Th\u00e0nh ph\u1ed1 H\u1ed3 Ch\u00ed Minh, Vi\u1ec7t Nam — Sonny V\u0169 c\u00f3 v\u1ebb ho\u00e0n to\u00e0n tho\u1ea3i m\u00e1i khi anh \u1ea5y nh\u1ea5m nh\u00e1p c\u1ed1c c\u00e0 ph\u00ea \u0111\u00e1 Vi\u1ec7t nam v\u1edbi \u0111\u1ea7y s\u1eefa v\u00e0 ph\u00e1t bi\u1ec3u v\u1ec1 t\u00ecnh tr\u1ea1ng c\u00f4ng ngh\u1ec7 \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i ng\u1ed3i c\u1ea1nh b\u1ec3 b\u01a1i t\u1ea1i nh\u00e0 m\u1edbi c\u1ee7a anh \u1ea5y \u1edf th\u00e0nh ph\u1ed1 H\u1ed3 Ch\u00ed Minh v\u00e0o \u0111\u1ea5u th\u00e1ng b\u1ea9y, bu\u1ed5i s\u00e1ng sau khi V\u0169 chuy\u1ec3n v\u1ee3 v\u00e0 con g\u00e1i th\u01a1 \u1ea5u t\u1edbi th\u00e0nh ph\u1ed1, th\u1ee7 \u0111\u00f4 tr\u01b0\u1edbc \u0111\u00e2y c\u1ee7a Nam Vi\u1ec7t Nam tr\u01b0\u1edbc khi \u0111\u1ea5t n\u01b0\u1edbc \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c th\u1ed1ng nh\u1ea5t n\u0103m 1975. Ba m\u01b0\u01a1i s\u00e1u n\u0103m sau khi r\u1eddi Vi\u1ec7t Nam sang M\u0129, V\u0169 \u0111ang chuy\u1ec3n tr\u1edf l\u1ea1i v\u1ec1 nh\u00e0 — v\u00e0 kh\u00f4ng ch\u1ec9 v\u00ec b\u00e1nh m\u00ec k\u1eb9p th\u1ecbt v\u00e0 nem n\u1ed5i ti\u1ebfng th\u1ebf gi\u1edbi.<\/p>\n
N\u01b0\u1edbc \u0111i c\u00f3 \u200e\u00fd ngh\u0129a quan tr\u1ecdng v\u1edbi Vi\u1ec7t Nam \u0111\u1ed1i v\u1edbi V\u0169 42 tu\u1ed5i v\u00e0 c\u00f4ng ti c\u1ee7a anh ta Misfit, nh\u00e0 s\u1ea3n xu\u1ea5t thi\u1ebft b\u1ecb \u0111eo \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c m\u00e0 anh ta l\u00e0 \u0111\u1ed3ng s\u00e1ng l\u1eadp v\u00e0o 11\/2011 v\u1edbi \u0111\u1ed1i t\u00e1c l\u00e2u d\u00e0i Sridhar Iyengar v\u00e0 c\u1ef1u CEO c\u1ee7a Apple John Sculley.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0C\u00f4ng ti n\u00e0y — cung c\u1ea5p c\u00e1c b\u0103ng \u0111eo tay trang \u0111i\u1ec3m gi\u00e1 th\u1ea5p, bao g\u1ed3m c\u1ea3\u00a0n\u00fat th\u00f4ng minh Flash Link 20 \u0111\u00f4 la<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0— \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c kh\u1edfi \u0111\u1ea7u \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam v\u00e0 M\u0129 \u0111\u1ed3ng th\u1eddi.<\/p>\n Misfit c\u00f3 ch\u00fat \u00edt b\u1ea5t th\u01b0\u1eddng khi t\u1edbi khung c\u1ea3nh c\u00f4ng ngh\u1ec7 Vi\u1ec7t Nam. B\u1ea5t ch\u1ea5p v\u1ecb tr\u00ed t\u0103ng tr\u01b0\u1edfng c\u1ee7a Vi\u1ec7t Nam nh\u01b0 nh\u00e0 ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o c\u00f4ng ngh\u1ec7, c\u00f4ng ti th\u1ef1c t\u1ebf kh\u00f4ng x\u00e2y d\u1ef1ng b\u1ea5t k\u00ec b\u0103ng trang \u0111i\u1ec3m n\u00e0o \u1edf trong n\u01b0\u1edbc. Thay v\u00ec th\u1ebf, ph\u1ea7n l\u1edbn c\u00e1c thi\u1ebft b\u1ecb c\u1ee7a n\u00f3 \u0111\u1ec1u \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c l\u00e0m \u1edf H\u00e0n Qu\u1ed1c. Misfit c\u0169ng kh\u00f4ng b\u00e1n b\u1ea5t k\u00ec b\u0103ng trang \u0111i\u1ec3m n\u00e0o \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. Thay v\u00ec th\u1ebf, nh\u00e2n vi\u00ean c\u1ee7a n\u00f3 l\u00e0m vi\u1ec7c tr\u00ean c\u00e1c t\u00ednh n\u0103ng ph\u1ea7n m\u1ec1m nh\u01b0 app Link m\u1edbi, cho ph\u00e9p ng\u01b0\u1eddi d\u00f9ng l\u00e0m c\u00e1c th\u1ee9 nh\u01b0 ki\u1ec3m so\u00e1t nh\u1ea1c tr\u00ean \u0111i\u1ec7n tho\u1ea1i c\u1ee7a h\u1ecd hay t\u1ef1 ch\u1ee5p \u1ea3nh b\u1eb1ng vi\u1ec7c nh\u1ea5n n\u00fat tr\u00ean thi\u1ebf b\u1ecb Misfit c\u1ee7a h\u1ecd. \u0110\u1ebfn cu\u1ed1i n\u0103m, qu\u00e3ng n\u1eeda trong s\u1ed1 256 nh\u00e2n vi\u00ean c\u1ee7a Misfit s\u1ebd c\u00f3 c\u01a1 s\u1edf \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam.<\/p>\n “Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t trong nh\u1eefng c\u00f4ng ti c\u00f4ng ngh\u1ec7 l\u1edbn h\u01a1n \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y,” V\u0169 n\u00f3i. “N\u1ebfu ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 l\u00e0m \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3 \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t nam, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i s\u1ebd l\u00e0m. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111ang b\u1eaft \u0111\u1ea7u th\u1ef1c t\u1ebf l\u00e0 chuy\u1ec3n m\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 ch\u1ee9c n\u0103ng b\u00e1n h\u00e0ng sang Vi\u1ec7t Nam, d\u00f9 b\u1ea1n c\u00f3 tin v\u00e0o \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3 hay kh\u00f4ng.”