Ho Chi Minh City, 12/2014,
Arranging an appointment with Khoa is truly difficult. He is constantly busy, not only developing his passion project but also spending Saturdays and Sundays attending courses and seminars where domestic and international experts share their experience.
A new project launched in 9/2014. YUP! Academy visited the SmartCa project following a period of study and coaching.
Mr. Khoa joined a course at YUP! Academy in April 2014, nurturing a project to develop a mobile skewer-food system after completing the course. YUP! gave him extensive knowledge and practical experience to pursue it. Through YUP!, he also met a friend and older brother with the same idea. YUP! introduced him to Mr. Lê Tuấn Khoa (affectionately called CaCa), a participant in its August 2013 course who had a similar project. The two Khoa gentlemen discussed and joined forces to establish SmartCa Company, their first project together.
SmartCa is a social network project connecting a community to share experiences of entertainment and leisure destinations in the future. Initially, it will focus on connecting café systems in hotels and restaurants, where the community can share interesting coffee shops nationwide. The IT team is currently working day and night to complete the website for a planned community launch in 01/2015. He has already raised a substantial amount of investment but still needs more to help the project progress smoothly. He confidently says that around seven to eight months after launch, it can break even and begin making a profit.
Below is a brief account of the conversation between Khoa and a representative of YUP students!
“Listening to you describe your project, I find it somewhat similar to websites such as diadiem***uong.com or f***y.com. Are you concerned about facing powerful competitors and finding it difficult to compete?”
‘Those websites are actually advertising sites whose sales teams approach businesses… Our social network, by contrast, is shared and created by the community itself. We also conduct extensive field surveys, asking and recording feedback from store systems, coffee shops, and customers themselves to develop the best methods and approaches for the community. That is why I am very confident that the project will develop well.’
“Besides working on your project, do you have other jobs—such as administrative or company work—to generate short-term income while pursuing your long-term goal?”
‘This is our passion. We felt the time was right, so CaCa and I decided to quit our jobs and devote ourselves to it full-time.’
‘Moving from a stable income to a risky startup must have brought many difficulties. Did any of you ever feel even a little regret?’
‘Once we found our passion, CaCa and I left jobs paying more than VND 20 million a month to pursue it. There have been many difficulties, but I have never regretted the decision,’ he said with a hearty laugh.
‘Thank you both. We wish your project strong and sustainable growth. YUP! Academy will stand alongside you in the future.’
‘Thank you, YUP!’
Anyone, including Yuppies, wishing to participate in or learn about Mr. Khoa's project can contact him at the company's headquarters: 5-1A Nguyễn Cao (Nam), Mỹ An Neighborhood, Phú Mỹ Hưng, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. Or email MTCKhoa.Do@gmail.com
Website: http://www.smartca.vn/
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