Misa Chien

    Nom Nom Truck

    Age: 25

    Nom Nom Truck serves up Banh Mi and other Vietnamese-inspired dishes to customers in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 2009, Misa Chien started the company with 26-year-old Jennifer Green. Now, the company has grown without outside funding -- a team of 15 operates two trucks in Los Angeles, and seven employees run the truck in San Francisco. And Chien has no issue telling her truckers what to do: Early on, she drove Nom Nom's first truck for three months and got into a routine of checking the propane, jumpstarting the vehicle, and eating Banh Mi every day.

    "In a male dominated industry, you can still excel if you work really hard and follow your dreams," Chien says, admitting it wasn't always easy. As one of the final two teams on the Food Network series, The Great Food Truck Race, last year, Chien can take a deep breath. Chien is focused on growth, hinting that Nom Nom "will be taking mobility to the next level, in other ways of mobility besides just the truck."