A fresh breeze blows into the technology startup community

(Dan Tri) - Resolution 68 of the Politburo with its breakthrough view of the private economy as the "most important driving force" is being enthusiastically welcomed by the technology startup community.

Is this the "golden key" to removing barriers, unleashing potential and creating momentum for a stronger wave of innovative startups?

Dan Tri Newspaper reporter had an interview with Mr. Nguyen Xuan Luc, Vice President of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Investment and Startup Club, Member of the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Young Entrepreneurs Association, Chairman of WATATECH Technology Company to clarify the impacts and significance of this resolution.

"Unleash the Energy" - Breakthrough Thinking Attracts Great Expectations

What do you think about the recently issued Resolution 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo , especially the view that the private economy is the "most important driving force" of the economy? What does this mean for the startup community, especially technology startups?

- In my opinion, Resolution 68 is a major turning point in affirming the central role of the private economy , and especially when identifying this sector as the most important driving force.

For the tech startup community, I believe this is not only a recognition but also a commitment from the highest leadership to support innovation. This is also a key factor to enhance the country's competitiveness in the digital age.

According to you, what new and breakthrough points in Resolution 68 do technology startups especially expect and care about the most, especially the story of "liberating energy" for technology startups?

- The most obvious breakthrough is the thinking about releasing energy for the private sector. We all know how important the private sector is. That is why the Party and the State this time have paid attention and set such high goals, not only for 2030 but also for the period 2040-2045.

The resolution mentions comprehensive reforms in institutions, the business environment, and improving national governance capacity. These are things that startups have long been waiting for and expecting.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Luc, Vice President of the Investment and Startup Club of Young Vietnamese Entrepreneurs, Member of the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Young Entrepreneurs Association.

For technology startups, which are also in the private sector, the Resolution mentions comprehensive innovations in institutions, business environment, as well as improving national governance capacity.

These are things that startups have been waiting and hoping for for a long time. If this is realized, I believe this will be a strong boost for the wave of innovative startups in general.

Resolution 68 emphasizes removing legal and administrative bottlenecks. What specific difficulties has your company encountered in this regard and what positive changes do you expect the Resolution to bring?

- Normally, companies will encounter barriers such as prolonged licensing time. We know that in some countries, licensing is very fast, maybe only about 1-2 days if the application is valid, instead of waiting 5-7 days or even longer like in our country.

In addition, regulations for new business models such as Fintech, Blockchain,EdTech , AI, or cryptocurrencies and even in the healthcare sector are still unclear. In addition, there are difficulties related to intellectual property registration or intellectual property protection.

The resolution emphasizes quite a lot on removing these institutional barriers. I think this is a very positive signal and a real expectation for creating a more flexible and updated legal framework, removing current bottlenecks to suit the reality of the market.

Resolution 68 will remove obstacles for new business models such as Fintech (Photo: DT).

The Resolution mentions policies to support access to resources such as capital, land, and production premises. Are these issues facing technology startups? What do you expect the implementation of the Resolution to help resolve these problems?

- Personally, as a former entrepreneur, I had to mortgage my house and property to get a loan, but I could not borrow money on credit. I think this is a huge problem, especially for early stage technology startups, when they have almost no capital, only two hands and a brain.

Many startups do not have the conditions to access preferential premises or easy sources of capital. If the Resolution is effectively implemented, and local and central innovation centers, or public-private investment funds combine, it will help startups to be less dependent on foreign capital and have more sustainable development.

Instead of having to go to Singapore, Dubai, the US or other dynamic countries to raise capital, if we have similar conditions in our country, it will truly be a playground and platform to create breakthroughs for potential startups and talented entrepreneurs in Vietnam.

And to gain confidence in attracting capital, I think the organizations and people who are supporting startups need to have a process, have survey and evaluation steps to check the profile and capacity of the startup product or the startup person, to see if they have enough qualities and capacity or not.

If the Resolution is effectively implemented, and local and central innovation centers, or public-private investment funds combine, it will help startups become less dependent on foreign capital and achieve more sustainable development.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Luc, Vice President of the Investment and Startup Club of Young Vietnamese Entrepreneurs, Member of the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Young Entrepreneurs Association.

If they (startups) ensure those factors in a set of criteria (checklist) that the organizers or startup support units consider to be achieved, then those startups will have the opportunity to show themselves, and those doing support work will also feel more secure.

This is similar to a business recruiting staff, there will also be interview steps, questions and checklists.

Consider startup teams or startup companies as candidates; when we are clear, methodical, transparent, have specific processes, and have a professional way of working, everything will fall into place and both sides will have a common voice.

Tax incentives: "Doping dose" for young startups

Regarding the story of tax exemption and reduction for innovative startups. How will this impact the financial plans and reinvestment capabilities of technology startups, sir?

- If the Government or tax authorities issue a policy of tax exemption or reduction for startups or eligible businesses, it will be like a "doping dose" to help these businesses create a premise and have favorable conditions to reach higher milestones.

We all know that taxes and financial issues are extremely important for young businesses. Especially for models that need continuous reinvestment like technology startups, tax incentives will certainly help them have more resources and motivation to expand products, focus more on operations such as recruitment, research and development (R&D), testing products on the market, instead of being limited by cost calculations.

Some say that access to capital is still a major barrier for startups, even with support policies in place. Do you see any specific difficulties in accessing domestic investment funds or preferential capital sources?

- Actually, in the past ten years of starting my business, I can say that I have not had access to any source of startup capital. Maybe it is because from the time I started my business until now, I did not have much information, or the information at that time was not really widely available.

It is also possible that I was too focused on the startup, on the survival, recovery and sustainable development of the business, leading to not being able to grasp in time or not being suitable for many support packages. There were times when my team went to find out, but some criteria were not suitable.

