The Unrelenting Persistence of Entrepreneur Kym Huynh

This article was originally published on the EO Melbourne blog as part of a larger series sharing EO member stories. This content has been reprinted here with permission.

Is being an entrepreneur innate or does it develop over time? Kym Huynh, co-founder of WeTeachMe, believes that one is born into it. “You’re born an entrepreneur. There are inherent traits and characteristics that consistently manifest over and over and over in one’s life. It’s only when you reflect that you connect the dots; that the behavior is consistent being an entrepreneur,” he professes.

Born to Be an Entrepreneur

The son of hardworking immigrant parents, Kym lives and breathes the example they set for him. Thinking of them, he says, “they left Vietnam after the second World War and came to Australia as refugees… They left an entire world behind them— their culture, family, language and innate sense of belonging—and started life again in a strange and foreign land. This required courage, bravery, unrelenting persistence, and dogged resilience; qualities that I live and breathe each and every day.”

Kym learned a lot from his parents, including the result of unrelenting persistence. “I may not be the best, and I may not be the fastest learner, and I may not be the cleverest, but I will be unrelenting. I will never give up. And one day, somewhere, something is going to give,” he says.

“God hasn’t given me some special power
God hasn’t made me any different to the average person
Where I attribute my successes in life to
Is my unrelenting pursuit of excellence in every single thing that I do.”

Kym exhibited an unrelenting attitude and entrepreneurial abilities early on. At eight years old, he collected papers with varying colors, textures and designs. He approached classmates and sold them the papers for which they paid 50 cents or a few dollars.

Following His Heart

However, that enterprising boy became a lawyer at his mother’s urging. Though he loved the cases he worked on, he discovered that business was his passion.

While traveling as a new lawyer, Kym had a freak accident; the car he was a passenger in drove off a cliff. That incident reminded him that life is short—too short to do anything, but what you love.

“Life goes by in a blink of an eye. If I dedicate time to something, it [should be] something that makes my heart beat, that I am truly passionate about, and I will stay awake for days-on-end to accomplish,” he declares.

It was then he started pursuing business. Still, he credits his experience as a lawyer for training him how to research, structure and articulate his thoughts, which he applies across many facets of his life, including business. While, it was becoming an entrepreneur that taught him the value of asking for and accepting help.

“In business, there are so many lessons, obstacles and hurdles that if you try to solve everything yourself, it will take you an inordinate amount of time. There should be no fear in reaching out to someone who has achieved what I want to achieve, and to sit down with them and ask them to share their experiences. This will save me years of learning the hard way.”

Founders’ Lessons

And, the importance of learning is something that Kym’s parents always underscored. “They’ve always said to me: In life you can lose your house, your car, your money, your clothes, and all the material possessions that you have amassed. You can lose everything. But you will never lose what you have learned,” he explains. To take that idea a step further and honor his parents, Kym set out to encourage learning, change individuals, the community and, eventually, the world. And, WeTeachMe—home to Australia’s best and most popular classes—was born.

With three friends, Kym co-founded WeTeachMe. The four friends worked on the premise that they could increase knowledge in the world by disseminating and democratizing education.

Now, they run the biggest school in Australia. And Kym is still learning—which he credits to EO. “What I love about EO is that I constantly feel like the dumbest person in the room. It’s a feeling I’ve never quite shaken off, nor do I want to. I constantly feel like I have to run and chase to keep up with my peers. I love that because that’s when I’m most challenged and most engaged.”

That’s what makes Kym unrelenting. “I am not afraid to put myself out there, grab risk by the proverbial horns, try new things, and leap in guns-blazing. But, I cannot take complete credit. Behind my efforts is a very strong family who believes in me and supports every single thing that I do. Even though I may be taking a risk, it’s taking a risk from a position of strength,” he says.

To learn more about EO and how it supports entrepreneurs across the globe, visit EOnetwork.org.