Arriving in Australia to study at 22 and founding Tailored Accounts at 26, Hoàng Hiếu Huy is recognized as one of Australia's successful young entrepreneurs. His company was named among Australia's 100 outstanding businesses and organizations in 2015.
Although entering the competition for the first time, Hoàng Hiếu Huy's Tailored Accounts, whose founder is commonly known as Hoàng Huy or Harry Hoang, beat 3,500 Australian businesses to win the 2015 Australian Business Award in the Business category. Most entrants were large companies with over 100 employees and annual revenue above 10 million AUD.
The journey from student to entrepreneur
In 2005, after completing a bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the National Economics University, Hoàng Huy decided to go to Australia to pursue a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Finance at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
To cover his study and living expenses abroad, in addition to his scholarship to study in Australia, Hoàng Huy took on various jobs, including fruit picking on farms in Canberra. Quick and always the first to finish, he was affectionately called Hurry (meaning urgent or quick). This gave rise to Harry (a homophone of hurry), Hoàng Huy’s English name.
After finishing his studies, Hoàng Huy was hired as an accountant at the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS). While working there, he recognized the growth potential of outsourcing services in accounting.
“Although the owners of small and medium-sized businesses in Australia may lack financial expertise, they often have to handle finance and accounting themselves while still devoting their energy to their companies' core business. It is no surprise that they encounter many difficulties in doing so,” Hoàng Huy shared.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Hoàng Huy used all his savings to establish financial services company Tailored Accounts in 02/2009. Initially known as Harry's Bookkeeping, it adopted the name Tailored Accounts in 2012 to expand into consulting and training.
‘Dare to think and dare to act, and success will follow.’
When the company was first established, without outside financial support, Hoàng Huy had to handle everything, including marketing, paperwork, bookkeeping and sales, to keep it running. During this period, Huy continued working at AIQS to earn additional income.
A year later, as the company expanded, Huy hired another part-time employee to manage paperwork. Seeing growing competition in his field, Hoàng Huy constantly sought ways for Tailored Accounts to stand out. An opportunity came when he was introduced to Xero, a cloud accounting software product.
It should be added that in 2010, most Canberra companies still used traditional accounting software. Adopting cloud accounting at Tailored Accounts was therefore a bold decision.
“I believe cloud accounting is the future of finance and accounting. Businesses may initially hesitate to change their accounting systems, but the cost and time benefits of cloud accounting will persuade them,” Hoàng Huy observed.
Subsequent successes proved Huy’s assessment correct. Over more than 6 years since its establishment, Tailored Accounts has grown rapidly and expanded its client network. To date, the company has provided ongoing accounting services to more than 150 businesses and processed transactions totaling AUD 62 million annually.
Tailored Accounts has also been a finalist several times in major business awards such as the Telstra Business Awards, Australian Small Business Champion Award, and Canberra BusinesPoint Award. Its goal for the next 5 years is to become one of Australia's leading accounting service providers.
A story of paying it forward
Hoàng Huy shared that he could not have achieved his current success without friends, both Vietnamese and Australian, who enthusiastically helped him throughout his entrepreneurial journey. To repay that kindness, Huy always eagerly participates in community and career guidance activities.
Hoàng Huy is a familiar speaker at career guidance seminars organized by the Australian accounting association (Certified Professional Accountants). At these seminars, Huy has shared his experience with accounting students studying at ANU.
Each year, Tailored Accounts also organizes internships to provide students with practical work experience. In addition, it has sponsored activities of the Vietnamese student community in Canberra many times. These contributions have been recognized with a certificate of merit from the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia.
Hoàng Huy is also a member of the Griffin Accelerator advisory board. This is a startup support program in Canberra. As a mentor, Hoàng Huy will provide financial assistance and share his experience with startups selected for the program.
Reflecting on his time in Australia, Hoàng Huy joked that he considered himself a fortunate and happy immigrant.
“My journey in the land of kangaroos can be divided into 3 stages. The first was my time as a student, with many difficulties and uncertainties involving language and culture. Stage 2 began when I started working and had to adapt to a new professional culture.
The 3rd stage, which is also the current one, began when I founded Tailored Accounts. I have always hoped Vietnamese people would become better known in Australia's business world. I also hope to achieve more success and return to invest in my homeland.”
Collected
Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân
