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.

In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Brandy Cerne, a brand strategist, community builder, and now the owner of a connections-led pousada in Brazil.

Brandy started her career in New York, doing marketing for Shake Shack and SoFar Sounds, where she played an integral part in both brands' growth.

After years immersed in the hustle of city life, Brandy found herself drawn to a different pace, which eventually led her to live in Brazil. She is now a freelance brand strategist for community-led startups, and is embarking on a new venture of opening a pousada, a Brazilian-style boutique inn focused on community and connection.

We talked about her years at Shake Shack & Sofar, lessons in hospitality, self-employment, when you’re ready for your next thing, when you need small changes vs big ones, piecing together a unique career, celebrating small wins, and more!

This is Brandy Cerne for 5to9.

In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Farah Sheikh-Ogoe, a brand manager at META, co-founder of NOTES International, a community of Black and brown people who love natural wine, vibey tunes, global travel and the intersection of all 3, and a lover of all things food, fashion, community and connection.

Farrah’s had quite a non-linear career. She started off as a content manager in the agency world at Ogilvy, then went to the non-profit at Do Something for a few years then back to the agency world as a producer at Big Spaceship. She then spent a few years at Squarespace on their brand team and had a stint at JP Morgan, Peloton and Vivino, an online wine market place. Along the way, she freelanced and had multiple side projects such as Feed & Foster, a peer mentorship dinner for women of color and Notes International.

With each step, Farrah has deliberately chosen to pursue work that fuels her creativity and aligns with her values, always being intentional on what it is that she needs and wants next and building a career that is uniquely hers.

We talked about the power of taking a non-linear path, the lessons she’s learned from shifting industries, balancing a full-time role with passion projects, how they impact each other, and redefining what success looks like beyond a 9-to-5.

Here is Farah Sheikh-Ogoe for 5to9.

In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Kelsey McCormick, a lover of transcontinental travel, mom to Neil, the founder of Coming Up Roses, an educational platform that helps creatives increase their sales, and The “Queen of Marketing Campaigns".

After a decade working in PR and marketing for music festivals like Coachella and artists like Katy Perry, Kelsey realized that her corporate music career wasn't aligned with the lifestyle she envisioned for herself. With a curiosity in graphic design, she took a Squarespace design course and launched her then design studio Coming Up Roses in 2020. She quickly grew it to a multi-six figure business then realized she’s actually much more interested in helping creatives grow their service businesses through educational courses aka what she does now!

We talked about the pivotal moments that shifted her career trajectory, the challenges of leaving behind a corporate identity, navigating self-doubt, finding opportunities in the market, and what it means to follow your intuition as a creative entrepreneur.

This is Kelsey McCormick for 5to9.

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In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Haruko Hayakawa, a Computer Graphics Artist, a Creative Director, an introvert, cat mom and a cookbook enthusiast.

Haruko developed a love for computers and art at a young age and went to School of Visual Arts to study 3D art and graphic design. She then went on to be a designer at agencies like Anomoly and Superunion and brands like Chobani. Always knowing that she wanted to have full control of her work, Haruko left corporate to create her branding studio right before the pandemic then serendipitously fell back into making her first love, 3D art.

These days, she creates beautifully detailed 3D art for brands like Google, Apple, Fly by Jing, Bon Appetit, 88Rising, Blueland and more.

We talked about her years of feeling lost and what she did during that time, how she first got into 3D art as a child and then got back into it as an adult, what she learned as a corporate creative, why she decided to work for herself, important mindset shifts she made as a creative business owner and more!

This is Haruko Hayakawa for 5to9.

In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Kaitlin Maud, a strategist artist, strategist, and activist.

Always having the audacity to carve a path that’s in integrity to her values, Kaitlin started her self-employment journey 5 years into her career and since then has operated as a freelancer, consulting for brands like Nike, Beats by Dre, and Google, founded a consultancy with partners (then eventually left the company), done 3 Tedx talks, was featured in the book Company of One by Paul Jarvis and been a vocal agent for change in the communications industry.

We talked about why she thinks self-employment is more sustainable than a corporate job, what career growth looks like when you work for yourself, different seasons in her work, how boundaries is about creating space, what to think about when you start a business, and more hot takes!

This is Kaitlin Maud for 5to9.

In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Lori Abichandani, a curious strategist, lover of deep conversations, a culinary enthusiast and according to her friends, “the embodiment of a big hug.”

With an interest in entertainment and human psychology, Lori started her career working at Nielson, a media insights company. After a few years working there, she felt immense apathy towards the direction her career was heading in and quit cold turkey.

This led her to a 7 year journey of self-discovery, creative career exploration and ultimately founding A Big Idea, a creative studio that launches brands and experiences to deepen our shared humanity. Since then, she’s worked with dozens of brands to create values-driven strategy and creative that prioritizes true, intentional growth.

We talked about listening to your intuition, the relationship between entrepreneurship and spirituality, how sticking with consistent small steps open up bigger opportunities, her short stint in the culinary world, trying new things by choosing joy and more!

This is Lori Abichandani for 5to9.