 The ceremony to mark 30 years of the Vietnamese Young Entrepreneurs Movement (photo: VOV) |
Accepting challenges, risking failure, and persistently pursuing innovation and creativity are the hallmarks of today’s young Vietnamese entrepreneurs. Bui Tien Dung, CEO of technology start-up BenKon, says that in the early stages of starting a business that optimizes air conditioning energy management, he faced a lot of skepticism because the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) was still new in Vietnam.
He pursued his innovative technology that uses hardware designed by Vietnamese engineers and manufactured entirely in Vietnam, and BenKon gradually attracted customers because it helped them save as much as 40% of the energy needed for air conditioning.
Dung says 90% of startups fail in the first 3-5 years. It’ important for businesses to promote their potential and capabilities and not rely on support programs and policies. Dung said: “One manufacturing concept many people are trying to follow is Kaizen, which means constant improvement.
It’s important to consider as many ideas as possible. We accept failure and competition. We want to innovate and improve technology through a new, more creative outlook."
Last year, BenKon won the Start-up Wheel Champion award and was recently honored by the Ministry of Planning and Investment for its innovative digital solution.
 Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa, CEO of the Truong Food Company (photo: NVCC) |
Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa, CEO of the Truong Food Company, says young entrepreneurs must affirm themselves: “Don't wait for a support policy. If you want someone to help you, you have to prove that you can do it. What Truong Food and I personally have done is to make a local specialty product available in 63 provinces and cities. When we got results, departments and agencies decided to support us. We had to try to do it ourselves first."
Dang Hong Anh, Chairman of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association, said young entrepreneurs run businesses well and have new, bold initiatives. They bring new vitality to the Red Star Club, which includes all the entrepreneurs who have been honored with the Red Star award since 1999.