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Igniting Careers

Tu Nguyen, 28
Vice President of Information Technology
DocCenter Inc.

Unique problems beg innovative solutions. That’s where people like Tu Nguyen fit right in.

His parents own the Saigon Restaurant in west Omaha, where they and the other chefs speak only Vietnamese. The staff out front, however, speaks English. Nguyen (pronounced “win”) was the middleman.

While enrolled at the College of Information Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Nguyen got an idea. He applied the latest in Microsoft technology to develop an application that would allow the English-speaking staff to place orders for the kitchen via handheld personal data assistants (PDAs). The PDAs transmit the orders to a computer server, which translates them into Vietnamese.

The application earned Nguyen first place in the national and international 2003 Microsoft Imagine Cup competitions, a $25,000 prize and a 13-week internship at the company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

Today, Nguyen is vice president of information technology at DocCenter Inc., a document management and information technology solutions company headquartered in Omaha at the Scott Technology Transfer and Incubator Center.

DocCenter was founded in May 2000 with a focus on Internet-based document management solutions. The company has since expanded its services to include document management and imaging, offering “a complete turnkey solution” to consumers and small businesses.

Nguyen was the company’s first intern. This year, he was nominated to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Opportunities like that helped prompt Nguyen to move back to Omaha from Washington state.

“At Microsoft, I got a taste of big company culture and didn’t really like being a number,” he says. “Being in Omaha I have a better opportunity to pursue my career goals.

“And there are the economic reasons. Omaha offers me big-city amenities but without the high cost of living. I also like the fact that I can go anywhere within Omaha by hopping on Interstate 80.”

He recommends the city to other career-minded entrepreneurs.

“It’s a great place for young professionals to ignite their career. The primary factors I see are job opportunities, cost of living and the diverse industries that exist within Omaha. If you’re looking for a stable job environment and a place to raise a family, then you should look into Omaha.”

As for the family restaurant, Nguyen serves as his parents’ informal “support staff” regarding those PDAs, which he has named HOT Pads, short for Handheld Order Taking Pad.

“I guess it’s easier to call me,” he says, “than teach everyone to speak Vietnamese.”