For Tạ Minh Tuấn, nineteen or twenty is the golden age for making mistakes. At that age, you still have health, time and many opportunities ahead to stand up and start everything over.
In a recent talk show, young entrepreneur Lê Đăng Khoa stated: “Business is far more complicated than people think, and far more bitter. It is not a shark tank, so what kind of fish tank is it, and how many fish are inside? If I want to survive, staying alive in business is almost unimaginable for someone who has just graduated from university“.
According to him, new graduates lack experience and the confidence to manage or persuade partners and colleagues. Being “empty-handed” and relying only on words makes it very difficult to convince anyone to join their team.
Yet someone disagrees with this view. He started his business at 19, appeared on the Forbes Under 30 list, and was recognized by CSIP, the British Council, and the World Bank as one of Vietnam's 15 outstanding social entrepreneurs. That person is Tạ Minh Tuấn, co-founder of IDEE Corporation, founding chairman of HELP International, and executive chairman and founder of the ‘Dream of Angel Feet’ charity fund.
“Being students meant we had nothing in our hands yet. You could say we were starting a business with 3 No’s: No Experience, No Connections and No Money. Most people probably would not make that decision!
But I understood that to succeed, I could not think like the crowd. Sometimes one needs the courage to go against it. Warren Buffet, the great investor regularly listed among the world's richest people in recent years, also said: “Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy,”” Tạ Minh Tuấn recalled in his autobiography.
Of course, he also agreed that students do not yet have all the resources they need. But when can anyone be said to have enough resources? The truth is, there is never a perfect moment when all resources come together so that we can begin. Keep going and you will get there. Start doing, and resources will emerge. Choosing when to start a business is very important. For him, earlier is better.
“If I could do it all over again, I would make exactly the same choice. I would still start a business very early, while I was still a student. Because as a student, I had nothing. Having nothing also meant having nothing to lose. If I had nothing to lose, why should I be afraid?” Tạ Minh Tuấn affirmed.
At 35 or 40, you will be “bound” by too many responsibilities in life
Tạ Minh Tuấn asks what would have happened if he had waited for the so-called “riper moment.” That would mean only truly living his dream at around 35 or 40. He believes he would then be “bound” by too many responsibilities in this life.
“A husband's responsibilities require stability to provide safety for his wife and family; a father's require raising and educating young children; a child's require caring for aging parents; then there are responsibilities as an effective employee and a good citizen. With so many responsibilities, how can I focus on entrepreneurship? How can I manage when so much weighs on my shoulders? How can I find the courage to leave everything behind and pursue my ‘selfish’ passion?” the young entrepreneur explained.
The entrepreneurial path is like a washing machine. When “thrown” into it, we are tormented, tired, and distressed. But afterward we become much “cleaner” and “brighter.”
That is why youth is the golden time to start a business, before facing all those responsibilities. Starting a little later may give you more experience. But what kind of experience? Much experience gained as an employee in a large company is entirely inapplicable to a startup, and applying it may even bring disastrous results.
“Perhaps starting a little later would make me more mature and levelheaded. Is that really true? Or would I still just be a bigger child who has lived longer, but has never surpassed his limits or stepped outside his comfort zone?” Tạ Minh Tuấn asks about the age to start a business. He therefore decided to turn weakness into strength. The weakness was having nothing. The advantage is that, because I have nothing, I also have nothing to… lose — so I am not afraid of loss and can start a business with great “innocence.”
Another reason he chose to start a business while young was to make it his path to maturity. He believes the greatest secret of entrepreneurship is not how much money you earn at the end of the road, but how you change and develop yourself and become a better person by living with your choice and walking the entrepreneurial path.
Entrepreneurship transforms us into better people because it is difficult enough. As our folk saying goes, “difficulty brings forth ingenuity.” The entrepreneurial path is like a washing machine. When “thrown” into it, we are tormented, tired, and distressed. But afterward, like washed clothes, we become much “cleaner” and “brighter.”
Make Mistakes and Pay the Price in Your 20s
Tạ Minh Tuấn believes that if he must fail, stumble or fall into a deep pit of mud, he hopes those things happen while he is young. To him, the late teens and early twenties are the golden age for making mistakes. At that age, he still has his health, time and many opportunities ahead to get back up and start over. Young people have abundant energy. They also have fewer commitments in their personal relationships, allowing them to devote all their energy wholeheartedly to the endeavor. Twenty is a wonderful age for making mistakes and paying the price!
If you cycle at 5 kilometers per hour and make a mistake that causes your handlebars to wobble, the bicycle may sway slightly and then regain its balance. If you ride a motorbike at 50 kilometers per hour, the same mistake could send you tumbling onto the road, perhaps even breaking an arm. You would be lucky to escape a traumatic brain injury.
But if you race in Formula 1 at 500 kilometers per hour, such a mistake could be… a disaster for the entire race. The higher you rise, the more serious your mistakes' consequences, because your actions affect more people.
Having started his business while still a student, Tạ Minh Tuấn believes he is used to “struggling.” This later gave him an advantage in handling pressure, developing business thinking, and gaining professional skills from a young age. He chose the tougher path, so he also learned more.
* This article draws on the book Before Dawn There Is Always Darkness – Tạ Minh Tuấn.
Original article on Cafebiz: http://cafebiz.vn/nguoc-lai-voi-shark-khoa-mot-doanh-nhan-top-forbes-under-30-khuyen-hay-khoi-nghiep-khi-19-20-do-tuoi-vang-de-pham-sai-lam-tra-gia-va-chua-bi-troi-boi-gia-dinh-20180531155633095.chn
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