Currently I have been compiling different legal projects and putting the necessary information for different clients into an easily understandable format. For one project, I am working with a client on helping them establish e-commerce here in Vietnam. Unbeknownst to most people, there are a lot of rules and regulations surrounding the entering of foreign invested companies into Vietnam. It is not as simple as just coming over here and setting up shop. This is where my job comes in. I help companies transition by creating a template for clients to follow\step by step to make establishment of their company smoother.
I have also been doing research on trends and factors impacting companies to move over to Vietnam at a much more rapid pace. I turn this research into Kadri so she can use that to help guide foreign companies towards investing in Vietnam. So far with the use of Export processing zones it has become much easier for Emerhub to guide foreign companies towards the path to establishment in Vietnam.
I think the relationship between my co-workers, and I is one of trust and hard work. I can come to them for legal help or if I have trouble understanding certain terms I a document I am reading. They have been super helpful on their part and I would be very lost without their guidance. Thankfully everyone can speak English so that is a barrier I do not have to try and overcome every day. Their English isn’t perfect however and that is where I can excel in the office. With clients that have trouble communicating in English, I can help my coworkers by interpreting as best as I can. They seem to really get a kick out of me trying my hardest to transcribe the gibberish that some people write. I have a good time though, nonetheless. One thing I have learned is not giving up too fast. I need to know that as long as I keep putting in the effort and work eventually things will work themselves out.
The first project assigned to me was a report on the FinTech
industry in Vietnam. For my first draft, I updated the template of the slide
deck by making it more attractive and professional. I organized my report by
first evaluating the market conditions of Vietnam, then giving an overview of
the FinTech industry in Vietnam, and finally describing the different
subsegments of FinTech. For my second draft, I updated the report by
implementing a PESTEL analysis to evaluate whether FinTech in Vietnam is worth
investment consideration, adding a SWOT analysis for each of the subsegments,
and illustrating my conviction scores for each subsegment at the end. Currently,
I am working on my final draft by adding more depth at the beginning to better
illustrate the FinTech industry in Vietnam, adding information about overlooked
subsegments, and displaying my conviction level after each explained
subsegment. Over the last four weeks, I hope to complete my FinTech report and
reports in other sectors, such as healthcare and supply chain. I believe my
reports will benefit my company by giving the portfolio managers an in-depth
look into potentially different areas of investment from their prior sole focus
on the technology sector. Ideally, my reports would enable members of the
venture capital fund to solicit investment opportunities from untapped
segments.
I believe my relationship with my supervisor is unique and
interesting, especially due to the remote nature of his work and my lack of
coworkers working on the same project as me. A key strength of my supervisor is
that he is extremely knowledgeable about the industry I am covering as a result
of first-hand experience working with firms within the segment. As a result, I
believe his bottom-up view of an industry can be complimented well with my
strength of analyzing an industry with a top-down approach. Furthermore, my
supervisor can give practical answers and viewpoints to my more exploratory and
curious questions about the industry.
A lesson that living in Saigon has illustrated to me is the
importance of reducing self-censorship. The Vietnamese culture has proven to be
more unapologetic and truthful about the struggles people face. While people in
Western society tend to find ways to hide their pains by disguising their
situation to look better than the reality, the people of Saigon have
demonstrated the benefits of openly accepting one’s situation and dealing with
life as it comes. This distinctive aspect of Vietnamese culture helps explain
the hardworking and persistent nature of the people here because although they
experience bad days, they can empathize easily and realize that there are
plenty of people facing harsher struggles.
I’ve been continuing
with my data translation for the market research report. At times, it can feel
like a tiring process but as we all know, data is an essential aspect of
research, trends, and most importantly: making results. I love the
miscellaneous tasks that I’m assigned with such as making PowerPoints and
taking a break from analyzing the intense spreadsheet of clients. My goal for
the remainder of the internship to finish the entries so that the new website
can be polished off. Another pertinent task that I hope to accomplish for the
remainder of the internship is to assist the company in launching a new service
provided through their website to promote translators for individuals who do
not speak the language, I’ll explain it more throughout the journals as our
progress develops.