<\/p>\n \u0110\u00e2y l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t tr\u00edch \u0111o\u1ea1n c\u1ee7a cu\u1ed9c \u0111\u1ed1i tho\u1ea1i c\u1ee7a CNET v\u1edbi V\u0169, \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c bi\u00ean t\u1eadp l\u1ea1i cho d\u00e0i v\u00e0 r\u00f5 r\u00e0ng:<\/p>\n H: \u00d4ng c\u00f3 coi b\u1ea3n th\u00e2n \u00f4ng nh\u01b0 m\u1ed9t Vi\u1ec7t ki\u1ec1u tr\u1edf v\u1ec1 Vi\u1ec7t <\/strong>Nam<\/strong> kh\u00f4ng? L\u00e0m sao Misfit kh\u1edbp \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c v\u1edbi to\u00e0n th\u1ec3 h\u1ec7 sinh th\u00e1i c\u00f4ng ngh\u1ec7 Vi\u1ec7t <\/strong>Nam<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169:\u00a0Misfit c\u00f3 h\u01a1i ch\u00fat \u1edf ngo\u00e0i. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i kh\u00f4ng b\u00e1n c\u00e1i g\u00ec \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam. App c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i, website c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c d\u1ecbch sang 17 th\u1ee9 ti\u1ebfng. N\u00f3 th\u1eadm ch\u00ed c\u00f2n \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c d\u1ecbch sang ti\u1ebfng Do Th\u00e1i v\u00e0 Tagalog [m\u1ed9t ng\u00f4n ng\u1eef \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c d\u00f9ng \u1edf Philippines], nh\u01b0ng n\u00f3 kh\u00f4ng \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c d\u1ecbch sang ti\u1ebfng Vi\u1ec7t Nam. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i kh\u00f4ng ph\u1ee5c v\u1ee5 cho kinh t\u1ebf \u0111\u1ecba ph\u01b0\u01a1ng ch\u00fat n\u00e0o. M\u1ecdi th\u1ee9 \u0111\u1ec1u d\u00e0nh cho xu\u1ea5t kh\u1ea9u. V\u00e0 ch\u00ednh m\u1ecdi t\u00e0i s\u1ea3n tr\u00ed tu\u1ec7 m\u1edbi \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c xu\u1ea5t kh\u1ea9u.<\/p>\n Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 l\u00e0m vi\u1ec7c \u0111\u00f3ng g\u00f3i n\u00e0o \u0111\u00f3 \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y, nh\u01b0ng ch\u00fang t\u00f4i kh\u00f3 l\u00e0m b\u1ea5t k\u00ec vi\u1ec7c ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o n\u00e0o \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i kh\u00f4ng t\u1edbi Vi\u1ec7t Nam \u0111\u1ec3 l\u00e0m ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o. \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 th\u1ee9 k\u00ec l\u1ea1 ph\u1ee5… Khi m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi h\u1ecfi v\u1ec1 ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t nam, t\u00f4i n\u00f3i, “\u1ed2 anh b\u1ea1n, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o m\u00e3 \u0111\u00e1ng n\u1ec3 v\u00e0 c\u00e1c b\u1eb1ng s\u00e1ng ch\u1ebf.” \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 \u0111i\u1ec1u ch\u00fang t\u00f4i l\u00e0m. C\u00e1i n\u00e0o l\u00e0 gi\u1ed1ng, “C\u00e1i g\u00ec? T\u00f4i ngh\u0129 r\u1eb1ng t\u1ea1i sao b\u1ea1n t\u1edbi Vi\u1ec7t Nam?” M\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi th\u1ef1c ra c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 l\u00e0m nhi\u1ec1u h\u01a1n l\u00e0 v\u1eb7n v\u00edt c\u00e1c th\u1ee9 l\u1ea1i v\u1edbi nhau.<\/p>\n \u0110i\u1ec1u th\u1ee9 ba t\u1ea1o ra vi\u1ec7c h\u01a1i \u1edf ngo\u00e0i v\u1edbi Misfit l\u00e0… t\u00ednh \u0111a d\u1ea1ng c\u1ee7a vi\u1ec7c l\u00e0m m\u00e0 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 trong v\u0103n ph\u00f2ng \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 \u0111\u1ea1i th\u1ec3 100 ng\u01b0\u1eddi trong v\u0103n ph\u00f2ng \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam. M\u1ecdi th\u1ee9 t\u1eeb h\u1eadu c\u1ea7n v\u00e0 d\u00e2y chuy\u1ec1n cung c\u1ea5p t\u1edbi v\u1eadn h\u00e0nh, t\u00e0i ch\u00ednh t\u1edbi d\u1ecbch v\u1ee5 kh\u00e1ch h\u00e0ng. M\u1ecdi d\u1ecbch v\u1ee5 kh\u00e1ch h\u00e0ng qua email c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u1ec1u \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c th\u1ef1c hi\u1ec7n \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 l\u00ed do t\u1ea1i sao ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 c\u00f3 kh\u1ea3 n\u0103ng l\u00e0m m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi quay l\u1ea1i r\u1ea5t nhanh ch\u00f3ng. V\u00e0 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 m\u1ed9t t\u1ed5 \u0111\u00e1ng ng\u1ea1c nhi\u00ean \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. T\u1ea5t c\u1ea3 \u0111\u1ec1u l\u00e0 c\u00e1ch th\u1ee9c t\u1edbi khoa h\u1ecdc d\u1eef li\u1ec7u v\u00e0 ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n thu\u1eadt to\u00e1n. V\u00e0 k\u0129 ngh\u1ec7 firmware. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i th\u1eadm ch\u00ed c\u00f3 m\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 thi\u1ebft k\u1ebf \u0111\u1ed3 ho\u1ea1 \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. N\u00f3 l\u00e0 mi\u1ec1n r\u1ea5t r\u1ed9ng, n\u00f3 gi\u1ed1ng nh\u01b0 m\u1ed9t c\u00f4ng ti \u0111\u1ea7y \u0111\u1ee7.<\/p>\n Q: M\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 trong nh\u1eefng th\u1ee9 kh\u00e1c m\u00e0 nh\u00e2n vi\u00ean c\u1ee7a \u00f4ng \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t <\/strong>Nam<\/strong> l\u00e0m l\u00e0 c\u00e1i g\u00ec?