I once established a technology company and served as its director in my twenties. The company had seven members, each holding a full-fledged position.
At that time, the startup fever had not yet reached Vietnam; otherwise, I might have proclaimed myself a founder. We spent a considerable amount of time creating the company's website, designing the logo, choosing a slogan, printing business cards, setting up email addresses, establishing an office, buying furniture, acquiring machinery and equipment, signing documents for equity distribution, rights, and responsibilities.
In essence, we had everything a business needed, except for customers. As a result, the company closed its doors, generating no revenue.
In my second entrepreneurial venture, I focused not on embellishments but on customer search and service, emphasizing 100%. The company only had a website in the second year and a small office in the third year. No one held any titles unless necessary for communication with clients.
We did only what was essential to operate the company, concentrating on revenue generation, expanding the market, and attracting talent. Today, we have a solid team, satisfactory revenue, and happy customers.
Between these two experiences is nearly 12 years working at Google. Google is known for its beautiful offices, but few know that for much of its history, Google rented spaces, renovated them, but did not build new ones.
Google thrived for almost 20 years before considering constructing its headquarters in 2015. Even then, there were concerns that the company had run out of innovative ideas, unsure of what new thing to do with the money.
The key to successful business is creating something that many people want. Silicon Valley companies don't rush to build headquarters because constructing ten buildings won't help them address the world's real problems.
Creating something many people want is a vague, costly, and risky process. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that half of new businesses typically close within five years, and 65% shut down within a decade. The primary reason is creating something nobody needs, and the second reason is running out of money. No startup has ever died due to a lack of an office.
Each year, Singapore hosts a competition to find solutions for significant cybersecurity problems. The Singapore government commits to providing funding of up to one million SGD, non-refundable and without taking any rights or shares in the projects. The only requirement, but a wise one, is that teams must register a business in Singapore and hire at least 50% of their workforce from the island. I know of at least one team from Vietnam that was selected and is currently operating as a Singaporean business.
The U.S. government also has numerous direct sponsorship programs, cuts, or tax breaks for startups and small businesses. The Small Business Innovation Research program, established in 1982, disburses an average of 2.5 billion USD each year to small companies to promote research and development, technology transfer in all fields.
An expert told me that Vietnam cannot do the same as other countries because those who receive budget money and run a loss-making business will be held responsible and may even face imprisonment. Perhaps, first of all, authorities need to review and innovate the regulations that are hindering creative thinking. Something new cannot be created on an old mindset.
"Build something people want" is the motto of Y Combinator, a private technology incubator that has produced a series of unicorn companies like Dropbox, Stripe, Airbnb, Doordash, and more. They are considered innovation and creative innovation monuments, solving many real-world problems, even though behind them are thousands of companies that have failed.
To stimulate innovation, one must be willing to embrace failure. Otherwise, I fear Vietnam will only build towering monuments of innovative innovation, looking tall, without solving any urgent problems.
Dương Ngọc Thái