One thing that I am
appreciative for working with Axis is the relationships I have developed with
my fellow coworkers and supervisors. We are a proactive team working towards
the same goal of benefiting the company with an excellent work ethic. A surprising
aspect that I’ve seen contrary to the rest of Vietnamese culture is the
accompanying soft skills of the management staff towards clients and their
employees. Mae invited Alejandro and me to a personal outing; she insisted for
us to go out to karaoke following a home-cooked lunch at her residence. Her
invitation shows not only a level of trust for us as entry employees, but also
a level of friendship that I can appreciate.
On a humorous note, I’ve learned that Vietnamese culture loves karaoke. It’s ironic that such a culture that is very reclusive in the social aspect, i.e. not smiling during eye contact or holding a conversation with strangers, loves to let loose and sing. I’ve also learned how to successfully cross public roads now without feeling like Frogger. I initially believed that I was good at evading traffic during my semesters at the University of Florida; however, this has refined my skills for sensing the presence of an imminent scooter accident. It is usually a dangerous task in Vietnam to make way across the street as many citizens are in a hurry to their destination and don’t necessarily care to stop. It really shows that there is clarity in the chaos as everyone manages to get through the traffic unscathed.
These past three weeks of work have been highly rewarding and exhausting. I have learned a lot about a design environment and all that goes into the process of creating a building. I’ve been very surprised and delighted by the involvement that architects have in the interior design aspects of each project. I find the interior of a building to be just as important as the exterior, so being able to aid with this step in the creation of the COSMOS and AWAY hotels has been very exciting. I hope that I will be able to see some of the final touches of COSMOS being completed in the next four weeks while AWAY starts to pick up.
This past week I was able to help with setting up some plans for COSMOS and create a second lighting option for a corridor in the AWAY project. I am hoping to work more on AWAY once COSMOS goes into the final detail plans since it is a newer project. These next four weeks should see it develop rapidly, and I hope to help in any way that I can.
The environment in my workplace makes it quite easy to communicate and get tasks from my coworkers. They are very friendly and understanding of my struggles and questions. It is s positive and joking space full of diversity. It is the perfect workplace for me! My supervisor is friendly and kind as well. She spends most of her time in her private office or away with meetings, but she is easy to talk to when it is necessary. This positive workplace relationship leaves me excited to come to work and learn more about architecture and interior design. This internship has been very educational for me, and I believe that I now have vital skills that I did not have previously.
Ho Chi Minh City is vastly different than in the United States, so the lessons that I have learned here are a little different than what I would know in the US. I have learned to better appreciate the differences in culture and language of the people around me. I am in an international district, so I can see and learn from people who come from a wide array of backgrounds. This is not always the case in the places that I’ve had residence in back in the US. This can come through a willingness to try new food or learning how to communicate with coworkers or other citizens who don’t know English. These experiences are fun and refreshing, because it shows that no matter where one might come from, people are still people and you can form positive relationships in no traditional ways.
During my internship so far, I have
produced revenue models for each of our different revenue streams, with the
exception of the bistro: the coworking space, the courses we offer, the
coliving space, and private office space. Since tomorrow (May 24) is our grand
opening, all of the revenue models helped us modify the PnL statement that we used
to budget our first 3 months of operations. While it is a little hard to
predict what I will be doing over the last 4 weeks of the internship due to the
fact that we are about to have our grand opening and are moving from planning
to execution, I hope to find new ways to ensure that Spiced is
maximizing revenue while minimizing costs. I also hope to develop new
initiatives to attract new customers and further enhance the community that we
are trying to develop for our members.
