Hoang Dao
Founder and CEO, Early Start
Ceremony: 2 May 2019, 10:30am - Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Speech
Chancellor, presiding Vice Chancellor, Dean of the Faculty, University Secretary, members of the University Executive and the Council, staff, families, friends and graduates. Greetings, everybody, and congratulations, graduating class of 2019. It’s been a long and difficult journey, but each of you has made it to the finish. I’m touched and deeply honoured to celebrate with you today in this very special place, the focal point of so many of my most treasured memories. So, to your school and to all who are affording me this remarkable opportunity, thank you. I’m so happy to be here.
Four years ago, I almost went bankrupt. After two years of starting my current business, Early Start, or better known as Monkey Junior app, I had spent all of my savings in 10 years of working, and I needed even more to keep burning before it hopefully can take off. I had no one else to ask – family, friends, investors, already invested in me. I already spent their money. I faced a critical crossroad of my life: Sell your house to continue my dream or give up? I chose not to give up.
My father always told me, ‘Dream, and dream big.’ My parents were high school teachers with minimum wages. They got three kids to raise. We live in a poor province in Vietnam. We struggled to make ends meet. I remember a can of condensed milk was already a luxury for us. My parents always said to me that education is the way to go; that’s the only way to change our life. They already plotted a plan that I got to go abroad to study, of course with a full scholarship, because apparently, we cannot afford to pay for it.
It was a big dream back then for me, a boy who never stepped out of my hometown. My parents inspired, guided and set a high bar for me to achieve. I remember when finally the big day came, instead of sending the letter result to me, somehow they sent it to my dad. Later, he told me that reading the letter was one of the happiest moments in his life.
Getting a scholarship to study here was a big dream came true to me, to our family. There was a famous quote that said, ‘If you have enough courage, you can make your dreams come true.’ Courage was the most for me when I began my start-up journey. I started my business with very little resources. Aside from courage, wisdom gained from my upbringing, knowledge gained from this great institution and the love people gave to me, I had nothing. I started my business with that.
It wasn’t easy to bring an idea to life, to grow my company from inception to reality and then to put it on the map as it is today. There were many hard knocks, times when things didn’t look good, times when I felt very cornered as the market kept getting harder every day, but I chose courage. I chose not to panic, but to re-evaluate, to adjust and to move forward. Like a bird caught up in a storm, I chose to fly with the wind rather than against them. Approach life with courage, adjust and move forward. Trust me; you will prevail.
My dear fellow graduates, each of you today holds in your hands the weapons that your predecessors so desire: your youth. Perhaps you are not able, being so young, to appreciate what I’m saying to you, but please make good use of your youth, of all of your life. Don’t waste any of your moments that lie ahead of you right now. Discipline yourself.
I was once almost drowned to death at Bondi Beach when I was a second-year student here at UTS. I had to spend one night at emergency room at the hospital. And ever since, I have been terrified of deep water. That was also my excuse of not going to swim regularly. With sports in general, I used to find excuses for not taking any workouts – I’m too busy working 12 hours to 15 hours a day, I got a company to take care of, I got three kids to worry about. Those are my excuses.
Not so long ago, I was overweight at early age. I ate pretty much anything I wanted and went to sleep anytime I wanted, very late most of the time, and woke up very early in the morning. Being bold, as you can see, I look like 50 when I was 35. You realise that when your new employee call you uncle. For those of you who don’t know, in Vietnam they call you uncle if they think you are relatively the same age as their parents. And oh, man, that shocked me. But you know what? Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO who spend one hour and a half walking to work every day, or Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin, who spend at least one hour working out at the gym every single day, look at them.
So, one day I said to myself, ‘I need to change.’ Then I started training hard. I spent 7-10 hours a week working out, mostly in early morning or on weekends. I lost 10 kilograms in nine months. I have completed four half-marathons and two full marathons so far, and on Sunday next week, I will go for Ironman in Danang, which require me to swim 1.9 kilometres in the sea, 90 kilometres cycling and 21 kilometres running.
Thank you. Am I still scared of deep water? Yes, I am. I don’t know what the result will be. Please, wish me luck. But I’m already happy, because I chose to discipline myself, to be fit again. My friends, don’t waste your time. Discipline yourself. I know I said that already. Work hard for your life you desire – for prosperity, yes, but also for your prosperity of your heart and your mind. Never say, ‘Not today; I do it tomorrow.’ Because if you say it once, you will say it again and again. Have a target in everything you do, whether it’s running a 5K or completing your new project at work. So, discipline yourself, working hard to your goals, and trust me, you will get better and better.
Lastly, I want to say a few words about passion. Seven years ago, my first child was born and, being a first-time dad, I didn’t know how to raise or teach her. I started to read books, talk to other parents and research in the field, and then I became so passionate about it. Nothing makes me more happy than spending time with her to play, teach and learn with her. We create endless activities together and that’s how I started to build Monkey Junior, an educational app for kids to learn languages. Did I know that it would be used by over 5,000,000 kids all over the world? No, I didn’t know about it. I built it because it’s something that I love to work on.
My friends, I believe that you will bring passion to all that you do, and if you still don’t know what you’re passionate about, keep looking; don’t settle. Follow your passion, do what you love, and then you don’t have to work a single day in your life. Actually, that’s not true; I lie. You still have to work very hard, but at least you enjoy what you’re doing.
Now, before you go, let me tell you all about my apps. No, just kidding.
I know that you all must be ready to stop listening and to spring into action. You are ready to move in a new chapter of your life, step out into your real world and forge for yourself an exciting future. But before you do, take just a moment to look around you. Look at your classmates, those who have shared this journey with you; look at your faculty administrators, those who have taught, encouraged and mentored you. Take a moment to appreciate them and absorb this moment and all that’s gone into it. Take a deep breath and enjoy this momentous and fleeting day. My sincere congratulations again to each and every one of you. Thank you.
About the Speaker
Hoang is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Early Start which is the foremost early-education company in Vietnam and produces the children’s reading learning app called Monkey Junior.
In 2007 Hoang co-founded BH Media which is a leading provider in video, mobile and web services with millions of daily users in Vietnam. After the birth of his daughter in 2011, he became deeply passionate about early childhood education and has spent significant time dedicated to researching this field.
In 2014, Hoang left BH Media to develop a language learning app for young children called Monkey Junior which is the most downloaded learn-to-read app in the App Store and Google Play.
In 2016, Hoang beat more than 1000 entrants from 100 countries to win first place in Silicon Valley’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology Tech-ONE Competition, an initiative founded by former US President Barack Obama.
In 2018 he was awarded the UTS International Alumni Award in recognition for his contribution to early language learning.
Hoang graduated from UTS with a Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering with First Class Honours.
