Uncategorized – Page 14 – UF in Vietnam Internship

Expect The Unexpected

I am working as a Research Analyst Intern for IDG Ventures Vietnam, one of the earliest established companies within the venture capital industry of Vietnam. While my company does not sell a physical product nor service, it invests into early-stage companies to maximize returns while minimizing risk. The four primary segments that my company operates in are Information and Communications Technology, Media and Entertainment, Technology, and Consumer Infrastructure.

I believe my experience in the first days of my internship has been unique and not quite what I expected. On my first day, I dressed in business professional attire and eagerly sat in the CRCC Asia drop-off van. I discovered that not only would I have my co-worker Tara in the same office, but also two other friends, Richard and Cole, interning with another company. While Richard and Cole were introduced to their supervisor, Tara and I realized that neither of our supervisors were in the office; my supervisor was at the Hanoi office for the week. While this was unexpected, I tried to make the most of my time by closely researching IDG Ventures’ investment portfolio while I waited for my supervisor to reach out. Although my supervisor was unable to reach out on my first day in the office, I had a Skype call with him the following day. He was able to explain the inconvenience of having no IDG Ventures employees in the Ho Chi Minh City office to supervise us and gave me some instruction for the week. Throughout the rest of my first week, I was able to independently work on a report on the FinTech industry, a sector that IDG Ventures Vietnam has been recently active in, and reach out to my supervisor for any questions. Although I knew my experience was quite different from the interns working across the room, who had daily checkups from their supervisor, I appreciate my supervisor being flexible enough to give me direction and look forward to working with him next week.

In terms of the environment of my workplace, IDG Ventures Vietnam is a small branch, consisting of 4 partners and 15 investment professionals, within the global IDG Capital. While I work in Ho Chi Minh City, the company’s headquarters are in Hanoi and another office is in Singapore. I would describe the culture as more relaxed and flexible than typical investment banking firms, such as the company that shares the same office as mine, open-minded enough to explore untapped segments, and goal-driven to produce excellent results.

Building loyalty to Elefos

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.

Talent is Borderless

I will be spending the summer working for a company called Cooptalis. Cooptalis is a French company that has 15 offices around the world and over 150 employees. The company has just recently expanded to Ho Chi Minh City. Cooptalis specializes in global recruitment, but unlike many other recruitment companies Cooptalis is there for its customers from start to finish when making the transition to a new country. Their motto “Talent is Borderless” means they look for talent all across the globe. They then use their expertise to move their clients into different countries and properly assimilate the client and the client’s family.

Cooptalis specializes in seven sectors, Job Research, Visa Application, Mobility planification, Relocation as a family, Housing upon arrival, Administrative process management, and Integration training. The Ho Chi Minh branch is a newer branch, therefore, there are only three employees. My role will be more focused on the start of the sales process. I will be in charge of looking for potential companies that could use Cooptalis service. This will not only be limited to Vietnamese companies, I will also be in charge of looking for German and American companies. Along with researching I will be responsible for reaching out to these companies and creating the first contact or impressions of Cooptalis and what our company has to offer.

These first few days have been exciting, I was able to shadow one of my supervisors and attend a tech expo and watch first-hand how my supervisor networks with other Vietnamese people. I am very excited to learn from my colleagues and supervisors as they are very experienced in their fields and have so much knowledge to offer. I am also looking forward to the opportunity to work for a smaller branch of a large international company because it will allow me to have more impact on the day-to-day activities in the company. This first week in the Vietnamese business world has been exciting as well as demanding and I am confident these next few weeks will show me even more about Vietnam.

Intro to Blockchain

I started at Infinity Blockchain Labs (IBL) on June 3^rd, 2019. We came two hours late due to CRCC providing transportation to everyone on the first day. Me and two other interns walked through the doors of a hotel only to be amazed by the beauty of the building. It was a fancy place cover by glass windows and a huge infinity logo that lights up blue, black, and grey in the front. We met up with the regional director Lawrence who gave us a short presentation about the company and some merch. I was happy for the shirts, key chains, coffee cups, and laptop I was given by the company, I felt very welcomed.

Lawrence described IBL as a holder company, a company that is fully established but has several start-up departments: Ginar, Wowtrace, Infinito Wallet, Cyber Security, and Blockpass, that each have their projects to fulfilled. All departments deal with blockchains, technology platforms that are decentralized to retain data and transfer information. I was later informed that I will be working in the GInar department of the company which is a Decentralized Random Number Generator (dRNG) that can be used to enliminate cheating, build transparency, and verify winning faster/easier in the gaming industry. IBL believe they can make loads of profits by entering the gaming industry.

