We recently had the chance to connect with Thomas Gu and have shared our conversation below.
Thomas, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
Anxiety
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Thomas Gu, or TGu, as my friends call me for short. Hence the name “TeaGu” Café. So I started TeaGu Café back in 2021 just wanting to share my food with others and before you know it, now it’s been 4 years of being a noodle nomad and slinging hand pulled biang biang noodles.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
In terms of being able to do what I’m doing now, I’d probably have to say Carlos, one of my best friends. I always accredit him with putting the idea of starting this pop-up idea of TeaGu Café into my head and giving me the encouragement to actually go through with it. Starting is always the hardest part, kinda 😂
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
This is actually something I’ve reflected about this one a lot, and it’s the fear of not being good enough. Whether it was not entering more tennis tournaments when I was in high school, turning down certain opportunities at various points in my life, and even nowadays hesitating applying to big food festivals out of state – they all stem from the fear of failure, or the fear of not being good enough to “succeed.”
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
So one time in college, I entered a dating show event as a favor to one of my friends who was part of the organization hosting the event.
As part of the show, I had to get recordings of some of my friends describing something nice about me, unscripted, and without me present.
All of my friends in the video said that they liked my authenticity, that I was simply “me.”
So yes, the public me is the real me 😂 I’m too terrible at hiding my emotions. As an extroverted-introvert I may be more reserved or more social depending on my energy levels on the day. I love cats.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
Honestly, I feel most at peace when there’s not much going on in a day. When I can just spend the day not thinking about anything I feel like I “need” to do, just relaxing and doing leisurely things that I “want” to do.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @teagucafe
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/teagucafe
Image Credits
Justin Tzou
Tee Pham
