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While today ed-tech Go1 is a 'double unicorn' with a global footprint and an enviable investor line-up, when co-founder Vu Tran started the company in high school, he just wanted to start a venture with mates rather than getting a job at the local supermarket.
"I didn’t know what we were going to do. I just knew I wanted to work with my friends, start a business and do something in tech," says Vu, who will be sharing his story at the E2E Summit to be held in Sydney this month.
"I'm the child of Vietnamese refugees. Migrants in Australia and around the world are very entrepreneurial, they're risk takers. So for me on a personal level, the opportunity to start a business when we were in high school was quite natural," he says.
"Ultimately it's that desire to take the leap and to take a chance."
Go1 achieved moderate success as a professional services company, but the founders reached an inflection point in 2015 while taking part in the prestigious accelerator program Y Combinator, which has helped launch startups like Airbnb, Instacart, Dropbox, Stripe and thousands more.
It was then that Vu, still in his twenties at the time, realised the true opportunity cost of Go1's existing business model.
"The time founders spend on an idea that’s not well thought out, or is a dud idea, is an opportunity cost for them to be working on a billion dollar idea elsewhere," he explains.
"Our ambition grew exponentially. I think that's the easiest way to describe it – we realised the world was a much bigger place, and we realised the opportunities were far greater. It’s this idea of lifting up your eyeline."
"That's not to say that everyone has to want to be a billion dollar company, but if you have grand ambitions, very often people will try to talk you down from that."
For founders looking for inspiration to think expansively and understand what may lie ahead in the pursuit of greatness, Vu will describe his experience in depth at the intimate event taking place at the ivy in Sydney from 16-17 February.
The entrepreneur, who also works as a GP on Thursday nights and every second Sunday to help his patients, will discuss how and why he balances additional work with his business.
"When we first entered Business News Australia Young Entrepreneur Awards, I was still a medical student," says Vu, who alongside his co-founders won the 2021 Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
"By our nature, we all like to have our cake and eat it too. The question isn’t 'can I be a doctor and run a start-up?' The question is 'how do I be a doctor and run a startup?'"
He is careful to point out that his talk will not be a prescriptive 'how to build a unicorn' session, but he hopes everyone present will be able to take home some insightful ideas.
"This is based on an experience where n=1. I’ve only ever founded one company before, so I don’t have enough experience to give you advice on the right way to do things, but I'll tell you what we’ve done and what we’ve learned along the way."
The following is a short summary of what Vu will be covering at the E2E Summit:
- The origins of his business journey and the ingrained risk appetite learned from refugee parents;
- Critical moments of inspiration that shaped his entrepreneurial philosophy and trajectory; and
- Finding time for “enforced mindfulness” as a business matures through its stages of growth.
So what are you waiting for? Click here to join us at this two-day summit where Vu will be one of many amazing founders giving their insights to help rocket your business forward in 2023 and beyond.
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