Asian Entrepreneurial Mindset & Cultural Differences

I’ve recently completed a 1-month mission with SwissEP to the beautiful city of Hanoi, Vietnam.

Here are some general observations in Vietnam and Malaysia, but also found globally and not limited by racial definitions.

Indexed for quick reference:

Short-term Thinking

Stop seeking quick fixes. They often only solve symptoms, but don’t address the root cause of your problems.

Example 1: Trying to go directly after distributors to get in front of as many customers as possible

They won’t carry your product if you can’t demonstrate demand first. It’s slower to sell direct, but you’ll need to build your brand reputation – especially so if you have a novel product. If you can demonstrate high market demand for your product, it makes the distribution conversation a lot easier because it’s less risky.

Example 2: Cutting corners to save cost

It’s important to save cost, but cutting corners and lowering the quality of your product (especially if it ends up putting your customer at risk/harm) will only lead to greater long-term losses.

Output vs. Impact

Related to the previous point is a great example from my conversation with Ralph Mpofu from Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur, I paraphrase (and may have butchered) his words:

Many organizations focus on output. They run programs, quantify deliverables and measure KPIs to try and define success. However, it often takes time to do great things. You could run a training program and measure the output in the form of # of students, projects or initiatives started, or funding raised. That’s still short term. We like to work with organizations who are willing to invest long term to realize systemic impact, that doesn’t happen in a year, much less in a couple of months. You need to look 5-10 years out for real and meaningful impact.

For example: if Starbucks wanted to run a CSR program, instead of merely donating to causes, they could run an upskilling program to empower a community and raise their available disposable income. This doesn’t just help the community, but also creates a business return on that investment when someone becomes a franchise owner and the community can actually afford to patronize that business.

Simon Sinek’s talk below on the Infinite Mindset is another related analogy:

Impatient

Give your experiments enough time to bear fruit.

Example: If you’ve only set up your food cart in 1 location, for only a week and see poor sales. Don’t immediately give up or try to pivot.

Without enough time, and if you don’t approach it intentionally to test some of the following, we won’t know why it’s underperforming. It could be because of poor:

• Location
• Product
• Pricing
• Messaging
• Personnel

How much time is enough then? Do you follow industry standards? NO. You’re a startup, you’re still experimenting, you haven’t optimized anything so it’s unrealistic to try to aim for industry standards.

Since everyone has a different level of tolerance for risk, different attachment towards specific ideas/vision/mission, and it depends on what you’re testing too. There’s no easy answer.

You’ll need to set your standards according to what will give you the confidence to move ahead with a decision. Do this by

• Setting clear goals upfront,
• Defining what success looks like,
• and have a clear timeframe.

If you don’t, it’s easy to run into confirmation bias where you use the data to only justify what you believe works.

Follow your “gut”, it’s not about statistical significance, it’s about directional significance. It doesn’t mean that you’re not being scientific about it. We as humans are great at pattern recognition, this “gut” feeling is pattern recognition in action. More importantly, your “gut” is informed by your personal values and ethos. If you don’t feel right about something, there’s no point pursuing it or it’ll only continue to eat away at your soul.

Fear of Asking

Compounded with the language barrier, but still evident without. Don’t be shy, don’t think that asking makes you look stupid/weak/inexperienced.

If you have a question, it’s likely that others have it too. This is pluralistic ignorance in play.

There are no stupid questions. But never ask the same question twice.

It shows that you didn’t listen, or did but didn’t action it, hence still an ongoing problem.

Keith Ippel, Founder @ Spring Activator

Knowing What and How to Ask

• First identify what you need to learn (and how you learn best)
• Next, who is best for it
• Then be specific so that they can give you good, tangible, and actionable advice. Not every advisor/mentor/expert knows how to coach well.

Here’s a detailed post on how to find a good mentor/advisor.

Different people learn best in different ways. If you learn through

• Action: Ask if you can provide ongoing updates and solicit feedback as you execute on a project.
• Listening: Be thoughtful and ask good questions that are actionable.
• Observation: Shadow them as they do their work (you might even want to work for them).

How to ask: Make it as easy as possible to get answers

Example Question: How do I efficiently sell courses.

It depends! Who are your customers? What channels are they active on? What is the course about? Why might they want to take it? What is the price? Provide enough information to your mentor so it’s easy for them to give you clear and meaningful feedback.

Use the medium that your mentor is most comfortable with. If they like to respond via email, send an email. If they prefer to jump on a quick call, do just that.

Critical Thinking

Even if you have 0 experience in a topic and your mentor has a ton, don’t just lap everything up. It’s always important to think critically and approach feedback with a healthy degree of skepticism.

Not every advice is good advice and different mentors may have conflicting opinions, this leads to mentor fatigue. Consider how it applies to your context and the lens with which it comes from.

Example: If you ask an investor what typical dilution looks like for fundraising, they will likely tell you a higher %. Because they may directly benefit from providing that answer if they invest in you, or even if they don’t, that’s what they’re personally familiar with and advocate for as it favours them.

