LIVE UPDATES from VietAbroader Business Conference 2009

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06:15. Just arrived at White Palace. Final check-ups starting right away. Team show signs of short sleeps, but are otherwise excited.

06.20. In case we forget to tell you, the technical and information crew who have the pleasure to serve you today are: Luong The Vinh, Tran Tuan Minh, Tran Nguyen Khoi, Hoang Ngoc Bich, Nguyen Thu Ha, Nguyen Nang, Cindy Tran, Dao Viet Phuong and Nguyen Manh Luan. Cheer us on!!

07:15. Delegates have started arriving. Meanwhile, the final preparation work is getting frenetic. Feel the heat!

08:00. Things are getting into organisation. Hope that we can start soon, and smoothly. Help us Buddha and Jesus.

08:30. We have started. Here we go!!!

The first speech is a few words of welcome from Le Ngoc Duy Thang, Co-Chairman of the Conference. He stresses the importance of creativity, boldness and REINVENTION in the current challeging time.

Next is Professor Vu Tinh, Vice President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He wishes that young students will identify new directions in their careers through this forum.

Mr. Alexander Nguyen, Deputy CEO of Lien Viet Bank. Lien Viet highly appreciates the importance of investment in the human resources of an organisation - in other words, get the right people!

Mr. Tran Trong Toan, Vice Chair of the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese, is impressed by VietAbroader and our report from VABC 2008. He urges us to innovate and reinvent ourselves to catch up with the more developed world economies. A dynamic young generation is a must-have in order for us to realise this - because we will have to welcome the world culture as well as world business competition right in our home market!

08:50. We now enter the Keynote Conversation. Between Le Ngoc Duy Thang, VABC 2009 Co-Chairman and Mr. Tran Si Chuong, Chairman of ABBO Community. Thang asks Mr. Chuong to share some personal experiences in hitting difficulties in life and changing oneself to overcome them. Mr. Chuong used to plan to become an engineer, but realised half-way through that he was not exceptional in this field. There were sceptics among his family and friends circles when he decided to change the directions. But he perservered and kept at it, and studied other subjects to gain a broader perspective. Along the way, he found out what he was really made out for, and has since then achieved success.

Thang: - Is is true that we tend to conform to social trends, and lose sight of individuality? How do we cope with social pressure and do what we desire?

Tran Si Chuong: - Total social welfare used to be the way of life in Viet Nam in the past. As the country changes, individual development and individual diversity become more and more important. If the individual cannot develop to the fullest, the development of society is also restricted. However it takes time for a individual to find his or her right path. For young students, it is important that you try to do best in whatever you are involved in, and watch out for what you enjoy in the process.

Thang: - For Viet Nam to be more competitive and more developed, how should we identitfy ourselves as individuals, companies and nation?

Tran Si Chuong: - This is a very challenging question. A society is a big thing to analyse, and change. First, I think you need to keep some humility and seek to understand the roots of each issues, whether possitive or negative. Keep a positive persperpective, but be patient about change. Be constructive, not destructive.

Regarding your personal value, your value is in what you build for others. It's not whether you have achieved success when studying overseas or something similar - it's your concrete contributions on this very motherland. In other words, it's not how you price yourself, but how others price you! So, ndentify your area of contribution and enhance your value through it. Pay attention to what people around you need, and adjust yourself to provide for that need.

09:20. The first long discussion panel is "Reinvention Traditional Businesess: Stories from the Food & Beverages Industry", with moderator Vo Thi Minh An, VABC 2009 Organizing Staff, Duong Trung Quoc, Deputy to the National Assembly, Secretary General of the Vietnam Historical Science Society, Mr. Ngo Cuc Man, General Director of Com Tam Thuan Kieu and Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, General Director of Wrap & Roll.

Duong Trung Quoc: - Food and drinks are the most basic necessities, and the market for them is one of the earliest in human history. Yet food and drinks also involve significant cultural values.

