Entrepreneur Truong Ly Hoang Phi, CEO & Founder InnoEx: From creating a "runway" to igniting innovation

For Truong Ly Hoang Phi, life does not give us the right to choose storms or sunshine, but always gives each person the right to choose how to go through them. And she has been going through every dark room to find light for the "runway".

In the small meeting room of the Business Startup Support Center (BSSC) in 2010, a young woman stood in front of a whiteboard, drawing circles and connecting arrows. At that time, “start-up” was still a strange word to most Vietnamese people, but in the eyes of a woman named Truong Ly Hoang Phi, it was a real future - where young people who dared to start a business would find a “runway” to take off.

Fifteen years later, Truong Ly Hoang Phi is still in that position - the position of a pioneer, but the scale of the journey has changed: from the first startup incubator in Vietnam to a transcontinental cooperation network, from a million-dollar project with Vingroup to the leading forum on innovation in Asia (InnoEx). All share the same red thread, which is to create a sustainable innovation ecosystem, so that Vietnamese startups can reach the world.

“Walking in the dark room”

Born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, graduating from the National Academy of Public Administration, many people thought that Truong Ly Hoang Phi's career path would be linked to public administration. But she took a different path, starting with banking, then telecommunications, holding the highest position as Head of Sales & Marketing at a call center.

That path seemed to have taken shape, until one day she heard that the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union wanted to establish a unit specializing in youth startups. The call for enthusiastic young people touched Phi.

“At that time, startups in Vietnam were still new and full of challenges. If I had started my own business, I would have only fulfilled a personal dream. But with BSSC, I could create value for the entire startup community. I chose community benefits to test myself,” Truong Ly Hoang Phi recalled.

On January 6, 2011, BSSC was officially born. But the joy did not last long, because when she started operating, she realized that the reality was far different from the plan on paper.

“It was like walking into a dark room and not knowing where the light switch was. I only had two choices: face it or give up. But giving up meant failure, it meant abandoning my brainchild. So I chose to face it,” said Ms. Truong Ly Hoang Phi.

As a result, under the leadership of Truong Ly Hoang Phi, BSSC has assessed and advised more than 4,000 small businesses and innovative start-up models, supporting more than 800 projects in many industries through finance, facilities, consulting and trade promotion.

The turning point came in 2018, when she joined hands with Vingroup to build VinTech City – a project that brings together Vietnamese scientists from around the world. In just two years, the VinTech Fund has invested more than 10 million USD in R&D funding and commercialization of high-tech products – a rare number at that time.

Her next role was with IBP (Investment & Business Partners) – an innovation and investment consulting firm for Vietnamese businesses, from strategy, execution to measurement. Under her leadership,

IBP has become a strategic partner of Hoa Binh Construction, Qualcomm (USA), SK Group (Korea), operating innovation centers and innovation investment funds. Many innovative businesses and startups in IBP's portfolio have grown 10 times in valuation in just 3 years, even during the pandemic. From this foundation, she founded InnoEx - an annual international forum where the Vietnamese innovation ecosystem connects directly with Southeast Asia and the world.

Truong Ly Hoang Phi sat in the position of a "shark" investor in "Shark Tank Vietnam" season 1. The aura of "Shark Phi" is the result of months of shouldering enormous pressure and sleepless nights. "There were nights when I stayed up all night, the next morning I rushed to the airport for a meeting, then came back. There were times when I didn't dare look at my employees because I didn't know if my decision was right or wrong," Truong Ly Hoang Phi confided.

For her, being a female leader in a harsh business environment is not only a matter of work pressure, but also an emotional problem. “I once hugged my employees and cried. I know I shouldn’t show weakness, but there are times when I can’t control myself,” she said.

Truong Ly Hoang Phi clearly understands that every path has its difficulties and there are times when you want to give up. But the important thing is the attitude you have towards it. You cannot change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust the sails.

