A coffee shop in Kansas City with no espresso machine sounds like a risk, but Nhung Hoang has a compelling reason to take that plunge.

When Hoang lost her brother in 2023, she made the most of the devastating curveball and let her brother’s final advice text to her guide her next move. She pressed pause on her computer science major and went all-in with her coffee business, Cội Nguon: Origin Coffee.

Hoang’s brother, Timothy, saw her passion and talent and encouraged her to take a break from school and see where her coffee ideas could take her. A few months later, his unexpected heart attack made his belief in her become part of his legacy. When Hoang realized the role that stress played in his passing, specifically immigration-related stress, she saw her life in a whole new way:

“It mad

See Full Page