Superficial thinking often leads to a superficial way of life. The way we think is also an important factor in determining our future. Each person's success depends significantly on what is called their “personal philosophy.”
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Tạ Minh Tuấn được biết đến là người tiên phong về mô hình “Bác sĩ riêng” tại Việt Nam. Anh thành lập HELP International và Quỹ Giấc mơ đôi chân thiên thần năm 2009 chỉ với số vốn vài triệu đồng, khi đang là sinh viên năm thứ ba Trường Đại học Bách khoa TP. Hồ Chí Minh. Hai năm sau, anh thành lập YUP Insitute – học viện tiên phong về đào tạo và hỗ trợ khởi nghiệp tại Việt Nam, cũng với số vốn ban đầu gần như bằng không. Đến nay, anh là một trong số ít những người thành công với kiểu khởi nghiệp “tay không bắt giặc”, trở thành một trong 15 doanh nhân xã hội tiêu biểu của Việt Nam do CSIP (Trung tâm Hỗ trợ Phục vụ Sáng kiến Cộng đồng), British Council (Hội đồng Anh) và World Bank (Ngân hàng Thế giới) chứng nhận.
Meeting Tạ Minh Tuấn at a recent annual reunion of Lê Hồng Phong School alumni in Ho Chi Minh City, he looked as youthful as a university student. But after hearing his vision for education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, many former teachers remarked: “Tuấn is mature beyond his years.” He smiled and said:
Probably because I am used to speaking in a structured, thoughtful way, which my mother often calls ‘arguing.’ I do not like shallow thinkers because shallow thinking often leads to a shallow way of life. And how we think is an important factor in determining our future. A person's success depends considerably on what we call their ‘personal philosophy.’
Someone who likes to argue chose Industrial Systems Engineering at the University of Technology, then pursued healthcare after graduating. That sounds like an unusual fit, doesn’t it?
In fact, industrial and systems engineering encompasses every field because every field needs a management system. There are many kinds of systems: production, business, healthcare, education… For example, a café needs a manager, employees, tables, chairs, electricity and water… A systems engineer brings these elements together into a unified whole so they all operate effectively. The “Personal Doctor” model is no exception. It was the knowledge from my field of study that enabled me to build the systems that keep my businesses running well today.
Choosing Systems Engineering appears to have been the right decision for you. Who guided you at the time?
I researched and made my own choice. In grade 11, I began researching the programs at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. For some reason, I had a very good impression of Systems Engineering, a field few people were interested in, so its entry score was not particularly high. By grade 12, while my classmates studied day and night for the university entrance exam because they had chosen difficult programs, I balanced studying with recreation because I had clearly decided on my path. I remember not missing a single World Cup match. That year, my chosen program required only 18 points.
I heard that before establishing the ‘Personal Doctor’ model, you were doing very well with a digital communications company. Why did you decide to turn onto an unexplored path?
The digital communications company was an ‘innocent’ student startup. A group of friends and I created it to apply classroom lessons in practice. The family healthcare company, however, is my true passion, pursuing a business that serves the community rather than wealth.
I became determined to establish HELP International after witnessing my father's suffering from cancer. With good preventive healthcare, people with cancer like my father could have prevented the disease or received more effective treatment if it became necessary.
And He Resolved to Develop Preventive Healthcare So People with Cancer Would Have a Chance of Early Detection and Cure…
Exactly—not only cancer patients, but many other modern illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure… Developed countries focus on preventive healthcare, saving treatment costs and avoiding hospital overcrowding. Vietnam remains a poor country with limited healthcare spending, yet we focus more on treatment than prevention. It is a paradox that is difficult to change.
I see many problems in Vietnam's healthcare system, the biggest being its lack of a systematic approach. Take a simple example: a patient who has undergone all sorts of tests at one hospital must repeat them from scratch when transferred to another. This is unnecessary waste. A system that synchronizes hospitals' data and standardizes medical records would surely make patients less afraid of hospitals. If prevention were better and problems were addressed at their roots, hospital overcrowding would decline significantly. But I do not want to dwell on things people are tired of hearing because they already know them…
Many people wonder how you managed to build a business from nothing, given the common belief that ‘money comes first’ in business?
It is very simple: I develop an idea, build a project, and assemble a team first, then call for contributions from investors. Experience shows that investors are usually more interested in a profitable project than in an overly novel idea. A project with growth potential and a strong team is more likely to attract investment. With employees, I try to inspire them to see value in their work beyond money. When I have no cash, I pay employees in shares based on their work results.
It sounds simple, but in reality I also had to persevere in seeking capital contributions because the industries I pursued were so new. Fortunately, I met many enthusiastic people. Even if I did not ‘talk them into it,’ they sympathized with an ambitious ‘young boy’ and introduced me to two or three other, more promising people to approach.
With this fundraising-based business model, do you have fewer ‘headaches’ over finding money to repay debts?
I did not have the headache of earning money to repay debt, but staffing and completing legal procedures were still headaches. My business model emerged when family healthcare legislation had barely been introduced, so obtaining licenses and other documents was also exhausting.
Also, when you do not hold the shares, losing your position can be all too easy. Previously, a HELP board member wanted to remove me because they disagreed with the company's shift toward social enterprise. Many investors focus solely on profit, whereas I want HELP to serve society more. Fortunately, most employees unanimously supported me, so I continued my journey.
Has the private doctor model achieved the success you hoped for so far?
I had hoped for more, but HELP has already achieved certain successes. The company has now returned the capital invested by later shareholders, with an annual net profit margin exceeding 40% and growth of 300% per year. We also make sure to set aside part of our profits to provide medical examinations and treatment for poor people and people with disabilities.