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169: \u0110\u00f3 kh\u00f4ng ch\u1ec9 l\u00e0 h\u00e0ng h\u00e0ng c\u00e1c k\u0129 s\u01b0 ph\u1ea7n m\u1ec1m ng\u1ed3i vi\u1ebft m\u00e3 v\u00e0 l\u00e0m nh\u01b0 h\u1ecd \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c b\u1ea3o. Kh\u00f4ng. \u0110i\u1ec1u th\u1ef1c l\u00e0 m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi th\u1ef1c t\u1ebf s\u1edf h\u1eefu to\u00e0n b\u1ed9 s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. C\u00f3 to\u00e0n th\u1ec3 c\u00e1c s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o ho\u00e0n to\u00e0n \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam.<\/p>\n M\u1ed9t trong c\u00e1c app c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i m\u00e0 s\u1ebd \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c c\u00f4ng b\u1ed1, ch\u1eb3ng h\u1ea1n, \u0111\u00e3 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n ho\u00e0n to\u00e0n \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t Nam [Link App m\u1edbi, \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c \u0111\u01b0a v\u00e0o gi\u1eefa th\u00e1ng b\u1ea9y]. V\u00e0 n\u00f3 kh\u00f4ng \u0111\u1ec3 d\u00f9ng \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t nam, n\u00f3 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t lo\u1ea1i kh\u00e1 \u1ed5n. Kh\u00f4ng gi\u1ed1ng nh\u01b0 h\u1ecd \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c b\u1ea3o ph\u1ea3i l\u00e0m g\u00ec. \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 vi\u1ec7c k\u0129 ngh\u1ec7 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c th\u1ef1c hi\u1ec7n \u0111\u1ea7y \u0111\u1ee7 \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. M\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 thi\u1ebft k\u1ebf s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c th\u1ef1c hi\u1ec7n \u1edf M\u0129, nh\u01b0ng n\u00f3 r\u1ea5t c\u00f3 t\u00ednh c\u1ed9ng t\u00e1c.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong>\u00a0T\u1ea1i sao \u00f4ng th\u1ef1c t\u1ebf kh\u00f4ng b\u00e1n s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t <\/strong>Nam<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169: Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i kh\u00f4ng l\u00e0m kinh doanh \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 v\u00ec c\u00f9ng l\u00ed do ch\u00fang t\u00f4i kh\u00f4ng l\u00e0m kinh doanh \u1edf Nigeria — n\u00f3 ch\u1ec9 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t th\u1ecb tr\u01b0\u1eddng th\u1ef1c s\u1ef1 nh\u1ecf. V\u00e2ng, c\u1ea3 hai \u0111\u1ec1u l\u00e0 c\u00e1c n\u01b0\u1edbc l\u1edbn, nh\u01b0ng kh\u00f4ng n\u01b0\u1edbc n\u00e0o c\u00f3 th\u1ecb tr\u01b0\u1eddng \u0111\u00e1ng quan t\u00e2m \u0111\u1ec3 mua ch\u1ea5t li\u1ec7u n\u00e0y. M\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi mua xe m\u00e1y v\u00e0 c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 m\u00e1y t\u00ednh v\u00e0 truy nh\u1eadp Internet v\u00e0 iPhones, nh\u01b0ng thi\u1ebft b\u1ecb \u0111eo \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c, t\u00f4i ngh\u0129 theo s\u1ed1 l\u1edbn, khi anh nh\u00ecn v\u00e0o m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y, h\u1ecd t\u1ea5t c\u1ea3 \u0111\u1ec1u sung s\u1ee9c… Trong khi \u0111\u00f3, ch\u00fang ta nh\u1eefng ng\u01b0\u1eddi ph\u01b0\u01a1ng T\u00e2y, ch\u00fang \u0111\u00e3 ki\u1ebfm \u0111\u1ec3 c\u00f3 h\u00ecnh d\u00e1ng \u0111\u1eb9p… Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i t\u1edbi \u0111\u00e2y mu\u1ed9n h\u01a1n.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong>\u00a0C\u00e1i g\u00ec th\u00fac \u0111\u1ea7y quy\u1ebft \u0111\u1ecbnh c\u00f3 nhi\u1ec1u nh\u00e2n vi\u00ean th\u1ebf \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y, b\u00ean c\u1ea1nh n\u1ec1n t\u1ea3ng c\u1ee7a b\u1ea1n<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169: C\u00f3 nhi\u1ec1u th\u1ee9. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 tri\u1ebft l\u00ed v\u1ec1 vi\u1ec7c ki\u1ebfm t\u00e0i n\u0103ng gi\u1ecfi nh\u1ea5t v\u1edbi gi\u00e1 h\u1eddi nh\u1ea5t. T\u00f4i nh\u1edb khi n\u00f3i v\u1edbi m\u1ed9t ng\u01b0\u1eddi b\u1ea1n, nh\u00e2n ti\u1ec7n t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 n\u00f3i c\u1eaft b\u1edbt \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3. M\u1ecdi \u200e\u00fd t\u01b0\u1edfng l\u1edbn \u0111\u1ec1u b\u1ecb \u0111\u00e1nh c\u1eafp. Cho n\u00ean b\u1ea1n t\u00f4i, \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 tri\u1ebft l\u00ed c\u1ee7a anh \u1ea5y, v\u00e0 t\u00f4i l\u00e0 gi\u1ed1ng nhau, “Anh kh\u00f4ng ch\u1ec9 mu\u1ed1n c\u00f3 t\u00e0i n\u0103ng t\u1ed1t