CEO Tran Khanh Vy: 'AR/VR technology industry is a narrow race track'

Tran Khanh Vy, CEO of Marvy Group Technology Joint Stock Company. PHOTO: MARVY CO.

• Studying abroad in Canada since age 15.
• Self-taught game programming, started a business at the age of 22.
• Won 3rd place in Facebook AR Hackathon 2019 in India Asia. Received first AR contract from Meta - also capital for startup.
• Make your first million dollars with AR/VR and Game programming.
• After 4 years, completed more than 200 projects for 200+ big customers such as Mitsubishi, AEON Mall, Acecook, VIB... ... with revenue of nearly 30 billion VND.
• Introducing Octokit - a drag-and-drop game making platform that requires no coding.

"AR VR is a very niche market"

What factors should be considered when entering the AR/VR game?

I think 'timing' is an important factor when starting an AR/VR business. Before 2019, there were a few businesses that tried but had to leave the game, too early or too late also led to not finding customers.

Currently, most software companies view AR/VR as a sideline, rather than a core technology or a major revenue stream, because it is a niche market with a small pie and a narrow track. Either you are good, win a lot of projects, maintain a steady cash flow and high expertise, or you will be out of the game due to lack of revenue.

What do customers who pay for AR/VR want?

In my experience working with clients, they may be interested in AR/VR, but spending money to implement it is a whole other story.

To do AR/VR business, having high technology level is not enough, the important thing is to have good ideas, convincing solutions, suitable for the needs and conditions of each customer. Sometimes the solution stage can take up to 60-70% of the total time we work with big brands.

AR, Game and AI application campaigns are carried out by Marvy Co., serving millions of internet users. PHOTO: MARVY CO.

With such challenges, how did Marvy find customers and stay strong in the AR/VR industry?

I understand the game well, so from the beginning, I had a strategy to "normalize AR", bringing this technology closer to users, not just a distant theory. Marvy develops AR/VR in depth and universally: creating high-quality products, at the same time building strong distribution channels and useful applications in life.

Making AR/VR is easy, but making it essential and "familiar" to users is the big challenge. This is the journey that Marvy has been persistently doing for the past 5 years.

With technology like AR/VR, what do you think is the decisive factor for founders to succeed?

To me, AR/VR is like a young, energetic, playful but difficult girl. This technology can be applied in all fields such as education, healthcare, fashion... but should not be limited to a specific industry.

AR/VR requires open, multi-dimensional, and liberal spaces. But because of the flexibility of AR, many industry founders have applied it to unnecessary situations.

AR/VR startups need to prioritize practicality and focus on specific customer groups. I choose Marketing as the main environment to develop AR VR - where it can serve all industries with unlimited possibilities.

AR Hand-tracking cards are a hot product at Marvy Co used by many events.

Photo: MARVY CO.

Difficult start-up at age 22

What challenges did you have to overcome when starting a business?

Starting with little capital, I failed at a startup and had to meet 6 wrong people before finding a co-founder for Marvy. Building a team took a long time because all I had was determination and vision.

Starting with Marvy, I convinced each client to choose AR/VR solution because this technology was very new at that time. In many projects, the whole team spent months following up but then stopped. All the effort was wasted, but I was only sad for a while and then continued to try.

During the most difficult times, what motivation helped you overcome the challenges on the path to starting a business?

My biggest motivation is the goal of creating world-changing technology products.

I am lucky to have a Marvy team, each with their own talents and personalities. What I am most proud of is that the members at Marvy have a stable income, enough to take care of their families, this is the great meaning and strength on my entrepreneurial journey.

Talented team at Marvy Co. PHOTO: MARVY CO.

Plan to bring Vietnamese technology products to the world

What is your biggest dream?

Everyone has different motivations in life, my dream is to create an international SaaS product, contributing to the country's GDP growth. Vietnam is very strong in software development human resources, and when compared to the superpowers with billion-dollar technology unicorns that completely change the way the world operates, I also aspire to create such a product with the intelligence and brainpower of Vietnamese people.

Therefore, I do not stop at outsourcing but continuously create new SaaS products such as Octokit - Canva of the gaming industry. This is a drag-and-drop online game creation tool, no programming required, helping to complete a game campaign in just 15 minutes. Octokit has been used by many international customers and gradually affirmed its position in the market.

For me, no dream is too big. Although this is just the beginning, I always believe in my dream and vision.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ceo-tran-khanh-vy-nganh-cong-nghe-ar-vr-la-mot-duong-dua-chat-hep-18524122809301961.htm