The document discusses characteristics of successful tech startups in Vietnam. It finds that on average, founders of successful startups were older at 28.8 years when starting their first successful company. They tended to gain experience through multiple jobs and startups before striking out on their own. Many had international exposure through work or study overseas. Successful founders also customized proven business models from other countries and were relentless, treating their startups like a marathon rather than a sprint by spending over 5 years on average building their companies. The document advises emulating these factors or being exceptional in other ways, but emphasizes taking action to actually start and build a company.

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