Category: Luke

Overall, I have had a fantastic experience in this internship program.  My job as a business analyst with Elefos really helped me learn and grow as a young adult who will soon be entering the workforce.  I am very happy with what I have been able to contribute in the internship and hope that my supervisor feels the same way.  I have helped to identify new markets for the company, researched these new markets in depth, and have created pitch decks for product offerings in these sectors.  While I am very happy with my performance, there are always still areas that can be improved.  One of these areas for me is finding things to do at work when there is free time.  I had plenty of work given to me by my supervisor, but the hardest part of the internship was finding more work to do after completing a given assignment.  I feel like I have really grown in this area over the summer, but still have some distance to go to better utilize all of my time.

This experience has helped to show me that I can be comfortable in a foreign work setting, and in a country in which I do not speak the language.  I love travelling and exploring new cultures, and this program was a perfect way to do both.  I am very excited to see where I am able to work in the future and hope that my work can also mix with travelling and seeing more of Asia.  I have also gained valuable experience putting my business knowledge to the test and learning how to tackle different assignments.  Part of the reason this internship was so great was because of how much I have been able to learn about areas such as accounting and finance.

I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to gain work experience in a setting different from the norm.  Working in a foreign setting really opens your eyes to how business is done differently around the world and helps to create global connections that can be valuable in the future.  I am very happy I made the decision to participate in this internship program and know I will never forget the experiences I have had while in Vietnam.

Throughout this internship program I have both learned and contributed a lot.  It is fantastic to gain knowledge on a new industry, and to learn business skills in general, but it is more rewarding to see my work helping my host company.  There have been moments this summer where I have felt like what I have to offer has really been helpful.  One example of this is when I discovered a new model for an industry that my company has been exploring.  I was able to successfully meet with my boss, and clearly explain this new model, and have gained many more assignments because of this.  I came on this internship program to better my professional career, and a large part of this is bettering the company in which I am working. 

Professionally, I feel like I have experienced a lot of growth.  This has been my first time working a full-time job.  I was a little worried that working so many hours would be a shock for me, but I have not found this to be the case.  One thing that I have learned is that keeping myself busy and engaged at work is very easy in an environment that is unique.  Daily life in Vietnam is very different from what I am used to, and this has made work very enjoyable.  I have also vastly increased my accounting knowledge through buy-side equity research.  It is almost like a puzzle to both learn and work at the same time to produce the best job results.  This new knowledge has both helped my work, and myself personally. 

Living and working in Ho Chi Minh City has opened my eyes to the importance of cultural knowledge when working overseas.  From talking with one of the founders of my company, I have learned that doing business is very different among different countries in Southeast Asia, and also even different in different areas within Vietnam.  This cultural knowledge is not necessarily something that can be learned in a book but is still vital in the business world.  First-hand experience seems to be the only way to gain this knowledge, and it is interesting to talk a native of Vietnam who learned first-hand.  

Throughout this internship I have vastly increased my knowledge of blockchain.  Before the internship, I viewed blockchain as simply the technology behind Bitcoin, but have come to learn that it is so much more.  Blockchain really is the future and has endless opportunities.  For any information that is stored electronically, blockchain can be used as a storage method that decentralizes this information, ultimately making it harder to hack or alter.  The most obvious application for this is in the banking world, where real money is stored electronically, and security of this information is of the upmost importance.

Elefos’ biggest strength is that they are the fastest blockchain in Vietnam, capable of handling nearly 6,000 transactions per second.  This means that Elefos can potentially add more partners and hold more transactions in their database than any other Vietnamese blockchain company.  Despite this strength, Elefos is still a relatively small company, and faces challenges to grow quickly, and gain revenues and investments to keep the company running.  On the flip side, being a startup and a smaller company allows Elefos to explore many avenues and are not stuck doing one thing.  They can follow new opportunities, and pivot at any moment with less worry than that of a larger company.  Their biggest competitors however are the larger Blockchain companies in Vietnam that have a significantly larger footprints, and marketing fronts.  They also face competition from larger international blockchain companies aiming to enter into Asia and specifically Vietnam.  Blockchain seems to be at a point in its growth where companies are racing to be the best and gain traction, so this point in time is very crucial for Elefos.

The most amazing part of living in Ho Chi Minh City has been the ability to travel to so many unique areas during my off weekends.  There are so many beautiful cities such as Mui Ne, Da Lat, Nha Trang, etc. that are very close and easily accessible from Ho Chi Minh City.  It has been amazing to be able to explore the country even with very limited free time, and to really gain an understanding of what Vietnam has to offer.  Vietnam is more beautiful that I could have ever imagined.  

The best feature of my internship has been the ability to work alongside some very bright minds.  Many of my superiors and coworkers are very qualified individuals, who have become masters in their fields.  They all grew up outside of the United States, and this has resulted in different ways of viewing the world, and challenges.  One of the best parts of working with such incredible people, is the ability to learn from them.  One example is that my knowledge in technology has grown exponentially during this trip through learning from the programmers at the office.  I believe surrounding yourself with educated and motivated people is very important for someone who is beginning to enter the workforce such as myself.

