Meet Linda Nguyen | Chief Steamer of The Ugly Bao

We had the good fortune of connecting with Linda Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Linda, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I founded The Ugly Bao as a mission-driven, people-first, values-based company. It is our mission to hire, train, and provide career development mentorship to immigrant and first-American born folks. Our company journeys with our employees through some of the ugly parts of life: seeking an extra chance, navigating a new career, or venturing into the unknown. Whatever the challenge may be, we embrace the ugly and celebrate the unexpected twists and turns in life together.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Hi I’m Linda!

I am the daughter of Vietnamese refugees and part of the first-American born generation. Even with my parents’ endless sacrifices for me, and my advanced educational attainment, there were tremendous barriers to career advancement.

As I shared above, it has been my vision to own and operate a company that is mission-driven, people-first, and values-based. I have learned from personal experience that mentorship and guidance is just as valuable as traditional education. Our social mission is to provide work and support to those folks who are in-between: smart, hard working, kind, and might just need a little boost and direction to achieve their career dreams.

The Ugly Bao steams up modern Vietnamese bánh baos with an intentional and elevated approach to our recipe, ingredients, and process. Each bao is handcrafted with relentless enthusiasm. Our ugly baos never appear perfect but they are always delicious!

Our vision is big and we cannot do it alone. We’re really proud of our work and hope you’ll join the ugly family and bao down (hehe) on The Ugly Bao!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I would definitely recommend heading over to SACHI.LA to grab an iced vanilla latte or iced matcha latte with a butter croissant to kick off any day (yum!). If we needed to answer some quick emails, we could pull out our laptops and enjoy the community while we worked. Then I’d find out where The Arepa Stand was popping up and make our way to them for lunch (yum again!). We’d probably walk the market and check out other vendors for a little bit; then stay in for the night and watch The Eras Tour while cooking dinner! I’d likely pre-order macarons from Munch Bakery for dessert!

I’d recommend scheduling the trip when there’s a Mayumi Market going on! We’d spend the bulk of the day there eating our way through the market and shopping our favorite AAPI creators (shout out to Mayumi Goods, Woman in Stems, Syd. Studios, Miss Huyen Dinh, Pi00a). We would close off the day with a quiet dinner at Azay in Little Tokyo – I’d probably get the miso black cod or the sukiyaki if it was on the menu that evening! And I’d finish it off with a house-dessert (omg, more yum).

For a chiller day, we’d probably shop Century City mall; maybe we’d drive along PCH to shop at Malibu Village and eat at Broad Street Oyster Company; or head over to Abbot Kinney and visit my friends at Our Place.

And of course, we’d spend a lot of our time walking at the beach or walking a trail!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am very proud of my family origins. My grandparents and parents left everything behind in Vietnam to pursue peace, safety, and the American Dream. I would not be doing what I am doing today without their sacrifice and resilience. My parents taught me to value education, to be disciplined, to have compassion, and to care for our family. My sisters showed me how to work hard and navigate the nuances of life as members of the first-American born generation. My partner taught me how to work smart and still helps me believe in my own power. I am grateful to be surrounded and supported by people who challenge me everyday and love me unconditionally.

Website: www.theuglybao.com

Instagram: @theuglybao

Other: hello@theuglybao.com