When meeting someone for the first time, one is often asked, “So what do you do?” Lately, I’ve had a difficult time answering this question. In the last two years, I’ve taken on many different roles in many different organizations. Most of these roles pay little to nothing. Fortunately, I earn passive income from my other businesses, so I can afford the luxury of not … [Read more...] about Developing the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Vietnam
Building Better Start-ups: Developing the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Vietnam
As I mentioned in my first post, one of the reasons I moved to Vietnam six years ago was because I saw a whole new world of opportunities to start new businesses. Through my journey as both an entrepreneur and angel investor in Vietnam, I’ve come to realize that, while there are many opportunities to start new businesses in Vietnam, there are significant barriers to scaling up … [Read more...] about Building Better Start-ups: Developing the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Vietnam
Doing “Deals”: Investment vs Valuation in Vietnam
Recently, I’ve seen some pretty sensational stories on start-up blogs, news, and events. Some of these stories may come from a simple misunderstanding about the terms and mechanics of early stage investment and valuation in Vietnam. So my goal with this post is to help demystify some basic concepts and terms used in entrepreneurial finance. Let’s take a hypothetical … [Read more...] about Doing “Deals”: Investment vs Valuation in Vietnam
CIVETS and E-Commerce in Vietnam
Last week, I had the good fortune of attending the first meeting of the Kauffman Global Partners Network, a new initiative by the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship. If you’re not familiar with the org, please take a look at their website, they’ve done some great work recently in both research and expansion of entrepreneurship programs. At the conference, fellow … [Read more...] about CIVETS and E-Commerce in Vietnam
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Opportunities in Vietnam
Like many of you who have been to Vietnam, the first thing I noticed when I first stepped off the plane was the seemingly infinite little problems that exist here relative to a developed country like the US. As an entrepreneur, I naturally saw each and every problem as an opportunity. I first arrived in 2006, and almost six years later, and despite my best intentions and the … [Read more...] about Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Opportunities in Vietnam