Success Story: Journey From a Dishwasher Job in Vietnam to the President of an AI Company in Japan

Nguyen Cong Thanh, born in Nam Dinh, has been "rolling around" in Japan since the 2000s, then founded Hachix company specializing in AI and embedded systems.

"I often thought of starting a business when I was a junior high school student," recalled Nguyen Cong Thanh. "I watched Sony TVs and Honda motorbikes and fell in love with Japanese brands ever since."

Thành passed the university entrance exam in Vietnam, but still determined to go to Japan, despite his family's opposition. While studying at a Japanese language school in Hiroshima City, he had to wash dishes at a hotel and do many other manual jobs to earn living expenses. In 2005, he entered Osaka University, then received a Master's Degree in Information Systems.

After graduating from college, Thành joined Brother Industries, a manufacturer of electrical and electronic equipment based in Nagoya. He was in charge of developing programs for use in multifunction copiers for six years.

After quitting his job at Brother Industries, Thành began to prepare for his own business. He participates in startup seminars to gain experience. "I feel lucky that for every 100 people I meet, one person agrees to comment on the work I am about to do," Thanh recalls.

Nguyen Cong Thanh

In July 2017, Hachix was established in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, with a capital of 5 million yen (about 43,600 USD). Half of that money went to Thanh and two Vietnamese co-founders and the rest from a businessman he knew. The company's goal is to develop and market AI and data analytics systems for retailers, manufacturers and IT solution providers. Besides, Hachix also provides software for analyzing and forecasting sales of stationery; IoT systems for factories use sensors, to monitor production lines, provide data obtained from tracking sensors to optimize the allocation of workers in the factory.

Hachix's model is to reduce the cost of developing custom-made systems using free software, versatile sensors and equipment at affordable prices, yet still, meet quality requirements. "We always try to meet the needs of customers with the lowest cost possible," Thanh said.

The orders for Thanh Ky's company ranged from 1 million yen (about 9,500 USD) to 2.5 million yen (23,500 USD). The customers are mainly small and medium manufacturing companies with 50 to 100 workers. These are companies that have not yet computerized the system so they have a lot of development potential.

The first order Hachix received came from a Vietnamese restaurant in Japan, which was in need of an automatic ticket buying system. Hachix has created a tablet-based program for handling orders and payments. Thanh said that the company can only win orders from new restaurants because the market has too many competitors.

"The first year, the business was terrible," recalls Thanh. But the "bitter" first-year experience helped the company make the right move, such as focusing primarily on IT manufacturers and suppliers. Less than a year later, in June 2018, the company's revenue reached 3 million yen ($ 28,300 USD). In 2019, sales were 16 million yen ($ 151,000). However, the arrival of Covid-19 caused Hachix to slow down its growth. Even so, the company expects sales to grow 50% in 2021.

Hachix's young Vietnamese team. Photo: Hachix

According to a Japanese organization that tracks small and medium-sized enterprises, Nagoya city has very few IT-related companies, because it is difficult to operate here. Therefore, Hachix's success is remarkable.

Yutaka Matsuyama, manager of the Nagoya Life Science Incubator organization, also praised Hachix's efforts. However, he said that startups need to "improve service quality, while at the same time gain experience by winning large orders".

Hachix has eight full-time and part-time employees, all of whom are Vietnamese. The company also regularly works with experts in AI, embedded systems and other advanced fields. "The presence of so many experts is the reason why we develop systems with high speed and low cost," Thanh said.

Thanh said he is considering hiring more Japanese. Besides, he also plans to set up branches in Hanoi and Da Nang.