On the first day I was given a lot of information to read about Ginar, the company, and what are blockchains. That day consisted of reading the new updated white paper and taking a tour around the facility. The company is split in two sides with the left being Infinito Wallet and the right being everything else. IBL has 300 plus employees and their workspace is full of laptops, desktops, and tables.

Throughout the week I noticed the employees and managers were very chill. They came to work whenever they want and leave for lunch and come back at reasonable time. There are no strict rules, but everyone knows to get their work done. Everyone communicates through Group chats and computers. My supervisor seat right next to me but I must text him on the computer if I have a question. The work hours are long (9-6pm) and everyone is just starting at their computers the whole time. I am more open for direct communicate, meeting people, and doing business in person but I’ll see how it goes.

Acclimatization

In the first few moments upon arriving at my internship location, I experienced a corporate culture shock unlike anything I had anticipated. The company that I will be interning for the remaining of the summer is Impact Vietnam, a boutique investment bank specializing in advisory and capital raises in agribusiness, consumer goods, technology, hospitality, healthcare and energy in Vietnam. Impact Vietnam is the bridge between investors seeking entry into the Vietnamese markets and business owners in need of capital and strategic investors. Impact Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City office currently has 3 full-time employees in a shared office with IDG Ventures. The firm is currently experiencing astounding growth, partnering with multiple new clients every week. The office is coursing with excitement for the future and fueled to put forth maximum effort and close deals as soon as possible without reducing quality. The purpose of all this is to make a name for themselves as the investment bank for investors looking to enter the Vietnamese market.

Driving down the crowded streets of Ho Chi Minh City in an overpacked bus of interns, and the sounds of scooters buzzing and honking as they overpass our vehicle, filling me with anticipation as we arrive to our destination. Upon arrival to Impact Vietnam’s office, my co-intern and I were introduced to the talented individuals we will be working with for the next six weeks, which fueled me with excitement to have the opportunity to learn from them and their impressive careers. After a brief introduction to the company, my co-intern and I were assigned tasks to complete. My co-intern and I had a moment of confusion as we were unclear about the expectations we were supposed to meet. The first corporate culture shock we exhibited is the prevalence of work autonomy in Vietnam. Our tasks were to complete two information memorandums of current clients that will be presented to investors. Our supervisor mentioned current challenges they’ve had with their information memorandum template and motivated us to use our creativity to produce a new format. Excited by the autonomy we had with the projects, we began working on an information memorandum that resembled the firm’s unique style while also containing an in-depth analysis of the investment presented. After completing the majority of our project, we had our first progress meeting with our supervisor. Our supervisor was very pleased with our work and was impressed by the creativity and in-depth analysis we had provided. Although he was pleased, we were redirected to use the firm’s previous template because the one we had created required too much time and wouldn’t be sustainable for the boutique investment bank. Although it was discouraging at first, I found the situation as an opportunity to adapt quickly and learn more about different approaches a firm can take to close deals with investors. This experience changed my approach from that of meticulously trying to gather as much information as possible, to recognizing the importance of relevant information investors want to be confident with their investment decisions.

Want to do business in Vietnam?

I am currently working for a company named Emerhub. They started in Indonesia but expanded their services to other southeastern Asian countries such as Vietnam. They help companies and other organizations set up their business or create transactions in Vietnam or wherever they are established. It is their job to help companies work in unorthodox environments without having to deal with difficult regulations. They can provide services such as accounting or legal advising to completely carrying out the delivery service for a company’s products.

The first day was very promising. I was able to meet many new employees and the branch manager. Each one was very inviting and welcoming. I got to learn about the different teams and their specific jobs. My coworker and I were also taken out to lunch by a few of the workers to help show us the best places to eat during lunch time. I am very excited to continue working with them. Day one was the slowest. We had not been described the tasks of our titles, but we were explained the actual job description later on during the day. Until then my coworker and I were basically just doing random busy work on our laptops.

Once we were given our roles everything changed. Instead of being told how to do something, we were given tasks and expected to communicate with our given teams. This as I have been told is much different from an internship in the states. My company is comprised of about 20 people and they are all expected to perform their tasks with the upmost urgency. We are also expected to perform with such urgency. This is not surprising but actually sitting down for 9 hours with my team depicts a picture unlike something someone would picture given that information. While they are expected to work around the clock, they still make time to converse among one another and share a few laughs. The office space is small, so everyone is basically in one large room separated by desks. This environment gives the office a more relaxing and comfortable feel to it. For my first internship I could not be happier.