An: - How have and how will integration with the world impact traditional businesses such as Food & Beverages?

Duong Trung Quoc: - Integration with the world means broadening our market. Historically we have had a beneficial geographic position, with early access to China, India, Martime Southeast Asia, etc. We have had opportunities to interact with different cultures, hence gaining valuable knowledge from other cultures, e.g. coffee irrigation. In the modern age, what we are stil lacking is marketing and branding skills.

Next is some sharinfg from Mr. Ngo Cuc Man and Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh.


Ngo Cuc Man: - I started from a family business - a normal rice stall. I studied Economics and decided that I would like to use what I learned in Economics and Business to further make our business larger.

Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh: - I have in fact never studied university - I am only a high school graduate. My only formal further education is a Business Administration course at PACE.

(Wow!!)

An: - What opportunities and difficulties are there for F&B businesses in Viet Nam nowadays?

Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh: - The opportunities are apparent - as customer appetites change the F&G models we see overseas are becoming more and more relevant and applicable. Wrap & Roll has exprienced a good stream of business. The challenge now is the very fast expansion. We need to look at our resource limitations to see how much extra we can accomodate in the short term.

Ngo Cuc Man: - Foreign F&B chains have far more developed systems and skills, and threaten to push local operators out of the market. Thuan Kieu needs to reform and change to deal with this "threat". Com tam (broken rice) itself is a popular product to Vietnamese eaters. However we need to enhance our business models to stay competitive with foreign concepts.

An: - How does the food and beverage industry contribute to Viet Nam's development?

Duong Trung Quoc: - F&B is a source of incessant innovation. Com tam was originally a by-product, food of the poor. Yet we have found ways to turn it into a widely-popular product nowadays, enjoyed by many. Wrap & Roll is a similar story. These reforms free people from being static, inspire them to move forward and adapt to the changing environment. If an old business can reinvent itself, anybody can really do it! It creates a positive force in our economy and culture. We inherit values from Chinese cuisine, French cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisines - can we become the "kitchen for the world" based on these? - remember that such a thing would bring in great economic benefits.



Question from the Audience: - Do proactively-reinventing businesses such as Com Tam Thuan Kieu, Wrap & Roll and Pho 24 care about co-operating with each other to enhance the value of Vietnamese brands on the international level?

Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh: - This is a very macro idea; we need competent leaders for others to follow. F&B is a very diverse area, and therefore cooperating is not an easy task and takes time. However each company can contribute to creating a healthy competitive market in order to encourage better and better concepts. In terms of branding, Pho 24 is one of the pioneers. We actively learn from other businesses to improve ourselves.

Question from the Audience: - Vietnamese F&B culture is affected by many other cultures. Do you think we can develop a distinct culture, or will we always be adapting and borrowing from others?

Duong Trung Quoc: - We have a distinct culture to market, but we need to develop our marketing skills. For most of our nation's history, we have been struggling to survive, not to develop. We need to break down the "survival mentality", and adopt a "development mentality". We need to build our own distinguishing values. We need to build a society of dynamic and innovative people, not those who just replicate and follow.


Question from the Audience: - Have you thought of organising "hàng rong" into a business, instead of wiping out completely a very traditional aspect of our society?

Ngo Cuc Man: - Quan Ngon is a concept which has tried to incorporate this idea into modern business. Com Tam Thuan Kieu also attempts to turn a low-market food product into a concept more widely appreciated by the mass.



Question from the Audience to Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh: - How has the education at PACE helped you, given that you didn't study university?

Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh: - The course at PACE helped to broaden my perspectives, as I studied how to organise, how to structure a company, and how to effectively use the human resources in modern business.

Lots and lots more questions from the floor. We cannot keep pace now. You can see these in our post-conference DVD.

Here comes the tea break. Thanks Buddha!

