Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > September > 04 > Entry
Soap Nut: Austin’s David Nguyen
Scanning the distant horizons of the global economy, who conjures up the words: “soap nuts”? Without giggling?
“I was looking for the greenest soap possible,” Nguyen says. “It grows on trees in India, Indonesia and Nepal.”
They also thrive in Texas, although the Western Soapberry — sapindus drummondii — is mostly known for its bright fall colors. Otherwise, it’s something of a nuisance: “Sucker growth; fleshy fruits can be messy,” says a Texas A&M tree-planting Web site.
I met Nguyen — descended from the Vietnamese emperors, according to his refugee parents, although, by some estimates, more than a third of Vietnamese families bear the name — at a party. That’s not unusual. I meet lots of people at Austin parties.
Yet his networking skills seemed, at first, off balance. He ducked my camera for while. Said something about the rough crowd he hung with in San Jose, Calif. As always, I didn’t press. There were plenty of other fascinating people to photograph and chat up at Eddy V’s to toast Michele Golden, former rodeo queen, crack publicist and all-star social connector.
Eventually, Nguyen came around. Partly, I think, because he was consumed. Not with Eddy V’s refined refreshments or the conversation. With soap nuts. And his start-up: Nature’s Wash.
“Soap nuts are the most natural cleaning agent in the world and clean just as effectively as chemical detergents, ” Nguyen says. “They also support the environment and the developing villages where they are harvested.” He’s repeated that pitch at three separate social occasions. It’s also found on his LinkedIn home page. Nguyen’s message is nothing if not disciplined.
He’s not the only potential entrepreneur to discover — or rediscover — the value of the berries, or nuts. He’s not even the only Austinite in the natural soap business. He just contemplates them the most thoroughly, night and day. I meet people like Nguyen all the time. Captivated people. Dreamers. They drive the Austin economy. They’ve made some investors at capital firms like Austin Ventures wealthy on a Roman imperial scale.
Along the way, I discovered that Nguyen reserves a weakness for jazz (we met up last week for a Kat Edmonson gig at Vino Vino); he prefers reds over whites in the wine department; and he’s funny in a sneaky, quiet sort of way.
My limited experience convinces me that, were “The Graduate” filmed in Austin today, the character of Mr. McGuire might corner Benjamin (originally played by a very young Dustin Hoffman), pressing on him, not plastics, but rather, with Nguyen’s firmly excited voice: “I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Well, two.
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By Dr Rutuja Bhawsar
May 5, 2011 9:17 AM | Link to this
Sir wanted to know if soap nut can be used in oral cavity ? does it cause any side-effects?
By Jennifer
September 5, 2009 11:47 AM | Link to this
Soap Nuts are proof that all we need is provided for us. I have used them for four years. I used to use the nuts, then switched to making a "tea" from them. Now I use a ready made liquid from Maggie's Soap Nuts. I have bought it from Eco-Wise and Wheatsville CO-OP. It's made in an organic tea plant and is the ONLY detergent in the world made with no synthetic chemicals. I use the liquid for everythig, even showering and shampoo. Be careful of the local soapberry. There is another plant called soapberry that causes rashes. You don't want to choose the wrong one.