I compliment my supervisor well. He is more marketing focused and is skilled at designing the visual layout and presentation of our marketing material, while sometimes struggling with numbers and budgets. I, on the other hand, am more skilled financially compared to my marketing skills. I know how to find break-even points and determine pricing, and I am more capable of keeping track of our revenues and costs than he is. As a result, I can convey the financial information to him, allowing him to maximize his time working on marketing and advertising in order to grow our customer base.
One thing I have learned from living in HCMC is the practicality of chopsticks. Back in the United States, I only used chopsticks at sushi restaurants, so I never completely understood the appeal of them. However, now that I have been living here for a month and use chopsticks for every meal, I have a much greater appreciation for them (and I’m starting to prefer them over forks in general). For example, at hotpot restaurants, which are very common in HCMC, using chopsticks makes turning over the meat that you are cooking a lot easier than using a fork would have been. It also makes beef or chicken taste better, because then you don’t get the taste of metal in your mouth, instead you only get the taste of the food. It also makes sharing easier, because now instead of having to use two hands to scoop something out of a bowl, you now only need one. These are just a few of the reasons that my appreciation for chopsticks has grown from living in HCMC.
As the days went by,
blending in the office has become a smoother process. This week we enjoyed the
“All Hands” meeting. Which they do every couple of months. It involved
introduction of new team members (including us Florida Gators Interns),
expectations for employees, news about the company and a couple of videos from
different departments. One of the videos actually included me.
In the middle of a
workday, some people were going around filming activities and I was actually
asked to record and scene. Doing it wasn’t as funny as watching it later during
that meeting where all the company was watching. The event went great and I was
part of games and won a prize. They conducted an identity contest where each
department had to decorate their space and they gave away many prizes during
the event too.
The best part was that we had delicious food afterwards. Which was the second time during the week as earlier my department had a small party to celebrate that one of the technicians was accepted for a Masters program in Mathematics. Even though I have tried a lot of different food, there was something new to try this time. It was a whole chicken fried with a crust of rice. It was amazing, as my experience so far in Vietnam and Infinity Blockchain Labs.”
As I become more entrenched in my
daily routine at Impact Vietnam, the managing team of Toan and Ninh continue to
secure more mandates for new clients looking to raise investment capital.
Throughout the week, we finalized details and made changes to the pitch deck
for the deal with the baked confectionary manufacturer. In doing so I had the
opportunity to engage in a phone call meeting with Claus, a partner of the
Impact Vietnam firm who is based in both Singapore and Europe but travels on a
monthly basis. Claus, who is an expert in modeling and data representation,
virtually went through the pitch deck with my coworker Richard and I, giving
advice on what changes to make as well as asking questions from an investors
perspective in order to point out the slideshow’s missing information that
would likely be of interest to a prospective buyer.
By the end of the week, Toan, Ninh,
and even Tuan, another young investment associate on the team, were back in
Hanoi to meet with future clients Hai Nam media and DIligo holdings, as well as
meet with the confectionery manufacturer Huu Nghi Food to present our work. We were
told the meeting went fantastic, and although I would have liked to have been
there to meet with the client who I had done the most work for, I was proud
knowing that my efforts would lead to a tangible impact in the form of a
transaction for the company.
Moving forward, teamwork and
communication has been the binding force that has allowed for our small team to
maintain productivity and make headway as a small firm in a competitive market.
While Toan has been a fantastic guide to securing a foothold as an investment
analyst in Vietnamese business, his main office is located in Hanoi, a city on
the opposite end of the country, and will have to communicate with us remotely
for the majority of our work. While Ninh and Tuan will be in the Ho Chi Minh
City office with us, it has been practical to have found my role and the
purpose I with Impact Vietnam. As I continue to develop financial models and
pitch decks, my design and organization skills have proven to be fantastic for
visual aid of presented information, but I hope to improve my Excel skills in
order to more quickly navigate the program when working in spreadsheets. With
regards to Saigon, I have learned that with both work and in the city, nobody
stops for you the way they do in the United States; in the streets, you must
cross swiftly and with conviction, and in the office, complete tasks
confidently without explicit instruction.
