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The startup industry loves success stories. VBI Magazine today does the opposite: we sat with three entrepreneurs and asked them to share their biggest failures — and lessons learned.
Three Stories, Three Lessons
Story 1 (An): "I hired my first CEO based on an impressive CV without checking cultural fit. 6 months later, 3 senior engineers resigned due to conflict with him. Lesson: hire the person, not the profile." Story 2 (Hoa): "We raised capital too early at too high a valuation. When we needed to raise the next round lower, the company nearly collapsed internally. Lesson: be honest with your numbers." Story 3 (Quan): "I invested because the founder pitched brilliantly, not because the market was good. 18 months later the company burned all its cash. Lesson: market size beats founder quality almost every time."
“The Vietnamese startup community has a 'toxic positivity' problem — people only share when they succeed. I want to change that. Failure is a resource, not shame.”