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Hao Lam is more than just the CEO of a successful franchise, he’s also a Vietnamese American who was born into a war-torn country and had to learn persistence at a young age.

“My father had worked for, and fought alongside, the United States army,” Lam wrote for EO Overdrive. “When Saigon fell, we were closely monitored and ostracized, resulting in my father being jailed as a political prisoner. I had to flee.”

Lam said he tried to escape Vietnam on 10 separate occasions but failed each time.

“Those failures had me running from gunfire and in jail on several occasions, but I refused to give up,” he continued. “I was a young boy dreaming of a life that would allow me to grow, achieve and excel on my own term.”

After a final harrowing boat ride to the Philippines, Lam and his wife succeeded. Now he owns 11 tutoring centers and has 29 Best in Class Education Centers across the U.S.

Read the full story here.

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills

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Nick 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.

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