nh\u1ea5t sao?” Anh \u1ea5y n\u00f3i, “Kh\u00f4ng, v\u00ec n\u1ebfu \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 ho\u00e0n c\u1ea3nh, n\u1ebfu anh \u0111\u1ecbnh thu\u00ea m\u1ed9t k\u0129 s\u01b0 ph\u1ea7n m\u1ec1m, anh s\u1ebd thu\u00ea ng\u01b0\u1eddi \u0111\u1ee9ng \u0111\u1ea7u t\u00ecm ki\u1ebfm \u1edf Google. V\u00e0 anh ph\u1ea3i tr\u1ea3 cho anh ta c\u1ea3 t\u1ec9 \u0111\u00f4 la, nh\u01b0ng anh c\u00f3 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c t\u00e0i n\u0103ng gi\u1ecfi nh\u1ea5t. Nh\u01b0ng anh s\u1ebd kh\u00f4ng l\u00e0m \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3 \u0111\u00e2u. Anh kh\u00f4ng th\u1ec3 l\u00e0m \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c. Cho n\u00ean ch\u00fang t\u00f4i ph\u1ea3i c\u00f3 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c t\u00e0i n\u0103ng gi\u1ecfi nh\u1ea5t v\u1edbi gi\u00e1 h\u1eddi nh\u1ea5t.” T\u00f4i th\u00edch th\u00fa, “Anh \u0111\u00edch x\u00e1c \u0111\u00fang.”<\/p>\n Cho n\u00ean \u0111i\u1ec1u ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 l\u00e0m l\u00e0 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c t\u1ed1i \u01b0u ho\u00e1 vi\u1ec7c thu\u00ea ng\u01b0\u1eddi c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u1edf nh\u1eefng ch\u1ed7 m\u00e0 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 \u01b0u th\u1ebf c\u1ea1nh tranh kh\u00f4ng theo lu\u1eadt th\u01b0\u1eddng \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. T\u1ea1i sao? V\u00ec ch\u00fang t\u00f4i ch\u1ec9 l\u00e0 c\u00f4ng ti \u0111i\u1ec1m t\u0129nh nh\u1ea5t \u0111\u1ec3 l\u00e0m vi\u1ec7c… M\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi mu\u1ed1n l\u00e0m vi\u1ec7c cho c\u00e1c c\u00f4ng ti nh\u01b0 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i. B\u1eb1ng kh\u00f4ng h\u1ecd \u0111ang l\u00e0m ph\u1ea7n m\u1ec1m t\u00e0i ch\u00ednh cho ng\u00e2n h\u00e0ng, \u0111i\u1ec1u g\u00e2y ch\u00e1n. \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 ch\u1ed7 vui \u0111\u00f9a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111ang hi\u1ec7n h\u1eefu. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i l\u00e0m ra m\u00f4i tr\u01b0\u1eddng n\u01a1i ch\u00fang t\u00f4i th\u1ef1c s\u1ef1 c\u1ed1 g\u1eafng ch\u0103m s\u00f3c cho m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111em t\u1edbi th\u1ee9c \u0103n, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i cho m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi ph\u1ea7n c\u1ee9ng b\u1ec1n t\u1ed1t v\u00e0 iPhones. C\u00e1c c\u00f4ng ti Vi\u1ec7t Nam kh\u00e1c kh\u00f4ng l\u00e0m \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3.<\/p>\n Nh\u01b0ng \u0111i\u1ec1u th\u1ee9 hai l\u00e0, n\u1ebfu anh t\u1edbi \u0111\u00e2y v\u1edbi m\u1ed9t tr\u00ed l\u1ef1c, t\u00f4i s\u1ebd c\u00f3 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c lao \u0111\u1ed9ng \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c kho\u00e1n ngo\u00e0i r\u1ebb, v\u1eady \u0111\u00f3 \u0111\u00edch x\u00e1c l\u00e0 \u0111i\u1ec1u anh s\u1ebd c\u00f3 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c. Anh s\u1ebd kh\u00f4ng c\u00f3 \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c t\u00e0i n\u0103ng \u0111\u00e1ng ng\u1ea1c nhi\u00ean c\u00f3 t\u00ednh ph\u00e1t minh v\u00e0 kh\u00e9o l\u00e9o. Cho n\u00ean ch\u00fang t\u00f4i th\u1ef1c s\u1ef1 cho h\u1ecd nhi\u1ec1u th\u1ea9m quy\u1ec1n. \u0110\u00e2y l\u00e0 s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m. L\u00e0m n\u00f3, to\u00e0n th\u1ec3 s\u1ef1 vi\u1ec7c, v\u00e0 t\u1ed1t h\u01a1n c\u1ea3 n\u00f3 s\u1ebd l\u00e0 t\u1ed1t. v\u00e0 m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi v\u01b0\u01a1n l\u00ean t\u1edbi th\u00e1ch th\u1ee9c…\u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 v\u1ec1 cho m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi c\u01a1 h\u1ed9i \u0111\u1ec3 s\u00e1ng t\u1ea1o nh\u1eefng th\u1ee9 l\u1edbn lao v\u00e0 di\u1ec5n \u0111\u1ea1t t\u00ednh s\u00e1ng t\u1ea1o v\u00e0 n\u0103ng su\u1ea5t c\u1ee7a h\u1ecd theo c\u00e1ch c\u00f3 ngh\u0129a.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong>\u00a0Nh\u00e2n vi\u00ean Vi\u1ec7t nam v\u1eadt l\u1ed9n v\u1edbi c\u00e1i g\u00ec?