LISTENING TASK:

Watch the video and make notes.

Business Reason(s)
Hand-crafting sweaters and scarfs Knitting is a great meditative act of selfcare

(Brooklyn Tweed)

Board games and puzzles

Liquid stores

Cooking

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 Insights | Turning COVID-19 Threats Into Opportunities.
Vietnamese Startups Weigh In
How Vietnamese startups are turning threats into opportunities from COVID-19? Let’s hear some
sharings from 4 CEO of Vietnamese startups.

At the same time, finding ways to develop new ideas and services to help people adapt to this change
provides opportunities for many businesses.

In fact, many successful startups established after the 2008 global financial crisis are providing essential
services during the current pandemic, namely Uber (2009), WhatsApp (2009), Pinterest (2010),
Instagram (2010).

Therefore, we can assume with some degree of certainty that many innovative businesses will emerge
from the crisis or expect to see existing startups break away from the pack.

To explore the opportunities COVID-19 presents, Le Mai Anh, the National Director of PRNewswire
Vietnam (CISION – USA), sits down with Vietnamese startup representatives to talk about their survival
and growth strategies during the pandemic.

Prepare for the worst

“Looking at the past two months, we’ve recorded a year-on-year growth in January 2020,” says Nghiem
Xuan Huy, CEO and founder of Finhay, a smart money platform. “The fact that people spend more time
at home and online, as well as an increased interest in digital services, are the key factors driving traffic
to our website.”

When asked how a young business like Finhay (founded in 2017) can prepare for a force majeure event
like a global pandemic, Huy admitted that in the case of the current crisis, the team has been preparing
since the end of 2019.

Interestingly, the company started looking at worst-case scenarios not because of the viral outbreak, but
because of WeWork. In 2019, analysts predicted that established startups like WeWork, Slack and
HonestBee would take an even bigger market share, hurting smaller businesses.

Finhay, expecting 2020 to be a very unfavorable year, implemented measures to ensure growth even in
a depressed market. As a result, when the crisis hit, the team was financially and operationally prepared
for the downturn.

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Adapt quickly

With 50% of the world population isolating at home, sales of equipment for home work-outs have
received a considerable boost.

Some companies in the field have reported a 300% increase in revenue in the past two months.
According to an independent report by iPrice Group, demand for home gym equipment since the
implementation of “shelter-in-place” measures increased by 116% compared to the month before.

While certainly putting pressure on cost, personnel and revenue, COVID-19 also presents opportunities
for our business. It is important that we focus on streamlining production and logistics, expanding sales
agent network, and raising capital to promote our brand and products, especially in foreign markets.

– Khanh Trinh, home gym equipment startup founder

Another industry insider, Candice Hien Nguyen, the CEO and Founder of protein bar startup 365 Begin,
believes that COVID-19 should be treated as an important reminder that self-care is crucial to our
wellbeing.

“At the onset of the outbreak, we were faced with a liquidity problem. But we quickly recognized that
our business model — being a nutrition brand — comes with its advantages, as people were looking for
healthy lifestyle options during this difficult time.”

Act quickly, do not hesitate

Amid public healthcare crisis, eDoctor, a healthcare startup, is one of Vietnamese companies that
received US 1 million in funding from CyberAgent Capital investors, Genesia Ventures (Japan), Bon
Angels and Nextrans (Korea).

The earliest we can hope to contain the spread of COVID-19 is the end of 2020, and after that I
anticipate many complex developments that right now are hard to predict. I think businesses should go
into a full-on crisis mode for the next 2-3 years, because if no vaccine is developed, we will have to
learn to live with COVID-19. When we emerge from this crisis, the resources will be exhausted, so we
must act now and not wait for the dust to settle. eDoctor will soon launch many new products and
services, adapting to today’s market with an eye on the future.
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– Alain Huynh, CEO of eDoctor

“As a technology startup in the field of healthcare, I think the government needs to continue introducing
policies that encourage innovation and creativity; maintaining and nurturing the environment of
international exchange and cooperation,” he continues.

“More importantly, the ICT [Information and Communication Technology] Management Agency should
be taking urgent steps to create a legal corridor and to promote conditions in which new technology
solutions and services can thrive.

We need regulations laying the legal basis for electronic health records, privacy protection, information
security, circulation of health information, recognition of electronic health records by all service facilities
etc.”

