Who is Thao Toc Ngan? Her real name is Nguyen Thi Thien Thao, but everyone affectionately calls her “Thao Toc Ngan”—Thao with the short hair. She runs a fried chicken empire with over 200 franchise locations and more than 500 ingredient distribution agents nationwide.

But here’s what caught my attention: she didn’t choose F&B. Life’s difficulties chose it for her.

She started from absolute zero. No foundation. No experience. No one to guide her. All she had was a small rented kitchen, a sidewalk fried chicken cart, and a fierce belief: if she didn’t act, no one would change her life for her.

That origin story sounds like countless others. What makes hers different is what she built from it—and how honestly she talks about the failures along the way.

Who is Thao Toc Ngan?

Nguyen Thi Thien Thao is the founder and operator of Vu Thien Co., Ltd., a company working across four main areas in the food and beverage industry.

First, she runs the Ga Ran Street Food franchise system—the fried chicken brand that now spans over 200 locations. Second, she provides brand setup services for fast food businesses, helping investors and entrepreneurs create their own concepts. Third, through Vu Thien Food, she supplies F&B ingredients to operators across Vietnam. Fourth, she offers fast food catering services for homes and events.

With over eight years of experience in F&B, Thao and her team have built a closed-loop ecosystem: from business model research to operational training to ingredient supply to brand development support. They accompany each customer from startup through stable operation.

That ecosystem didn’t appear overnight. It emerged from years of trial, error, and systematic learning.

The Beginning: A Sidewalk Cart

When people ask Thao why she chose F&B, she smiles. The honest answer is that she didn’t choose it—circumstances pushed her there, like an unplanned destiny.

Her starting point was humble in the truest sense. A small rented kitchen. A fried chicken cart on the sidewalk. No background in business. No mentor. No capital beyond what she could scrape together.

The only thing she possessed was conviction: if she didn’t make change happen, no one would do it for her.

That’s a common sentiment among entrepreneurs. But most people who feel it don’t act on it. Thao did. She started selling fried chicken on the street, learning everything through direct experience.

Failures Before Success

Thao doesn’t hide her failures. She’s closed stores. She’s wanted to give up. She’s experienced those moments when continuing seems impossible.

But in her most desperate moments, she remembered why she started. And she stood up again. Step by step, day by day, she learned from mistakes. She adjusted processes. She added business skills, management knowledge, and customer care capabilities.

This pattern—failure, reflection, adjustment, persistence—repeated across eight years. Each cycle taught something the previous success couldn’t.

What strikes me about Thao’s story isn’t that she succeeded. It’s that she failed repeatedly and kept going anyway. The fried chicken empire everyone sees today was built on foundations of closed stores and near-surrender.

From Cart to 200+ Locations

After eight years of persistence, Thao developed from a single street cart into the Ga Ran Street Food chain with over 200 franchise locations and more than 500 ingredient supply agents nationwide.

Behind that success isn’t magic. It’s a system built from falls and recoveries.

She consistently emphasizes: success doesn’t come from luck. It comes from having clear systems, professional models, and a heart that never stops persevering.

That framing matters. Many people attribute business success to talent, timing, or fortune. Thao attributes hers to systematic development—something that can be learned and replicated.

The Four Business Areas

Thao’s company operates across four interconnected areas that form a complete F&B ecosystem.

The franchise system is the most visible component. Ga Ran Street Food locations appear across Vietnam, each operating under standardized processes that Thao’s team developed through years of refinement.

The brand setup service helps others build their own fast food concepts. This isn’t just consulting—it’s comprehensive support from concept development through operational launch.

The ingredient supply business through Vu Thien Food ensures franchise partners and other F&B operators have reliable access to quality materials. This vertical integration strengthens the entire ecosystem.

The catering service for homes and events extends the brand’s reach beyond fixed locations, capturing additional market segments.

Together, these four areas create mutual reinforcement. Each business supports the others, creating stability that single-focus companies lack.

The Ecosystem Approach

What Thao built isn’t just a franchise. It’s what she calls a “closed-loop ecosystem” covering model research, operational training, ingredient supply, and brand development support.

