Vietnam internet startup scene by Topica

1. VIETNAM STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
RECENT INVESTMENT TRENDS
5 THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY THAN ZUCKERBERG
FPT Tech Day 2015
Hanoi, 5/2015
Dr. PHAM Minh Tuan - Founder & CEO, TOPICA Edtech Group

2. 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

3. 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

11. VIETNAM STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
RECENT INVESTMENT TRENDS
5 THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY THAN ZUCKERBERG
FPT Tech Day 2015
Hanoi, 5/2015
Dr. PHAM Minh Tuan - Founder & CEO, TOPICA Edtech Group

12. 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?

13. 27 Founders of “Successful” Tech Startups
(Incomplete list)

14. They Did Differently #1:
Got Older, More Experienced
They are not college-drop out kids:
◼Average age when started their first “successful” startup: 28.8
Exceptions:
◼Nguyen Hoa Binh (Peacesoft): started at 20
◼Nguyen Xuan Tai (Naiscorp): started at 22
◼But both did finish university

15. They Did Differently #2:
Built Their Skills from Different Places
They built their skills
◼78% (21/27) or more had had jobs or startup experience from two or more organizations
Exceptions:
◼Naiscorp and Peacesoft founders started while in university

16. They Did Differently #3: Got International Exposure
They 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)…

17. They Did Differently #4:
Were relentless, It’s a Marathon not Sprint
They 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

18. They Did Differently #5:
Customized Proven Biz Models from Overseas
Surviving 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

19. Other Success: Overseas Vietnamese with Local Teams

20. Other Success: Individual Geniuses
haivl

21. 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?

22. VIETNAM STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
RECENT INVESTMENT TRENDS
5 THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY THAN ZUCKERBERG
FPT Tech Day 2015
Hanoi, 5/2015
Dr. PHAM Minh Tuan - Founder & CEO, TOPICA Edtech Group