Every Friday at Tubudd, we gather for The Friday Morning,  a tradition where guest speakers inspire us with new perspectives, stories, and knowledge. In session #128, we had the honor to welcome Nguyễn Minh Cường, an AI applications lecturer, who shared his reflections on the topic: “Opportunities for AI?”. His talk opened a fascinating window into how Vietnam’s startup ecosystem evolves with global tech trends, and more importantly, how individuals and businesses can truly integrate AI into their daily work.

Riding the Waves of Tech Trends

Mr. Cường began by mapping out the technology “trends” that have shaped Vietnam’s startup ecosystem in the past decade.

• 2018–2020: The Web-App & Platform Era. Inspired by models like Wefit, many Vietnamese founders chased platform-based startups. However, unlike Silicon Valley, Vietnam lacked a mature capital market. While founders in the U.S. could dream of IPO exits, local startups had to first prove profitability before listing, making fundraising much more challenging.
• 2020–2022: Blockchain Frenzy. With limited capital options, many Vietnamese entrepreneurs jumped aggressively into blockchain. For most, this ended in disappointment as the hype cooled and projects collapsed.
• Government Support. Programs like Project 844 by the Ministry of Science and Technology attempted to bridge Vietnam’s ecosystem with Singapore or the U.S. Still, the gap remained significant.
• 2022–2023: Sustainability & ESG. The rise of ESG showed that global entrepreneurship was evolving toward impact and responsibility, not just financial returns.

By the end of 2022, two major events redefined the landscape: the German development agency GIZ supporting local initiatives in September, and the release of ChatGPT in December – a turning point that brought AI into everyone’s conversations.

How to Truly Integrate AI

Cường emphasized that AI should not be seen as just another “trend” to chase. Instead, the real opportunity lies in integration:

• Identify your most valuable skill.
  Ask yourself: “What skill of mine generates the most value?”
• Explore how AI can enhance that skill.
  Then ask: “How can AI optimize or scale this skill?”

This two-step reflection provides a roadmap for individuals and businesses to integrate AI meaningfully, rather than superficially.

Cường also demystified AI’s mechanics. At its core, AI effectiveness relies on three elements:

• Algorithms (the rules behind AI’s reasoning),
• Hardware (computing power enabling AI to work),
• Data (the raw material fueling AI).

While algorithms and hardware are developed by tech companies, data is where individuals can contribute. Your personal knowledge, unique experiences, and expertise are valuable data. By systematically organizing this knowledge, you can turn your skills into a form of proprietary “intellectual brand.”

From Prompts to Organized Data

Most people today interact with AI tools like ChatGPT in a very casual, Q\&A manner. However, Cường suggested going deeper: use AI not only to answer but also to analyze and organize your own data.

For example, instead of simply asking ChatGPT to generate social media posts, one could:

• Collect all previous content created,
• Ask AI to analyze which posts performed best,
• Categorize them into formats, tones, and themes,
• Build a structured dataset for future use.

This transforms AI into more than a chatbot – it becomes a connector and a knowledge organizer. Over time, such a system can amplify personal or organizational expertise.

The Bigger Picture: AI as a Companion, Not a Replacement

Cường closed his talk with a reminder that the essence of being a founder – or even just a professional – is not only about chasing money. It is about the pursuit of freedom, creativity, and self-fulfillment.

AI, in this sense, is not here to replace that journey but to support it. It helps individuals refine their skills, scale their impact, and manage complexity. The true opportunity of AI is not in following the hype, but in embedding it into our personal and professional DNA.

At Tubudd, we left The Friday Morning #128 with a renewed perspective: while technology trends may rise and fall, the way we adapt, learn, and integrate them into our lives is what defines long-term growth.

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