Words by Morgan Kastner
After taking the TEDxLSU stage in 2013, Baton Rouge native Kenny Nguyen has seen quite a few changes in his professional and personal life. While still tackling projects and looking for the next way to help his clients and the Baton Rouge community, Kenny is now taking different approaches, exploring new visions and is always pushing forward.
We caught up with Kenny to hear about his chain reaction from the TEDxLSU stage to where he is now and where he hopes to be in the future.
Taking on TEDxLSU
Kenny gave his TEDxLSU talk, “The Art of Saying No,” in 2013. Then the CEO and Founder of Big Fish Presentations, a creative agency specializing in company storytelling and high-quality presentations, Kenny shared the power of no. In his talk, he argued that saying no when invited to appear on ABC’s television series Shark Tank allowed him to grow his company strategically and learn at his own pace because he could make his own decisions instead of listening to the industry leaders, or better known as the “sharks.”
Kenny found after giving his talk that it helped him broaden his company’s reputation on his own terms. “TEDxLSU actually actually helped with getting an Entrepreneur Magazine article written about us,” he shared. From there, he and his Big Fish colleagues were able to procure a book deal from McGraw-Hill and in 2016 released The Big Fish Experience: Create Memorable Presentations That Reel In Your Audience. Kenny proves that saying no is just as important as saying yes when it comes to setting yourself down productive paths.
Expanding the Business
As Big Fish Presentations continued to grow, Kenny saw an opportunity to expand his business by merging with another local company, Hatchit, a web and branding agency. In May 2016, Big Fish and Hatchit merged to create ThreeSixtyEight, a digital experience agency. Kenny says, “The merger has allowed us to work on a bigger scale with different clients solving different problems on the surface. But really it all boils down to us helping clients communicate better – whether through digital or on the stage.” As the new company grows, Kenny and his team are pushing to create a reputation for producing “amazing digital and event experiences.” By monitoring trends, developing partnerships and organizing events, ThreeSixtyEight is working hard to fulfill their vision of the company’s future.
Looking to the Future
Setting goals for this year, Kenny is pumped to launch Assembly Required, “a series of events that recruit and highlight the best talent of Baton Rouge while also connecting the talent to national thought-leaders.” As the series name indicates, a key element to Assembly Required is that in order for successful progress to happen at local levels, people from local and national arenas must first connect and draw from each other’s time and talents. Each event will focus on a different professional field. At some point, Kenny plans to highlight one of his favorite things about Baton Rouge – the food. In addition to developing Assembly Required, Kenny intends to cultivate a street food festival showcasing the culture and diversity of Baton Rouge.
After piloting Assembly Required in Baton Rouge, Kenny hopes to expand it further by starting the series in other cities. With big ideas and creative talent, we can’t wait to see what Kenny will accomplish next.
We caught up with Kenny to hear about his chain reaction from the TEDxLSU stage to where he is now and where he hopes to be in the future.
Taking on TEDxLSU
Kenny gave his TEDxLSU talk, “The Art of Saying No,” in 2013. Then the CEO and Founder of Big Fish Presentations, a creative agency specializing in company storytelling and high-quality presentations, Kenny shared the power of no. In his talk, he argued that saying no when invited to appear on ABC’s television series Shark Tank allowed him to grow his company strategically and learn at his own pace because he could make his own decisions instead of listening to the industry leaders, or better known as the “sharks.”
Kenny found after giving his talk that it helped him broaden his company’s reputation on his own terms. “TEDxLSU actually actually helped with getting an Entrepreneur Magazine article written about us,” he shared. From there, he and his Big Fish colleagues were able to procure a book deal from McGraw-Hill and in 2016 released The Big Fish Experience: Create Memorable Presentations That Reel In Your Audience. Kenny proves that saying no is just as important as saying yes when it comes to setting yourself down productive paths.
Expanding the Business
As Big Fish Presentations continued to grow, Kenny saw an opportunity to expand his business by merging with another local company, Hatchit, a web and branding agency. In May 2016, Big Fish and Hatchit merged to create ThreeSixtyEight, a digital experience agency. Kenny says, “The merger has allowed us to work on a bigger scale with different clients solving different problems on the surface. But really it all boils down to us helping clients communicate better – whether through digital or on the stage.” As the new company grows, Kenny and his team are pushing to create a reputation for producing “amazing digital and event experiences.” By monitoring trends, developing partnerships and organizing events, ThreeSixtyEight is working hard to fulfill their vision of the company’s future.
Looking to the Future
Setting goals for this year, Kenny is pumped to launch Assembly Required, “a series of events that recruit and highlight the best talent of Baton Rouge while also connecting the talent to national thought-leaders.” As the series name indicates, a key element to Assembly Required is that in order for successful progress to happen at local levels, people from local and national arenas must first connect and draw from each other’s time and talents. Each event will focus on a different professional field. At some point, Kenny plans to highlight one of his favorite things about Baton Rouge – the food. In addition to developing Assembly Required, Kenny intends to cultivate a street food festival showcasing the culture and diversity of Baton Rouge.
After piloting Assembly Required in Baton Rouge, Kenny hopes to expand it further by starting the series in other cities. With big ideas and creative talent, we can’t wait to see what Kenny will accomplish next.