No shoes, no start time, no problem

“Shoes, shoes…”

“Oh, er… Sorry, it’s force of habit.”

I remove my sneakers and place them on the shelf near the glass entrance. Going barefoot at work in the United States would surely be viewed as unprofessional, so I was surprised to see this expectation flipped on its head in my workplace. In fact, many of the standards I’d been used to had been twisted, flipped, or outright eliminated from my workplace; programmers will often walk to the couch, remove a cushion, and pass out on the floor. Managers will come in late and leave early, and have encouraged us to do the same a few times. There are no arranged seats, and people float around the office drifting and settling at will. The workplace definitely has a more relaxed and youthful culture than others I’d been exposed to, but I don’t feel that these traits impede progress. In fact, I believe these sedate practices are a necessary counterbalance. The overall theme of the workplace is “as long as you get the work done, nothing else matters,” and thus the hours where the company is operating at its full capacity are very intense. By the end of this weekend, the company plans to complete and launch an API for its latest product, so the crunch in racing towards this deadline has been prevalent through much of each day. In these times, the dominant noises are the hum of the AC and the mashing of keys as the team members unflinchingly stare at their laptops and code frantically. E-mail and meetings are too slow as means of communication within the company, and instead, G-suite, Slack, and Facebook Messenger are used to send thoughts and questions at lightning speed – and responses typically arrive in the blink of an eye. Coffee and energy drinks fuel the crew during these sprints, and when the work is complete, I expect that naptime is a well-deserved and much-anticipated reward.

My first week in this kind of environment has been spent adjusting and trying to learn, and thankfully, the work we are assigned facilitates that. Us interns are largely left to our own devices, directionless, and this has proven an incredible opportunity to learn about what it is that the company does and the technologies that it works with. The company, Elefos, is a lab formed to research and develop various applications for blockchain technology. Blockchain itself is very recent, and in the United States, most people I encounter only associate the technology with cryptocurrency – of which Bitcoin is by far the most popular and well-known. But Elefos doesn’t seek to launch a coin and make quick money like numerous other short-lived businesses; instead, Elefos seeks to make use of the advantages distributed ledger technology provides – security, decentralization, and immutability – and apply them to various other fields such as education, cloud computing, and loyalty points systems.

Upon arrival, the chief developer provided us with some learning resources and then suggested we explore various other companies, competitors, applications… We were even made aware of several upcoming tech gatherings around Ho Chi Minh City, and encouraged us to attend. It was a start, but not much more. I already had some familiarity with blockchain due to my interest in tech and my leadership in various computing organizations at the University, but neither of my fellow blockchain lab interns had any knowledge of it prior to beginning work, and even my own knowledge was only skin-deep as I soon discovered. We began flipping through the pages, scrolling through various company white papers and documentations, mining the data… Every so often, turning to each-other to confirm a belief or ask questions. In some ways it was a collaborative effort – we consulted each other quite a bit, and throughout our competitor analysis we collectively piled interesting information into a Google Doc to later present to the CEO and CTO – but not entirely, as we each let ourselves branch out into whichever application, or company, or geographical area interested us most at a particular moment. The studying and research process has been immensely enjoyable and interesting; I pore over one resource, and then questions are opened up that lead me to another resource, and then another, and then… so-on and so-forth, it’s an endlessly-flowing fountain of intrigue and I have become very deeply invested in the technology. Being an entrepreneurial mind, I often seek inspiration in discovering new things, and I have had so many consecutive flashes of inspiration this past week that I may go blind.

In the brief time I’ve been at Elefos, we have completed an in-depth and geographically-mapped competitor analysis, multiple project proposals, and participated in a local tech gathering at which I’d taken pages of notes and ideas. I’m excited to see what else I can learn and create over this next week, and I look forward to presenting all of our findings to the management on Monday.

Living and Learning

Starting SCAZMA this past week was a very cool experience. I have been helping the design team with some interior design aspects of an island beach hotel. I have had a change to design a library space, a corridor to connect a kitchen with a lounge room, and some doors in my first week of work. It has been a very rewarding and tiring experience. I am going through an adjustment period to the long hours, but the work is keeping my interest. It’s only been a week, but so far my experience has proven that I am in the right major.