11:15. The next panel "The Day Vietnamese Music Dies?", with moderator Pham Hop Pho, Senior Associate at IDG Ventures Vietnam, Nhan The Luan, Chief Executive Officer of NCT Corporation, Sunny Hermano, General Manager of RiverOrchid Vietnam, Cathy Lynn Vu, Executive Producer of YANTV, Truong Duc Tri, Vice President and Producer, Music Faces Entertainment JSC, and Ms. Van Anh from Nokia Vietnam.

Pho excitingly opens the panel with a Trinh Cong Son tune, and poses a question whether we would remember it and its composer 10 years, 20 years, 50 years... from now. How can commercialisation of music help to preserve music?

Pho: - What makes a strong music industry?

Sunny Hermano: - I measure the strength of a country's music industry by diversity and the number of local talents, and the interaction between local and international music.

Van Anh: - A strong music industry must have strong commercial value, and it must have effective marketing and active accommodation of new players.

Truong Duc Tri: - A strong music industry needs to tend to every part of the industry: the artist, the producer, and the customer. Currently music-makers cannot live on their basic pay. Revenue channels such as CD sales are limited due to piracy and illegal internet downloading.

Cathy Lynn Vu: - In fact, given the current advance internet technologies, it is important that Vietnamese music makers quickly enter the digital merchandising channels.

Pho: - Can we export Vietnamese music in order to increase our exposure and get more revenue?

Sunny Hermano: Music is an international language, so it is shared among different culture. However the main question is whether you write the right music for the right reasons. In other words, this is the dream that you can achieve only if you believe in yourselves and follow through. The right approach is that, first you capture the local market, then you can expand to the internationa market.

Pho: - Can we reinvent Vietnamese music ? Do we really have to do so?

Truong Duc Tri: I think we should ask why we have to export our music and what the purpose is, say to have a Vietnamese clip on MTV. What we need to do is to introduce our culture to the international community, and that should be our main purpose of exporting Vietnamese music. If we think we are strong enough, we need to ask whether we have a strong music industry to bring it outside of the country

Pho: - On NCT, do you track the number of foreigners listening to Vietnamese music?

Nhan The Luan: - Yes, it is approximate 20% of total music listeners

Pho: - How far should a sponsoring brand go to influence music ? Some artists seem to sing for their brand, not for the audience. For the same amount of money, what's the difference between 1 million VND spent by the sponsor and 1 million VND spent by the audience?

Van Anh: When a sponsor spend the money on a concert, or support an artist, it's basically a marketing campaign.

Pho: - From the audience perspective, why should I go to a concert where I have to pay while I can go to a sponsored concert for free ? Does sponsorship in music negatively affect the music industry ?

Sunny Hermano: I think we need everybody, both sponsors and audiences. Without sponsors, we will not have enough the financial and marketing capability to support the music industry.

Sunny Hermano: I think we need everybody, both sponsors and audiences. Without sponsors, we will not have enough the financial and marketing capability to support the music industry.

Pho: I agree that sponsoring is the way to keep our music industry alive and healthy. Today, even a famous singer who plans to hold a huge concert still needs a sponsor. Music used to be a product, but now it has become a service (e.g: a service that provides 1000 songs with just a click). So music makers might think of music as water, and they bottle it, distribute it, even do whatever the consumer or the audience demand

It is common saying that old habits die hard. In music, many people have been listening to a certain type of music, and are only waiting for new products that fit their habits. While music changes, the perception about music changes, and the music makers also change, it is interesting to see that the audience keep their habits regarding music types.

Pho: Music needs copyright, so should we punish people who distribute music illegally online?

Sunny Hermano: We can certainly try to regulate it, like we need to tell people that downloading pirated music is illegal. As downloading music illegally replaces buying a CD, and if you don't steal a CD, you shouldn't download music illegally.

Cathy Lynn Vu: Some corporations give out free music as a mean of marketing, to increase sales in their concert tickets. However, I think that regulating music illegal download is really difficult.