That is the lesson she wants to send to startups, especially women who are venturing into business. From choosing the community benefit more than a decade ago, Truong Ly Hoang Phi has become a representative of the spirit of creating a Vietnamese startup ecosystem. A woman who is both brave and compassionate, always looking for ways to pave the way for new ideas to reach the light.

Aspiration and reality

For Hoang Phi, innovation is a bridge between generations. It helps start-ups go further, large businesses operate better and society progress. “I don’t chase after new things, but create conditions for innovation to create real value,” she shared.

After a decade of progress, Truong Ly Hoang Phi realized that the biggest difference between young people today is their global perspective, knowledge and international networks. They think bigger, go beyond borders, have more tools, data and connections, are more mature, and learn faster. However, they are also easily caught up in short-term metrics, pressured by speed and competition. The desire to assert themselves is still strong, but placed in a more complex and fierce "game".

Why do many Vietnamese startups enthusiastically enter the innovation game, but quickly leave the field? Hoang Phi believes that, in part, it is because they confuse difference and value, flashy technology and practical solutions. Innovation, if separated from feasibility and operational ability, will only be a costly experiment. In reality, the most sustainable models often start from a simple question: is this problem really important and worth devoting all our resources to?

And from that question, many lessons about innovative thinking, from the common flaws of Vietnamese startups, to the principles of starting and re-starting in the digital age, began to be revealed. Accordingly, three qualities needed in business leaders in the digital age, include systemic thinking to see the whole picture, from the market, competitors, to the value chain; the ability to self-study and adapt quickly, because the business environment is constantly changing, today's knowledge can be outdated tomorrow. And finally, the steadfastness with core values ​​so as not to be swept away by the "waves" of trends and short-term pressures.

“Innovation should start with people. Specifically, how the leadership team understands themselves and the value the business is creating. When they have a broad enough perspective on the value chain and market fluctuations, businesses will know where to innovate and why. All sustainable innovation comes from internal strength, from honestly looking back and being willing to learn again,” Hoang Phi shared.

The most impressive example of quiet but effective innovation for Truong Ly Hoang Phi is Magix – a resilient technology start-up. The founder spent 3 years living in a warehouse to develop a smart packaging solution, helping to process thousands of orders per day for large e-commerce and shipping businesses in Vietnam. Magix’s story shows that innovation does not need to be flashy, sometimes it lies in quiet solutions, but brings real operational value.

The topic of innovation is being talked about a lot in traditional businesses when facing dozens of inherent problems, especially in the story of difficulties in digital transformation. According to her, the common reason is that they see digital transformation as a short-term project, instead of a long journey. Digital transformation is not just about applying new technology, but also about relearning, re-measuring and re-operating yourself. No matter how advanced the technology is, it is difficult to make an impact if the leadership mindset, management methods and effectiveness measurement do not change.

She believes that the State can see young people and private enterprises in the innovation process as co-creating partners of the future, together shaping and promoting development.

“Choose something you truly believe is necessary and commit to it seriously. True value takes time to prove, but once it exists, it will bring a solid position that is difficult to replace,” Truong Ly Hoang Phi advises Gen Z.

At this time, Truong Ly Hoang Phi continues to sow the seeds for a “borderless” ecosystem. IBP and InnoEx were built by her as two parallel bridges: one for implementation and measurement strategies, the other for connecting the innovation community without barriers. According to her, Vietnam can become a “laboratory” for Southeast Asia-specific solutions by investing systematically in knowledge and technology, while shifting the mindset from “management” to “creation”, building a supportive legal framework and a culture of risk-taking.

With more than 15 years of dedication, Truong Ly Hoang Phi has not only created a "runway" for Vietnamese startups, but also lit the fire of innovation so that many generations of young businesses and entrepreneurs can continue to fly far.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/doanh-nhan-truong-ly-hoang-phi-ceo--founder-innoex-tu-kien-tao-duong-bang-den-thap-lua-doi-moi-d376811.html