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169: Qua th\u1eddi gian ch\u00fang t\u00f4i bi\u1ebft r\u1eb1ng ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m ti\u00eau th\u1ee5 kh\u00f4ng ph\u1ea3i l\u00e0 s\u1ee9c m\u1ea1nh n\u00f2ng c\u1ed1t \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y. \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 c\u00e1c k\u0129 n\u0103ng c\u1ea7n thu \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c qua th\u1eddi gian. V\u00e0 do v\u1eady ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 c\u00f3 m\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 kh\u00f3 kh\u0103n \u1edf \u0111\u00f3, nh\u01b0ng ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 thu \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c t\u1ed1t h\u01a1n. V\u00e0 c\u0169ng nh\u01b0 m\u1ed9t k\u1ebft qu\u1ea3, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 h\u1ed9i t\u1ee5 t\u1ed5 v\u00e0o vi\u1ec7c l\u00e0m m\u1ecdi th\u1ee9 kh\u00e1c \u0111i. Ch\u1eb3ng h\u1ea1n, ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n thu\u1eadt to\u00e1n, khoa h\u1ecdc d\u1eef li\u1ec7u, h\u1eadu c\u1ea7u, d\u00e2y chuy\u1ec1n cung c\u1ea5p, d\u1ecbch v\u1ee5 kh\u00e1ch h\u00e0ng. \u0110i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3 \u0111\u00e3 l\u00e0 kh\u00e1 t\u1ed1t. Ho\u00e1 ra l\u00e0 ng\u01b0\u1eddi m\u00e0 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 c\u00f3 kh\u1ea3 n\u0103ng t\u00ecm ra \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y th\u1ef1c t\u1ebf l\u00e0 th\u1ef1c s\u1ef1 gi\u1ecfi v\u1edbi \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3. V\u00e0 do v\u1eady ch\u00fang t\u00f4i h\u1ed9i t\u1ee5 h\u1ecd v\u00e0o l\u00e0m \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i ti\u1ebfp t\u1ee5c \u0111\u00e0o t\u1ea1o v\u00e0 ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n c\u00e1c k\u0129 n\u0103ng trong ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m ti\u00eau th\u1ee5. Nh\u01b0ng \u0111\u00f3 kh\u00f4ng ph\u1ea3i l\u00e0 t\u1ef1 nhi\u00ean \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y v\u00ec th\u1ef1c s\u1ef1 kh\u00f4ng c\u00f3 th\u1ecb tr\u01b0\u1eddng cho nh\u1eefng th\u1ee9 \u0111\u00f3 \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y, cho n\u00ean kh\u00f4ng c\u00f3 nh\u00f3m t\u1ef1 nhi\u00ean \u1edf \u0111\u00e2y.<\/p>\n Trong khi \u1edf Trung Qu\u1ed1c, ch\u1eb3ng h\u1ea1n, c\u00f3 th\u1ecb tr\u01b0\u1eddng b\u1ea3n \u0111\u1ecba cho n\u00f3. C\u00f3 nh\u1eefng ng\u01b0\u1eddi l\u00e0m Baidu v\u00e0 Alibaba v\u00e0 Tencent, c\u00e1c c\u00f4ng ti Internet l\u1edbn \u0111\u1ed1i th\u1ee7 c\u1ee7a nh\u1eefng ng\u01b0\u1eddi kh\u1ed5ng l\u1ed3 c\u00f4ng ngh\u1ec7 ph\u01b0\u01a1ng T\u00e2y. V\u00e0 c\u00e1c c\u1ef1u nh\u00e2n vi\u00ean c\u1ee7a nh\u1eefng c\u00f4ng ti \u0111\u00f3 \u0111\u1ec1u gi\u1ecfi trong ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m. Cho n\u00ean \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 l\u00ed do t\u1ea1i sao ch\u00fang t\u00f4i l\u00e0m nhi\u1ec1u ph\u00e1t tri\u1ec3n s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m \u1edf Trung Qu\u1ed1c.<\/p>\n Q: Vi\u1ec7c \u0103n c\u1eafp s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m tr\u00ed tu\u1ec7 \u0111\u00e3 l\u00e0 m\u1ed1i quan ng\u1ea1i cho c\u00e1c c\u00f4ng ti v\u1eadn h\u00e0nh \u1edf Trung Qu\u1ed1c. N\u00f3 c\u00f3 l\u00e0 v\u1ea5n \u0111\u1ec1 \u1edf Vi\u1ec7t <\/strong>Nam<\/strong> n\u1eefa kh\u00f4ng?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169: N\u00f3 kh\u00f4ng \u0111\u1ebfn m\u1ee9c v\u1ea5n \u0111\u1ec1 th\u1ebf trong c\u1ea3 hai n\u01b0\u1edbc. Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 b\u1ecb sao ch\u00e9p nhi\u1ec1u, c\u00e1c s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i, nh\u01b0ng \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 b\u1edfi c\u00e1c c\u00f4ng ti kh\u00e1c… T\u1eeb c\u00e1c d\u1eef li\u1ec7u ghi ch\u00e9p, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00f3 22 b\u1ea3n sao c\u1ee7a Shine \u1edf Trung Qu\u1ed1c… \u0110i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0m b\u1ef1c m\u00ecnh, nh\u01b0ng \u1edf m\u1ee9c \u0111\u1ed9 kh\u00e1c ch\u00fang t\u00f4i l\u1ea1i \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c n\u00eau cao. Nh\u01b0 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u1ebfm, ch\u1ec9 c\u00f3 ba b\u1ea3n sao c\u1ee7a Fitbit. Cho n\u00ean t\u00f4i kh\u00f4ng th\u1ec3 n\u00f3i li\u1ec7u ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 \u0111\u1ea1t t\u1edbi m\u1ee9c \u0111\u1ed9 n\u00e0o \u0111\u00f3 c\u00f3 \u200e\u00fd ngh\u0129a v\u0103n ho\u00e1 \u0111\u1ec3 b\u1ecb sao ch\u00e9p hay ch\u00fang t\u00f4i ch\u1ec9 m\u1edbi d\u1ec5 d\u00e0ng sao ch\u00e9p th\u00f4i.