Leadership Gets Real When Setbacks Hit

When your business is on the line, what kind of leader do you become?

In this raw and powerful episode, Toan Luong joins MaryAnn Means-Dufrene to reveal what it took to lead his company through the unimaginable when a $2.5 million airport project was suddenly left unfunded just weeks before opening.

Toan is the cofounder of AMPM Concepts, the team behind Ampersand Coffee and the first robotic coffee barista at DFW Airport. His story is about more than scaling a business. It’s about failing forward, holding your team together, and becoming the kind of leader who keeps showing up.

The Disruption

There’s a version of entrepreneurship we love to glamorize: coffee shop openings, media buzz, and tech partnerships. And then there’s what really happens when the deal falls through, the bills pile up, and your team is watching to see how you’ll respond.

Toan’s response? Sit down. Breathe. Pray. Then start making calls.

For six straight weeks, he got nothing but no after no from banks and lenders. But on the very last name on the very last page of an SBA list, someone said yes. And just like that, the story shifted.

The Inner Work

What got him through wasn’t just grit. It was gratitude. Vulnerability. Trusting his team. Toan opened up about what it meant to carry responsibility for others, how he leaned into community support, and why the hardest moments taught him the most.

He also talked candidly about loneliness in leadership, what it means to build trust, and the daily practices that help him stay grounded in chaos.

The Rebuild

Since that moment, Ampersand has grown. New locations. New tech. National partnerships. But what really stands out is the mission behind it.

Toan’s not just building a coffee brand; he’s building access. He’s helping other small business owners get into the airport space. He’s creating space for community to thrive, whether it’s in a run club with 300 people or a robot delivering coffee to your gate.

And through it all, he’s stayed anchored in something simple but profound: do right by people. Keep showing up. Stay humble. Lead like it matters, because it does.

What I Know Now

Here are a few takeaways from Toan’s story:

• “Show up every day. Even when it all falls apart.”
   
• “Vulnerability isn’t weakness. It’s leadership.”
   
• “Know your numbers. Love your people. Do both well.”
  
  
• “Leadership is taking the hit and still building others up.”
  
  
• “Gratitude keeps me from breaking when everything shakes.”

🎧 Listen to the full episode now!