At noon on October 6, Shark Binh hosted his 46th livestream episode focusing on startup leadership thinking during turbulent times. These livestreams are held twice a week.

According to Nguyen Hoa Binh, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently facing immense challenges due to economic fluctuations. Many are cutting staff and turning to new technologies like AI to streamline operations.

He noted that the overproduction of goods - such as China's garment inventory that could last years - has led to dumping products via cross-border e-commerce, creating additional strain for SMEs.

Binh shared that he has been in business for 24 years, having started his entrepreneurial journey with just 2 million VND (approximately 80 USD). He nearly went bankrupt five times before finding lasting success.

Because of this, he wants to share both his experiences and reflections on business and life with others.

Shark Binh explored the definition of leadership and the importance of a leader's role.

He believes everyone is a leader - starting with leading oneself. Those who can lead themselves most effectively are often the most successful individuals.

Once self-leadership is achieved, the next step is leading the family - spouse and children - and then expanding to leadership within organizations and society. The only differentiating factor here is the scale of leadership.

According to Binh, the most essential quality of a leader is the ability to generate new ideas. In the early stages of a startup, especially small businesses, it’s easy to conflate roles - being the leader, the manager, the employee, the cleaner, even the parking attendant.

At this point, it's vital to distinguish the role of the leader as the one who brings forth new ideas. This becomes even more critical during economic crises, trade wars, or actual wars that lead to lost orders, reduced staff, and declining profits.

Binh likened the situation to a company sailing in darkness on a vast ocean and suddenly encountering a storm. To survive, the company needs a good "ship" - a well-organized team and company structure. Once that’s in place, it needs a good navigator to steer it through.

Without proper direction, sailing into the heart of a storm could destroy everything.

At this moment, having innovative ideas is far more valuable than merely pushing forward without direction. A misstep could render all efforts meaningless.

A true leader must create space and peace of mind to gather more information, engage in discussions with colleagues, and transform those inputs into actionable ideas.

Over recent days, Binh’s fanpage has sparked heated debates within the online community regarding coin (digital asset) projects.

He criticized startups that issue coins to raise a few million USD, only to collapse shortly after, leaving investors with nothing. He acknowledged having paid a hefty price in the digital asset space since 2017.

In 2021, through his fund Next100Blockchain, he invested 2.5 million USD in AntEx, a DeFi project heavily promoted at the time. However, shortly after, AntEx's token lost 99% of its value, and its website and media channels disappeared.

By 2023, the project was renamed Rabbit (RAB), with an exchange rate of 1,000 ANTEX to 1 RAB. Yet, the new token also plunged by 95% from its peak, becoming virtually worthless. Binh presented this as a warning for other SMEs.

He also accused the project’s CTO of conducting a rug-pull scam, betraying investors, and engaging in other suspicious behaviors. Meanwhile, shareholders like himself have suffered reputational damage for years.

According to his fanpage, he had considered reporting the CTO to authorities but said, “I asked many legal agencies but gave up. No evidence, no legal basis - it’s too risky. Any return we see now depends on their goodwill.”

Regarding AntEx, several alleged victims have also emerged online, claiming they were defrauded and have submitted complaints to authorities, awaiting resolution.

Le My