During the booming startup movement, a series of entrepreneurship seminars are organized where the majority of speakers are successful entrepreneurs sharing their experiences.
Mr. Hoang Nam Tien is also one of the businessmen who are often invited to speak at these events. One time, he said frankly: “Every time you invite Mr. Truong Gia Binh – Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT… Never invite those gentlemen!”
During a sideline exchange at the “Start or Quit?” Panel Discussion within the framework of the Startup Festival event, Mr. Tien, then Chairman of FPT Software, revealed: When he went to Silicon Valley, he found that there are many Angel Investors in the US.
These are very special people, not because they have money, but because they have the ability to listen, even to someone who presents in an unorganized and chaotic manner, and they invest.
“Who are they in Vietnam? Every time you invite Mr. Truong Gia Binh – Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT… Never invite those gentlemen! Those gentlemen can never be Angel Investors – the people who can see outstanding and unique ideas amidst poorly structured and disorganized presentations, and they nurture those individuals”, Mr. Tien said.
He also advised young people who want to start a business to try to do it on their own, not rely on anyone, especially not “relying on successful old men”.
“Successful older people always have limited thinking. According to their experience, … That’s the end of your startup. If you do everything according to their experience, why bother with a startup? They’re good at everything, they know everything, they have everything from relationships, money, etc.”, Mr. Tien said.
Don’t listen to success stories. If you want to learn, learn from failures!
Mr. Phan Minh Tam – Chairman of STI Fund, a fund investing in 24h Media, Anycar, 30Shine – also advised young people not to listen to success stories, whether it’s Bill Gates’, Jack Ma’s, or even his own success stories.
“People always ask me to share my success, but you can’t swim to success. Before that success story, that time frame doesn’t exist anymore. Entrepreneurs share secrets with you, although you may be smarter, more talented, but the chance of success is only 1/1000, and the remaining 999 of you cannot succeed“, Mr. Tam stated frankly.
He also believes that if you want to learn, learn from failures. The success story is no longer applicable, but the failure story remains.
“It’s better to learn from failures. If you can avoid failure, you have a chance to succeed. According to statistics, small and medium-sized enterprises have a death rate of 92-93% in just 5 years. If you survive for 5 years, you have shown signs of success. If you persist, apply everything to survive and continuously adapt to develop“, Mr. Tam advised.
