Introduction: 0:00
- Introducing Nguyen Vu, Deputy General Counsel at OK, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world.
- Forging a career in payments, fintech, and product at Apple, Facebook, Bolt, and T-Mobile.
- Starting a new role and managing an international legal team in the dynamic crypto and web 3.0 industry.
Beginning your career during the Great Recession: 3:21
- Feeling the fear of graduating law school without a job offer.
- Getting into telecommunications regulatory work in DC through persistent networking.
- Dealing with the daily tension of working at a large firm in an era of mass layoffs.
Moving beyond telecoms law: 6:10
- Exploring marketing legal at T-Mobile and writing social media.
- Relocating from DC to the Bay Area to work as a tech attorney.
Landing a dream role at Apple: 7:07
- Applying to positions through internal referrals, being rejected and catching the attention of internal recruiters.
- Submitting your application even when the role doesn’t feel like a perfect fit.
Coming into your own as a product attorney: 11:44
- Considering your product through a global lens.
- Launching the first multi-payment plan for iPhone and releasing the Apple credit card.
Defining the role of a product counselor: 18:45
- Bridging the gap between business goals and the legal regulatory landscape.
- Identifying a wide variety of legal issues and bringing in the right lawyers to solve each one.
- Becoming a “mini GC” for each product and recognizing data, funds, and user experience.
Joining Facebook’s digital currency project: 20:10
- Leveraging consumer credit experience to enter the fintech market.
- Carrying post-law school anxiety about unemployment through your career.
- Failing to launch a program because of extreme scrutiny from regulators and politicians.
- Working on the project that initiated crypto regulations around the world.
Getting off of career plateaus and joining Bolt: 25:06
- Breaking out of the independent contractor cycle by joining a start-up and growing out a team.
- Becoming a better lawyer by learning to have tough conversations.
- Offering “feed-forward” instead of “feedback.”
Navigating the difficulties of managing a legal team at a start-up: 28:43
- Maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset and advancing towards business priorities.
- Considering legal as a marketing tool.
- Charting short-term success to keep your team motivated.
Encountering “Big Company Bias”: 31:34
- Finding that start-up legal teams don’t think lawyers from major tech companies lack flexibility and an ability to work with fewer resources.
Becoming deputy general counsel at OKX: 36:33
- Moving from crypto-adjacent role and speaking engagements to one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges with international scope.
- Jumping from a deputy role to another deputy role, and reevaluating your career priorities.
Book recommendations: 40:10
- Going Infinite by Michael Lewis
Advice to your younger self: 41:36
- Ensuring that you showcase your strongest work to key people you can move your career forward.
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