On the flip side, one of the most challenging aspects of the job has been time management.  In school, everything has had a deadline, and normally very clear instructions.  In my workplace, I have not found this to be the case.  My assignments are normally a little bit broad, and there is no talk about when the assignment should be completed.  The most difficult part of this is knowing when it is time to turn in an assignment, and when it is time to continue working on it.  I feel like this process has helped me to feel comfortable in an unstructured environment, and I am very thankful for this experience.

Turning to the cuisine in Vietnam and specifically Ho Chi Minh City, I have found the food to be one of the best parts about the trip.  Vietnam is a sort of melting pot of all different types of Asian cuisines, with everything from duck feet to sushi.  There are so many people living in the city from different areas of the world, and this diverse population is reflected in the food.  As far as Vietnamese food, my favorite dish has been the Banh Mi.  Banh Mi is a versatile sandwich often with vegetables, sauces, and meats.  The Banh Mi is a common street food, and very inexpensive, yet is still quite filling.  I hope to be able to find a good place to get Banh Mi upon my return to the United States!

Work at Elefos has been progressing nicely over the first three weeks of the internship.  The market research that I have done has successfully proved to my supervisor and company that the loyalty points industry is exceptionally large, and poised to grow at very high rate in the future.  I have also been able to use my research to help my company determine an entry point into the market.  The loyalty point market is not consolidated to a few large competitors, which makes it perfect for a smaller company such as Elefos.  It is exciting seeing the work I have done over these three weeks become useful to the company.  I am hopeful that as the internship progresses my work will continue to prove useful.

Moving forward I have been assigned to continue market research in the form of competitor equity analysis.  This task is a challenging one, but one that I think will be very beneficial to my career growth.  Analyzing financial reports is a valuable skill for me as an Economics major, so this task fits perfectly with my growth goals during my time in Vietnam. My supervisor has been very open to answering questions and helping to make sure that I am on the right path in this research process.  I am very grateful to have someone in my corner that is so knowledgeable on the industry and the financial work I have been assigned.  My other coworkers have also been very supportive in making me feel at home in this new country and workplace.  Even the simple things like getting lunch with my coworkers has helped me to feel at home in Ho Chi Minh City.  I am excited to see the connections I have made in my workplace continue to grow after the conclusion of my internship

Living in Ho Chi Minh City has taught me to open my mind to new possibilities in the business world.  The unstructured way of doing business has helped to show me that not all business run the same way around the world.  Working hours being very fluid is an example of this unstructured business setting.  Getting work assignments done, and done well, is more important than the logging large amounts of hours, something that I feel makes perfect sense.  Work tasks also change rapidly, as the country is obsessed with moving quickly and being first to market.

My supervisor is Robert Vong, the CEO of Elefos.  He is a very experienced businessman who is well respected within the startup and blockchain communities in Vietnam.  He seems very knowledgeable about blockchain, and excited for the future of this technology.  His day-to-day schedule varies significantly, and can change very quickly.  He is constantly moving between working in the office, attending local meetups in Ho Chi Minh City, and meeting with prospective clients/partners.  I feel like I still have some work to do in order to understand his personal characteristics, as he is very busy.  I hope to be able to spend more time with him to ask questions about his daily tasks, and to learn his short and long-term goals for the company.  The more I am able to learn from Mr. Robert, the more I feel I will be able to contribute to the company’s success.

My internship role seems to vary depending on how Mr. Robert believes me to be most useful.  Elefos is very adaptable, and willing to move on to new ideas, and to explore different avenues.  As a blockchain company, being able to adapt is very important.  Unlike most sectors, the blockchain sector is still rather new, and there is still much to be explored.  The companies that are able to identify new uses for blockchain, are poised for success.  I hope that as this internship continues I will be able to help Elefos explore new markets, and potentially discover new uses for blockchain technology.  It is exciting that blockchain is just in its infancy, and that I am able to watch this industry grow from the inside.

On a personal level, I have enjoyed my interaction with the Vietnamese interns at the company.  There are four computer science interns that work on coding for the company, and comparing experiences with these interns has been very rewarding.  It is amazing to learn about life in Vietnam from people of a similar age.  I hope to be able to get to know these interns more throughout my time interning for Elefos, and also to continue these relationships after my time here.

I have been working for ‘Elefos’ for this past week as a research analyst.  Elefos is largely a blockchain company, and is currently the fastest blockchain in Vietnam, achieving nearly 6,000 transactions per second.  The hardest part of this internship thus far has been understanding the industry.  The blockchain industry is very complicated and multifaceted.  To be able to really research effectively, I had to first understand blockchain in general, and specifically how my company has chosen to use blockchain. 