This comprehensive approach means partners aren’t left alone after signing agreements. The team accompanies each customer from beginning through stable operation.

That ongoing support reflects lessons from her own journey. She knows what it feels like to struggle without guidance. She built the system she wished she’d had when starting out.

Mission Beyond Money

Thao’s mission isn’t just expanding a fried chicken chain. It’s creating an ecosystem that helps millions of people have better lives through effective, accessible, and sustainable F&B models.

She wants each store opened to be more than a sales point—to be a small home. A place where a mother earns additional income to support her children’s education. Where a young person rediscovers self-belief. Where a family adds laughter through convenient, quality meals.

She dreams of a day when on every street, every market, every small city corner, there’s a Ga Ran Street Food location. Not for her own fame—but so seeds of hope can be planted and grow daily.

This vision connects individual business success to broader social impact. Each franchise isn’t just a revenue unit. It’s potentially a transformed life.

The System Behind the Success

Thao repeatedly emphasizes that her success came from systems, not luck or natural talent.

Clear systems mean operations don’t depend on individual heroics. Professional models mean new partners can replicate success without reinventing everything. Persistent hearts mean continuing through difficulties that would stop others.

This systematic thinking explains how she scaled from one cart to hundreds of locations. Manual approaches might work for a single store. Only systems work for nationwide expansion.

Her eight years building these systems represent investment that pays ongoing dividends. Every new franchise benefits from accumulated learning. Every process improvement applies across the entire network.

What I’ve Learned from Thao Toc Ngan

Studying Thao’s journey has reinforced several principles for me.

Circumstances can create entrepreneurs that choice wouldn’t. Thao didn’t strategically select F&B after market analysis. Difficult life circumstances pushed her there. Sometimes our best paths find us rather than us finding them.

Failure frequency matters less than failure response. Thao failed repeatedly—closed stores, wanted to quit, experienced desperation. But each failure became learning that strengthened subsequent attempts. The failures weren’t obstacles to success. They were ingredients in it.

Systems enable scale that effort alone cannot. Her transition from street cart to 200+ locations required building infrastructure independent of her personal involvement. No amount of individual hard work could manage that many locations. Only systems could.

Mission expands what’s possible. Her vision of helping millions through F&B models creates motivation that pure profit pursuit couldn’t sustain. When the goal is transforming lives, temporary setbacks matter less.

The Short Hair and the Long Vision

I keep returning to her nickname: Thao Toc Ngan—Thao with the short hair. It’s a simple, memorable identifier that humanizes someone who could easily become just another business success story.

That approachability seems intentional. She doesn’t position herself as a genius entrepreneur. She positions herself as someone who started with nothing, failed repeatedly, and built something meaningful through persistence and systems.

Her story isn’t “I’m special, so I succeeded.” Her story is “I wasn’t special, but I didn’t quit, and I learned to build systems.” That framing makes her journey instructive rather than just impressive.

Thao Toc Ngan – My Perspective

After examining her story, here’s what stands out about Thao Toc Ngan:

• She started from genuine zero—a rented kitchen and sidewalk cart—with no background, experience, or guidance
• She openly discusses failures and near-surrenders rather than presenting a polished success narrative
• She built a closed-loop ecosystem across franchising, brand setup, ingredient supply, and catering
• Her mission connects individual franchise success to broader social impact and transformed lives

Thao Toc Ngan represents something important in Vietnamese entrepreneurship: proof that systematic thinking and persistence can build something significant from nothing. Her 200+ locations weren’t inevitable. They emerged from eight years of learning, failing, adjusting, and continuing.

For anyone starting from zero, or anyone who’s failed and wonders whether to continue, her journey offers concrete evidence. The fried chicken empire visible today was built on closed stores and desperate moments. What separated her from others who quit wasn’t talent or luck. It was the decision to stand up again, and the wisdom to build systems from lessons learned.

As she puts it: success doesn’t come from luck. It comes from clear systems, professional models, and a heart that never stops persevering.

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Le Duc Anh CEO of OceanLabs – Founder of QVID