With ‘Survey in Pocket,’ a web application for creating attractive surveys suitable for smartphones, 25-year-old Lê Hoàng's team excelled in winning first prize in the Ahjo Accelerator Program—‘Speed Entrepreneurship’ competition in Finland.
Born in 1989, Lê Hoàng made a bold choice: leave a well-paid programming job and go abroad study business and then joined forces with friends to open his own software company.
Lê Hoàng (left) at the “Speed Startup” award ceremony in Finland
An Award from a “Shocking” Decision
While studying Software Engineering at FPT University, Lê Hoàng (from Quảng Ninh) began working at two major software companies in Hanoi in his third year. After graduation, his career progressed smoothly, and within about two years he had become an experienced programmer earning a comfortable salary.
Hoàng confided that he loved programming, but after two years of work felt he needed something different for his career. His growing desire not to keep following the same path urged him on. Yet what he truly wanted remained a major question. After months of thought, Hoàng decided to take a break from his current job and travel to places he had never visited, to renew himself and understand what really mattered to him.
Hoàng’s decision to quit and “pack his backpack and go” shocked both his company and family. When he decided to leave, the director and HR staff came to ask: “Are you unhappy with the company? Why are you suddenly quitting?” But after hearing his wishes, everyone understood and supported him.
The following half-year took Hoàng backpacking to distant, unusual parts of his homeland: from Ngọc Cape in Quảng Ninh to Cà Mau Cape, from the remote easternmost point to majestic Phanxipang. Through the volunteer organization AIESEC, he then continued his journey by teaching English to orphaned children in a Malaysian temple. There he had the chance to live in a peaceful environment, eat vegetarian food, chant the Buddha’s name and live like a real monk.
“Those unusual experiences changed my thinking tremendously. Traveling to new places, doing things I had never tried, and living many different lives gave me a more positive and comprehensive view of my abilities and desires. When I returned to Nội Bài Airport, I realized that I was no longer the person who had departed. And the first thing I did the next day was sit down to study for the SAT in preparation for applying to Aalto University. At that time, I had only one goal in mind: to study business in Europe, and I am very proud that I accomplished it.”
Studying a completely new field in Europe brought Lê Hoàng many difficulties: living far from home, independently adapting to a new environment, and particularly language barriers, since Finns speak English well but mainly use Finnish in business and transactions. However, Hoàng gradually overcame these challenges and adjusted to studying and research… Alongside language and specialist studies, he proactively began doing business and nurturing a startup idea.
Seeing Finland’s highly favorable startup environment, Hoàng invited friends to join him. Đạt and Ninh, two close university friends—one living in Singapore and the other also studying Business in Finland—became ideal companions for the 25-year-old.
In 2014, Hoàng and his friends developed software called Survey in Pocket, a web application for creating attractive surveys suited to smartphones. His team entered the product in a startup competition called the Ahjo Accelerator Program, or “Speed Entrepreneurship,” in Finland. With a good product and strong potential for practical use and growth, the project received enthusiastic support and feedback from the organizers.
After weeks of urgent “battle”—convincingly presenting ideas and business plans, refining the product, and finding customers—the team won a resounding victory in the startup competition. Taking first prize overall, Hoàng’s team received a learning trip to Silicon Valley in the USA and a non-repayable government grant of 200 million, officially launching the company.
True to the spirit of the competition's name, Hoàng's company was founded and began operating at astonishing speed. Many Finnish companies noticed the young team and proposed partnerships to bring Survey in Pocket to their customers. Depending on their requirements, customers pay 50–300 euros per month. The company has now operated for several months in the Finnish cities of Turku and Mikkeli.
Lê Hoàng and a friend on the night they won first prize in the startup competition
The dream of “igniting” entrepreneurship in young people
According to Lê Hoàng, any young person with passion and an idea can begin building a career of their own. There is nothing particularly unusual about the secret behind Hoàng's initial successes beyond professional expertise and important skills accumulated while still at school.
“From what I have learned from experienced people, a crucial factor in assessing a startup is its people. While still at school, take the opportunity to develop teamwork skills: combining people's abilities, managing time and tasks, persuasion, leadership, and more. All will become essential in practice,” Hoàng advised.
In the future, alongside running and developing his own company, Hoàng has many ideas and dreams related to marketing and entrepreneurship. In particular, within his capabilities, he wants to help young people in Vietnam and Finland by sharing inspiration, experience, and opportunities with those passionate about entrepreneurship.
“I have two particular interests: marketing and entrepreneurship. Besides working at my own company, I therefore help develop startup communities in Finland. My main role is to promote these organizations’ activities to young students, helping them expand their networks and access entrepreneurial opportunities. I am currently on the organizing teams for two startup competitions, NASA Space App Challenge 2015 and Ahjo Accelerator Program 2015, and I hope to organize similar programs in Vietnam in the future,” Lê Hoàng shared.
Nguyễn Quỳnh
Source: Dân trí