Now that I’ve completed my third week of interning with
Impact Vietnam, I am starting to reflect on my development thus far. The first
couple of days can be characterized by the steep learning curve, but since then
I have made significant progress. To date, I have been involved in four
separate transactions, where I have worked on investment teaser presentations,
corporate presentations, and financial modeling. I have also been involved in
client meetings, touring facilities, and preparing questionnaires for clients. The
first project I have worked on was a corporate presentation, which took the
longest time to complete relative to following assignments I have worked on, but
this was primarily because of my unfamiliarity with the task presented. The comprehensive
presentation gives insight into the company’s operations, position within the
industry, financials, and investment catalysts. The purpose of the presentation
is to provide relevant information for investors to have a well-established
understanding of the investment opportunity. After completing this
presentation, my next task was to work on the financial modeling for the
transaction. The financial modeling
includes different valuation techniques for the investor to get a better
understanding of the investment and have an adequate understanding of the
growth opportunity.
After this assignment I was invited to attend a meeting with
a new client, where I took notes and gathered questions to ask. Although I took
notes, I had a hard time understanding what was going on due to the fact the
meeting was conducted solely in Vietnamese. Even though I didn’t speak the
language, I took it upon myself to research available information and gather a
compilation of questions that have emerged. Afterwards, I felt very grateful to
be present in the meeting because I felt like I was able to make a human connection
behind the assignments I work on. I felt like I was able to see the purpose of
my work and how it plays a role in the facilitation of the equity capital
raise. After this meeting, I have worked on the company’s investment teaser
presentation, which is essentially a brief overview of key information
highlights for prospective investors.
Since this project, I
have been involved in another client meeting, visited a client’s manufacturing
facility, and worked on two other investment teasers and corporate
presentations. In the next few weeks, I look forward to working with new
clients and learning more about the different industries in Vietnam. I’m
grateful to be working with Impact Vietnam, where I am responsible for
facilitating transactions between clients and investors.
I feel like the relationship between my supervisor and
coworkers creates a productive work environment. I have been invited to lunch
with the team several times, where we were able to have intellectual
conversations about subjects other than work. I believe that one of the most
important factors in a working team is the ability to recognize the uniqueness
and independence of every individual. No two employees are the same, and
because of it everyone has something to learn from someone else. Whether it be
technical or just a different perspective, it is important for a company to
create an environment where communication and the sharing of information is
encouraged. I feel like the removal of hierarchical barriers at Impact Vietnam
allows for the flow of information without the fear of consequences.
One thing that I have learned from working in Ho Chi Minh City is how to be flexible. From my experience thus far, the flexibility and readiness to adapt to changing environments is what I have appreciated the most. In working on different projects, I’ve had to learn to juggle multiple assignments at once and be able to prioritize certain ones at different times. For example, it is a common situation where company A is number one priority and all resources should be spent on completing the task, and then all of a sudden a breakthrough happens and company A is now being put on hold because company B is now number one priority for whatever reason. The ability to be flexible and understand that life is not a clear-cut path, but rather it is in fact messy and full of unexpected surprises is a lifelong skill that I will develop and practice for the rest of my academic, professional, and personal development.
At my internship, it is usual for me to be given a few tasks that I can work on at a time. Some of them have due dates, and others are assignments that I must work on continuously throughout my internship. Currently, I have completed two of the six infographics I must create, and both of them have been posted on the company’s social media accounts. I have also researched the businesses that my company will have meetings with during the summit in Barcelona. It was required of me to find specific information on each company such as their target market, industry partners, recent projects, all social media links, and put this all into one organized spreadsheet. Another task that I am currently working on is updating their blog articles by adding internal links using longtail keywords and editing all of the titles to increase click-throughs.