<\/p>\n T\u00f4i ngh\u0129 ch\u00fang t\u00f4i d\u1ec5 d\u00e0ng sao ch\u00e9p h\u01a1n. Shine th\u1ef1c t\u1ebf l\u00e0 kh\u00e1 ph\u1ee9c t\u1ea1p \u0111\u1ec3 ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o. Fitbit, \u00edt nh\u1ea5t h\u1ecd \u0111\u00e3 ch\u1ebf t\u1ea1o \u1edf Trung Qu\u1ed1c, cho n\u00ean l\u00e0m n\u00f3 s\u1ebd kh\u00e1 d\u1ec5 d\u00e0ng, nh\u01b0ng [Shine] l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t lo\u1ea1i s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m r\u1ea5t kh\u00e1c. T\u00f4i ngh\u0129 m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi th\u00edch n\u00f3 b\u1edfi l\u00ed do \u0111\u00f3. Nh\u01b0ng th\u01b0\u01a1ng hi\u1ec7u b\u1ecb th\u00e1o ra cho n\u00ean b\u1ea1n \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c b\u1ea3n b\u1ecb sao ch\u00e9p. Nh\u01b0ng n\u00f3i th\u1ef1c, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00e0ng b\u1ecb sao ch\u00e9p nhi\u1ec1u l\u1ea7n, ch\u00fang t\u00f4i c\u00e0ng c\u00f3 kh\u1ea3 n\u0103ng b\u00e1n \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c kh\u1ed1i l\u01b0\u1ee3ng l\u1edbn h\u01a1n v\u00ec n\u00f3 n\u00e2ng m\u1ee9c \u0111\u1ed9 nh\u1eadn bi\u1ebft v\u1ec1 s\u1ea3n ph\u1ea9m. M\u1ecdi cu\u1ed1i c\u00f9ng n\u00f3i, “\u1ed2, anh c\u00f3 Shine th\u1ef1c \u00e0?”<\/p>\n Ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u00e3 mua t\u1eebng th\u1ee9 l\u00e0m gi\u1ea3 m\u1ed9t. M\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 trong ch\u00fang th\u1ef1c s\u1ef1 l\u00e0 b\u1ea3n sao t\u1ed1t.<\/p>\n Q: \u0110\u1ed3ng h\u1ed3 Apple t\u00e1c \u0111\u1ed9ng v\u00e0o \u00f4ng th\u1ebf n\u00e0o? N\u00f3 c\u00f3 gi\u00fap \u00f4ng kh\u00f4ng? Hay l\u00e0m t\u1ed5n th\u01b0\u01a1ng \u00f4ng?<\/strong><\/p>\n V\u0169: C\u1ea3 hai. C\u00f3 nh\u1eadn bi\u1ebft t\u0103ng l\u00ean, nh\u01b0ng n\u1ebfu b\u1ea1n \u0111\u1ecbnh mua \u0111\u1ed3ng h\u1ed3 th\u00f4ng minh, b\u1ea1n s\u1ebd kh\u00f4ng mua v\u00f2ng \u0111eo ho\u1ea1t \u0111\u1ed9ng. B\u1ea1n s\u1ebd kh\u00f4ng mua Fitbit, b\u1ea1n s\u1ebd kh\u00f4ng mua Jawbone, b\u1ea1n s\u1ebd kh\u00f4ng mua Misfit. \u0110i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 t\u1ed1t. Nh\u01b0ng th\u1ebf r\u1ed3i kh\u00f4ng ph\u1ea3i m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi \u0111\u1ec1u c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 \u0111\u1ea3m \u0111\u01b0\u01a1ng \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c th\u1ee9 gi\u00e1 500 \u0111\u00f4 la. C\u00e1c th\u1ee9 c\u1ee7a ch\u00fang t\u00f4i gi\u00e1 ch\u1ec9 l\u00e0 50 \u0111\u00f4 la, 100 \u0111\u00f4 la.<\/p>\n N\u00f3 c\u0169ng kh\u00f4ng c\u00f3 m\u00e0n h\u00ecnh. Nhi\u1ec1u ng\u01b0\u1eddi kh\u00f4ng th\u00edch m\u00e0n h\u00ecnh tr\u00ean c\u1ed5 tay h\u1ecd v\u00ec n\u00f3 tr\u00f4ng k\u00ec qu\u00e1i. Cho n\u00ean \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 l\u00ed do t\u1ea1i sao ch\u00fang t\u00f4i \u0111\u1ea9y m\u1ea1nh v\u1ec1 th\u1eddi th\u01b0\u1ee3ng v\u00e0 thi\u1ebft k\u1ebf v\u00e0 ph\u00eda \u0111\u1ed3 ch\u00e2u b\u00e1u. T\u00f4i ngh\u0129 m\u1ecdi ng\u01b0\u1eddi s\u1ebd c\u1edfi m\u1edf h\u01a1n v\u1edbi \u0111i\u1ec1u \u0111\u00f3. V\u1edbi ph\u00e2n kh\u00fac n\u00e0o \u0111\u00f3, ch\u00fang s\u1ebd l\u00e0 m\u1edf h\u01a1n v\u1edbi n\u00f3. Nh\u01b0 v\u1ee3 t\u00f4i. C\u00f4 \u1ea5y kh\u00f4ng th\u00edch m\u00e0n h\u00ecnh tr\u00ean c\u1ed5 tay c\u00f4 \u1ea5y. C\u00f4 \u1ea5y \u0111eo \u0111\u1ed3 ch\u00e2u b\u00e1u v\u00e0 \u0111\u1ed3ng h\u1ed3 m\u00e0 c\u00f4 \u1ea5y th\u1eadm ch\u00ed kh\u00f4ng l\u00ean gi\u00e2y.<\/p>\n T\u00e1c gi\u1ea3<\/p>\n Shara Tibken<\/a><\/p>\n Shara Tibken l\u00e0 c\u00e2y vi\u1ebft c\u1ea5p cao cho CNET h\u1ed9i t\u1ee5 v\u00e0o Samsung v\u00e0 Apple. C\u00f4 \u1ea5y tr\u01b0\u1edbc \u0111\u00e2y vi\u1ebft cho Dow Jones Newswires v\u00e0 Wall Street Journal. C\u00f4 \u1ea5y l\u00e0 ng\u01b0\u1eddi b\u1ea3n x\u1ee9 Midwesterner ng\u01b0\u1eddi v\u1eabn \u01b0a th\u00edch “pop” h\u01a1n “soda.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tr\u00edch d\u1eabn t\u1eeb<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/misfit-ceo-sonny-vu-on-vietnams-modern-day-success-story-q-a\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n —English version—<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Misfit CEO Sonny Vu on Vietnam’s modern-day success story (Q&A)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — Sonny Vu looks utterly at ease as he sips a Vietnamese iced coffee laden with condensed milk and opines about the state of technology in Vietnam.<\/p>\n We’re sitting by the pool at his new home in Ho Chi Minh City in early July, the morning after Vu relocated his wife and infant daughter to the city, the former capital of South Vietnam before the country was reunified in 1975. Thirty-six years after leaving Vietnam for the US, Vu is moving back home — and not just for the world-famous banh mi sandwiches and spring rolls.<\/p>\n The move signifies just how important Vietnam is to 42-year-old Vu and his company Misfit, the wearable devices maker he co-founded in October 2011 with longtime partner Sridhar Iyengar and former Apple CEO\u00a0John Sculley.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The company — which offers low-priced fitness trackers, including the new\u00a0$20 Flash Link smart button<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0— started in Vietnam and the US at the same time.