Truong Duc Tri: It's hard to say which way is the best. Only a few of us see the music industry as a profitable career. For instance, how many among us will continue to write music as a way to make a living ? If we decide to go down this road, music won't die, but the domestic music industry will die. There is a future for Vietnamese music, but if we don't change, if we don't reform, our domestic music industry will become weak and inevitably die.

Nhan The Luan: The original purpose of my website was for me to post my music up there for myself to listen. Then gradually my friends start to share their music, and NCT became a popular place online. Later, we once ask members to pay VND15,000 a month, for which I initially thought it would be reasonable. However, it was heavily criticized by members themselves. For instance, YouTube presents another case against our expectation. Originally, media corporations attacked YouTube for copyright violation; then they realised YouTube as a good way to market and approach potential viewers. I think the same case might apply to music listening and downloading sites

Pho: - How about the cost of music ? How much does a good quality music video cost in Vietnam?

Cathy Lynn Vu: A good quality music video in Vietnam costs on average US$10,000

Pho: - So where's the money going?

Truong Duc Tri: One person told me that money is around us; the question is whether we're ready to take it ? And I don't think we are ready now,

Pho: How do the artists make money in other countries?

Sunny Hermano: I agree that the money is everywhere, say T-shirts, concert tickets, ringtones, downloads, sponsors etc. However, it's not as easy as before for artists; A successful artist need a good sponsor and a trusworthy manager who's adept in business.

Van Anh: Profit in business can come from many directions. Nevertheless, we have to move beyond making money from CDs, and find other ways. We also need to educate the population to apperciate the artists, their products as well as their services. Some sponsors like Nokia act as intermediaries (or middlepeople) to connect the music to the audience and the audience to the artist

Audience: What is the difference between marketing for music and marketing for a normal product?

Sunny Hermano: There are different purposes to create music. On the one hand, there are artists who make music because they love it. On the other hand, some brands now use music to advertise themselves. They look for talents, and so now there are also artists who go along the line of "who wants to be famous"

Van Anh: Music is just a product. If you buy a CD, and you like it, you'll buy the next CD from that artist; if you don't like it, you won't buy any other CDs from him or her

Audience: The audience still pays for music, if it's worth the money. The panel keeps talking about the money, but is money the point of making music? And where does the problem for Vietnamese music come from? Is it copyright violation? Is it the lack of quality in new songs? Or is it that the artist is making music just for the money?

Pho: Can I rephrase the question as What does it take to make a good song?

Truong Duc Tri: I have 3 hats that I wear: songwriter, the music producer, and a businessperson. So when I'm the songwriter, I just write music with my passion. When I'm the businessperson or the music producer, I have to worry about money.

Audience: (address Mr Tran Trong Toan) Why aren't Vietnamese songs translated into English?

Truong Duc Tri: Music Faces makes many bilingual products, but we need a similar movement from the whole music industry, because one person can't move a mountain. And on the copyright issue, we have organisations to protect copyrights, but we don't have the enough scope, ability, and resource to protect 100% the rights of the music maker.

Audience: Who call the shots in the music industry? The audience or the music maker?

Sunny Hermano: Music comes from inspiration. When people can connect or relate to your songs, you will have an audience . For instance, Rap is probably a famous genre as it satisfies the demand of the many audience. However, music should generally come from the artist, from passion and from inner inspiration

Audience: Should the supply-demand relationship determine the price of music ?

Truong Duc Tri: We music makers do not pay much attention to the price of music. We need to differentiate between profit-oriented, entertainment music and academic music. Since the Vietnamese music industry is dying, we need to try to breathe life in it again

Audience: What can we learn from the music industry in Japan or Korea?

Truong Duc Tri: They had a strategy to send aspiring young people to the US or Europe to study movie and music making. I wish that we have a school that educate artists to write music and perform for the audience.