In the last four weeks, I have a few tasks that I hope to accomplish. For example, during the summit in Spain, I will be in charge of documenting everything for social media. I hope to take relevant photos and videos and create posts that will summarize the event. I will also be networking with executives at our booth, so another goal of mine is to network with as many people as I can to spread the word about the company. I hope to learn as much as possible about event marketing and ask my supervisor any questions I may have about it during the summit as well. Also, I would enjoy writing a few blog articles about the conference or online gaming in general. Overall, I would like to continue engaging in any tasks that will help increase my company’s visibility.
I have a positive relationship with my supervisor and co-workers. They are very approachable, and I feel welcome to ask questions, clarify my tasks, and speak up during meetings. We work independently for most of the day but have marketing meetings on a daily basis to go over what we have completed and our upcoming tasks. One strength that we have in common is our ability to work autonomously. Working without a lot of supervision and being able to make our own decisions is a vital skill to have in my workplace. My co-worker and I are able to work ahead without needing many directions from my supervisor, and we both use this mindset to think of new tasks to work on. My supervisor’s strength is mentorship. He spends time going over specific marketing strategies and is direct and clear, making it easy to follow along. I believe that we make a strong, hard-working team.
One thing that I have learned during my time in Ho Chi Minh City is that communication is something that Vietnamese people struggle with both in and out of the workplace. There have been a few instances during my internship in which someone chooses not to convey necessary information, or misunderstands something and does not ask for clarification. Employees seem to always be working on their own, and this often blocks communication. During the monthly all-hands meeting, the CEO told everyone to say good morning and good night to each other to help improve this issue. This is something that is expected in America, so hearing the CEO mention it was eye-opening and confirmed my thoughts and observations. It is important, however, that there are noticeable attempts to improve communication in my company.Â
In the last four weeks, I’ve been
given increasingly larger responsibility. In my first week, we were mostly
conducting market research and presenting on different competitors as a means
of getting a feel for this new industry the company had just pivoted into, and
to try and gain familiarity with the technology and terms ourselves. The next
few weeks were spent actually helping to determine what route the company would
take in its pivot, and looking at potential partners/clients as the team
wrapped up development of their API. I’ve also given myself some extra duties
with the permission of the CEO, including creating and managing the company’s
official LinkedIn profile and designing edits to the webpage to improve
readability and make it more informative. Reaching out to other companies,
meeting with people in-person, writing a directory and briefing on
point-of-sale system distribution in the country – my duties were varied, and
often self-assigned as I believed they would benefit the company or my own work.
This past week, I received a big
project I’m very excited about – a buy-side equity valuation report on a major
industry player. It will aid us in figuring out whether our business model is
sustainable, and allow us to take inspiration where needed and avoid mistakes
concurrently. Our CEO is a graduate of NYU’s Stern School of Business with a
Master’s in Finance, and the first thing he did was toss us many textbooks and
articles on the subject of writing and formulating a thesis. I’m excited to
tell a story through the data I discover in my research, right now it’s largely
a lot of sifting through financial forms and trying to establish trends and
patterns and reading up on business accounting/corporate finance. This is
easily the task I’m most excited about in my time here so far, and I look
forward to presenting our findings. Robert has been doing a great job of
encouraging and answering questions and providing feedback on all of our work,
I’m thankful to have him as a supervisor and will continue to learn from him.
Right now, Robert is the only one outside of us interns working on the business
end of the company. Every other employee is focused on development. Our
relationship with the employees is great, we go to lunch and converse with them
fairly often, but when working there is minimal interaction as everybody gets
plugged in completely. These employees are all genius programmers, and I hope
to refine my own programming skill while I’m here – I asked a lot of questions
and was sent some valuable resources to study on my own time.
The greatest lessons I’ve learned are pertinent to my career; in my time here, I’ve drafted an outline of my future goals and picked up a ton of knowledge in my areas of interest. I’m getting some certifications while I’m here outside of work, to supplement this education, and I think I can apply these concepts when I return to my own startup in the US.
UF in Vietnam Internship 