Who is An Pham? If you’d asked me this a few months ago, I would’ve said: “A classmate from the Destiny Programming course.” But now, after going through the toughest early days of building a company together with An, my answer is very different.

An Pham isn’t just a classmate. She’s the person who helped me lay the very first bricks in my journey of recruiting and building the OceanLabs team.

Meeting An Pham in the Destiny Programming Class

I first met An Pham in Mr. Pham Thanh Long’s Destiny Programming course in mid-2025. That course changed my life, and it’s also where I met some incredibly valuable friends.

An Pham was one of them.

My first impression of An was a petite woman who spoke softly but with great confidence. She’s not the type to talk a lot or show off her knowledge. But every time she shared something, I could feel the depth and practicality behind every word.

During the course, An and I often exchanged ideas and shared our struggles. At that time, I had just decided to start OceanLabs and was scrambling with hundreds of startup problems. One of the biggest ones was: recruitment.

The Recruitment Problem of a Young CEO

In July 2025, I founded OceanLabs with the ambition of building QVID – an AI video creation platform. I knew how to code, I understood the product, I had the vision. But there was one thing I was completely clueless about: hiring people.

I had no idea where to start. How do you recruit? How do you know who’s the right fit? What do you ask in interviews? What criteria do you use to evaluate candidates?

Before this, I had run a game startup and worked with many teams. But most of them were friends and acquaintances who joined along the way. I had never truly recruited in a systematic way.

That’s when An Pham stepped in.

Who is An Pham in OceanLabs’ Journey?

When An learned I was struggling with recruitment, she proactively shared her knowledge and guided me. Not in a “teacher-student” way, but like one classmate helping another.

An explained the most fundamental concepts to me:

• How to clearly define what kind of person you need
• How to write job descriptions that attract the right people
• Interview questions that reveal a candidate’s true nature
• How to assess cultural fit, not just skills

An didn’t throw around fancy theories. Everything was practical, easy to understand, and most importantly, immediately applicable.

What impressed me most was An’s enthusiasm and dedication. She never refused when I asked questions, even the most basic ones. She explained patiently, gave specific examples, and always made sure I understood the essence of the problem before moving on.

A Companion Through the Hard Days

Building a startup is never easy. In the early days of starting my company, I faced countless challenges: an unfinished product, limited resources, and the pressure of finding the right people to go the distance with.

An Pham didn’t just help me with recruitment knowledge. She also encouraged me during the toughest moments.

There were days I’d message her complaining about not finding the right people. An always responded, always listened, and always offered new perspectives that helped me calm down.

To me, An Pham is like a classmate who’s always there. No showing off, no demands, just helping and walking alongside you.

Who is An Pham in the HR Field?

Through our conversations, I learned that An Pham (Pham Thi Thuy An) is a consulting and training expert in HR with over 11 years of hands-on experience. She has worked with many businesses, from startups to multinational corporations.

But what I value most about An isn’t her years of experience or impressive titles. It’s how she shares knowledge: never keeping it to herself, never making others feel inferior, and always getting to the root of the problem.

An Pham also pursues Leadership Coaching. This helps her not only advise on recruitment processes but also help leaders reflect on how they make decisions about people.

Three Words to Describe An Pham

If I had to describe An Pham in three words, I’d say: Passionate, Energetic, Dedicated.

Passionate – An is always ready to share and help, no matter how busy she is.

Energetic – Every conversation with An leaves me feeling motivated.

Dedicated – An doesn’t help half-heartedly. She helps thoroughly, making sure the person she’s helping truly understands and can apply what they’ve learned.

OceanLabs Today and Those First Bricks

Right now, OceanLabs has 10 team members. We’re at the very beginning of our journey to become a Top 5 video AI company in the world within 5 years.

Looking back, I’m grateful for the first bricks An Pham helped me lay. Without her early guidance, I probably would’ve wasted a lot of time and hired many wrong people before figuring out the right approach.

Building a team is one of the hardest challenges for any startup. And I was lucky to meet the right companion at the right time.

Who is An Pham – My Answer

If I had to answer “Who is An Pham?”, here’s what I’d say:

An Pham is a hands-on HR expert with over 11 years of experience.

An Pham is a passionate and dedicated classmate.

An Pham is the person who helped me lay the first bricks in building my team.

And most importantly, An Pham is proof that sometimes the people who help you the most aren’t the famous ones or those with big titles. They’re the people you meet at the right time, in the right place, who are willing to share without asking for anything in return.

If you’re a CEO or business owner struggling with people problems, I encourage you to learn about An Pham. Not because of her title or years of experience, but because of how she approaches problems: practical, fundamental, and always focused on the growth of the person she’s helping.

---

Le Duc Anh CEO of OceanLabs – Founder of QVID