Conversations with Betty Nguyen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Betty Nguyen.

Hi Betty, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been ambitious and curious, but I don’t think I always knew exactly what I was working toward. For more than 15 years, I had a career in corporate law in Silicon Valley. I worked hard, learned a lot, and had a career I was proud of, but I also knew there was another side of me that wanted more creativity and the opportunity to build something of my own.

In 2012, I made the decision to leave the Bay Area and move to Los Angeles. I wanted to be around creative energy and people who were doing interesting things across so many different worlds, like art, design, food, travel, entertainment, and entrepreneurship. LA gave me permission to think differently about what a career and a life could look like.

Travel was always the thing that made me feel most alive. I loved discovering new places through the food, design, culture, and people, and eventually I started asking myself a pretty simple question: what if I could build a life around the things I actually love?

In 2016, I decided to try. I started Nomoon Travel without really knowing where it would take me. There was no perfect business plan or moment when I suddenly felt completely ready. I just knew I wanted more freedom, more creativity, and the opportunity to build something that belonged to me.

One thing led to another. I learned by doing, made mistakes, changed direction when something wasn’t working, and kept going. Over the years, travel opened the door to hospitality, branding, design, and other businesses and projects that eventually became part of Nomoon Group.

Like a lot of people, COVID changed the rhythm of my life. I spent about three years traveling and living in different parts of the United States, which gave me a chance to experience other cities and imagine what life might look like somewhere else. But ultimately, I came back to Los Angeles in 2025.

There is an energy here that I haven’t been able to recreate anywhere else. It’s the mix of people, cultures, ideas, food, design, and creativity. LA is constantly changing, and there’s something about being surrounded by people who are creating, experimenting, and reinventing themselves that continues to inspire me. Coming back felt less like returning to a place I had lived before and more like choosing Los Angeles again.

Today, I’m still ambitious, but success means something different to me than it did when I was younger. It’s not simply about building a bigger business. It’s about having the freedom to create, working with people I enjoy, staying curious, and building a life that actually feels like mine.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that you don’t have to have everything figured out before you start, and you’re allowed to reinvent yourself more than once. I’m still figuring things out, still taking chances, and still asking myself what I want to create next. I hope my story resonates with other women who may be thinking about starting something of their own or changing direction in their lives. Sometimes you don’t need to know exactly where you’re going. You just need to be willing to begin.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship is that once you find something you love, everything somehow falls into place. For me, it has been much more about learning how to be comfortable with uncertainty.

Leaving a long corporate career was probably one of my first real challenges. There is a certain security that comes with having a title, a steady paycheck, and a clear path forward. When you start your own business, suddenly you are responsible for everything. I had experience in the corporate world, but building something from scratch required a completely different kind of confidence. I had to learn to trust myself even when I didn’t have all the answers.

There were also plenty of mistakes along the way. I’ve launched ideas that worked and others that didn’t. I’ve had to learn everything from marketing and branding to managing relationships, finances, and the everyday realities of running a small business. In the beginning, I thought I needed to know how to do everything myself. Over time, I learned that being resourceful is much more important than knowing everything.

Then COVID happened, which was obviously an enormous challenge for anyone in travel and hospitality. Almost overnight, the industry I had built my business around came to a stop. It forced me to rethink what I was doing and, more importantly, who I was without the business operating the way I had imagined it would. That period taught me how quickly circumstances can change and how important it is to be willing to adapt rather than hold onto one version of your plan.

I’ve also learned that growth isn’t always about adding more. Sometimes it means letting go of an idea, changing direction, simplifying, or admitting that something no longer fits who you are. Those decisions can actually be harder than starting something new.

I still have moments when I question what I’m doing. I think most entrepreneurs do. The difference now is that I don’t see uncertainty as a sign that I’m on the wrong path. I’ve learned that I can figure things out as I go.

If anything, the difficult parts have made me less afraid of starting over. I know now that a setback doesn’t erase everything you’ve built. Sometimes it just pushes you toward the next version of it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Today, my work lives at the intersection of travel, hospitality, business, and design. I’m the founder of Nomoon Group, which brings together the different businesses and projects I’ve built over the years, including Nomoon Travel, Go Tulum Travel, Tulum Yachts, and Nomoon Studio.

What I do is a little difficult to put into one box, and I’ve actually grown to appreciate that. I’m an entrepreneur, but I’m also very hands-on creatively. I love thinking about why someone connects with a brand, how a space makes you feel, what makes a travel experience memorable, or why one business feels personal while another feels transactional.

My corporate background has also stayed with me. Spending more than 15 years in corporate law and working around technology companies taught me how businesses operate, how to solve problems, and how to think strategically. Entrepreneurship gave me the opportunity to combine that side of myself with the creative side that had always been there.

I think what sets my work apart is that I approach business from the perspective of the person experiencing it. I’m always asking: How would a guest feel? Is it useful? Is it thoughtful? Would I actually want this myself? Whether I’m working on a travel experience, a hospitality concept, a brand, or a space, I want it to feel human and intentional.

I’m especially proud that the businesses I have today were built from ideas I started myself. I didn’t inherit a company or follow a predetermined path. I learned how to build each one by doing the work, listening to people, adapting, and trusting my instincts. Some ideas grew, some changed, and some taught me when it was time to move on.

At this stage of my career, I’m also interested in sharing what I’ve learned with other businesses, particularly in travel and hospitality. Through Nomoon Group, I’m expanding more into consulting and creative projects where I can bring together my corporate experience, entrepreneurship, travel background, and understanding of how younger generations discover and connect with brands.

But what I’m most proud of isn’t any single business. It’s that I created a career that didn’t exist for me when I started. I gave myself permission to combine different interests instead of choosing just one, and that has become a big part of how I work and who I am.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
People who know me through travel, design, and hospitality are usually surprised to learn that I have a bit of an adrenaline and geeky side. I used to race motorcycles on the track and autocross my car, which was such a different world from the work I do today. I loved the focus, the speed, and honestly, the challenge of doing something that people might not necessarily expect from me.

I also spent time volunteering as a 501st Legion Stormtrooper at events around Los Angeles. Yes, full armor and everything! We would appear at community and charity events, and it was one of those wonderfully unexpected experiences that could instantly make someone’s day, especially a kid who suddenly saw a Stormtrooper walking toward them.

I think those things probably say more about me than people realize. I’ve always been curious and willing to try things that are a little outside the expected path. I can love beautiful hotels, food, travel, and design and also be completely happy spending a day at the track or putting on Stormtrooper armor. I’ve never felt like we have to fit neatly into one version of ourselves, and I think life is much more interesting when we don’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nomoongroup.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohsobetty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nomoontravel
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ohsobetty/

Image Credits
Betty Nguyen, Severin Nesselhauf