Welcome back to another EUVC Podcast, where we explore the lessons, frameworks, and insights shaping venture ecosystems across the globe.
In this special Southeast Asia edition this week, David Cruz e Silva from EUVC and Ambika from Circle Capital sit down with Binh Tran from AVV (Ascend Vietnam Ventures) - a VC firm headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, backing tech founders across Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.
A serial founder turned VC, Binh sold his first company Klout for $200M in 2014 before launching 500 Startups Vietnam and later AVV, which has now backed about 500 startups, including unicorns Turing, Skymavis, and ApplyBoard.
Together, they unpack Vietnam’s ecosystem growth, power-law returns in emerging markets, government catalysts, and how to back founders with both grit and global ambition.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
03:24 “Build Boldly, Scale Faster” — The story behind AVV’s tagline and how speed correlates with ambition and performance.
06:29 Vietnam’s ecosystem in one decade — 60% of startups founded between 2015–2025; how AVV rode the first wave.
07:47 From founder to funder — Binh’s journey from the Bay Area’s AI wave to seeding Vietnam’s first generation of tech startups.
09:42 Power law in Southeast Asia — Why it absolutely applies, and how maturing cycles in India, China, and now Vietnam prove it.
12:26 Government as catalyst — From post-embargo GDP per capita of $300 to 8% growth; early signs of state-backed VC emerging.
14:46 Vietnam’s startup data points — Six unicorns in under five years and a domestic ecosystem hungry for risk and innovation.
17:14 Investment focus: Vietnam+ — Why AVV backs tech talent, not just local markets; global mindset, local execution.
17:59 VC learnings: It’s hands-on — From operator to builder of ecosystems; why early-stage in developing markets means getting your hands dirty.
20:54 Impact meets returns — How government collaboration enables “ecosystem shaping” as part of the VC mandate.
23:37 Advice for global LPs — Think India 10 years ago: early, cheap, high-talent markets; AI as the great equalizer.
26:23 LP mix: 45% U.S., 45% East Asia, 10% Europe; corporates using AVV for China+1 exposure and tech-talent pipelines.
28:50 Working with founders — From hacker houses in Da Nang to U.S. rounds; AVV’s boutique, founder-first approach.
33:26 Cultural calibration — Helping Vietnamese founders learn storytelling, global GTM, and hiring for scale.
34:04 Changing beliefs — From Valley-style hypergrowth to Vietnam-style resourcefulness and grit; building despite constraints.
37:31 Next five years — Mobile gaming, Web3 for developing markets, AI developer tools, and agri-tech as Vietnam’s global edge.
42:09 Final reflection — “Talent is everywhere, opportunity isn’t” — why Southeast Asia’s next decade is ripe for breakout returns.
🎧 Listen on Apple or Spotify — chapters ready to go.
✍️ Show Notes
From the Bay to the Mekong: The AVV Origin Story
Binh Tran’s path to founding AVV runs through three phases of Silicon Valley’s evolution:
the early web (1990s), where he built his first startups;
the social data era (2000s), when he co-founded and sold Klout for $200M;
and now, the deep tech + AI supercycle (2020s).
After his exit, Binh was convinced by co-founder Eddie Thai to return to his birth country, Vietnam, not out of nostalgia, but because he saw an ecosystem right at the inflection point where founders, government, and global capital were finally converging.
“It wasn’t nationalism. It was impact. Vietnam was at an inflection point — and I felt a responsibility to help build the venture layer properly.”
Together, they launched 500 Startups Vietnam in 2015 — the first structured, foreign-managed seed vehicle in the country — which became a training ground for over 80 local founders and the seed stage of multiple future unicorns.
That evolved into AVV, a ~$70M early-stage fund now investing across Vietnam+, Southeast Asia, and the US, focused on tech talent with global ambition.
Vietnam’s Ecosystem: 10 Years from Zero to Hundreds of Startups
Youth + Scale: Over 60% of startups in Vietnam today were founded between 2015–2025.
Population advantage: 100M+ people, median age under 33; 70% smartphone penetration; English proficiency rising fast.
Early rails: Outsourcing → local product → regional export. The country’s engineering outsourcing hubs gave rise to deep technical founders now building for themselves.
2015–2020: Infrastructure (payments, logistics, mobile internet) matured; first generation of VCs and angels appeared.
2021–2025: “Vietnam+” thesis emerges: startups keeping HQ/engineering in VN but selling to global customers (AI, SaaS, gaming).
Vietnam’s modern-day economy is 30 years old — younger than most of your team but it’s compounding at startup speed.
Power Law Returns Apply Everywhere
Many investors once believed Southeast Asia couldn’t produce the outlier-driven returns seen in the US or China. Binh disagrees.
“Power laws aren’t geographic — they’re generational. You just need an ecosystem mature enough to recycle capital and talent.”
In early waves, founders are infrastructure builders (payments, logistics, access). They don’t often create unicorns but build rails.
The second and third waves produce compounding founders: alumni from Gojek, Grab, Sea, etc., now launching focused vertical products.
Vietnam’s moment: same inflection point India hit around 2010–2012, when experience, capital, and infrastructure finally lined up.
Macro anchor:
2025 GDP growth clocking in at 8% last couple of quarters
Internet economy projected to be >$45B by 2030 (Google/Temasek).
6 unicorns and counting, but more importantly: hundreds of Series A–C companies building export-grade tech.
