“Passion is the necessary condition, perseverance is the sufficient condition”

The Startup Journey

Born with the mission to optimize operations for SMEs, 1Office has provided businesses with an online working environment by digitizing all corporate resources and data, transforming them into a unified whole.

With such a new and comprehensive solution, 1Office has helped leaders and managers optimize administration by enabling them to track progress and all company data through a single integrated platform.

“While studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, I noticed that the software I encountered during my studies was rudimentary and had many issues. It was at that moment that I conceived the idea of building a solution to help businesses operate more optimally. In my fourth year, I went to work at FPT to learn about the software production process.

After that, I moved to FPT’s venture capital project for 6 months. It’s safe to say that this was the period when I had the opportunity to gain experience, accumulate knowledge, and build the most basic foundation, which was a crucial stepping stone for my entrepreneurial journey later on,” shared Mr. Le Viet Thang.

In 2009, Mr. Thang founded DOS (Digital Optimization Solution) with a business model focused on creating websites for businesses, but it failed. He and his co-founders were determined to establish OneOffice and signed their first contract with Vietnam Price Joint Stock Company (VNP) in 2012. Partnering with VNP, OneOffice received financial and professional support while building a management system for about 2,000 employees.

After the initial success with VNP, OneOffice aimed to commercialize the product as a MaSS (Mass Market) offering but failed because they did not carefully calculate and research the market, used an unsuitable approach, and were overconfident in the company’s internal capabilities.

In 2015, Mr. Thang founded a new company named 1Office and commercialized the product in 2017 as a SaaS model. Since then, 1Office has doubled its growth on average each year. 1Office had a funding round in 2018 and recently successfully raised a Series A round with a company valuation of up to 300 million US dollars.

Is “Digital Transformation” Just a Trend?

Mr. Le Viet Thang believes that digital transformation is not a trend. Digital transformation is a tendency. In essence, digital transformation is about using digital to transform, not just transforming into digital. The biggest barrier for businesses on this journey is “transforming” the mindset of the leadership. It can be said that digital transformation is a continuous process of transforming mindsets based on the company’s digital data to change ways of working and create breakthroughs in business operations.

This process occurs in 3 main stages: Data standardization and digitization (Digitization), operational process standardization and digitization (Digitalization), and comprehensive digital transformation (Digital Transformation) based on the company’s reporting system to make improvement decisions. This process is continuous, and at a certain point, the cycle will repeat and continue. All data, objects, and metrics are digitized, at which point leaders will make decisions based on digital data.

For Mr. Le Viet Thang, startups need to adopt digital transformation. Digital transformation is a process that requires a lot of time and significant financial resources. With the resources and scale in the initial stage, startups should first focus on “external digital transformation” – enhancing the customer experience, ensuring the customer’s journey is truly smooth. If a startup is not linked to information technology and does not have a digital transformation orientation, scaling becomes very difficult.

1Office Culture

The culture of 1Office was implemented by me from the very first days and can be summarized in 6 points, as follows:

Work: Everything for the work. Finish the work, not the hours.

Product: Obsessed with the product. Think about it even when eating, sleeping, or sitting.

Colleagues: Sincere to understand, critical to develop.

Boss: The boss only manages administration; in work, we are equals.

Company: You don’t have to love the company, but love the work you do.

Customers: Devote yourself to the customer, and the customer will open their wallet for you.

“Stay hungry, stay foolish” in the Product

“Stay hungry, stay foolish” is the quote by Steve Jobs that Mr. Thang resonates with and understands most deeply. It’s not just because it’s a famous person’s quote, but because the more he experiences and reflects, the more he appreciates the profound layers behind each word. That quote is the guiding principle I’ve followed throughout the 1Office startup journey and applied to the business process.

In common definition, “foolish” is often understood as having little knowledge, being less informed, and not being sober enough. For Mr. Thang, “foolish” is when a person is at their purest and most innocent; at that time, we will have thoughts and imaginations that go far beyond those who are “entangled in worldly dust.”

In the product development process, being “foolish” helps 1Office create great, innovative, and outstanding features. In business, 1Office always feels “hungry,” always feels the need to “hunt” and maintain the enthusiasm to compete in the harsh marketplace.

The Biggest Failure on the Startup Journey

“After a period of partnership with VNP, VNP and I went our separate ways. At that time, I was almost empty-handed. The only way to continue was to keep the founding team. The company’s failure brought financial burdens, so I borrowed 500 million VND from my parents to pay necessary expenses and retain the company’s co-founders – who are now all founders of 1Office and very successful.

At that time, if I hadn’t borrowed money from my parents, I would certainly have found every way to solve my problems step by step. I believe that when you are determined, you will find a solution; when you don’t want to do something, you will find an excuse. Materially, that was the biggest failure,” Mr. Thang recounted.

Mentally, there were times when he sat with his “brainchild” and lost all feeling for it. For me, that was the scariest thing. Facing the product he created, Mr. Thang seemed to become emotionally numb, having no feeling to improve the product. He went to work like a machine, making it very difficult to infuse emotion into the product. In over 10 years of entrepreneurship, Mr. Thang has fallen into that state about 3-4 times. This emotional state is very difficult to escape from, and it took a certain amount of time for him to calm down and find that “feeling” again.

“For me, passion for the product is the most important thing. Whenever you want to stop, take a minute to ask yourself why you started. Answering that question is the motivation to continue striving harder in the future,” Mr. Thang shared.

Is Finance the Biggest Problem in a Startup?

Currently, 1Office’s financial standing is quite stable. However, the challenges for a financially sound company are no less than those for an organization without money, because you have to find ways to use that money effectively and achieve growth. Many people think that finance is the biggest problem in a startup, but for Mr. Thang, this is completely wrong.

Finance is indeed a crucial and urgent issue; it’s the “lifeblood” of a business, and sometimes, “acute blood loss” can be fatal. However, for a business to go far, it needs to solve not only the financial puzzle but also countless other challenges. Finance is not the most important issue in a startup.

Advice for young people

“No one should advise anyone on anything, as everyone has their own frame of reference. However, if I may, I think people should be brave enough to pursue their passion and persistently follow it. No journey is without difficulties and challenges; the path to achieving a dream is never a bed of roses. Passion is a necessary condition, but perseverance is the sufficient one,” said Mr. Thang.

Mr. Thang observes that many young people today face too many choices, don’t know what they want, lack specific goals, and easily get discouraged and give up when facing difficulties. Throughout his 15-year startup journey, he has nurtured his passion, strived every day, and persistently overcome challenges.

He often applies the “10,000-hour rule” mentioned by Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers.” The rule states that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in any field; if you dedicate enough time and effort to something, you can achieve great success.

“Therefore, if possible, I hope you will spend more time looking inward, understanding yourselves, choosing a passion, and persevering with it. Later on, whether you succeed or fail, you won’t have regrets because you gave it your all, you’ve grown, and you’ve gradually become a better version of yourself,” Mr. Thang affirmed.