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Hello Saigon! I'm curious what other tech entrepreneurs/nomads we have out here. I've met many interesting, passionate technology people here, some expats and s

Hello Saigon! I'm curious what other tech entrepreneurs/nomads we have out here. I've met many interesting, passionate technology people here, some expats and some locals. It's great to see the diversity in the scene here, just like you would expect from a major US city. There's a lot of raw talent here, thanks to the outsourcing industry, university system, professional schools and huge number of young people looking to exceed their parents' standards. If you're in Saigon - what are you doing here? I have a US company and am building the product with a relatively small team. Web focused, microservices/React stack.

jspaulding 11y ago
Hey Lucas, I'd love to connect. I'm currently in Saigon bootstrapping http://thinklab.com http://thinklab.com Regarding talent -- what do you think about the technical talent here? I find myself still working with guys from Eastern Europe. Would be awesome to find some talent locally though.
- nxh 11y ago
  You can check out this FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/launchpad/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/launchpad/. It's the most well known discussion group for startups in Viet Nam. Around 70% of the posts include English translation.
contingencies 11y ago
Hi neighbours. I'm up the Red River from Hanoi in Yunnan, the far southwest corner of China. Often spend time in Vietnam, since 2000... lots of changes. Durian juice is the best! I have a friend and ex-colleague of 10 years who runs one of the big print publishing outfits in Saigon, let me know if you need an intro for ads.
jamra 11y ago
I'm building a team in Saigon right now. I've been traveling back and forth from Los Angeles. The talent can fluctuate, but if you know how to read resumes, you can find real gems. Those who graduated from public schools are quite good. The wealthy go to private. The work ethic is very solid.
orthoganol 11y ago
I'm a programmer who just left Saigon after ~ 6 weeks. Excuse the language, but it's kind of a shit hole, even a lot of the "nice" D1 parts... One of the most polluted cities in the world, swarms of motorcycles everywhere, always trouble walking from A to B, permanent hearing damage from crappy vehicles' shrieking breaks or the constant honking. The expats I met (and let's not kid ourselves, a lot of them are straight up 'sexpats'... and there are infamous bars in town for that) wanted out. YMMV. The good parts... Vietnamese people are amazing, very friendly. There are tons of cafes to work from. You can live in a 4 star hotel on the cheap. Even so, I wouldn't move to Ho Chi Minh. Has a long way to go.
- anh79 11y ago
  Hello from Saigon, It's sad to see you go. But it's very true that the air is critically polluted, esp. in the central area. I moved from DaNang city (You would try!) to Saigon to seek for a job; except for the money and the high tech air, Saigon isn't worth living. The most critical thing is that people seem not to believe in others any anymore, and/or to believe in the future. (The author said people only thought of today, that's a reason.) Living fast, living short. And killing the future. :(
- lucasjans 11y ago
  The experience you get out of something largely depends on how you approach it. I live in a wealthy, quiet neighborhood - where most of my neighbors are Vietnamese and a majority of them are wealthier than me. Because of this and good networking I've met many successful business people, startup entrepreneurs and consulate generals. I'm also committed to here. I speak the language, have an office and team here. That level of commitment opens more doors than if I was just passing through. When I'm ready to move on to my next project, it will be hard to say no to many of the opportunities here. There are a lot of expats who are unhappy here, though you'll find that in any expat community. A lot of them like to complain. I avoid those types if possible - more fun to be around future oriented people than past. (And that's one of the best things about Vietnam - it's so young. I'm sure you've read the statistics before, 70% under 30 years old. And most of them are excited for the future.) As for the sexpats maybe I don't see them - maybe I'm happily married with kids and don't hang out in the backpacker areas or bars. Completely agree with you about the pollution. It's the hardest thing for me, which is why I live on the edge of town across from a jungle and a river and not in District 1. (View from my office https://goo.gl/photos/wuMnNcKFFnAMUNsn9 https://goo.gl/photos/wuMnNcKFFnAMUNsn9) Had my approach to Vietnam been different my opinions would be completely different. No way is the right way, just different.
sondh 11y ago
I relocated to HCMC 2 years ago from Hanoi. Many of my friends have also decided to move southward, especially those studied abroad. It's quite an obvious choice because HCMC economy is way more dynamic than Hanoi with lots of interesting jobs and higher pay. HCMC also has good food, lots of places to hang out, everything is generally cheap. Last but not least, the weather is much better than the capital. I have a company with a few (local) friends. We build contents solution for web and mobile.

