Among the 15 people supported by the Center for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) in 2011 was a very young member of the 8x generation: Tạ Minh Tuấn of HELP International Corporation.
Entrepreneurship…
Speaking with me, Tuấn said people in Vietnam currently focus on treatment only after discovering an illness, without paying enough attention to prevention. Meanwhile, cancers and cardiovascular diseases are very easy to prevent but expensive to treat. Having a doctor provide regular care at an affordable price is therefore necessary.
Tuấn said the idea arose after a relative developed cancer in 2007, saddening the whole family. Fortunately, the relative has now recovered. This event strongly motivated Tuấn and his colleagues to establish HELP in 2009, with official operations beginning in 2010. The first steps of founding a company are difficult for any entrepreneur. For Tuấn, they were many times harder because he was still a student. Both parents were teachers, so he lacked business experience and finances and started almost from nothing. Earlier, Tuấn co-founded IDEE, a pioneering and highly successful digital marketing company in Vietnam. He is also one of the youngest leaders of BNI, Business Network International.
During the first year, Tuấn and his colleagues worked without pay. Gradually, they earned trust and found investment. HELP now works with 25 experienced doctors from major Ho Chi Minh City hospitals, both as collaborators and permanent staff. Tuấn currently serves as HELP’s CEO. Sharing his plans, Tuấn said that when HELP was founded, he and his colleagues faced many difficulties, especially that people were not truly aware of disease prevention. They could spend heavily on travel or shopping but did not care about preventing illness. This explains why Vietnam, despite being an underdeveloped country, spends such a large amount on healthcare. Despite these difficulties, Tuấn’s outreach efforts and passion have inspired people’s trust.
While social entrepreneurship was still very new to most people, Tuấn had known about it since 2008. This laid the groundwork for HELP's establishment in 2009.
Giấc mơ đôi chân thiên thần
The First Steps After Founding a Company Are Difficult for Any Entrepreneur. For Tuấn, Those Difficulties Were Multiplied Many Times.
Besides the above, Tuấn founded and currently chairs the executive board of the ‘Angel Legs Dream’ charity fund, supporting people with disabilities who have a passion for literature and art. Trần Trà My is the fund's first beneficiary. Discussing the fund, Tuấn said Trà My is a female friend whose legs were paralyzed after a serious illness in childhood. My spent 5 years studying on her own. Her first short story was Angel Legs Dream, and Tuấn used its title to name his charity fund.
Sharing experiences from his journey, Tuấn said your dream must be large enough to attract people with similar ideas. “Becoming an expert takes 10 years of experience. Each person needs 5 experts, in economics, marketing, and so on, which would take 50 years. That is too long. The best approach is to draw on the 5 experts around you,” Tuấn said.
Daring to think and act is not only an entrepreneurial quality but also an advantage of youth. Tuấn and HELP are committed to pursuing their personal and organizational mission: protecting and improving both the physical and mental health of Vietnamese people. Giving is not losing; for social entrepreneurs like Tuấn, giving is receiving. For social enterprises, profit is not the greatest goal; solving social problems comes first. With CSIP's support, Tuấn plans to open another branch in Ho Chi Minh City. Hopefully, before long, HELP will hold a firm place in every citizen's heart.
Text and photos: Nghiêm Huê
| “To become an expert, you need 10 years of experience. Each person needs 5 experts—in economics, marketing, and so on—which would take 50 years. That is too long. The best way is to draw on the 5 experts around you,” Tạ Minh Tuấn said. |
Education Newspaper, weekday 6 (Friday), 7.10.2011
