VIETNAM STARTUP ECOSYSTEMRECENT INVESTMENT TRENDS
5 THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY THAN ZUCKERBERG
FPT Tech Day 2015Hanoi, 5/2015
Dr. PHAM Minh Tuan - Founder & CEO, TOPICA Edtech Group
Bill Gates & Deputy PM Phạm Gia Khiêm Launching
TOPIC64, 4/2006
First-in-the-world Google Glass app for English
Speech Tutoring, launched 3/2014
Graduates of TOPICA Founder Institute,
2012
Online English Speech Tutoring As-Much-As-You-Can• 16 Hours a Day,
Everyday• 100+ Native Teachers• 300 Modules of
Multimedia Courseware
• CASEC Online English Skills Test
Finalist, 2007
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
Winner, 2011Finalist, 2008
Young Global Leader Honoree, 2012
Established: 2008 | Team: 500 Full-time; 100 Part-time; 1400 Instructors
TOPCA signs agreement with AMA, largest univ in
Philippines, 5/2014
Topica Uni Partnering with Philippines Univs, for Philippines Students• Partner with largest
university in Philippines, 300k students
• Provide Topica's 12 systems, 300 processes
• 10+ other universities in negotiation
High-Quality Online University Programs• 7 University Partners
Including Top-tier• Bachelor's Degrees:
Accounting, Banking, Business, IT, Law
• Expanding into Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand
Vietnam Chapters of Silicon-Valley Accelerator Network• "The Accelerator" in
VN: grads raised 8 million dollars to date
• Who's Who of Accomplished Founders & Investors Served as Mentors
First-in-Asia Smartwatch App for
English Vocab Learning, 12/2014
Free App For Learing Vocabulary, Grammar• 120k users in 3
months pilot• Rnglish-VN, French-
VN, German-VN• Developing Thai,
Indo versions for English
English Teacher Award Ceremony covered by Thai media, 4/2015
Topica Native for Thai Speakers• Launched 3/2015,
first mover in Thailand
• Explosive growth• Thai sales, support
staff• Thai user interface
Corporate: TOPICA Founder Institute "The" Startup Accelerator in Vietnam
Vietnam's Only Accelerator Whose Grads Raised Million-Dollar Rounds: • Total $10m raised • 28 grads• 3 annual batches
Branding vehicle: • Most international coverage for
Topica involve TFI• Speaking invitations at
international startup conferences
Powerful recruiting vehicle: • 4 of top 20 Topica managers are
former startups• Many top percentile students
from Tier 1 universities joined
Ecosystem building vehicle: • Many promising Edtech startups
grads of TFI• Future distribution, investment,
acquisition options
VIETNAM STARTUP ECOSYSTEMRECENT INVESTMENT TRENDS
5 THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY THAN ZUCKERBERG
FPT Tech Day 2015Hanoi, 5/2015
Dr. PHAM Minh Tuan - Founder & CEO, TOPICA Edtech Group
One possible “definition”• “Tech”: Internet, Mobile• “Startup”: Founded after 2000
• “Successful”:• Valuation: $10m+• Or Revenues: $2m+• Or Staff: 100+ Full-time• Or Funding: Series B+ • Or Exit
Disclamer• This is an incomplete list, we may have missed many great companies & founders• This definition of “successful” is obviously debatable, there are many other possible definitions• We did not consider spin-offs, joint ventures for this study• We only considered verifiable data, rumors are only used for double-checking
BAO GIỜ SÓNG ĐẾN ĐÂY?What Do We Consider a
“Successful” Tech Startup in VN?
They Did Differently #1:
Got Older, More ExperiencedThey are not college-drop out kids:◼Average age when started their first “successful” startup: 28.8Exceptions:◼Nguyen Hoa Binh (Peacesoft): started at 20 ◼Nguyen Xuan Tai (Naiscorp): started at 22◼ But both did finish university
They Did Differently #2:
Built Their Skills from Different PlacesThey built their skills◼78% (21/27) or more had had jobs or startup experience from two or more organizationsExceptions:◼Naiscorp and Peacesoft founders started while in university
They Did Differently #3: Got International ExposureThey worked or studied overseas:◼45% (12/27) or more had had worked or studied abroad
Exceptions:◼Nhan The Luan (NCT), Vuong Vu Thang (VC Corp)…
They Did Differently #4:
Were relentless, It’s a Marathon not SprintThey have been running marathons:◼“Successful” founders has spent on average 5.7 years at their current startups◼It takes much longer to build a hundred-million dollar startup
Exceptions:◼Tiki was only 3-years old since raising Series B, but Tran Ngoc Thai Son will likely keep building it for many more years
They Did Differently #5:
Customized Proven Biz Models from OverseasSurviving in Vietnam market is difficult enough, they reduced risks with proven models:◼Practically 100% has customized and localized biz models that had been proven overseas◼It is a jungle, not a golf course where you can try new things
FOLLOW THE LOCAL EXAMPLES• Get older and more experienced• Build your skills from different places• Get some international exposure• Customize a proven biz model from overseas• Be relentless
OR: BE THE EXCEPTION
EITHER WAY: JUST FREAKING DO IT
BAO GIỜ SÓNG ĐẾN ĐÂY?What should you do to build your successful startup?
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