In this episode of 5 to 9, I had a chat with Kim Pham, a creative director, BDSM educator, nomad, and co-founder of Omsom, a proud and loud food brand reclaiming Asian flavors, that was recently acquired in 2024.

As a self-proclaimed “internet weirdo”, Kim was fascinated by the internet early in her life growing up in Boston. This led her to spend 12 years working in early-stage tech start-ups, building Europe’s premier community platform for operational leaders in VC and getting recognized in Forbes 30 under 30 Europe in 2017.

She then co-founded Omsom with her sister in 2019, a food brand of chef-crafted noodles and sauces that took the internet by storm!

And while building this “proud and loud” food brand, Kim also gave voice to her own self-expression as a BDSM educator on TikTok and Instagram, now with over 180k followers cross-platform.

We talked about everything from her early aspirations of hosting a Food Network show, to her years in venture capital, to co-founding OMSOM and its mission of reclaiming loud and proud not only in Asian flavors but also in herself. We also talked about her post-acquisition life, the courage to explore new identities and her next chapter—where creativity, authenticity, and curiosity take center stage.

Kim’s journey is a masterclass in following your intuition, embracing the unknown, and rewriting the rules for success.

This is Kim Pham for 5 to 9.