Conclusion

Following the pandemic, we can expect changes in consumer behavior that will bring opportunities for
businesses providing meaningful services. What startups need to focus on now is on optimizing
resources and preparing themselves for the upcoming change. Take this time to make adjustments and
improvements. By definition, a startup is nimble and flexible — the very qualities that make it likely to
thrive in a crisis. So this, now, is a true test of a company’s vitality.

Source: https://vietcetera.com/en/insights-turning-covid-19-threats-into-opportunities-vietnamese-
startups-weigh-in

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 Here’s how to survive and thrive in the post-Covid era
You’re going to be in for a lot of surprises if you think consumer behavior will return to what it
used to be once this wind of pandemic passes out.

Having been forced to live solely by eCommerce throughout the times of the pandemic,
consumers will most likely continue to order things online rather than visit stores post-COVID.
Because it is actually more convenient, and let’s not forget that people will still be conscious of
visiting crowded environments.

Of course, some people will still visit shops outright to buy things and stop-by at stores to get
things they forgot to order online, but the rate at which you’ll find people doing this will not be
the same as it was before we went into the pandemic.

Simply put, consumer behavior will tilt more towards eCommerce and digital purchasing after
COVID-19.

How then can you prepare your business for this wind of change that’s about to blow? We’ve
got the answers to that, and they’ve been compiled in the tips below.

Choose a platform

There are a lot of places people go online to order for items, from websites to social media,
online marketplaces to eCommerce stores, and lots more. So if you want to start selling online,
these are the places you want to be too. But the choice you make will depend on a lot of
factors such as how much money you’ve got, how you intend to get your customers, the
amount of control you desire to have, and so much more. 

Your options of platforms include:

 Ecommerce site (can be your own website or a store on an eCommerce site like Shopify, if you
are in Vietnam, Shopee.vn, Lazada.vn, Tiki.vn or Sendo.vn should be considered)
 Online marketplace: you can start selling on platforms like Amazon
 Social media: You can start selling on social media channels like Instagram if you already have or
think you can generate the traffic

Online vs. In-Store Inventory

You’ll need to decide which products from your brick-and-mortar store will be sold online.

Some products have restrictions that prohibit or limit them from being sold digitally. Aside from
items that have legal restrictions, you may find that some of your in-store inventory wouldn’t
make as much sense to sell online, such as impulse buys placed near your register. On the flip
side, selling online has some advantages that selling in a store doesn’t, like identifying niche
products to sell in your online shop that you wouldn’t otherwise sell in your store.

Shipping and Fulfillment

Opening an online store means getting a product to your customer is no longer as easy as
bagging it and handing it across the checkout counter. There are two ways to go about
shipping and fulfillment. The first is to take on the packaging and shipping yourself. The second

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option would be to leverage a third-party service who would warehouse, pack, and dropship
online orders directly to your customers on your behalf. Whether you’re shipping goods yourself
or working with a third-party service, make sure that proper steps are taken to sanitize your
products and packaging before they are sent out.

Human Resources

You’re opening a new sales channel, which means someone needs to manage it. As a business
owner, that someone is often you. Make sure you have a solid understanding of how your new
eCommerce channel operates, and don’t be afraid to let someone more tech-savvy help out if
needed. 

Most likely, you can find freelancers for hire on any of the popular freelancing platforms to help
you manage your store. Many of them are quite vast and experienced working with online
stores, so you should have no cause for worry.

While you focus on your brick and mortar store, your online store manager will be handling
everything that concerns your digital store, from inventory to sales, payment to delivery, and so
on.

Marketing

It’s always important to keep your customers and community in the loop, and that’s true now
more than ever. How will you spread the word about your new online store?

What’s the best and fastest way to reach your audience? Are there any ways that your
eCommerce platform can automate some marketing efforts for you? Look for features like
shoppable posts, online listings management, and email marketing in your eCommerce platform
or POS software packages to start building your marketing strategy for your online store.

If your store doesn’t have these features or you’re satisfied with the extent of publicity they’re
offering you, you can buy guest posts from a guest posting service to market your online store
yourself.

Source: https://vietnaminsider.vn/heres-how-to-survive-and-thrive-in-the-post-covid-era/