What makes me proud is not the numbers but HELP's contribution to educating the market. Very few people previously knew about the family doctor model. Now more and more people are interested in family healthcare and preventive medicine. Our initial mission is complete, and we can begin subsequent missions to develop our country's healthcare system.
When you were previously invited to a National Assembly conference on community healthcare, you proposed incorporating health insurance into the family doctor system. Has that proposal been implemented?
This recommendation has been incorporated into law with an implementation roadmap; poor patients receiving care at family clinics will be covered by health insurance.
I also proposed transforming the local healthcare system into ‘family clinics’ as part of the preventive healthcare system. This proposal is being implemented.
In reality, converting district and ward healthcare facilities into family clinics is not simple. A family clinic is not merely a name or a format; more importantly, it is a doctor's mindset. Practitioners must prioritize prevention over treatment and listen in order to advise, rather than wait for illness before treating it. Only then is it truly a family clinic.
Your family doctor business was growing, yet you moved into education and founded YUP Entrepreneurship Academy. Is taking on so much too demanding for a young person?
Yes, I am greedy, but not for money—for sharing. I can spend hours sharing startup experience with interested people. To me, my success is not someone else's failure; cooperation and sharing allow everyone to win.
I feel Vietnamese entrepreneurs are not very accustomed to sharing, especially about business. Perhaps they hesitate for various reasons? Foreign entrepreneurs seem different. I have had opportunities to interact with business associations in the US and Europe and found that they share very openly. Those who started businesses earlier actively help those starting later. It is an entire ‘business culture’ of their own.
Outsiders often say my path seems easy and lucky, but in reality I have faced difficulties that left me badly battered and failed many times before succeeding. I can share these experiences freely with everyone. I used to spend whole days simply talking with young people. Looking back, I realized this affected the time available for my main business. From 2011, instead of sharing a lesson 30 times, I brought together 30 people with the same need at YUP Institute to share it once. Lessons from YUP’s other instructors also help participants start businesses more effectively.
Most developed countries, such as the US, Japan and Australia… have a good startup ecosystem, including mentors, investment funds and discounted office services… I also want to build such a startup ecosystem in Vietnam. This desire led to the creation of YUP, an organization for entrepreneurship education and support.
From meeting many young people who want to start businesses today, what do you think they lack?
Many people lack sincerity, sound thinking and skills. Sometimes they are not defeated by the market but by their own ‘impossible’ mindset. Life changes when we ‘stop pushing away.’ Do not push away difficulties and challenges; they are nutrients and vitamins that help us mature and grow stronger. Instead of rejecting hardship and failure, young people should accept them and learn from them. Our lives and those around us will surely change.
Businesspeople must also have heart—a real heart, not like the book How to Win Friends and Influence People,despite its title, throughout almost the entire book I read, I could hardly find any heart in it; it focused only on techniques. Those are good to have, but they are not the core.
Did Starting in a Completely New Field, Different from Your Previous Healthcare Work, Create Difficulties for You?
It was not too difficult because both my parents were teachers, so I grew up in an educational environment. Education is also present in every aspect of life, including healthcare. Vietnamese healthcare will improve if everyone receives education and educates themselves in awareness, knowledge and skills, and has tools to prevent illness. Without knowing prevention, how many hospitals could ever be enough?
I am deeply committed to education and always support those who sincerely contribute to it. A learner who completed phase 1 of YUP's entrepreneurship training and support program greatly impressed me by pursuing the model A skills playground for children and families. This educational model introduces children to life values and skills very early, helping them dream earlier, respect differences, work in teams, take responsibility and make decisions for their lives sooner.
According to the Japanese model of advanced education, we should educate children from their first three years, as advised in the famous book “Kindergarten Is Too Late” by a Japanese author. If we know how to write or draw correct, beneficial habits on a sheet while it is still blank, both the child and society will gain more benefits and reduce waste.
After healthcare and education, will you enter another sector in the near future?
I am founding a technology business to improve efficiency in the two sectors I am pursuing. My colleagues and I see that mobile phones are no longer merely communication devices: they are becoming increasingly important in healthcare as more medical applications are integrated into them. We are therefore developing a ‘Mobile Health’ model. It involves using mobile devices—including health-monitoring devices such as blood-pressure and blood-glucose monitors capable of transmitting readings to a remote doctor, which we call telecommunications medical devices… combined with mobile phones—to collect aggregate data, monitor patients’ health, and provide healthcare information remotely to doctors and relatives. This helps patients feel as though a doctor is always beside them. Hello Health, the project’s name, is expected to launch this year. We have proprietary technology and are preparing to complete our first fundraising round.
I will also focus more on the FundGiấc mơ đôi chân thiên thần so more people with disabilities can have a bright future like young Trà My, the first person with a disability supported by the fund.
Trà My has truly achieved her dream of becoming a writer. Have you achieved your dream yet?
My dream may sound far-fetched and difficult, but no one “taxes” dreams, right? My dream is to leave a positive legacy for everyone so that I am not forgotten after I die. To me, being forgotten is worse than death.
Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel was known as the inventor of explosives. Legend says that one night he dreamed he had died and been buried beneath a headstone reading: ‘Here rests Alfred Nobel, inventor of explosives, indirectly responsible for killing millions.’ He then decided to donate his entire fortune to the Nobel Foundation to reward scientific inventions that positively changed the world, giving rise to the annual Nobel Prizes. That was how he ‘made amends’ and left a legacy for humanity. I am tiny compared with such great figures, but I also hope that by working tirelessly I can leave lasting value for the future. We are often born free, grow up in fear and die in despair. I am glad I still have a dream to pursue and devote myself to.
Thank you for sharing such interesting insights. I hope you achieve your dream soon.
Illustration by Hoàng Tường
By Xuân Lộc
