What happens when your purpose outgrows your plan? Elise Pham joins us to unpack the power of reinvention, resilience, and rewriting the narrative — not just for yourself, but for everyone watching.
Elise Pham built a 7-figure business while balancing pre-med at Harvard. She’s amassed over 1.4 million followers across social media, been featured in Forbes and Business Insider, and helped thousands of students navigate college admissions through her platform, Ultimate Ivy League Guide. But her story isn’t just about accolades. It’s about everything she had to carry to get there.
In this deeply personal and wildly inspiring episode, we sit down with Elise to explore the subtext behind her success, starting with the loss of her mother at age nine, being raised by a single immigrant father, and the quiet resilience it took to navigate elite institutions without connections, money, or guidance.
Elise opens up about battling shame, people-pleasing, and identity crises in the background of her polished résumé. She shares how she went from reselling Xboxes and failed dropshipping attempts to choosing between med school and entrepreneurship, all while learning to build a business, a brand, and a new version of herself — in public.
Whether you're a student, builder, or creative trying to find your place, this conversation will hit. Elise doesn’t just talk about impact. She lives it. And through it all, she reminds us that success isn’t about the metrics. It’s about the meaning you choose to build along the way.
Follow Elise:
Instagram- @elisempham