The making of a mogul
How this Self-professed Introvert Found Her Voice and Helped Millions of Women Find Theirs
As a personal pledge to her late, maverick grandmother, 32-year-old Harvard graduate and CEO/Founder of career and community building app Mogul, Tiffany Pham made it her life’s mission to find work that was globally meaningful, empowering, and transformative.
Mogul, an online platform and app originally designed to help women expand their community, meet like-minded women, and embolden their career prospects, has exponentially morphed into a multi-faceted, multi-media company with a user base of more than 30 million women in 196 countries in just a few short years. Inspired by her giving grandmother who successfully operated several philanthropic businesses across Asia and who was the first female ever to drive a car in Vietnam, Pham promised herself to follow in her grandmother’s bold, pioneer-like footsteps, dedicating her life to helping others realize/achieve their goals, no matter how seemingly challenging, daunting, or trepidatious.
Humble (and Bashful) Beginnings
A lifelong, ardent admirer of female-driven television shows and their respective indomitable heroines, like I Love Lucy, Gilmore Girls, and Friends, it’s of no coincidence Pham eventually found herself immersed in media and pop culture to cultivate a connection with her American surroundings. After completing her first year in the esteemed MBA program at Harvard, painfully shy Pham returned to Plano, TX where you grew up, vowing, “I couldn’t let a single moment in my life ever go by again with regret…I always had to speak up, be part of the conversation, make sure to raise my hand and share my voice.”
So, in 2014, upon graduating from Harvard and before officially launching Mogul, the bashful, yet brainy, businesswoman-to-be held an impressive number of ambitious, media-based gigs – from director of business development and strategic initiatives and partnerships at CBS to co-founder of the Beijing International Screenwriting Competition to film producer/investor with NYC Film Productions. Shortly after landing on Forbes’ distinguished 30 Under 30 list in 2014, Pham’s inbox instantly flooded with emails from women all over the world inquiring about career advice and exalting her as their role model for work success.
And, boom, Mogul was born.
An Entrepreneur Who Means Business
A self-taught coder, precocious Pham built a very primitive, self-proclaimed “ugly” version of Mogul and sent it to a couple of thousand women whom she befriended through emails. Within seven short days, the site grew to more than one million users, recently launching its brand-new, way “prettier” app worldwide.
A “Jill of all Trades,” Pham also authored two books since launching her superwoman site, You Are a Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do it Yourself, and Do it Now and Girl Mogul: Dream It, Do It, Change the World. In addition to all the female empowering perks, the online platform is also partnered with some famously successful females, whom Pham aptly dubs “Mogul Mentors,” like Madeline Albright, Katie Couric, Margaret Cho, and Rebecca Minkoff among others. With a staff of 40 employees and growing, pro-woman Mogul also licenses software to Fortune 500 companies, including IBM and Ultimate Software, with the intent to help attract a diverse, driven talent pool, while working toward a more level playing field, like equal pay and opportunity within the workforce. A continuous slate of self-help, “finding your purpose” based webinars featuring notable guest entrepreneurs are also offered to Mogul members and is just a snippet of the fringe benefits aspiring business women can take away from the hugely resourceful platform.
A Site with Star Power
Coming September, 1,500 goal-getting gals will descend upon the concrete jungle of NYC for a month of exclusive money making and goal-setting sessions headed by keynote speaker and money maven Suzie Orman. The finance and goal guru who recently joined Mogul’s board of advisors lauded, “I knew her [Pham’s] goal was to transform women and their lives, especially young women. And, I loved that because that doesn’t exist today. It’s always a woman angle, and this wasn’t so much an angle. This was a true desire for her to do something.”
Tiffany's Top Two Secrets for Success
If there’s one thing Pham is not shy about, it’s being transparent and forthcoming about her personal secrets to career and business success, especially for her fellow introverts and/or those looking to find their voice. Here are two timeless tips to help you nix nerves regarding
networking and asking for more money:
• Take the paralyzing thought of “networking” out of the equation and replace with “fostering friendships.” From a friendship, a partnership can emerge. You’ll always find camaraderie and full-fledged friendships at the core of any successful collaboration.
• At work, don’t be afraid to ask for a promotion. Easier said than done, right? Here’s a strategy that will prove to be a surefire way of scoring that extra money and/or position upgrade. Ask for the promotion six months BEFORE you really need it and work your way backward. This way, if the answer is “no,” you have six months to hit your many milestones of accomplishments you can present to your employer. Plus, the initial meeting is a great way to “break the ice” and forge an effective line of communication with your boss. Keep in mind, a “no” is just a “not right now” that can easily turn into an emphatic “yes” with hard work, patience, perseverance, and self-discovery.