<\/p>\n Misfit is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to the Vietnamese tech scene. Despite Vietnam’s\u00a0growing position as a tech manufacturer,<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0the company doesn’t actually build any of its fitness trackers in the country. Instead, most of its devices are made in South Korea. Misfit also doesn’t sell any fitness bands here. Instead, its employees work on software features like the new Link app that lets users do things like control the music on their phones or take selfies by pressing the button on their Misfit devices. By the end of the year, about half of Misfit’s expected 265 employees will be based in Vietnam.<\/p>\n “We’re one of the larger tech companies here,” Vu said. “If we could do it in Vietnam, we would. We’re starting to actually move some of the sales functions to Vietnam, believe it or not.”<\/p>\n Here’s an excerpt of CNET’s conversation with Vu, edited for length and clarity:<\/p>\n Q: Do you view yourself as an expat returning to <\/strong>Vietnam<\/strong>? How does Misfit fit into the whole <\/strong>Vietnam<\/strong> tech ecosystem?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu:\u00a0Misfit is a little bit of an outlier. We don’t sell anything in Vietnam. Our app and our website is translated into 17 languages. It’s even translated into Hebrew and Tagalog [a language used in the Philippines], but it’s not translated into Vietnamese. We don’t service the local economy at all. Everything is for export. And it’s all intellectual property that’s exported.<\/p>\n We might do some packaging here, but we hardly do any manufacturing here. We did not come to Vietnam for manufacturing. That’s the second weird thing…When people ask about manufacturing in Vietnam, I say, “Oh man, we manufacture awesome code and patents.” That’s what we do. Which is like, “What? I thought that’s why you went to Vietnam?” People can in fact do more than screw things together.<\/p>\n The third thing that’s outlier-ish about Misfit is the…diversity of jobs that we have in the office here. We have roughly 100 people in the office here in Vietnam. Everything from logistics and supply chain to operations, finance to customer service. All of our email customer service is done here. That’s why we’ve been able to get back to people very quickly. And we just have an amazing team here. All the way to data science and algorithms development. And firmware engineering. We even have some graphic design here. It’s a very wide range, it’s like a full-on company.<\/p>\n Q: What are some of the other things your employees in <\/strong>Vietnam<\/strong> do?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu: It’s not just rows and rows of software engineers coding away and doing as they’re told. No. The thing is people actually own the entire product here. There are entire products that are completely made here in Vietnam.<\/p>\n One of our apps we’re going to be publishing, for example, was completely developed in Vietnam [the new Link App, released in mid-July]. And it’s not for use in Vietnam, which is kind of cool. It’s not like they’re told what to do either. It’s that the engineering is completely done here. Some of the product design was done in the US, but it’s very collaborative.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Why don’t you actually sell products in <\/strong>Vietnam<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu: We don’t do business here maybe for the same reason we don’t do business in Nigeria — it’s just a really small market. Yeah, both are big countries, but neither country has much of an interesting market to buy this stuff. People are buying motorbikes and maybe computers and Internet access and iPhones, but wearables, I think by and large, when you look at everyone here, they’ll all in pretty good shape…Whereas, us Westerners, we’ve got to get in shape…We’ll get here later.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>What prompted the decision to have so many employees here, aside from your background?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu: There’s several things. We have a philosophy on getting the best talent at the best price. I remember talking to a friend. I ripped it off of him, by the way. All the great ideas are stolen. So my friend, that was his philosophy, and I was like, “Don’t you just want the best talent?” He said, “No, because if that’s the case, if you’re going to hire a software engineer, you’re going to hire the head of search at Google. And you’d pay him a billion dollars, but you’ve got the best talent. But you wouldn’t do that. You can’t. So we have to get the best talent at the best price.” I was like, “You are exactly right.”