20 years of growth: the VNG story

What does it take to build a company that has lasted 20 years? At Tech in Asia’s recent Saigon Summit, Le Hong Minh, founder and CEO of Vietnamese tech firm VNG, talked about his company’s journey, shared lessons he learned along the way, and offered advice for fellow founders.

Below is a summary of the discussion from his fireside chat, moderated by Tech in Asia CEO Willis Wee.

Watch the full video here:

Session summary:

Founding VNG

• A hardcore gamer, Minh established VNG in 2004. He was inspired by the growing popularity of online games and the rise of broadband internet in Vietnam.
• There was no grand vision. Instead, it was simply a group of gamers who wanted to create a company focused on gaming.

The company’s evolution

• After a few years, VNG became an internet company as internet penetration in Vietnam grew.
• This led to a shift in focus and venturing into new areas like music, news, social media, and fintech.
• VNG adopted the 1441 goal: acquire 41 million internet users in Vietnam by 2014. This reflected its desire to capitalize on the growing Vietnamese internet market.

Mission and global ambitions

• VNG’s initially sought to “make the internet change Vietnamese lives.”
• The success of its products and the rapid growth of Vietnam’s internet landscape led to a reevaluation of the mission.
• It then evolved to “build tech and grow people from Vietnam to the world,” reflecting its global ambitions.
• VNG pursued an IPO to support its international expansion plans but ultimately decided against it due to unfavorable market conditions.

The future of VNG

• The company sees enterprise software and cloud adoption as promising areas, recognizing their continued growth potential even though they are not the hottest trend.
• While AI is a significant focus, VNG believes that real adoption in consumer and business applications will take time, making other areas like cloud and fintech worthwhile investments.
• VNG is committed to building products and fostering talent growth, recognizing these as core elements of its success.

Leadership and turning points

• Minh challenges himself and VNG to constantly question their purpose and whether they deserve their position.
• This self-reflection resulted in a shift in the company’s mission and a focus on global expansion.
• He highlights the importance of personal reflection and aligning actions with one’s capabilities and passions.

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