The Vietnamese Strategic Ventures Network (VSVN) is an international hub for networking and commerce with Vietnamese entrepreneurs and professionals in the high-tech industry. Through its networking and educational programs and events, which are held in public forums primarily located in the San Jose and Orange County areas of California, VSVN offers unparalleled networking opportunities as well as organizational support for experienced and aspiring entrepreneurs in the Vietnamese high-tech community.

Interest in VSVN has grown tremendously in the last few years, especially in its Southern California Chapter, which was formed fewer than two years ago in Orange County. A recent speaking event on “Accessing the New Viet Nam Market” held in Costa Mesa, Calif. was packed with more than 80 attendees. The event featured a special keynote address from Than Trong Phuc, the Viet Nam country manager for Intel who facilitated the company’s $1 billion investment in an assembly and testing facility in Viet nam. Additional speakers included government and legal experts on trade and investment with Viet Nam.

“The Vietnamese entrepreneurial spirit is inherently strong. Even along the many impoverished streets of Vietnam, almost every household desires to improve its lot by also being a home-front business, with handwritten signs in the front yard that advertise the sale of everything from homemade pho [the most popular Vietnamese noodle dish] to refurbished scooter engines,” said current President of VSVN’s Southern California Chapter (VSVN-SC), Bill Pham. “I believe that members and attendees of our events realize that together, we can find ways to bridge the gaps that exist among well-intentioned Vietnamese entrepreneurs and professionals around the world. In my mind, this is the primary focus of VSVN. And if we work to filter out some of the noise created by less legitimate enterprises and foster greater coordination among Vietnamese entrepreneurs and professionals, lots of good things will happen.”

VSVN-SC’s initial founder, Nguyen X. Nguyen credits the organization supporting his success. After earning a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from U.C. Santa Barbara, Nguyeãn worked for large semiconductor companies for nearly 10 years before his urge to pursue his entrepreneurial dream of starting his own optical components company got the better of him. He attended a helpful entrepreneur workshop at a VSVN event in San Jose in the Spring of 2005 and decided to commit to two things: bringing VSVN’s network to Southern California and pursuing his optical components strategy.

“I was excited for I knew I had found in VSVN my support network of like-minded, successful, and well-connected individuals,” said Nguyen. “As for my own venture, it was daunting but also natural for me to go ‘all in’ on a strategy to fulfill a very needed niche in the optical components market.”

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