Mai Vo left Big Tech to solve a problem she lived: modern women navigating big life and career transitions without a trusted peer group. She founded Podium, a connection platform that brings small, curated circles together in person—so women can find support, clarity, and momentum. 

We talk about the reality behind “glorified entrepreneurship,” why she did 65 unscalable events to build a playbook, what community impact actually looks like, and how Vietnamese heritage and operating in Vietnam/Singapore shaped her leadership. 

Mai Vo is the Co-founder & CEO of Podium, a platform for modern women (late 20s–40s) to find peer support through curated dinners, intimate groups, and retreats. Previously, she worked at Google (London → Singapore) after starting her career at Samsung. 

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We discuss: 

00:31 Who is Mai? German-born Vietnamese across cultures 
03:35 Big Tech years: Samsung → Google (London & Singapore) 
06:15 COVID: the push/pull to leave Big Tech 
08:08 Advice to corporate folks considering entrepreneurship 
11:58 Unlearning “ambiguity”: trusting gut without a million data points 
13:26 Podium’s idea: women’s peer groups for life & career transitions 
15:27 From first events to co-founder; bootstrapping the early days 
16:48 Family expectations; rebuilding a new peer community 
20:47 How Podium works: intimate dinners, topics, and retreats 
22:37 Measuring impact: from feelings to tangible outcomes 
27:59 Do the unscalable (65 events) → playbooks & hosts; future vision

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Connect with Mai: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mailienvo/ 
https://www.instagram.com/maiivo/ 

Connect with Quang: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ovquang/
https://www.instagram.com/quang

Join OV: https://joinov.com
About OV: https://overseasvietnamese.com