Past Summer Venture Program Participants: Where Are They Now? (2014 Series: Part 3)
Ronald Diep ’15 comes from a family business. His parents own a boutique store selling Hawaiian products in Honolulu. Since he was young, Diep was always involved in the shop. When Diep came to Babson for his undergraduate degree, he wanted to take his family’s business to the next level. He became part of the Summer Venture Program in 2012 with his venture Ninth Isle, whose mission is to spread Hawaii’s national and global presence through Hawaiian products.
Ronald Diep ’15
When Diep started SVP after his freshman year, Ninth Isle had been a side project, a small ecommerce platform that sold high quality Hawaiian products to customers around the globe. Diep commented that the speakers were one of the highlights of his SVP experience. Through meeting experts in SEO, PR and financing, Diep was able to apply the skills he learned to move Ninth Isle forward. Diep shared that the community of SVP allowed him to be more mentally prepared for challenges he had to face and gave him the confidence to take more risks.
Diep is more involved in his family business now more than ever, which is helping Ninth Isle. “My parents and I are looking at ways to produce high quality products at a lower cost, which will provide the inventory I need for my business. Ninth Isle is continuously growing in sales.” Diep is also using the skills he learned from SVP and applying it to his other venture, Social Conch, which is in the Babson hatcheries this summer. “When you learn something new, make sure to use it. Everything has to be in the moment. Action first, perfection later.”
Meet the 2014 Summer Venture Program participants at the Summer Venture Showcase on Thursday, July 31.