From ice cream vendor to PhD with 700 patents, earning hundreds of millions of dollars

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My, who owns hundreds of exclusive patents, bringing in hundreds of millions of USD in revenue, was a guest speaker at the 2025 opening ceremony of Ho Chi Minh City National University.

From ice cream boy, bus conductor...

At the beginning of the talk, Dr. Thanh My humorously said: "Today, teachers and students will be my victims, because they will have to listen to old stories. I hope everyone will forgive me."

Mr. My said that every month in his company, there are discussions about success, happiness and fulfillment. Before coming to these conclusions, he asked many young people and employees and received interesting answers.

Looking back, Mr. My said he had worked many jobs: from selling ice cream, working as a busboy, selling goods at flea markets, playing soccer for hire. At the age of 7, he was already earning a living to help his mother raise five children during the harsh war.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My when he was a hired football player. Photo: NVCC

His motivation for going to school was "to please his mother, to avoid being forced to join the army of the old regime and to make his life less miserable later on." When he passed the baccalaureate exam, his mother's joy was his first happiness in life.

To earn money for his studies, he continued to work many jobs, from bus conductor, rice, fish, shrimp trader, to football player for hire. These experiences helped him better understand his outlook on life, his love for his hometown and his love for his country.

To the scientist in America with hundreds of inventions

Graduated with a degree in Organic Chemistry from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in 1978, Mr. My initially worked as a "hired soccer player" for a plastic factory.

“It is normal to study one major but do another job. Consider it an experience. I studied Chemistry but worked in the fields and as an employee and I am still happy,” he said.

The turning point in his life came on the morning of September 2, 1979, when he was “lost” on a sugarcane boat and pushed out to the vast ocean. After 12 days adrift, he was rescued and brought to Montreal (Canada).

In a foreign country, he did many jobs to make a living such as washing dishes, working as a kitchen assistant, and then working as a waiter. “My fate changed after a Vietnamese girl asked me: 'What is your dream in life?'. At that time, while cutting beef, I answered that my dream was to return to my homeland, build a factory, and create jobs for the people. The whole kitchen was silent, some people even said I was exaggerating,” Mr. My said.

To get married, he had to pass the university entrance exam in his native country. In 1984, he applied to Concordia University and graduated with a bachelor's degree just two years later. In six years, he completed his bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My shares at the 2025 opening ceremony of Ho Chi Minh City National University. Photo: Thien Thong

In 1990, he successfully defended his PhD thesis in energy and materials science at the INRS Institute (Canada). After that, he worked at IBM Almaden Research Center (USA) and held the position of technical manager at Kodak Polychrome Graphics (USA).

He is the author of about 700 inventions, many of which have earned him tens of millions of dollars. In particular, the exclusive invention of digital offset printing technology in 2000 has helped his company achieve nearly 300 million dollars in revenue within 20 years.

Return to contribute to the homeland

Regarding learning philosophy, he said: “Learning is the transformation of knowledge through levels: knowing - understanding - applying - analyzing - evaluating - creating. Students today only stop at 'knowing' and 'understanding', but must go further to applying and creating. Let's start with the smallest things, like creating an application to sell vegetables to mom, for example."

After years of success abroad, his wife once asked him: "Do you still remember your dream?" That question made him decide to return to his homeland.

In 2004, he returned to Tra Vinh to establish Mylan Group - the province's first high-tech company. Since then, he has founded and co-founded 13 high-tech enterprises, of which 6 are operating locally.

He also founded the Nguyen Thanh My Foundation, which has sponsored over VND62.5 billion for scholarships, infrastructure construction and community health care. In addition, he teaches at Tra Vinh University and has been the Director of the Co-op program for 10 years with many products applied in agriculture and aquaculture.

Formula and journey to success

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My shared his formula for success with many students. According to him, "success = 15 health + 15 right thinking + 25 effort + 25 knowledge + 10 perseverance + 5 opportunity + 5 luck + 5 circumstances".

Students of Ho Chi Minh City National University at the opening ceremony. Photo: Thien Thong

Comprehensive success includes: health, career, finance, personal development, time management, social relationships and social contribution. According to him, human life has four stages: 18-20 years old is building the foundation; 21-40 years old is rising; 41-60 years old is balance and after 60 years old is fulfillment.

Each stage has its own focus and the most important is to live up to one's own values. The mark of a fulfilled life is dedication. At her current age, Dr. Nguyen Thanh My said that she is "fulfilled and has no regrets".

He is a typical model of the spirit of "dare to think - dare to do - dare to return - dare to contribute", connecting global knowledge with the aspiration to develop Vietnam.

Guest speakers are a feature of the Ho Chi Minh City National University Opening Ceremony. Every year, the university invites a leader, scientist or entrepreneur to inspire students. This year, the Opening Ceremony is themed “Aspiration for Innovation for a Strong Vietnam”.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University. Photo: Thien Thong

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University, expects more than 100,000 high-quality human resources of the university to nurture the desire for innovation for a more progressive, prosperous and positive future. She sends three messages: Dare to think differently - Dare to fail - Dare to do it again.

She encourages students to dare to dream, to continuously learn from teachers, friends, experts and society; to consider failure as a valuable lesson to grow up, to be ready to stand up and start again with a better version of themselves.

For cadres, lecturers and scientists, she called for daring to innovate in management, teaching, research and community service. When the mechanism and legal corridor are more open, teachers need to be pioneers to lead learners further.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tu-ban-kem-dao-den-tien-si-co-700-sang-che-thu-hang-tram-trieu-usd-2456231.html