However, our business still grows, there are years when it grows 30-50%, there are times when it started up, it grew 2, 3, 5 times.

So, if there are sources of capital that help startups like us not have to worry and think narrowly about costs and money, then Vietnamese businesses, including ours, will likely develop even more strongly and have better launching pads.

This also shows that if businesses in Vietnam all have high growth, it will certainly be a very good driving force for the private economy and increase the number of well-developed businesses for Vietnam.

Besides support policies from the State, how do startups themselves need to proactively change and improve their capacity (for example: governance, human resource quality, competitiveness) to seize opportunities and overcome challenges in the new context?

- There are terms related to VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous), there are things we cannot predict, risks, problems that occur abnormally.

In my personal opinion, whether it is a technology startup or any other field, whether it is an SME or a large, sustainably developed corporation, adaptability, flexibility, the ability to continuously learn and innovate, and maintaining an "entrepreneurial spirit" - even when it is a large, aging corporation - are the methods and motivations that help businesses, especially startups, to be able to squeeze through narrow doors or accelerate in unpredictable periods.

In particular, according to my observations and some preliminary research, I see that in times of "danger" there is often "opportunity". If any business, whether large or start-up, knows how to seize it, it will be a great opportunity to have a breakthrough in the present or near future.

The resolution emphasizes transparent inspection and examination, avoiding overlap. However, how can we ensure that this actually happens in practice and does not cause additional burdens for businesses, sir?

- To avoid the situation of "hot above, cold below" or "hammer above", I think it is necessary to apply digital technology to the inspection and examination process, as well as build a system to identify high-risk enterprises to focus on controlling and reviewing in the most stable, best and timely manner.

At the same time, we should also publicize the inspection results to ensure fairness, transparency and avoid duplication among functional agencies.

In the context of increasingly fierce competition, even at home, what do you think Vietnamese technology startups need to do to not only survive but also break through, especially when support policies are applied more widely?

- Recently, we have heard a lot about core technology, semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence (AI), data science, manufacturing, drones, machines... Especially generative AI. In my opinion, Vietnamese technology startups need to focus more on developing core technologies, and at the same time, they should take advantage of the large domestic market for rapid testing, rapid adjustment, continuous adjustment and continuous improvement.

Continuous adjustment, improvement and rapid testing are extremely urgent and strategic today. Everything changes constantly; today there may be no AI, tomorrow there will be AI, robots, automation replacing manual labor or other tools.

Therefore, we should especially choose a strategy of going fast and going niche to avoid direct confrontation with large corporations. At the same time, there should be connections with the support ecosystem from the State, functional agencies or organizations with related funds.

How has your company changed in terms of approaching core technologies?

- Recently, my company has also expanded into areas of AI and data science.

We also opened a subsidiary on Smart IoT, specializing in designing circuit boards, chips and participating in training competent engineers according to European semiconductor technology.

In the past, we used Microsoft and Oracle technology, but later we not only used that technology to build products but also wrote and created some of our own core technologies, architectures and platforms.

Typically, some comprehensive digital transformation ERP systems for businesses integrate AI, some warehouse management systems, Smart Manufacturing systems... These are technologies related to software and hardware that we master, instead of having to rely on certain big companies or certain platforms to "parasitize".

How do you think tech startups can partner with universities to create "courses" to help students catch up with market realities?

- In my opinion, this is very important and strategic. Looking at the world, in the US, we see cooperation in training between schools, training organizations with businesses, corporations, and even with startup teams.

Closer to home, in Southeast Asia, many countries, including Singapore, have also had strong cooperation between businesses and universities. Businesses not only support internship environments but also have practical experience, have R&D departments, and provide solutions for the global market.

Their technology, workflow, thinking and requirements for each project and product are very strict and demanding (high demand, high expectation). I think when universities have that mindset, training will be more market-oriented than academic.

Moreover, in practice, businesses always have problems to solve. If universities have centers, research institutes or cooperation programs with businesses to solve those practical problems, according to the requirements of technology and surrounding factors, it is extremely effective, helping universities improve their practical level, escaping from academic training.

Do you have any suggestions or recommendations to build a stronger and more transparent innovative startup ecosystem in Vietnam, in the spirit of Resolution 68?

- When building a startup ecosystem, the Government and the State may establish national startup coordination councils. These councils should have inter-sectoral links, connecting the central and local levels, and connecting with domestic organizations or foreign startup and innovation organizations in Vietnam.

For example, in Binh Duong, they have connections with the National University of Singapore on Block71 - the birthplace of many successful technology startups, even unicorns in the region.

If this Coordinating Council can unite and link together like a "spider web", it will create many breakthroughs, not only in the way it operates but also in the direct effectiveness for young people and startups. Along with that is the development of local innovation clusters, with businesses at the center.

Agencies should be less about following trends and more about being realistic, in the spirit of determination as the current Party and Government leaders are directing. If innovation clusters and coordination councils operate effectively and cross-sectoral, forming a real connecting center, I think the impact will be huge. In addition, it is necessary to build a national database of startups and investors, as a connecting platform similar to Grab or Uber in this field.

At that time, everything will be very transparent, fast, convenient, technological, efficient, and will not require much paperwork. Finally, there will be strong reforms in "sandbox" regulations (legal testing frameworks) for new technologies such as AI, Blockchain, Fintech... and there will be more support mechanisms for startups.

For example, tax exemption for businesses under 3 years old is a very good condition. Or like the policy from the General Secretary and Prime Minister about accepting a certain failure rate among thousands of startups to have a few percent of success, creating unicorns, large businesses.

If we make such progress, our country will truly move to a new page in history.

Thank you for taking the time to chat!

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/lan-gio-moi-mat-lanh-thoi-vao-cong-dong-startup-cong-nghe-20250525105524424.htm