Pho: This is a dialogue that will go on for years. You can send all your comments to vietmusic@vietabroader.org

Sunny Hermano: Right, first I'm hungry, and second, we all need to keep the music living

Nhan The Luan: I hope that Vietnamese music will continue to grow

Cathy Lynn Vu: Vietnamese music is not going to die. It'll make progress

Van Anh: Please support Vietnamese music one way or another, it cannot live without you

Truong Duc Tri: Vietnamese music is YOUR music, you can't turn your back on it. It won't die, but it can live, though in a poor condition. We need to help Vietnamese music, our cultural child, in our positive way

Pho: We have every reason to be optimistic for Vietnamese music.

LUNCH BREAK

14:00. We are now into Panel 3 "Building a Corporate Career: Developing Personal Brand and Leadership in a Big Game", with moderator Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong, General Director of Nam Huong Communication and Investment Corporation, Mr. Nguyen Cong Ai, Director for Tax & Corporate Services, KPMG Vietnam, Ms. Duong Thu Huong, PR & Operations Director at IDG Ventures Vietnam, and Nguyen Minh Triet, Chief Executive Officer, Strategy Asia Group.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong begins the panel quite impressively by asking everyone in the hall to shout out "Winner" after her lead line "We are..."!


Nguyen Thu Huong: - When you graduated from university, did you wonder which was the right path to take?

Nguyen Minh Triet: - How to start and develop one's career is a big question. I graduated with an engineering degree from Bach Khoa but have never spent a day as an engineer. That was because when doing the final project in university, I realised that the laboratory world was not suitable for me. Hence after graduation, I decided to move on to the business world, doing Business Development for a Vietnamese company. There was of course a lot of questioning of my decision from my family and friends. After working for 10 years at a number of corporations, I decided to create my own business. So, I think identifying the right path right during university is a very difficult job. For me, it's perhaps continual adaptation that creates success.

Duong Thu Huong: - I studied abroad but decided to return to Viet Nam. I decided so because studying overseas was a real privilege which would not have been possible had it not been for contributions from my family, teachers and many friends. I felt it was appropriate to come back to repay them and to contribute to our country.

People often think students coming back from abroad have a significant edge when it comes to career opportunities. However, what and where one studies in fact contributes a small part to one's success. Most successful people in the world succeed in an area different from what they studied. Real experience is far more important than schooling. For example, I studied Finance in university but have since worked in many different portfolios such as PR, Marketing, IT Project Management... A diverse experience is advantageous. I encourage young people to have the bravity to experience different things, rather than sticking to one rigid thing.

Nguyen Cong Ai: - Everything starts with a dream. Don't begin with a distant ideal, but try to find your dream first. And do not let people deter you from pursuing your dreams, not even your parents! Nor should you measure your success by the money you have, nor with the praise by others, but by your satisfaction with your life.

Try to choose a jon you are happy with and good at. A wrong career choice leads to waste of time in terms of changing jobs and adjusting.

Sharing from Nguyen Thu Huong: I have never had the experience of studying abroad. I worked and studied university at the same time, not to make money, but to gain experience. My job in the national TV was a safe and interesting job, but I chose to open my private business after a long time working there. I have never regretted the decision and am not afraid of failure. I believe this is my right path, and am determined to follow it through.

Question from the Audience: - Someone says never failing is the very greatest failure. Your opinion on this?

Nguyen Cong Ai: - I myself have had many failures, so your saying means I have avoided the greatest failure!! In fact, I once met George Soros in Hungary and he shared with me that "I enjoy my life most when I fail"! A big failure happening to a "right person" will stimulate him to achieve subsequent great success. So "treasure" failures in our life, failures in our love and failures in our work! Don't dream small, and never give up.

Duong Thu Huong: - When we fail, don't let it pass too early. Moments of failure are rare, so cherish it, think a lot about it, so the next failure would be less painful. Successful people are lying if they say they have never failed.

Nguyen Thu Huong: - Can there be good compatability between people from different backgrounds, for example between people coming back from overseas and people who studied at home? How do you build your personal brand?

