Books

Outside of research, I enjoy reading about technology entrepreneurship and analyzing football (soccer) tactics.

A few books that have strongly influenced how I think about startups, leadership, and ambition include:

• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel — on building fundamentally new companies rather than incremental ones.

• I Am Zlatan Ibrahimović by Zlatan Ibrahimović — a candid autobiography about confidence, adversity, and elite performance.

• Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United by Alex Ferguson — a book on leadership and team-building that was a birthday gift from my father when I was 12.

I am currently reading The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup by Noam Wasserman, following the recommendation of my IP Law professor, Professor Joshua L. Cohen.

Music

In college, I formed a band with my dorm mates, playing Pop, Rock, and Ballads. I primarily play the drums, but I also occasionally pick up the guitar and sing as well. Here is our debut performance back in summer 2023:

During my undergraduate years, I served as Vice President of Professional for VinUni Harmony, where I advised and managed musical productions, live shows, and performances. I also organized many large-scale musical shows (left) and advised the production of a music video released by the club (right). I am particularly known for mentoring beginners and helping them progress from no prior experience to stage-ready drum performances within a weekend.

Football (Soccer)

I have been a lifelong fan of FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi for over 15 years. I was also fortunate to make a few televised appearances during youth tournaments. Below is a clip from a city youth tournament in 2016, where I dribbled past several defenders and forced an own goal that secured our place in the semi-finals. Yes, I was wearing FC Barcelona cleats and socks.

I had the honor of serving as captain of the Electrical & Computer Engineering football team, which won the school tournament twice. I was the Top Goal Scorer in the 2023 tournament (left) and lifted the championship cup with my classmates (right).

In my undergrad, I founded the VinUni Football Community in Hanoi, which was the first and only intramural sports community at the school. Similarly, in high school, I established the Football Club at Ly Tu Trong High School for the Gifted (LTT FC), which is still active in Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho. So, if you ever find yourself in Vietnam and want to experience some local soccer, just let me know. I'm part of active teams across the country!

Taekwondo

I earned my black belt in 2013 at age 10 after four years of Taekwondo training. I collected three district-level gold medals, trained with a professional team for half a year, and was then lovingly defeated by my dad who believed education had the highest win rate. Below are two photos with my coach: one from our legendary season and one from our 10-year reunion (2014-2024).

Family

Lastly, I am incredibly proud of my younger brother, Anh-Tuan Pham, who somehow found joy in taking the exact same path I did, only in a much more superior way. He followed my footsteps perfectly, just four years later and about ten times better. He did everything I did, but upgraded the results.

He was my dad’s favorite soccer player, his English scores were far superior to mine which made my English-teacher mom especially proud, my former teachers’ favorite student, and pretty much everyone’s favorite human in between. On top of that, he is a world-class chess player who has won numerous national medals, which is especially impressive considering I do not think I have played more than five chess games in my entire life.

It has been my greatest honor to mentor him at every step of his journey, while quietly reflecting on what I could have achieved. Keep an eye on him, because I truly believe he is destined for great things. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Robotics and Machine Intelligence at the National University of Singapore, which is both inspiring and humbling, since I barely survived high school.