Franchise News
Franchise Times: Best In Class Education CEO Fearlessly Conquers Franchising
The Vietnamese immigrant found the American Dream through franchising
From surviving gunfire to a grueling week-long boat trip, Lam has several life experiences that have shaped him into the successful entrepreneur and leader he is today.
“His story of coming over definitely influences him as a CEO; he’s not afraid to take big risks,” Stephanie Zhu, Best in Class Education's VP of business development and finance, told Franchise Times. “For him, that’s a minor risk on a relative scale.”
Lam left Vietnam after the fall of Saigon and spent a year as a refugee in the Philippines before starting over in Canada. After graduating from the University of British Columbia, Lam founded Best in Class Education in 1995 in Seattle and started franchising the company in 2010. In the first years of the company, Lam ran the company by himself.
“It had a similar atmosphere now where it was kind of a fun place to learn, and it wasn’t a really rigid classroom. He kept it very light and fun, but still very educational,” Zhu, one of Lam’s first students at Best in Class Education Center, told Franchise Times.
Since then, the company has grown to 43 units in eight states nationwide.
Click here to read the full piece.
Don’t Miss the Next Big Franchise Story
Sign up for the 1851 Franchise newsletter to get our biggest stories before everyone else
By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
About the Author
Nick Powills
FollowNick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