Duong Thu Huong: - The most difficult is human-human interaction. The most important in work is "people skill": how to live together, how to work togethe. Do not go too far in proving yourself. Use your knowledge, use your skills at the right time, with the right person. Understand who you are, and what you want to do. "Tiên học lễ, hậu học văn" - "lễ" is the people skill, so learn that first. If people from different backgrounds both have the humility to do this, compatibility will not be a problem.

Nguyen Cong Ai: - Vietnamese students returning from abroad tend to demand too much. But for people to value your person and abilities, you should proactively contribute first and prove your worth. The rewards will come later. If everyone, whether graduating locally or overseas, have the same thinking, the crack between them will disappear.

Nguyen Minh Triet: - Regarding personal branding, this is just not different from building a corporate brand. Branding is how to project your image effectively. At the personal level, you should identify the "game" and the "rules", and select your best your position. Aim to be No. 1 or No. 2 in this position in the "league" of workers!!

Question from the Audience: - Is outside look important in personal branding??

Nguyen Thu Huong: - Appearance is a factor, but a smal factor in success. How you look affects how your company looks, hence please do not take this slightly. However I must restate that intelligence and people skills are much more powerful.



Question from the Audience to Nguyen Cong Ai: - How do you measure your satisfaction with your life? Can we be happy without money?

Nguyen Cong Ai: - Money does not buy happiness, but happiness cannot be achieved without any money! Please do not bluff yourself that you don't need money. However do not be greedy: you shouldn't aim to have all you want, but it's better to want all you have! Also, financial rewards come with responsibilities - so don't take up the burden if you cannot handle it.

16:15. Here comes our final panel: "Building Your Business: Facets of Entrepreneurship", with moderator Nguyen Huu Tri, Management Consultant, Phu Quy Corporation and General Director & Founder, Breakthrough Power Corporation, Mr. Le Danh Hoang, Founder & Managing Director, Hoang Yen Group, Mr.Trinh Minh Giang, Education Director, Hanoi VIP Education System and Co-founder, Alpha Books, Duong Thu Huong, PR & Operations Director, IDG Ventures Vietnam.

Nguyen Huu Tri challenges delegates to fill the empty VIP seats, after which he states "What you just did is change, and an important part of entrepreneurship is change"!

The current panel is a "reality show", revealing the truth about entrepreneurship.

Nguyen Huu Tri: - Is it easy to run your own business?

Duong Thu Huong: - To run a business is not hard. But it's very, very hard!!!

Nguyen Huu Tri: - It is a fact that 80% of companies fail within 5 years. Thus, to establish a company is easy, but it's very hard to make it successful. If it is so hard, why do we do it?

Duong Thu Huong: - Starting up a business is hard, but not impossible. If it's too easy, and everyone can do it, there's no reward. If it's very hard but not impossible, then only few can do it, and the reward to them in material and status terms are very large, even beyond their own expectations

In fact today is the age of opportunity. Viet Nam is fast developing economically, politically and academically. We can succeed in our own country.

Nguyen Huu Tri : That's determination that counts the most in every success. The idea can be changed, only determination should be remained the same

Duong Thu Huong : I have received a lot of phone calls and emails entitled : "We call for sponsorship for a new idea". What they don't know that I have received a lot of similar ideas everyday. What stays till the end is YOU - the person who has the idea and wants to succeed. After all, the pursuit of investment is not all about profit or ideas, but your determination .

Le Danh Hoang : You need persistence. There are 2000 numbers in my phonelist equals 2000 times of calling to ask a question

Nguyen Huu Tri : Baggage for entrepreneurship: determination; calculated risk; passion; ability and will to learn. When you leave your corporate job to start a business, you fall from the top of monetary benefits to the bottom of nothing.

