Nuggets of wisdom from Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s chat with startups in Vietnam

Photo credit: Robert Scoble

Remember Mark Zuckerberg’s trip to Indonesia a while ago? There were photos of him strolling through a textile bazaar in Jakarta, alongside Indonesia’s president.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo with Mark Zuckerberg. Photo credit: Antara

Well, Google CEO Sundar Pichai just had a similar moment in Vietnam, but it seemed less choreographed. Sundar actually interrupted his private holiday, taking time for an intimate interview at a venue in Hanoi with just 200 guests. Later, he hung out with Flappy Bird inventor Nguyen Ha Dong at a street-side tea stall.

Flappy Bird founder Nguyen Ha Dong with Sundar Pichai in Hanoi. Photo credit: Vietnam Breaking News

Sundar’s spontaneous exchange with Vietnamese entrepreneurs and tech people shows he deeply cares about building relationships, not just in his native India, but the entire Asian continent.

Here are some nuggets from the interview:

On Vietnam’s potential and possible partnerships

Sundar Pichai said he didn’t see any reason why Vietnamese companies could not be successful globally, given the size of the local market, high internet use rates, and the strong entrepreneurial culture. “Last year, Google partnered with three startups in India. Asian countries are doing well, we want to follow that trend, and of course we’d like to work in Vietnam.”

On winning at home, then the world

“Vietnam has a population of almost 100 million people […] so you have a lot of potential. Believe in capturing the domestic market first, then let’s reach the world like Chinese startups have done.”

On taking control of your game

“It doesn’t matter where you come from – India, Vietnam or China. It doesn’t matter, as every market comes with both advantages and disadvantages you have to deal with. Take control of your game, face your own difficulties instead of looking at other people’s success.”

Anh-Minh Do, investment advisor at Vietnam Tech Partners (left) with Sundar Pichai. The interview took place in front of a crowd of about 200 people yesterday in Hanoi. The complete interview can be seen here, but it’s dubbed in Vietnamese.

On how Asian engineers can become good managers

The 3-3 rule of focus

On what makes a product good

On the openness of Silicon Valley