SCAZMA’s idea of architecture is in line with mine as well. Their interest in incorporating conceptual ideas into the design process of a building that is exciting and creative. I feel included in their design ideas, and my coworkers are very open to my suggestions and thoughts on the project. Having their approval on my work keeps me motivated to do well. The work environment is also perfect for me. It is a small company with international influence. Many of my coworkers are able to speak English and are super friendly. They mainly consist of French and Vietnamese people and they range from 21-40 years of age. I was able to go to dinner with them after work during the first week and we all regularly get lunch together. Having this friendly atmosphere helps productivity and makes the long hours fly by. I prefer an office where people can relax and play music during their work, and this office is a perfect example of it. This uplifting work environment is making me excited for the weeks to come, and for the new experiences that I will learn.

I have not met my supervisor yet, she has been in Cambodia for a business trip for the past week. I am excited to meet her this next week to learn more about the newest project that SCAZMA is working on. This is my first architecture internship, so I am ready to learn about and master how to use online software and work on projects in a foreign city. Vietnam has been an adventure so far, so I can only look foreword to everything that this internship will bring.

The Professional Lifestyle

On Monday, June 3rd, 2019, I started my summer internship at Colliers International in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Although I had never heard of the company before, it turns out that it has offices all over the world in 68 countries and is ranked 2nd of the top twenty-five brokerages in the global real estate industry. In Vietnam, there are two offices, one in Hanoi and the one where I work at in Ho Chi Minh City. My company mainly focuses on commercial real estate and it offers a multitude of services including corporate solutions, brokerage sales and leasing, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, mortgage banking, and research.

My first week at Colliers has proved to be challenging but not for the reasons I thought it would. Before starting work, I was nervous about the tasks I would be assigned because I had never worked in the marketing department of a business and personally didn’t think I had the creative mind needed for the job. On my first day, however, I was assigned to do a competitor analysis to help the marketing team come up with a new social media strategy which very much interested me because it was research. To my surprise, my challenge came from the fact that I was thrown into a foreign environment without much direction and I found it very difficult to interact with my co-workers. The office is comprised of about 50 employees and for the most part, it is usually quiet. We have an open office layout designed with the purpose of allowing effective communication while maintaining a high level of professionalism, but it hasn’t worked like that in my case. People seem to always be too busy during the workday and by lunchtime employees usually, speak to each other in Vietnamese as they have had to speak English all day.

The building where I work at is called Deutsches Haus and it is located in District 1. It is a grade A building which means that it is in one of the most sought out locations, it’s also new and looks very modern. The location is my favorite because it is in the heart of the financial district. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany’s embassies are right around the corner and there are plenty of restaurants around. In the mornings it is a little hard to get a taxi, but the commute is only a 15-20-minute ride and I have many options if drivers aren’t available.

Overall, as the days have gone by, I have noticed that I have been acclimating to the environment and I have really enjoyed the task that I have been assigned. Even though there have been some bumps along the way, I try to remain positive and hope that it will get easier as the days pass. I can’t wait to get to know my co-workers more and see how much I grow from this internship.

Making an Impact

As my first week of work began, I was excited to see what an international work experience would prove to offer. Given my standing as a finance major, I was placed in a company known as Impact Vietnam, which was labeled as a boutique investment bank and financial advisory firm that provides services to domestic companies seeking capital from international sources. On the buy side, foreign investors would be connected to Vietnamese companies looking to sell a portion of ownership as an investment opportunity.

As I walked into the office on my first day, I was greeted by the managing director of the firm, who also happened to be my boss, and was given multiple tasks to start the day, including creating an extensive information memorandum compiled with information on a client company, but was given no instructions on how to do so. I found it frustrating to lack detail on how to approach something so pertinent to the company’s success on my first day, but after taking the initiative to come up with my own approach to the project, I found a fulfilling (and much-needed) sense of direction to maintain productivity. Throughout the week as I worked on company pitch decks and presentations, I became more familiar with my and appreciative for my employer’s leniency in allowing me to express my creativity on projects. I was also fortunate enough to be invited to listen in on multiple client calls, and even attend a business meeting with investing partners from Singapore and Japan.

While I was somewhat apprehensive at first due to the one room office and five-man banking team (including myself and my coworker Richard), I came to discover the benefits of such an intimate workspace. Due to its small size, the team was a collaborative environment that encouraged bouncing pitch construction ideas off of one another and sharing about our non-work lives as we developed personal friendships beyond the office. By the end of the first week, I felt fully initiated onto the team, in both how warmly I was welcomed, but also the significance I felt I could contribute to the company and understanding the appreciation and importance of my role. I am excited to see where my role in Impact Vietnam takes me in the coming weeks.