<\/p>\n So what we’ve done is optimized our hiring to be in places where we have unfair competitive advantages. So in Vietnam, we have an unfair advantage here. Why? Because we’re just the coolest company to work for…People want to work for companies like us. Otherwise they’re making financial software for banks, which is boring. It’s a fun place we be at. We make an environment where we really try to take care of people. We bring in food, we give everybody cool hardware and iPhones. Other Vietnamese companies don’t do that.<\/p>\n But the second thing is, if you just come here with a mentality, I’m going to get cheap outsourced labor, then that’s exactly what you’re going to get. You’re not going to get amazing talent that are inventive and ingenious. So we really give them a lot of authority. Here’s a product. Make it, the whole thing, and it better be good. And people rise up to the challenge…It’s about giving people opportunities to create great things and express their creativity and productivity in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong>\u00a0What do Vietnamese employees struggle with?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu: We’ve learned over time that consumer product development is not a core strength here. Those are skills to be acquired over time. And so we’ve had some difficulty there, but we’ve gotten better. And also as a result, we’ve focused the teams on doing different things. For example, algorithm development, data science, logistics, supply chain, customer service. It’s been pretty good. It’s turned out that people we’ve been able to find here are actually really good at that. And so we focus them on doing that. We’ve continued to train and whatnot and develop skills in consumer product development. But that’s not natural here because there really wasn’t a market for those things here, so there’s not a natural pool here.<\/p>\n Whereas in China, for example, there is an indigenous market for it. There are people who made Baidu and Alibaba and Tencent, the great Internet companies that rival the Western tech giants. And former employees of those companies are great at product development. So that’s why we do a lot of product development in China.<\/p>\n Q: Intellectual property theft has been a concern for companies operating in <\/strong>China<\/strong>. Is it an issue in <\/strong>Vietnam<\/strong> too?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu: It hasn’t been that much of an issue in either country. We have been copied a lot, our products, but that’s by other companies…For the record, we have 22 copies of Shine in China…It’s annoying, but on another level we’re kind of flattered. As far as we’ve counted, there’s only three copies of Fitbit. So I can’t tell if we’ve reached some level of cultural significance to be copied or we’re just easier to copy.<\/p>\n I don’t think we’re easier to copy. The Shine is actually pretty complicated to manufacture. Fitbit, at least they’re manufactured in China, so it would be pretty easy to make, but [Shine] is a very different kind of product. I think people like it for that reason. But the brand’s taken off so you get copied. But honestly, the more times we’ve been copied, the more volume we’ve been able to sell because it raises the level of awareness of the product. People end up saying, “Oh, you have a real Shine?”<\/p>\n We’ve bought one of each of the fake ones. Some of them are really good copies.<\/p>\n Q: How does the<\/strong>\u00a0Apple Watch<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0impact you? Does it help you? Or hurt you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vu: Both. There is an awareness increase, but if you’re going to buy a smartwatch, you’re not going to buy an activity tracker. You’re not going to buy Fitbit, you’re not going to buy Jawbone, you’re not going to buy Misfit. It’s fine. But then not everybody can afford a $500 thing. Our stuff is $50, $100.<\/p>\n Also it doesn’t have a screen. A lot of people don’t like screens on their wrist because it’s weird. So that’s why we’re pushing hard on the fashion and design and jewelry side. I think people are going to be more open to that. For certain segments, they’ll be more open to it. Like my wife. She doesn’t want a screen on her wrist. She wears jewelry and watches that she doesn’t even wind.<\/p>\n AUTHOR<\/p>\n Shara Tibken<\/a><\/p>\n Shara Tibken is a senior writer for CNET focused on Samsung and Apple. She previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal. She’s a native Midwesterner who still prefers “pop” over “soda.”\u00a0See full bio<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n From<\/p>\n