{"id":11044,"date":"2017-12-29T07:10:37","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T00:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/?p=11044"},"modified":"2026-10-01T01:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:30:08","slug":"cau-chuyen-tre-em-my-tre-em-viet-va-startup-viet-duoc-cam-ket-dau-tu-trieu-usd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/cau-chuyen-tre-em-my-tre-em-viet-va-startup-viet-duoc-cam-ket-dau-tu-trieu-usd\/","title":{"rendered":"A story of American children, Vietnamese children, and a Vietnamese startup promised a million-dollar investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Haunted by Conditions at a Shoe Factory Employing Mainly Vietnamese Women, an Entrepreneur Born in the 1990s Started a Business and Now Runs a Company That Has Secured a USD 1 Million Investment Commitment from VinaCapital.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a student at the University of Technology, I joined a visit to ten shoe factories where 90% of the workforce was female. I saw young people who reminded me of my younger siblings, including many female child laborers. I was shocked and haunted by what I saw.<\/span><\/p>\n

Waking up each day and picturing American children going to school, skipping and dancing in shoes made from the blood and tears of Vietnamese children like that makes me want to change something.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to lead and create a new-generation, more socially responsible business, where we Vietnamese can protect one another and go global\u2026,\u201d Ph\u1ea1m T\u1ea5n Ph\u00fac, co-founder of Gcalls, an application that has just received a commitment of one million USD from VinaCapital, shares emotionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018That is the motivation that makes me feel deeply at peace every day,\u2019 said the young man born in the 1990s, moving many people at the press conference on the morning of December 17.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Ph\u1ea1m T\u1ea5n Ph\u00fac, holding the microphone, shares the Gcalls story. Photo: H\u1ea3i \u0110\u0103ng.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Nguy\u1ec5n Xu\u00e2n B\u1eb1ng, a friend from university who gave up studying and working in Germany to return to Vietnam and build Gcalls with Ph\u00fac, shared: \u201cPh\u00fac has vision and ambition. He also has the persistence and drive to turn dreams into reality. Ph\u00fac wants to take Vietnamese technology global.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ph\u00fac said past experiences often made him act negatively and live rather withdrawn, while B\u1eb1ng is optimistic and \u201csaintly.\u201d They therefore work well together, like two perfectly fitting pieces.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ph\u1ea1m T\u1ea5n Ph\u00fac and Nguy\u1ec5n Xu\u00e2n B\u1eb1ng started ventures together and failed many times, receiving investment only with Gcalls. Recently, on the televised fundraising program Shark Tank, Gcalls secured a USD 1 million investment commitment from a VinaCapital representative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gcalls is a platform that lets small and medium-sized businesses build a customer service telephone system in just a few minutes. By registering an account on the website, a business can create a system for answering and receiving calls anywhere with an Internet connection. This helps foreign businesses easily install telephone systems at overseas branches and quickly hire local staff. It also helps small and medium-sized businesses save costs compared with a conventional telephone system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before receiving an investment commitment from Shark Tank, Gcalls had received funding from Australian telecom operator Telstra. Gcalls established a company in Singapore at the investor's request to receive the capital. According to Ph\u00fac, investment from Telstra served as a passport for Gcalls to develop further.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, securing the first investment from Telstra was also difficult for Gcalls. Ph\u00fac said that in 2014, he used a paid LinkedIn account to message investors. After 6 grueling months of sending 15 emails daily, he finally received a response from Telstra. Through an investment fund, the telecom operator invested 40,000 Singapore dollars in Gcalls.<\/span><\/p>\n

To keep Gcalls \u2018alive\u2019 before Telstra invested, B\u1eb1ng had to work at multinational corporations to earn enough to sustain the team, allowing Ph\u00fac to focus on developing the product and running the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