Le Danh Hoang : The only two thing I tightly possess at my first stages : youth and hands. I do it, just do it. Passion and ability to learn become ability to change. At some point of your life, money becomes a lesser matter, only passion counts

Trinh Minh Giang : However, strategy is very important; without strategy, passion accomplishes nothing

Duong Thu Huong : In entrepreneurship, intelligence, social skills, tolerance, ... are every important. Those valuable characteristics can be conveyed in one word : Leadership. A leader doesn't need to be excellent at doing everything. Instead, he knows where and how to place people in approriate positions. Only a few are born naturally gifted. In most cases, leadership can be acquired with practice and hard-working.

Nguyen Huu Tri : As a new graduate, how does a person gain the needed qualities?

Trinh Minh Giang : A person can learn from both school and real life. From my own experience and observation, a new graduate should work as an employee before starting up his own business to gain first hand experience

Le Danh Hoang : You can start your business at anytime, either in school or at your retirement age. You just need to seek for opportunities, seize them. If you fail, come back a work, gain more experience, and start up again.

Nguyen Huu Tri : Don't let your passion be faded by your burdensome work at office. Opportunities sometimes come once. Make the most of it

Duong Thu Huong : It's not important how you start. It'scrucial how you finish

Audience : What is the standard for IDG to invest in a project?

Duong Thu Huong : I would say those are : leadership, marketable product, uniqueness, financial transparency, domestic customer satisfaction, business plan/ strategy. As an entrepreneur, as a founder of your own business, you don't need to take control everything at everytime. There comes time you would realize : partners are indispensable. If would be better to have a share of the cake than to lose the entire cake

Nguyen Huu Tri : What is your biggest sacrifice ?

Trinh Minh Giang : Time. Sometimes you don't time enough time for your family.

Duong Thu Huong : The least thhing you can lose in entrepreneurship is money because money can be regained. In contrast, losing credibility is the worst thing. Don't lose yourself in the game ; you lose everything the moment you lose yourself

Nguyen Huu Tri : You should be considerate also, sometimes, you have to say no to some small things to say yes to a big thing

Audience : How do you evaluate a person's leadership skill in a short period of time?

Duong Thu Huong : Investing in someone's business is like entering into a marriage with that person. I have schedule to meet my promising partner many times : formal meetings, coffee-hangout ... I want to make sure each and every resource is made used in order to come to a final collective decision. Also, you need to understand there is always a possibility of failure.

Le Danh Hoang : The shortest road is the straight road. You do what you are best at, sell your best product at the highest price. Be unique as in a bowl of blue fish, the red fish is the most noticeable.

Trinh Minh Giang : Do not fear losing manpower. If you own a technology, an idea, you're still in control. However, you should always get prepared for the worst scenario. Understand the mutual visions between you and your employee : whether they come to you for salary, or knowledge, or interests ? Then treat your employee well.

Nguyen Huu Tri : What is the significance of trustworthy in leadership ? Dare to trust yourself, dare to trust your teammates.

Audience : Many Vietnamese want to the boss. That said, the Vietnamese market comprises of many medium and small scale businesses, competing unhealthily. What do you think about it ?

Duong Thu Huong : That are two sides of a coin. It should be divided into two types : subjective elimination and objective elimination. While subjective elimination reflects the social rejection, legal penalty for unethical conduct, the objective elimination describes the outcome of the market and the environment surrounding your business. Copycats should be considered as your source of motivation since you always have to innovate your business far ahead them. There are threats from everywherre, don't focus on your competitor, look beyond.


Audience : How did you make your plan for success? When to stop?

Trinh Minh Giang : Your purpose of life can change eventually. Ask yourself : Do you want to have a finencially successful career ? Or do you want to have a carefree life to do whatever you want ? Establish a plan, set a goal, be directed.

Le Danh Hoang : Adapt to any change.

Duong Thu Huong : Pass the torch, pass on the idea, pass on the passion, pass on the purpose

5:54 Closing speech by Khoa Pham - co chair of VietAbroader Business Conference 2009, co-founder of VietAbroader Organization

The final word from VietAbroader : REINVENT YOURSELF !!!