"What makes a social app sticky to Vietnamese is if it has more entertainment and action happening. That's why Zalo is more popular than WhatsApp in Vietnam because Zalo has a lot of graphics, pictures, and news. TikTok is really good at capturing attention. In three seconds, they know what I like and what I don't like. They have great algorithm that also attracts Gen Z and some young millennials in Vietnam to create content on TikTok. And because TikTok has become a central social platform for all Gen Z and millennials in Vietnam, it’s easy because those are the population who spend more in e-commerce. It's an easy move for TikTok to roll out TikTok shop because they understand what customers like and they can run the right advertising that target customers. It's insane. At the same time, the seller or the reviewer has reviewed the right kind of product criteria that I was looking for. At the bottom of the TikTok video, there's a purchase link and it only took me a few seconds to actually make the purchase." - Valerie Vu
"I saw the gap in pre-seed funding, especially founders who want to start a company with just an idea, have the right experience and networks in that particular field, but most of the VC funds in the market demand or ask for certain traction and numbers that the founder might not be able to show immediately. I see that precede funding gap and I see the opportunity for me.The second reason is I want to focus full time in Vietnam. Previously, I had to also cover other markets like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore, but looking back, I want to have the most impact in Vietnam, that's why I launched Ansible, even though I still work with Venturra a lot." - Valerie Vu
"Sea Group is successful in terms of creating their own super app because they have Shopee pay. They also acquired Foodie and then rebranded it to Shopee Eat, so you can also have food delivered on Shopee on top of shopping, e-commerce and payments. Sea Group is the second closest to a super app in Vietnam, but it is not a local company. I think the chinese e-commerce is pretty powerful. TikTok shop entered Vietnam only recently but they're quickly gaining market share in climbing to the second or third largest already. You also saw Temu, an e-commerce arm of Pinduoduo, enter the Philippines, and I have no doubt if they're going to enter Vietnam next. It's pretty scary for local e-commerce from my point of view." - Valerie Vu
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on the Vietnam funding gap, VNG and VinFast IPO, and Zalo and TikTok Shop UX.
Keywords: Vietnam Funding Gap, VNG VinFast IPO, Zalo TikTok Shop UX, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Thought Leadership