Or, if you ask a marketing company what channels you should be on, they’ll tell you that you should have a website, be on social media, etc. Because they might want to build those assets for you, or even if they don’t, it’s what they see given the work they do.

No. You need to be where your customers are at. Some businesses might not even need a website to start. It’s eventually necessary, mostly for credibility, and even then, might not be your main acquisition channel – WestBlue Construction started as a painting company and did not have a website for their first 3-years of business because they primarily found projects through word-of-mouth.

Another example: If a mentor is experienced working with SMEs, their advice may not apply to startups and vice-versa.

Don’t let mentors tell you that your idea is good/bad, but if your customers tell you so, listen! Mentors don’t (and shouldn’t) know your customers/market as well as you should. A good mentor should instead focus on your approach, sharing their experience of what works/doesn’t and why, and point out your blind spots/things you might not have considered.

Don’t depend on mentors to tell you what to do and blame them if it doesn’t work out. You should know what’s best for you, test and experiment, they can only give suggestions. Take ownership of your personal decisions.

Being Too Polite

This excessive desire to please and avoid conflict causes more harm than help. Applicable not only to mentors or support organizations, but also to entrepreneurs who struggle to say NO to engagements or activities that add low marginal value.

Here’s a detailed post on Kindness vs. Niceness that will help you understand the right level of politeness and how to give Supportive NOs.

Western Glorification

The grass isn’t always greener in North America/Europe. Stand proud, the business ecosystem isn’t perfect here but it takes a different level of street smart and grit to start a business in the dog-eat-dog environment of Asia.

It’s sometimes harder to make progress in developed countries because consumers, businesses, and government have all settled into a comfort zone and are resistant to any change or risk. Asia has the benefit of a huge (albeit lower purchasing power) population, compounded with high population density in major cities, starting a business is a lot easier here compared to some other regions in the world.

Individualism vs Collectivism

Individualism: the rights and concerns of individuals, is more prominent in Western and European culture. On the other hand, Collectivism: the wellbeing of the community, is a more popular cultural belief in Asia.

There are benefits to both. As always, everything in moderation.

Although most of the points in this article are about bad traits observed in Asia, this is one positive trait we could learn from.

Case-in-point: I was speaking to a friend who was ranting about how much she was paying for her apartment’s strata fees. Because electricity was included, she said they would just leave the AC on all day – since they’re “not paying for it” and to take full advantage of their high strata fees.

Yes, it may be a design issue. This type of behavior could be mitigated if their building was designed with individual unit meters and strata did not have to absorb the cost. However, if everyone holds this type of mindset, it would only exacerbate the issue as strata would need to raise strata fees to cope with the increasing electricity bill (you are in-fact paying for it). This doesn’t event account for the environmental impact that your personal actions are directly contributing.

Drinking Culture in Business & Sales

Wasn’t heavily exposed to this on my last visit because most of my work was in the public sector. But wow did I drink a lot on this trip! Partially out of politeness, but honestly, also partially because I do enjoy drinking too and was lenient with myself. That said, I still know how to control myself and didn’t end up embarrassingly drunk on any occasion.

Business relationships (especially if you’re male or in sales) are commonly formed over drinks and meals. I was probably drinking 3-4 days in a 5 day workweek.

On one hand, good because doing business is less transactional and more about relationships, likability, and trust. But on the other hand, unhealthy, disadvantageous to women, challenging to do remotely, and very time consuming. The good news is that, like in the west, this culture is shifting as the younger generations are not so alcoholically inclined.

Hustle Culture

There’s a Chinese saying 不怕苦只怕输 – which directly translates to unafraid of suffering, only afraid of losing.

Hard work IS important, but building a business is a marathon, not a sprint.

Pace yourself and enjoy the journey.

There’s no point in building a business that you don’t enjoy running. Success is relative, and more importantly, you can’t call it success if you’re not at peace with your decisions.

Mental health and wellness isn’t something that’s emphasized at all in Asia but I think it’s high time for change. You can’t run a business if you’re personally burnt out.

Busywork vs. Marginal Value

Not only in Asia, but a lot of people are always BUSY! Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.

Also, don’t try to boil the ocean all at once. Take baby steps.

I’ve observed that the best and most successful entrepreneurs are often very “free”. They’re not buried under busywork and instead apply what I call “Marginal Value” to their activities: What give you the best value or create the most significant impact?

An immediate example related to my work is: Supporting student entrepreneurs vs. working entrepreneurs.

I understand and appreciate the need to cultivate and encourage entrepreneurship amongst students; however, most student led startups have low survival rates (more on why in a section below). I’d much rather spend my time working with professional entrepreneurs because my contribution is much more meaningful and translates to bigger impact. I still continue to do some work with universities, but I consciously limit my activity in that area so I can ensure that I’ll have more time to do work with active companies who are more likely to survive, scale, and benefit from working with me.

Related to Marginal Value is the concept of considering Significance in time management. Rory Vaden explains this in his great and TEDx Talk: How to Multiply Your Time.

If you enjoyed this read, here are more lessons from my trip: