Clever Group Chairman Nguyen Khanh Trinh: WeFit may be the first explosion for the wave of bankruptcy of Vietnamese startups in 2020!

Tram Ho

WeFit – a bright name in the tech startup village – has just filed for bankruptcy. The source of this departure due to WeFit internal problems or Covid-19 is still controversial.

In a recent conversation, Mr. Nguyen Khanh Trinh – Chairman of Clever Group Joint Stock Company, which has just acquired Orion Media – shared his views on internal issues of Vietnamese startups. Trinh is also an investor in the chain of Sea Wolf clean food, electronics retail companies Phong Vu and Teko.

2020: Startups that rely on calling for capital will not survive

* Sir, looking at the current situation of Vietnamese startups, do you think 2020 will explode the bankruptcy of startup that WeFit is only a first explosion?

 Chủ tịch Clever Group Nguyễn Khánh Trình: WeFit có thể là cú nổ đầu tiên cho làn sóng phá sản của startup Việt trong 2020! - Ảnh 1.

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Trinh – Chairman of Clever Group JSC.

Sorry but that seems to be for sure. I worked in the financial industry for quite a long time. All funding-related issues are being stopped. We will lose a huge amount of money flowing into the economy in general and pouring into startups in particular. So startups that rely on calling for capital can’t live anymore.

They don’t know how much to spend or what to spend. And always think that only a large number of users, good products, good ads … will be successful.

The biggest problem of Vietnamese startups is poor management. Most Vietnamese startups are founded by programmers – IT professionals like me – who have knowledge of IT without knowledge of finance and business administration. That is a very bad thing.

They do not place much emphasis on the weight of Legislation, Finance – Accounting, and Corporate Governance. They are too interested in the product. They think that good product is enough, but actually only a small part of the success of a startup.

There must always be three very large businesses in the business: Business Logic, Vision Strategy, and Operation.

* Could you share more specifically?

– Business Logic (accounting for 33% of success): What is the core value of the business. For us, Business Logic is about advertising optimization, ideas and creativity.

Business logic of a hospital must be the capacity of doctors, methods and means of healing, saving people and preventing diseases. Business Logic of the hospital is definitely not a massage chair to welcome you when you take your loved ones to the examination. Sea Wolf’s business is a process of producing clean food …

– Vision – Strategy: A lot of businesses do not need a vision to still function normally. But a lot of businesses with no vision will die. Like us, our world changes so fast, it requires vision. Without a good vision, without seeing change, it will surely die. Financial people must have a vision, see how the market is going to change.

 Chủ tịch Clever Group Nguyễn Khánh Trình: WeFit có thể là cú nổ đầu tiên cho làn sóng phá sản của startup Việt trong 2020! - Ảnh 2.

– Operation accounts for the remaining 33% of success. It is an important part of the business that with many specific businesses, the operation is extremely heavy, typically retail businesses such as VinMart, Sea Wolf …

There are businesses that are good at Operation, opening chains very quickly when the retail industry is heavy on operation, but they apply the management and payroll calculation wrong, because it is an extremely low margin industry. Our retail industry gross margin (gross profit margin) is 25% for all store, staff, cancellation, inventory, Internet, electricity, water … expenses, in which, cash accounts for 80%. , while real estate industry gross margin may be 90%. That is a big difference.

3 crucial points of Vietnamese startup

* He has just given the key to success. So in the opinion of the bankruptcy wave of Vietnamese startups, what is the weakness of Vietnamese startups?

 Chủ tịch Clever Group Nguyễn Khánh Trình: WeFit có thể là cú nổ đầu tiên cho làn sóng phá sản của startup Việt trong 2020! - Ảnh 3.

Firstly, most Vietnamese startups do not know what the legislation is. That is the greatest thing.

Legislation, when normal “healthy rice sweet soup” is okay, but when conflicts occur that will lead to a breakup. They (Vietnamese startups – PV) are almost not interested in legislation. That is a very bad thing.

The second is a very poor operating point, without a process.

The third is financial management, specifically money management. They don’t know how much to spend or what to spend. And always think that only a large number of users, good products, good ads … will be successful.

There are more and more users, the more the hole. When he fails to extract costs, more and more users are losing money.

* Every time a startup fails, people often say it at a startup in Vietnam, because a user cheating …

 Chủ tịch Clever Group Nguyễn Khánh Trình: WeFit có thể là cú nổ đầu tiên cho làn sóng phá sản của startup Việt trong 2020! - Ảnh 4.

Everything is because of me. I do a lot of startups and fail a lot. Failure never post Facebook.

Before I was CleverJobs, the predecessor of JobsGO. Our company works for 6 months, earning 100 million VND / month. After one night I closed.

Then there is CleverStore – an unofficial app store installed in the context of a very strong informal market in Vietnam. Google then took steps to change, towards full formalization. Realizing that I have no chance, it’s just a matter of time, after 1 night I close. After I closed about 6 months, all other stores closed accordingly.

Actually I failed a lot. What is the lesson here? The best to fail is not to let people know (laugh).

* The story of WeFit reminds me of FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh once talked about “pure electronics” enterprises – those that do not have assets but only intermediary platforms that connect with activities just like gambling. money. What do you think?

People call such businesses “borrow the wind to break bamboo shoots”. I think Uber, or Airbnb, the era of the Sharing Economy will not last. Sooner or later, the market will be in some big hands.

As Uber and Grab grow, there will be drivers who specialize in Grab jobs, and it is no longer Sharing. Keeping such a Sharing model is not great. It was raised by someone who specializes in it. Airbnb, now the hotel is actually Airbnb, no longer has the meaning of sharing a room. In Vietnam, there is no real Airbnb business, no one dares to let others share a room in the house …

* What are the implications when businesses of the sharing economy go bankrupt? Like WeFit, our debt partners are not demanding, customers lose money …

The one who lost the most was Investor (investor). The most painful is Investor, which was in the tens of billion, very large prices, not the founder WeFit team. If love, love Investor.

Now everything must obey the law. Once filed for bankruptcy, the next thing is to wait for the court to declare.

In America, this is the most civilized way, the best way to live, when declared bankruptcy will be greatly protected by law.

* Thank you Sir!

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Source : Genk