BKAV Corporation's CEO Nguyen Tu Quang

Appearing on the VTV Show ‘Cat Canh’ (Taking off) in late February, Nguyen Tu Quang, CEO of BKAV Corporation, told the audience how he experienced a difficult period when he suffered from depression. This happened for two years after receiving criticism about the BPhone 1.

Quang is a well known CEO, software developer and businessman. BKAV Corporation is a powerful technology firm that designed and manufactured the BPhone 1 smartphone.

Quang ‘tasted bitterness’ after launching BPhone 1, the product he advertised as ‘wonderful’, but the public said was ‘bad’. Many people sneered at Quang, saying that making high-end smartphones was an impractical dream for Vietnamese.

"It is prejudice. The prejudice is that Vietnam cannot create technologies and products that can compete with the world's leading countries,” Quang said.

After two years of depression, Quang decided to study philosophy and cosmology, the academic fields he has liked since his childhood, in order to explain the nature of people and society. 

He believes that he also found a key for Vietnam to take off and become a powerful country.

The first industrial revolution on mechanization and the second revolution on electrification lasted 300 years. The third industrial revolution with semiconductors, computers and the internet lasted for 50 years.

“Humans entered the fourth industry revolution in 2010. It is expected that the revolution will boom in 20 years. Participating in the revolution in a confident and methodical way, Vietnam will boom and take off in 10 years, and become a power in 15  years,” Quang said.

“The problem that we need to solve is changing the prejudice that Vietnam cannot compete with leading countries. If we can do this, we will become a technologically powerful country,” he said.

In 2005, when BKAV Corporation commercialized anti-virus software, Quang stated that Vietnamese can create high-quality products that are on no way inferior to those made in developed countries.

Because of the statement, Quang was dubbed ‘Quang no’ (Quang boaster). 

However, Quang proceeded with his daring projects. In 2015, the first generation of BPhone was marketed.

The businessman believes that investments in science and technology will turn Vietnam into one of the most developed countries in the world. 

“In principle, one product, after reaching its peak, will fall into decay and will be replaced by another product. Who will be able to replace Apple and Samsung, except Vietnam?” he said.

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