ALUMNI CORNER
“As a student, put your heart and mind in everything…”
Kim Cang, Alumni Course 2011 ”
First of all, on behalf of Dear My IU and IU students, I would like to send my sincere thanks to Cang for taking the time to share the precious experiences for IU students.
Please introduce about yourself. Is Kim Cang now much different from Kim Cang as a student?
My name is Kim Cang, a student of the Faculty of Marketing (2011-2015). I enjoy reading, climbing and writing. I’m currently doing media for a startup and doing some personal projects.
The difference between me now and me in the years of college is that I think and say more carefully, being more careful and responsible in the work I do.
Between different choices, why did you choose the cinema to start a business?
I love to watch movies and want to use this hobby to make money. At the same time I find that movies in theaters are now often “mass” targeted to the vast majority of customers; There is also a segment of the films which are more selective that has no place to show. Since I start my business as in the “poor family”, I decided to enter this side market. I don’t have many customers but most of them really love his place and often come back.
Can you explain to IU-ers the meaning of the brand “Hung Hoa (Shining Flower)”?
“Hoa” refers to the sun, because in the morning or in the afternoon, you’ll be able to see the sunrise and sunset at Hung Hoa Cinema. It’s very beautiful. “Hung” refers to me, to those who are starting their own businesses, with hope to succeed and “shine” one day.
On the SHIELD startup project on a national scale, can Kim Cang share with us about SHIELD?
SHIELD has been run for more than one year, and SHIELD was born to connect startups with the necessary support resources, such as startup connections with hedge funds, service providers, and human resources companies, Co-working space…
In the near future, how do you plan to develop SHIELD? Do SHIELD and HUNG HOA cinema have the same goal?
I and my teammates hope that in about 2 years SHIELD will become a venture capital fund for startups in Vietnam. Currently I am building a site specializing in introducing startup products to help modern life simpler and more economical.
Because SHIELD is an unprofitable long-term project, I use HUNG HOA as a way to earn a living first, then saving the world later.
As a fresh graduate student, do you have trouble getting started? And do you find yourself too risky when starting a career?
There are many difficulties. I left my current job to self-mobilize a whole new work. How to convince family and close friends to understand, how to solve the first problem – money, and recruit good people that agree to take less salary, more difficult jobs.
My point of view is “High risk, high return” so I think it’s not too risky. Maybe on the safe side, the way I’m walking is somewhat less safe than my friends’ paths, but I think it gives me more experiences, help me grow up and appreciate money and love those who love me more.
Between self-startup and co-startup, which one do you think will succeed first? And which one did you choose?
I think when starting a business together, the chances of success will be higher, because more people mean more views, more insight customers, and we can also support each other when problems arise. However, the problem is to find a co-entrepreneur with the same passion and capacity. If you cannot find such a person, you should start your own business.
According to you, what kind of knowledge and skills do you think a new entrepreneur should have?
As a student, when you graduate, be sure you have a professional background. Four years of university, internship, part-time job must ensure that after the graduation, you have expertise in a certain field. In addition, a student should set the goal to explore every corner of his personality. What you’re good at, what your weak points are, what you hate, what you love. How you relieve stress, what you love to eat, whether you have the ability to lead or not, whether you are able to speak in front of the crowd or not, whether you have good computing skills or not, whether you like writing or not,…. The more you know about yourself, the more you are able to find the job that suits your ability and personality. That is my opinion about the necessary things that graduated students should have, but to step into the path of starting a business, you must shed some blood, and really want to do something. When your determination is strong enough, you will know which way you need to go.
What’s your message to IU-ers? And wishes for IU on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of our university?
When you are still a student, put your heart and mind in everything, from studying, working, playing or loving something too. Take the opportunity to go as far as possible, to free read books (not in your mother language if possible) in your free time as much as possible, to love often and exercise regularly.
IU will forever remain in my heart as a small red house in the giant sand desert. I hope IU will develop more, both in quantity and quality. I hope for IU teachers to always be healthy and IU students to always keep their spirit.
Thank you!
Once again I would like to thank you for taking the time to share with my Dear IU. Hopefully the DMI readers will be inspired by the start-up as well as having a solid career preparation in the future. Wishing you a lot of fun and prosperity at work and in the future.