At the age of 15, Tuan Le made a bold promise to his parents: "Give me 10 years, and I will take care of you both so you can retire."
At that time, the Le family had just immigrated to Canada from Vietnam. To support the family, his parents worked tirelessly without rest.
Tuan Le founded ShortsCut, a Toronto-based video production company, in 2023. Photo: CNBC Make It
“I remember one time my dad came home around 7 a.m. and my mom said he’d lost over 2kg in just one week. That moment was a wake-up call for me. I told my parents, ‘Give me 10 years, and I’ll take care of you both for retirement,’” Le told CNBC Make It.
According to Le, his parents decided to move to Canada, a change that caused Le – then a teenager not fluent in English – to fall into a prolonged state of depression and anger.
The promise came true after 10 years.
By 2025, Le had fulfilled his promise. The success of his Toronto-based video production company, ShortsCut, allowed him to regularly send his parents 5,000 CAD per month (approximately 95 million VND), enough to cover their rent and living expenses as they lived about an hour's drive from Toronto.
"My parents still go to work because they want to have something to do to keep themselves occupied, not because they're forced to," Le shared. Currently, they only work two days a week at the produce stall managed by his mother.
From video games to multi-million dollar businesses
ShortsCut, founded by Le in 2023, specializes in producing short videos for brands on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Initially, he only filmed food videos for restaurants around Toronto, then gradually upgraded to content designed to go viral on social media.
According to documents accessed by CNBC Make It , ShortsCut is projected to achieve $1.08 million in revenue in 2025, with a net profit of over $488,000. The company currently has 10-12 regular clients, including pet food and technology brands.
Tuan Le and his parents. Photo: CNBC Make It
Le's passion for video editing began when he was struggling to adjust to life in Canada. Back then, Le played many games and created compilation videos of his gameplay.
“That’s how I got into video editing,” he said. From there, Le started creating videos for YouTubers about gaming, finance, and e-commerce. Initially, he only charged 20 CAD for each video that was about 20 minutes long.
After graduating from high school in 2018, Le attended the Toronto Film School. One of his first assignments was to make a short film on a topic of personal significance, and he chose to tell the story of his own parents. The film was inducted into the school's "hall of fame," a list honoring outstanding works and individuals.
Just four months later, Le decided to drop out of school.
“I was very excited at the time, but I also remembered a saying: ‘If you’re the best person in the room, you’re in the wrong place’,” he shared.
"I can help you become famous."
After dropping out of college, Le emailed a number of CEOs, production companies, and marketing agencies in Toronto hoping to find a video-related job, but received no response due to lack of experience.
Finally, he accepted a three-month unpaid position at a content production company to learn how to run a business. Simultaneously, Le started making videos on his own, messaging every restaurant in Toronto to offer to film videos in exchange for a meal.
"I filmed videos in exchange for free food, staying temporarily on a friend's sofa, next to my suitcase and laptop," he recalled.
Tuan Le attended the Toronto Film School but dropped out after four months.
Photo: CNBC Make It
Initially, videos posted on Instagram didn't attract many views. When TikTok started to boom, Le saw an opportunity. He offered clients $2,000 to produce 10 TikTok videos, with a money-back guarantee if they weren't effective.
The first video garnered 700,000 views, the next 300,000. By capitalizing on the trend, a restaurant gained 9,000 followers overnight.
“I realized I had found something. I took those examples to convince other clients and said, ‘I can help you become famous,’” Le recounted.
At the end of 2022, Le left his old company and officially founded ShortsCut in January 2023.
"It requires a bit of… risk."
Starting in the restaurant industry, ShortsCut gradually expanded to larger brands such as Buldak noodles and the AI software company Replit. Service fees increased from $2,000 to $10,000-$16,000 per month per client.
Initially, Le offered a refund if the video didn't go viral, but he stated that he only had to issue a refund once.
By the end of 2025, ShortsCut will have 15 employees working globally, ranging from content creators and writers to project managers.
Le said he was proud to have built his own business and fulfilled his promise to his parents, but that wasn't the ultimate goal.
“I want ShortsCut to reach $100 million in revenue within the next five years. It sounds a bit far-fetched, but to play this game, you have to accept taking a bit of a risk,” Le said.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-dai-hoc-chang-trai-25-tuoi-kiem-hon-1-trieu-usd-nam-giup-bo-me-nghi-huu-som-2484245.html
Comment (0)