Trang Pham and Thien Olson
2/5/2025
Trang Pham and her sister, Thien Olson, are young immigrants making their way in entrepreneurial Iowa while also holding down impressive day jobs and becoming family nuclei.
We asked them to lunch and met at Trang’s newest Eggroll Ladies café, in the Equitable Building. When I arrived, Trang explained that Thien was too slammed with new business obligations to drive downtown, so her sister hooked her up via telecom.
It’s difficult enough for immigrants to succeed in a new country when they speak the language. These two arrived without knowing a word of English. How old were they?
“Thien was 9 and a half and I was three years younger. She is the big sister to all six of us siblings. I am the middle one. We all came from Bien Hoa (Vietnam’s sixth largest city).”
Both women speak English better than most natives, but we’ve heard it’s an advantage to be younger?
“Being 6, I had a much easier time picking up the language,” Trang said. “For Thien, it was tougher. But she’s always been the strong one. She helped lead all of us.”
The sisters, in their early 30s, subscribe to a version of the American dream centered on owning their own businesses.
“Coming to Iowa was a grand opportunity. My sister and I always wanted to own our businesses. That’s possible here,” Thien said.
They went about finding their niche businesses in quite different ways.
“Trang grew her business from the ground up. I saved and researched longer and aimed for an existing business. I looked for businesses that had closed or stalled for reasons other than a need for their services, in areas where there was still a growing demand. When I found WeWash Laundry, it felt like the right fit.”
Explain that fit.
“WeWash was a full service laundry and delivery system. It addressed growing needs, such as those of busy families, single parents, and the elderly or disabled. We can serve both small and large businesses, providing services like uniform cleaning for companies, laundry for Airbnbs, and services for salons and local shops. Lots of customers have had strokes or other debilitating life events and can’t do their own laundry anymore. Laundry service is a necessity to as many as it is a luxury to others.”
Thien is also a full-time data consultant at Mutual of Omaha and was living in Nebraska at that time.
“I missed my family when I was working in Omaha. Acquiring WeWash let me come home. The owners had built on a great concept and were looking to pass the baton. We moved fast. We’re expanding in the westside of the metro. A new route opens to Van Meter next week,” Thien explained.
There were challenges taking over an established business?
“The first time a worker quit, I cried. And when I had to let someone go for the first time, I cried again. These aren’t just employees; they’re relationships. I have 23 workers now. For many, this is their entire income. That’s a huge responsibility.
“I’m better now at handling those types of situations, but it was my first acquisition, so it was definitely a learning curve. I have a background in working for large corporations, where people come and go all the time. Sometimes you don’t even know about it. But with a small business, everyone you hire and work with becomes a relationship.”
Trang’s journey to her own business survived more detours.
“In high school, I found myself in a bad situation. It left me feeling lost and unsure of my future. I joined the Army while still in high school. The Army changed everything for me. It gave me the structure and support I needed to rebuild my confidence and discover my potential.
“After graduating from Valley in 2012, I did six months of training and liked it. In 2013, I took a full-time job with the Army, and my boss started pushing college on me. ‘You’re an officer, you’ll need a degree.’
“The Army paid for my education, and it turned out that I loved engineering. I got a bachelor’s degree and two associate degrees in five years.”
Lt. Trang cannot talk about her Army job, at all. That says a lot while saying nothing. Is that the only job she’s held since high school?
“I worked at Prairie Meadows before I realized that gambling wasn’t a big girl job. I was the first female firefighter in Des Moines for a short period. After COVID and becoming a mom, I went all-in with the Army, mostly to become a more normal mom.”
In her spare time, Trang founded the We Are More Foundation, a nonprofit that helps people overcome the limitations others impose on them. (One of their services is free laundry for those in need.) But that’s another story. How did she build Eggroll Ladies?
“I wanted to share my heritage. I started making eggrolls in my kitchen and selling to friends and neighbors. At the time, I didn’t have the resources for a commercial setup, so I delivered orders straight from my car. It was a small, word-of-mouth operation, but it gave me the confidence to dream bigger.
“I am pretty good at rolling. I have personally rolled 1,800 eggrolls in a day and 2,500 in two days. I can do 300 an hour if everything is set up perfectly.”
Trang now has a trailer, a store front staging center that used to be her café, and a downtown restaurant.
“The first day downtown, I got stuck with major appliances in the doorway. A cop came over to help. Now, much thanks to the Des Moines Police Department, I am never afraid to work alone here late at night.”
Almost on cue, two local beat cops knocked on her window. Trang gave them a hug, and they moved on, assured she was safe with an unruly looking food writer.
Is the sisters’ bond stronger now that Thien has moved back to Des Moines?
“Thien always wanted to be a mom, even as a little girl. She went through a manner of options when she couldn’t have her own children. I am now her egg donor and have deep appreciation of how painful her efforts must be. Going through the harvest once racked my body. Thien has been through it three times.”
“Trang always was the rule-breaker in the family. Family means everything to us. We’re a team. I work fulltime, take care of our father after his stroke, and babysit for our extended family. It’s exhausting, but that’s the cost of realizing your dreams.” ♦
