In 2006, super typhoon Xangsane hit the central region. At that time, the storm caused heavy rain and flooding, damaging a large amount of agricultural products ready for harvest.

Witnessing the above scene, a year later, in the summer of 2007, third-year student Pham Huu Tam returned to his hometown (formerly Quang Nam ) to start making the first agricultural dryer in the locality. Long lines of people lined up waiting for their turn to dry. Thanks to that, many agricultural products were "saved" after each rainy and stormy season.

This is the origin of the decision to pursue the field of agricultural machinery manufacturing of Mr. Pham Huu Tam, currently CEO of Vietnam Green Technology Joint Stock Company.

The above story was shared by him at the discussion "Forming a systematic startup - Differentiating to survive" recently organized by the Management & Startup Group.

“The feeling of successfully installing a dryer for farmers still haunts me to this day,” the CEO said emotionally, because his product solved the damage caused by natural disasters to his homeland.

According to him, the idea of ​​starting a business comes from solving “pains”, or problems that society faces. Solving each pain is the key to helping businesses survive and develop. Up to now, the company’s products are present in most provinces/cities across the country and have been exported.

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Company leaders talk about different startup ideas at the event. Photo: Organizing Committee

Solving the problem for the homeland is also the story shared by CEO of Sokfarm Company, Mr. Pham Dinh Ngai at the workshop.

He said that businesses also rely on local unfavorable conditions to develop their business models. Specifically, Tra Vinh province (old) has a large coconut growing area but farmers have to face salinity. When salinity occurs, coconuts shrink and fall, affecting the yield. Coconut areas no longer have economic value, many households tend to cut down trees.

To adapt to natural conditions, Mr. Ngai and his colleagues have inherited and continued the traditional coconut nectar collection profession of the Khmer people in the South to create typical products from the coconut trees in the mangrove area. Later, the products were also exported to the Dutch and Japanese markets.

Mr. Le Minh Tri, Deputy Director of Tri Tin Company, shared that the company started from seaweed and also made a difference from the unfavorable natural conditions.

In 2004, when Tri Tin was founded, seaweed products on the Vietnamese market were all imported from Japan, Korea, and China. When the company brought Vietnamese seaweed to sell in Korea, many people thought that selling it was meaningless, like “carrying firewood to the forest,” Mr. Tri said.

However, the company's management sees the difference. Because, any agricultural product depends on environmental and climate factors. These two factors create local specialties.

Similarly, Japan and Korea are two countries located in the temperate climate zone. Vietnam is located in the tropical climate zone. Each different climate zone will create different ecosystems of plants and animals.

Therefore, Tri Tin company decided to sell seaweed abroad and was well received by the foreign market. This is the premise for the company to develop some new types of seaweed.

The startup ideas come from 3 different businesses but they all have one thing in common: turning unfavorable conditions into opportunities to start a business model and gradually reap success.

According to Ms. Truong To Nhu, Founder Branding CEO, the difference in the entrepreneurial journey may not be a big deal. This may be the path that an entrepreneur dares to take. While others have not seen the value, the entrepreneur does.

However, she believes that starting a business is not only about ideas but also about endurance. In addition, factors such as: finding the right partner; suitable technology; meeting customer needs in the market cycle; and knowing how to build a brand are also very important.

“Starting a business systematically is not about having a plan, but about knowing how to learn, how to fix things, and how to get back up. Being different is not about showing off but about creating real value for others, about bringing real products to more people,” the businesswoman said.

Leaving the podium, female teacher starts a business with a billion-dollar mushroom farm . Leaving the podium after nearly 5 years of working, Ms. Chau Thi Nuong started a business with a closed-loop mushroom growing model. This farm has brought her a profit of billions of dong each year.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khoi-nghiep-khac-biet-khi-noi-dau-tro-thanh-co-hoi-lam-giau-2458315.html