The inspiring story of the female CEO from Nghe An.

Vu Thi Thai An: The aspiration for a global enterprise

Born in 1991 into a business family in Vinh Tan ward (Vinh City), Vu Thi Thai An graduated from high school and enrolled in the Public Relations Department at the Academy of Journalism and Communication. She later won a scholarship to study in the UK for a Master's degree in International Event Management. During her years studying in the UK, she had the opportunity to travel extensively around the world. Each trip was not only a fascinating experience but also a valuable lesson learned through travel, which sparked her entrepreneurial idea in the tourism sector.

Vu Thi Thai An shared: “Ten years ago, while backpacking with two Canadian friends from North to South Vietnam, I realized that foreigners in Vietnam face difficulties in communicating, adapting to the environment, and understanding Vietnamese culture.”

Similarly, eight years ago, when traveling alone in Europe, I tried booking travel-related apps, but none offered any commitment from the service providers and wasted a lot of user time. The founding members of the team have traveled extensively and realized that each place presents language barriers and cultural obstacles, which is what led us to create Tubudd.”

Tubudd (a variant of "tour buddy") officially launched in Vietnam in 2018, originating from an idea by a group of Vietnamese students studying in Manchester, England, led by An. Tubudd was created as a technology platform to help tourists find and connect with locals, including both professional and amateur tour guides.

The Tubudd platform is very simple to operate. Travelers simply access the Tubudd website or download the Tubudd app on their smartphone and select their destination. Local guides with full personal information are already available for travelers to choose from. By "ordering" a buddy, travelers will have a knowledgeable travel companion for their trip. Customers can also contact the system for direct advice. And whether it's one or two months later, or immediately the next day, a local friend will be waiting at the airport to welcome them and begin their exploration.

This travel technology platform offers travelers experiences from a local perspective, allowing them to get closer to the local culture. Another advantage of Tubudd over traditional travel companies is that travelers don't need to follow pre-scheduled tours with others. Instead, local guides help travelers plan their itineraries or follow itineraries to their desired destinations. Furthermore, local guides are friendly companions for family groups, and can act as interpreters for corporate events and conferences.

After working abroad for a year, in 2018, Thai An brought the Tubudd Project back to Vietnam. When asked, "Is your return to Vietnam to start a business to 'give back to your homeland' by creating jobs for young people; to promote and spread awareness of Vietnam to tourists from all over the world?", An answered without hesitation: "Thinking that way is too grand! By bringing Tubudd to Vietnam, I only hope to contribute, with what I can do, to help foreigners have a different, more positive view of Vietnam, and to some extent, to help young Vietnamese people have more opportunities to work and improve their knowledge with foreigners."

Having just arrived in Vietnam a year ago, and with everything only just beginning to be built, the Covid-19 pandemic struck, disrupting all activities, including tourism. Tubudd was no exception; everything changed completely. We couldn't welcome foreign tourists, or even domestic ones... At one point, Tubudd considered whether to close or continue, but luckily, customers still found us. As the leader, Thai An skillfully steered Tubudd, maintaining revenue, profits, and ensuring regular salaries for its staff.

Thai An acknowledges that, having been born and raised in Nghe An, the Nghe An character is ingrained in her nature; whatever she does, she is determined to see it through to the end. After overcoming the pandemic, all members of the team have regrouped, perfected the project, and continued to bring their product to compete not only in other markets but also in competitions.

Surprisingly, in 2022, Tubudd officially became the sole representative of Vietnam to participate in the Global Startup Cup (EWC). Outperforming over 10,000 other projects worldwide, Tubudd was among the TOP 250 best projects globally; in 2023, it was in the TOP 3 of the “She's Next Visa Vietnam Grant Winner” award; in the TOP 5 of the “NET ZERO TO HERO ESG Challenge in Taiwan” competition; in the TOP 10 of the “She Loves Tech Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia” competition; in 2024, Tubudd was in the TOP 10 of the Startup World Cup – a global startup competition aimed at finding and supporting innovative startups worldwide; and in the TOP 3 of Techfest 2024…

Currently, Tubudd has 900 local tour guides (known as “buddies”) in 40 cities across 12 countries worldwide, including 700 in Vietnam. Tubudd is also a development partner for tourism startups such as Tripbtoz, dichungtaxi.com, ADDI Global, etc., aiming to provide comprehensive services to customers.

At 33 years old, with two university degrees, a master's degree from the UK, the publication of one book, and the establishment of a business with dozens of awards, Vu Thi Thai An has never been complacent with her achievements. “When you have a dream and strive your hardest to achieve it, a beautiful ‘garden’ is unintentionally created. If everyone built a garden like that, it would create a very large and beautiful picture of life, like building a nation of aspirations… My personal aspiration is to build a global business that benefits the world, not just within the confines of one country,” Thai An shared.

Tran Thi Hong Tham: The Salt Girl

After successfully researching salt syrup and further processing salt to launch products such as nutritional salt, reduced-salt salt, and foot soak salt, in 2024, the Nanosalt project of Tran Thi Hong Tham (born in 1992), in Quynh Van commune, Quynh Luu district, made significant progress in enhancing the value of traditional granulated salt and creating stable livelihoods for many salt farmers.