State, Policy & Capital Formation
Public-private dynamics are critical in Asia’s ecosystem evolution.
Singapore pioneered co-investment and LP matching (SGInnovate, EDB).
Vietnam is adopting the model — first state-backed VC fund announced ($20M pilot).
Ministries now consult founders & funds to define digital economy and AI infrastructure policy.
“We’re at a stage where government officials are saying: ‘Tell us what to do next.’ That’s an opportunity you don’t get often as an investor.”
Challenges remain:
Bureaucracy slows fund licensing;
Capital controls limit fund repatriation;
Legal templates still vary university-by-university.
Still, the direction is clear — government sees tech as a GDP multiplier, not a curiosity.
Talent as Vietnam’s Superpower
If capital was the story of the 2010s, talent arbitrage is the story of the 2020s.
Senior AI engineer in SF: ~$200K/year → in Ho Chi Minh City: ~$36K.
Vietnam produces ~60K IT grads yearly; 400+ universities with engineering programs.
English proficiency rising: EF index ranks VN ahead of China & Japan.
This drives the Vietnam+ thesis:
Keep product + tech in VN → go-to-market in US/EU → raise growth capital globally.
Example:
AI devtools companies serving US customers with 10x lower cost base.
Gaming studios building for global audiences but scaling from Hanoi or Da Nang.
AVV’s focus: founders with “global ambition, local execution.” The fund provides US investor access, storytelling help, and top-down GTM support to cross borders.
Working with Founders: Hands-On Venture
Unlike Silicon Valley, where networks self-replicate, early-stage VC in Vietnam is infrastructural.
“In the Valley, your founders already know how to hire, price ESOPs, and talk to a16z. Here, we’re teaching all of that from scratch.”
AVV’s model blends operator DNA + venture discipline:
Talent & hiring: crafting job specs, setting salary benchmarks, structuring ESOPs (4-year vest / 1-year cliff).
Storytelling: building investor decks, narrative coaching, PR intros.
Next-round prep: connecting founders to US lead investors, validating metrics, tightening governance.
Binh’s ideal relationship:
“My dream founder is a thoroughbred — I only hear from them for markups and exits. But most need cheerleading, coaching, and storytelling before that.”
Local Grit, Global Calibration
Binh’s biggest belief shift: you can’t just import the Valley model.
In the US, optimism and capital density make velocity natural.
In Vietnam, it’s grit, resourcefulness, and discipline that drive outcomes.
“Vietnam’s founders inherit a resilience shaped by centuries of struggle. They’ll get it done with or without the perfect ecosystem.”
Rather than copying Silicon Valley, Vietnam is forming its own playbook:
Fewer but deeper networks — founders helping each other in small cohorts.
High execution intensity — fewer hires, more cross-functional teams.
Grit culture over growth theatre — less hype, more shipping.
Advice for Global LPs: Allocating to the Next India
LP interest in SEA is rising, but actual capital is lagging.
AVV’s message to LPs:
“Vietnam today is India 10 years ago — undervalued talent, improving liquidity, and global-ready founders.”
AVV’s LP mix:
45% US (institutional & family offices)
45% East Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan corporates + DFIs)
10% Europe (select DFIs + private capital)
Why they invest:
US LPs: early alpha access, global TAM.
Asian corporates: China+1 diversification.
Europeans: climate & impact overlays (foodtech, agtech, Web3 inclusion).
The investment thesis sells itself:
High-growth market: 5% GDP → “slow quarter.”
High-talent density: world-class engineers at 1/10th cost.
High asymmetry: global investors still underweight Vietnam.
Emerging Themes & Next 5 Years
Mobile Gaming
Vietnam now #1 globally in downloaded mobile games (~6.5B in 2024).
Studios moving from hyper-casual to mid-core, RPG, and narrative formats.
Monetization & UA models maturing; need for venture + revenue financing.
Likely parallel: Turkey 2017 → Peak Games exit → ecosystem boom.
Web3 for Developing Markets
Vietnam is top 5 globally in crypto adoption.
Web3 used for financial inclusion, not speculation: first-time banking, lending, micro-investment.
Regulation improving (sandboxing vs. bans).
Founders focus on wallet UX, remittance, and low-fee rails — not yield farming.
Developer Tools & AI
New wave of AI-native developer tools built by Vietnamese engineers, serving global customers.
Examples: model observability, low-code frameworks, agentic memory layers.
LLM access + global product design = new exports.
AgriTech / Climate / Food Systems
Vietnam is a top global food exporter.
Agri-tech companies digitizing farming, logistics, and soil analytics.
Tech-enabled (not tech-for-tech’s-sake) models growing fastest.
Example: “Tech Coop” → $0 → $268M top-line in under 3 years, now raising $100M+ Series B.
Lessons & Legacy
VC is harder than expected: less deal velocity, more operational lift.
The role is civic as much as financial: building norms, networks, and trust in a new market.
Mindset = optimism + grit: one imported, one local.
Long-term bet: the next billion-dollar founders will come from places that still feel “too early.”
“Talent is everywhere, opportunity isn’t. Our job is to bring capital where ambition already exists.”
💡 One-liner Takeaway
Vietnam’s startup decade is now — founders have the grit, global investors have the capital, and the next unicorns are being built between Saigon’s hacker houses and Silicon Valley’s Zoom calls.
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