____ Lending stories
03 years into a startup roller coaster ride with a bunch of trials and errors, I decided to share a few short stories. Ain’t any secret sauce. Just authentic stories. (‘cause I’m a good person)
Credit (in the sense of Personal Brand) is a luxury.
Not because people don’t value it, but extremely hard to keep.
Even if you want to repay, but helpless with the lack of liquidity.
You need to have both: Integrity and Talent. You can’t pay back with just either one.
Late Payment Story Number 1
One business owner knows they have been late in repayment but still keeps operating. He keeps informing me about his progress in developing new good products that will generate revenue streams.
He pays back bits by bits
At the very least. He has the Courage to inform that he cannot pay this month. “I would like you to know so that you can plan. I hope you can help.”
10 borrowers varnish
1 call back
The difference between a Man and a Coward is one phone call.
Late Payment Story Number 2
One customer bought a bedding on installment. After two years, he paid off.
TWO years. And he still remembered. Our company was fortunately enough to last that long to receive full payment.
That was the time we raised our first round as well.
We are grateful.
Late Payment Story Number 3
Out of a sudden, a mother customer and her child got into an accident. It took them half a year to recover.
The day they paid back. They were deeply grateful.
They would never have recovered physically and mentally had we not been their lender.
To do empathy as a collection strategy is a strategy that no one dares to do.
INTEGRITY CANNOT SCALE.
This business is tough.
Our Hong Kong lender once said they only trust one company in Vietnam to disburse and that is my company.
If you know how expensive Trust is. You know.
____ Giving stories
I often chat with lots of Grab bikers. Especially those with an accent from my hometown (Vietnam middle region)
The city elites care about privacy.
The working class, the minute they hear someone saying hello with a pint of care amid the mean streets, they pour their hearts out:
- Be (Grab’s local competitor) only recruits young drivers. An old guy like me can only ride a Grab Bike. They take a higher % commission nowadays. Rainy days are tough, and the higher commission is only enough to cover medicine (easily get a fever)
- I gotta switch to a newer bike to ride Grab. Customers used to cancel last minute when they saw me ride an old Wave bike. Since I upgraded new one, the situation has improved!
- I used to teach Ballroom Dancing. Things like Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, the young people no longer buy into. I mostly ride during the weekdays and go to Binh Duong (a nearby city) for a Ballroom Dancing club with people like me.
Then I came across a Grab biker who could not afford a urological surgery at the local hospital.
His wife was a cleaner. His daughter was in grade 8. If he did the surgery, the family lost income for a month.
I wondered “how much”
“400 USD”
I was shocked. When you’re speaking hundreds of thousands of US dollars, people are struggling with critical 400 USD surgery costs.
He rode me home. I cheered him up.
Suddenly there were slight tears in his eyes.
I tip him $2 for Lucky Tet money. “This is too much” – he called me. He did not know that I had to “sacrifice” one weekend without matcha tea.
Then my inner hero self decided to gift him $400 for surgery.
A bet to see if my EQ was correct. Was he going to spend on the surgery or other priorities?
As it turned out. He did not pay for the surgery. He still gave me a lot of local food from his hometown. But I did not hit my philanthropy KPI before 30.
I bet you were hoping for a happy ending? =)
I believe my Founder journey has been blessed just because of the way I live my life.
EQ is critical.
IQ can rely on AI. Yet rich people can still decide NOT to pay.
We can credit score all day long.
The truth is human nature.
I like you, I pay.
If I don’t, I quit.
At the end of the day, attitude matters.
As I’m surpassing my 30 years of life this month, I hope I will be successful with all Righteousness and Resilience with me.
Thank you for supporting this rewarding journey. Partners and Friends.
Tiếng Việt nha:
Oliuoliu Scrittura 