jspaulding 11y ago

Hey Lucas, I'd love to connect. I'm currently in Saigon bootstrapping http://thinklab.com http://thinklab.com Regarding talent -- what do you think about the technical talent here? I find myself still working with guys from Eastern Europe. Would be awesome to find some talent locally though.

nxh 11y ago
You can check out this FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/launchpad/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/launchpad/. It's the most well known discussion group for startups in Viet Nam. Around 70% of the posts include English translation.

contingencies 11y ago

Hi neighbours. I'm up the Red River from Hanoi in Yunnan, the far southwest corner of China. Often spend time in Vietnam, since 2000... lots of changes. Durian juice is the best! I have a friend and ex-colleague of 10 years who runs one of the big print publishing outfits in Saigon, let me know if you need an intro for ads.

jamra 11y ago

I'm building a team in Saigon right now. I've been traveling back and forth from Los Angeles. The talent can fluctuate, but if you know how to read resumes, you can find real gems. Those who graduated from public schools are quite good. The wealthy go to private. The work ethic is very solid.

orthoganol 11y ago

I'm a programmer who just left Saigon after ~ 6 weeks. Excuse the language, but it's kind of a shit hole, even a lot of the "nice" D1 parts... One of the most polluted cities in the world, swarms of motorcycles everywhere, always trouble walking from A to B, permanent hearing damage from crappy vehicles' shrieking breaks or the constant honking. The expats I met (and let's not kid ourselves, a lot of them are straight up 'sexpats'... and there are infamous bars in town for that) wanted out. YMMV. The good parts... Vietnamese people are amazing, very friendly. There are tons of cafes to work from. You can live in a 4 star hotel on the cheap. Even so, I wouldn't move to Ho Chi Minh. Has a long way to go.

anh79 11y ago
Hello from Saigon, It's sad to see you go. But it's very true that the air is critically polluted, esp. in the central area. I moved from DaNang city (You would try!) to Saigon to seek for a job; except for the money and the high tech air, Saigon isn't worth living. The most critical thing is that people seem not to believe in others any anymore, and/or to believe in the future. (The author said people only thought of today, that's a reason.) Living fast, living short. And killing the future. :(
lucasjans 11y ago
The experience you get out of something largely depends on how you approach it. I live in a wealthy, quiet neighborhood - where most of my neighbors are Vietnamese and a majority of them are wealthier than me. Because of this and good networking I've met many successful business people, startup entrepreneurs and consulate generals. I'm also committed to here. I speak the language, have an office and team here. That level of commitment opens more doors than if I was just passing through. When I'm ready to move on to my next project, it will be hard to say no to many of the opportunities here. There are a lot of expats who are unhappy here, though you'll find that in any expat community. A lot of them like to complain. I avoid those types if possible - more fun to be around future oriented people than past. (And that's one of the best things about Vietnam - it's so young. I'm sure you've read the statistics before, 70% under 30 years old. And most of them are excited for the future.) As for the sexpats maybe I don't see them - maybe I'm happily married with kids and don't hang out in the backpacker areas or bars. Completely agree with you about the pollution. It's the hardest thing for me, which is why I live on the edge of town across from a jungle and a river and not in District 1. (View from my office https://goo.gl/photos/wuMnNcKFFnAMUNsn9 https://goo.gl/photos/wuMnNcKFFnAMUNsn9) Had my approach to Vietnam been different my opinions would be completely different. No way is the right way, just different.

sondh 11y ago

I relocated to HCMC 2 years ago from Hanoi. Many of my friends have also decided to move southward, especially those studied abroad. It's quite an obvious choice because HCMC economy is way more dynamic than Hanoi with lots of interesting jobs and higher pay. HCMC also has good food, lots of places to hang out, everything is generally cheap. Last but not least, the weather is much better than the capital. I have a company with a few (local) friends. We build contents solution for web and mobile.