In extremely simple terms, a blockchain is a way to decentralize information so that no one single party has the ability to tamper with the information held on the chain.  This allows parties to work together without having to have trust one another.  My company Elefos, has developed two programs that utilize their blockchain, with one dealing with security administering and running a lottery system.  This program allows customers to buy lottery tickets and trust that they will be paid, and that the lottery will be run fairly.  The second program allows for the storing and administering of academic tests.  This program allows for testing information to be securely held, and makes it close to impossible to tamper with the test results.

My specific task this week has been to identify potential entry points into the loyalty points market.  Many companies have loyalty points, but unfortunately, many of these points come with complicated rules that disinterest customers from caring to gain these loyalty points.  By implementing loyalty points into a blockchain, customers can rest assured that they will never lose access to their points, and that companies are not able to change the value of these points.  This proposition helps the consumer by creating safety in their loyalty points, but also helps the companies issuing the loyalty points.  Creating a system of loyalty points that customers truly care about is one of the best ways to keep customers returning, and in turn drives revenue.

The environment of Elefos is very laid back, and places an emphasis on completing tasks at a high level, and not as much of an emphasis on the time you spend at the office to complete these tasks.  I enjoy this environment, as it lets me work in a stress-free fashion, and rewards hard work.  Overall, I am very happy with how my first week at Elefos has gone, and I’m excited to become more involved with the company now that I better understand the company and its market. 

Throughout my first week in Vietnam, I have found that there were both cultural and physical aspects that I was expecting to see, and also many that were largely unexpected.  Among the things that I was expecting to see, were a very hectic and busy day to day life, the mixing of old and new buildings, and the mixing of different Asian cultures.  The streets in Ho Chi Minh City are very hectic, and driving styles are very different from the United States.  Traffic laws are largely ignored in most scenarios, but despite this, I am still yet to see a traffic accident.  I believe this to be the case because of the countries frequent use of horns as a means to alert other vehicles of other driver’s locations.  All of the drivers drive in what I would describe as an aggressive manor, and because of this, drivers are expecting the aggressive style, and can adapt.  Also, seeing high rise buildings next to very old areas was one thing that even having expected to see, was still very surreal.

Among the things I was surprised to see in Vietnam were the large number of English speakers, polite attitudes towards foreign travelers, and extremely high-end shopping areas.  I have felt that my lack of knowledge of Vietnamese has really not hindered my traveling of Vietnam thus far.  Most of the younger population speaks English, and those that do not, are still very observant and are able to understand my needs despite the language barrier.  I have felt that I have been treated very well throughout this first week, and am surprised how willing the locals are to help out with directions, and any general questions.

Traveling to and through the Cu Chi tunnels was the activity that I found most interesting and informative in my first week of traveling.  I had some knowledge of the use of these tunnels in the Vietnam war, but seeing them in person really put into perspective what many had to go through during the war.  Even the short amount of time I spent in the tunnels was a lot, I cannot imagine having to live under ground for any extended period of time.

As this trip progresses, I hope to discover more and more about the culture of Vietnam that cannot be read, or found online.  I especially am excited to start my internship, and learn how business in Vietnam compares to business back in the United States.

Learning about Vietnamese culture has helped to open my eyes to the outside world, and specifically Asia.  It is exciting to learn of all of the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and American cultures, to not only learn more about Vietnam and Asian cultures, but also to be able to better understand the United States and its culture.  One aspect of Vietnamese culture that I find particularly interesting is their structure as a collective society.  Mutual support in Vietnam is extremely important, much more so than in the United States where we live in a more individualistic society.  In this collective society in Vietnam, family is of the upmost importance, and the goal for many Vietnamese is to grow up and bring honor upon their families.  In the United States, while some people do act in ways to honor their families, it is more common for people to care about themselves, and to act out of their own self-interest.  In a professional job atmosphere, I imagine both countries will function in accordance with these societal structures.  I am used to working more on my own than with others, and imagine in Vietnam, work will be done in more of a group format.  Working with, and relying on others is an important skill, one that I believe will be tested throughout my time working in Vietnam.  Another difference between the two countries is that Vietnam places a higher value on being able to adapt to change.  This adaptability has helped Vietnam grow very quickly economically, and will be very interesting to examine up close in a work environment.               

While the cultures of Vietnam and the United States are not the same, there are some overlaps that I believe will help aid me during my time in Vietnam.  Both countries have an inherent interest in putting aside the past to be able to move towards a better future.  Specifically, both countries have been able to put aside the differences that came to a point with the Vietnam war, and work with each other on a global level.  Currently, Vietnam exports more to the United States than any other country.  Following the war this would have been very unlikely with the United States imposing a trade embargo on Vietnam.  This ability to move forward despite many differences, highlights the importance both countries place on their respective economies, something I believe will be evident during my time in Vietnam.  I am excited to see how Vietnam is culturally similar and different to what I have come to expect from learning more about the country.  A theoretical knowledge of Vietnamese culture is important, but is no substitution to experiencing how Vietnamese culture affects everyday life while living in Vietnam.