Ngo Thuy Anh

Although the app HASU was launched in March 2020, as many as 12,000 people aged 50 and over have already registered.

Before developing HASU, Thuy Anh was a co-founder of a platform that teaches child sexual abuse prevention skills through interactive cartoons.

Thuy Anh said her startups all have relations with social issues in modern life because she has diverse experience with them.

A former student at the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, Anh studied international law at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and then received her MBA at Adelphi University in New York in the US.

From the 10th grade to the end of the third year at university, Anh worked as a collaborator for many newspapers and televisions. During the four years of studying for her master’s degree in the US, she had many jobs, from teaching assistant, assistant to the rector, and assistant in organizing charity activities of the school. She also took care of children, worked for restaurants, and opened a shop.

The diverse experiences helped Anh find the way she wanted to proceed in life. She became interested in work related to health, society and people.

In 2017, Anh opened the first social startup, Aligo Kids, a project on preventing child abuse by using cartoons. In 2018, she opened a media company specializing in cartoons about social issues.

In early 2020, she opened HASU, which initially were classes helping people use smartphones and guiding them in home health care. Later, she created an app that helps older people improve their health in all three aspects – physical, spiritual and social.

With the app, people are provided personal healthcare information and physical exercises specifically designed for older people. They also have a playground for entertainment, and online training courses on learning how to sing or play musical instruments.

When introducing the app to users, Thuy Anh was surprised when she realized that older people understood smartphones and high technology much better than she initially assumed.

“When running classes in Hanoi and other provinces, I found that only 5 percent of learners don’t have smartphones and most of the people who have them can use their smartphone fluently. Some of them even know how to edit photos with apps, while others use Google Voice,” she said.

“I am happy that some people with cancer or underlying health conditions still try to practice regularly on the app. I hope that I can design more training courses and exercises for people with cancer,” she said.

Thuy Anh recalled a memory of her grandfather. “I asked him what he was most afraid of and I expected that he would say aging or loneliness. But he replied that he was afraid of living too long,” she said.

She realized that older people fear leading a long life with illness and disturbing their children and grandchildren.

Anh set up HASU because she wanted older people’s lives to have significance and high quality.

Asked about the path to social startup, Anh said it originated from the small things around her.

“I remember the first time when I had the feeling of separation in life and parting in death. It was when my teacher, who loved me the most, passed away because of old age and illness. I still could not show my love and gratitude to her. I remember my friends who were bullied and I could not protect them. I remember my grandfather who passed away before I could do something for him,” she said.

“I can’t remember how many times I experienced helplessness before the pain I witnessed in my life. I hope that I can do many things so that other people don’t have to experience my painful feelings, and so that I don’t feel regret and remorse,” she said. 

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