After Telstra\u2019s investment, the company received another SD 10,000 (Singapore dollars) from another fund, but its difficulties were not over. In 2016, it faced financial and personnel problems, and more than half the employees decided to leave. Those who remained accepted a 50% pay cut for the following 4 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, Gcalls subsequently received two investments worth 31,000 SGD. Representing Gcalls, Ph\u00fac was invited by former U.S. President Obama to the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Silicon Valley. In late 2016, it received support from the Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF) and the Vietnam National University Information Technology Park (ITP), followed by 200,000 SGD from an angel investor.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2017, Gcalls established a legal entity in Vietnam and tested the market with Gcalls Softphone. In 10\/2017, the first version of Gcalls Webphone was released.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ph\u1ea1m T\u1ea5n Ph\u00fac said the company would target 3 key markets: the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. With many companies providing global customer service call centers, the Philippines is well suited to Gcalls\u2019 launch. Markets such as Thailand already have many strong technology companies, so Gcalls will enter later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ph\u00fac said that after receiving VinaCapital\u2019s investment commitment, the two sides would get to know each other before disbursement. This usually takes 3-6 months. With the funding, Gcalls will be bolder in launching products across Southeast Asia and eventually globally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before founding Gcalls in 2014-2015, B\u1eb1ng, Ph\u00fac, and their friends had started a business in 2011. Ph\u00fac left a well-paid job at a major corporation to establish Click Now with friends, based on a virtual pet game idea. Players had to eat at food outlets so their virtual pets could eat too. This was intended to increase outlets' revenue, but the project failed after 12 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The five of us applied for permission not to pay tuition and to use that money to establish a properly incorporated company. But the project failed because instead of developing the game or working with restaurant owners, we were busy filing taxes and handling other minor tasks,\u2019 Ph\u00fac said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A year later, the group went on to develop HR Key, connecting jobseekers with recruiters, but that also failed because they lacked experience in human resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

B\u1eb1ng then decided to study and work in Germany, while Ph\u00fac continued with the \u201cAnti-Counterfeit Map\u201d startup, funded by the World Bank with USD 3,000. However, this startup also came to a halt.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, B\u1eb1ng received a heartfelt letter from Ph\u00fac and decided to return to Vietnam to start Gcalls with him.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Nguy\u1ec5n Xu\u00e2n B\u1eb1ng Recounts the Team\u2019s Startup Phase \u2013 Photo: H\u1ea3i \u0110\u0103ng.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u201cThird time's the charm. This time, we used the money we had saved\u2026 for getting married to make it happen. If we fail, we will accept it,\u201d B\u1eb1ng said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am not passionate about entrepreneurship, but I was drawn to Ph\u00fac's dreams. I want to help make Ph\u00fac's dreams come true,\u201d B\u1eb1ng said. \u201cPh\u00fac is steadfast. Ph\u00fac helped me understand that entrepreneurship is not just six months or one year; it is a three-year, five-year process and a long journey toward realizing a dream.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think entrepreneurship is my calling. I want to create something new that helps workers and local businesses develop. What I design will be in the field of information technology. If Gcalls fails, another product will still be directed toward workers and local businesses,\u201d Ph\u1ea1m T\u1ea5n Ph\u00fac shared.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Collected.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

>> Great Articles on Entrepreneurship<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

>> Business Startup Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

>> Success Energy Activation Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

>> Business Consulting Program<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Ch\u01b0\u01a1ng tr\u00ecnh li\u00ean quan t\u1ea1i YUP Education:<\/strong> X-Startup \u2013 kh\u00f3a h\u1ecdc kh\u1edfi nghi\u1ec7p \u00abKh\u1edfi Ch\u00e1nh Nghi\u1ec7p\u00bb<\/a> \u00b7 The Journey \u2013 l\u1ed9 tr\u00ecnh ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n doanh nh\u00e2n<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

T\u1eeb n\u1ed7i \u00e1m \u1ea3nh \u1edf nh\u00e0 m\u00e1y s\u1ea3n xu\u1ea5t gi\u00e0y v\u1edbi ph\u1ea7n \u0111\u00f4ng lao \u0111\u1ed9ng n\u1eef Vi\u1ec7t Nam, m\u1ed9t doanh nh\u00e2n 9x \u0111\u00e3 d\u1ea5n th\u00e2n kh\u1edfi nghi\u1ec7p, hi\u1ec7n \u0111ang v\u1eadn h\u00e0nh c\u00f4ng ty v\u1eeba \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c cam k\u1ebft \u0111\u1ea7u t\u01b0 1 tri\u1ec7u USD t\u1eeb VinaCapital. \u201cKhi c\u00f2n l\u00e0 sinh vi\u00ean \u0110\u1ea1i h\u1ecdc B\u00e1ch khoa, em \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11044"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18293,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11044\/revisions\/18293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}