamboo—my first real entrepreneurial attempt. I envisioned it as Da Nang's recycling hub, a way to make a difference. But we grossly underestimated the funding and scaling requirements. Bamboo failed. Hard.

I needed to recover financially, so my best friends and I opened Pepper, a fast-food restaurant in Da Nang City. Running Pepper taught me invaluable business lessons: operations, customer service, managing people, cash flow. But more importantly, it was there—watching the point-of-sales system work its magic—that I fell in love with software. I realized software could be the tool to solve real problems at scale.

I closed Pepper to self-study software engineering. This wasn't like studying architecture. This felt like discovering fire.

3. The Transformation

Three core beliefs now drive everything I do:

Mortality: I will die someday. We all will. Your purpose can't wait for "someday." Someday is how dreams die of old age.
Contribution: Build wealth as a tool, not the goal. Legacy is what you gave, not what you kept. I want to build something that benefits humanity.
Positive Energy: Create lasting memories for my family, friends, and community.

These principles transformed me from a kid escaping a traumatic home into someone with clear purpose. I'm now a blend of all three: a software engineer building helpful solutions to tackle people's problems, teaching at the Sunseeder project, and nurturing online communities.

My role models light the way:

Steve Jobs - Audacity: "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." Play small, stay small. Think different, become different.
Wright Brothers - Iteration: They flew hundreds of gliders before achieving powered flight. Test, fail, improve, repeat.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Discipline: CR7 doesn't skip leg day at 40. While others party, he's in the gym. Your competition is resting—that's your opportunity. Reinvention: From winger to striker, Manchester to Madrid to Turin to Riyadh. When the game changes, change with it or get left behind. Belief: "I'm the best player in the world." He said it when people laughed, then proved it. Confidence without work is arrogance. With work, it's prophecy.
Eiichiro Oda - Consistency: One Piece spans 1000+ chapters across 25+ years and still isn't finished. He shows up every week. Mastery isn't a sprint—it's decades of relentless output.
Elon Musk - Civilizational thinking: Think beyond yourself. Multi-planetary species. Sustainable energy. Neural interfaces. Solve problems that matter for humanity's future.

Timeline

Childhood: Traumatic upbringing with alcoholic father who abused mother and children
High school: Average student, trying to find a way out
First attempt: Failed the architecture entrance exam
Second attempt: Rejected again, but didn't give up
University acceptance: Finally admitted to Van Lang University for architecture
Top student: Projects became models for next generation
Dropped out: Left university to self-study, discovered Saigon City Library
Bicycle journey: Traveled across Vietnam to challenge my mentality
Bamboo initiative: Attempted recycling hub in Da Nang—ultimately failed
Pepper restaurant: Successfully ran fast-food business with friends for financial recovery
Discovery moment: Fell in love with software through Pepper's point-of-sales system
Career pivot: Closed Pepper, self-studied software engineering
2019: [A secret long-term project]
Community building: Started Ham Hoc Hoi and Giau Cham, Nghi Huu Nhanh communities
Sunseeder co-founding: Launched Vietnamese ed-tech platform

The Present

I'm building the Solo-Ops Suite—tools designed to help solopreneurs like me wear multiple hats more easily, effectively, and scalably by automating common tasks with AI agents.

I co-founded Sunseeder, a Vietnamese ed-tech platform teaching crucial skills that schools don't cover. I also started the Ham Hoc Hoi and Giau Cham, Nghi Huu Nhanh communities to help others on their learning and wealth-building journeys.