Quynh Luu district has 660 hectares of salt fields, with approximately 10,000 salt farmers and 12 active salt production cooperatives, producing about 50,000 tons annually. Currently, Quynh Luu salt fields have the largest area and production volume in the Northern region and the North Central coastal area. However, in recent years, the price of Quynh Luu salt has fallen, causing difficulties for salt farmers with unstable incomes, and the salt fields have become deserted. Tham and her colleagues have always been concerned about how to increase the value of sun-dried salt in Quynh Luu district. And so, the Nanosalt project was born.

Accordingly, the project utilized multi-layer separation technology to deeply process products from granulated salt and brine (the liquid that seeps out after harvesting granulated salt). After three years, from a newly formed idea, the project is now operational and has launched four product lines with 22 types of processed salt. All Nanosalt salt products released to the market meet the highest standards in the salt industry. For health salt products, the standards include no artificial colors, no artificial flavorings, and no synthetic preservatives.

Towards the end of the year, busy with domestic and international orders, Tran Thi Hong Tham is like a shuttle, sometimes present at salt farmers' warehouses, sometimes in the production factory, sometimes venturing to the highlands of Ky Son to inspect the ginger growing areas, and then appearing on television with competitions and startup projects... In a conversation, Tham shared: “If in 2023, the Nanosalt Salt Project was only just beginning its trial phase, now we have supplied the market with more than 1 million units of various salt products, providing thousands of tons of salt raw materials to agricultural and food processing companies. Notably, recently (November 2024), the Nanosalt Salt Project won first prize in the "Rural Youth Startup" competition in 2024 organized by the Central Youth Union; it was granted a Utility Model Certificate by the Intellectual Property Office and represented Vietnamese startup businesses at the ASEAN Intellectual Property Conference.”

The Nanosalt project was highly praised by the judging panel for its technological innovation, project implementation capabilities, and feasibility. The project's social impact was particularly appreciated by the judging panel. It has had many positive effects, such as creating jobs for salt farmers, utilizing surplus and wasted materials in salt fields, and producing various salt products beneficial to human health. Tham said: “With new salt production technology, Nanosalt has collaborated with 12 traditional salt cooperatives in Nghe An to purchase salt syrup, buying about 300 tons of salt syrup and 50 tons of raw salt each month, creating additional income for salt farmers. From a wasted resource on the salt fields, salt syrup has become a valuable commodity, an abundant raw material for processing many essential natural marine minerals, serving human health care. This is the first time a scientific project has awakened the medicinal value in salt grains, improving the economic efficiency of salt production, helping salt farmers maintain and develop their traditional salt industry.”

Most recently, during a charity trip to Ky Son district, Tham saw that the Mong people were growing small ginger on the high mountains, with a fairly large yield but facing difficulties in selling it. Upon learning that this type of ginger had been granted geographical indication status and possessed the highest medicinal properties, Tham thought about combining Ky Son small ginger with Nanosalt salt to create a range of health care products. Without hesitation, Tham and her colleagues began researching and commercializing this combination of deep-sea salt and high-mountain ginger into health care products such as: Ginger and tea tree salt extract; Ginger and Polygonum multiflorum extract with Epsom salt hair mask; Ginger foot soak salt; Ginger and magnesium essential oil massage oil…

Besides creating processed products from salt, market research has always been a top priority for the project members. In addition to strengthening traditional sales channels, Tran Thi Hong Tham has diligently built a nationwide distribution network with the motto "sharing benefits." Simultaneously, she has promoted sales channels on digital platforms. To date, Nanosalt has supplied over 1 million salt products to the market, providing thousands of tons of raw salt to agricultural and food processors. They have established dealerships in 50 provinces and cities, with over 2,000 sales points, regularly supplying various types of salt to approximately 10,000 customers.

Thus, the dream of bringing Quynh salt across the sea and exporting it to other countries is gradually becoming a reality, as Nanosalt has gained the trust of many customers in various countries.

In late December 2024, Nanosalt officially established a distributor in Laos. To achieve this success, Tran Thi Hong Tham and Nanosalt have overcome numerous hardships and challenges. However, as Tran Thi Hong Tham shared: “The entrepreneurial journey is a journey of self-improvement. It’s not just about improving professional skills, but also about improving social awareness, sharing with colleagues, supporting salt farmers, empathizing with and sharing with those less fortunate than myself. I am always willing to share the experiences I have accumulated on my entrepreneurial journey with young people who want to find their own path.” Therefore, despite being busy with work, Tham has never refused any invitations from universities, colleges, and forums sharing entrepreneurial experiences with young people. Because for her, “giving is receiving.”

Driven by passion, ambition, and a constant pursuit of a "bigger" version of themselves, these two female CEOs – two strap-ups – are always ready to accept any challenge, always inspiring their colleagues and those around them. Their entrepreneurial stories truly inspire young people...