Misa Chien

Misa Chien is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and advocate for Asian American representation whose career spans modeling, food entrepreneurship, technology startups, and community building. After graduating from UCLA with a double major in global studies and French, Chien pursued a diverse professional path. While at UCLA, she signed with LA Models and became the Asian face for companies including Target and L'Oreal. Chien demonstrated early business skills by starting an eBay resale operation in high school and building a six-figure jewelry business from her UCLA dormitory, where she also competed in pitch competitions as the only woman and person of color among finalists.

Chien co-founded Nom Nom Truck, which served Banh Mi and other Vietnamese-inspired dishes in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Nom Nom Truck quickly gained a strong following on social media and was featured in publications such as Saveur, Sunset Magazine, and LA Times. Alongside co-founder Jennifer Green, Chien competed on the reality TV show "The Great Food Truck Race." Nom Nom Truck received recognition in New York Times Magazine for best Vietnamese sandwich in America, Bloomberg Businessweek for best food truck in America, and Shape Magazine for healthiest food truck in America. Following the show's success, Chien was listed among CNN's "25 and Under: Next-Gen Female Entrepreneurs" and was named to Inc. Magazine's "30 Under 30" list.

After closing Nom Nom Truck, Chien moved to San Francisco to focus on online marketing, including SEO and content marketing, and founded a startup in the process. She was recognized in Tech.co's "50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley" for her leadership as CEO of Fosubo, a customer feedback platform focused on employee-centric surveys. Chien later co-founded Autopilot Reviews, a software platform designed to showcase positive feedback for frontline agents. Over the years, she has founded several companies, from food trucks to software ventures, that have reached seven figures in revenue, a milestone achieved by less than 2 percent of female entrepreneurs.

Chien earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she participated in the Women of Color and Leadership program to address challenges faced by Asian women in executive roles. She began focusing on public speaking while at Harvard Business School, discussing topics such as embracing failure, imposter syndrome, and entrepreneurial lessons. Chien has spoken at industry events including Customer Contact Week and TEDx, and has been a guest on the "Entrepreneur on Fire" podcast. Her speaking clients include Harvard Business School, UCLA, USC, and the University of Washington. She is also a Penguin Random House author, with her book "Cute Asian vs. Tiger Asian" exploring identity and leadership as an Asian American woman.

Drawing on her experience as an Asian American female founder, Chien launched The Authentic Asian, an AAPI female leadership community designed to support AAPI female founders and C-level executives. The community offers structured programs to build connections, including monthly in-person supper clubs, annual chapter events for local networking, and live virtual sessions with workshops, author discussions, and fireside chats. Chien was selected for Inc. Magazine's Female Founders 500 list for her work with The Authentic Asian. Her leadership and entrepreneurial approach have contributed to her demand as a speaker, podcast host, and television personality, and she has been ranked as the 23rd most viewed woman on LinkedIn worldwide and the top most viewed Asian American woman nationwide, with more than 16 million views per month.