Where Cross-Border E-Commerce Actually Gets Stuck: Entry Design Lessons from Vietnam
“I want to sell my products overseas. With cross-border e-commerce, we can start small, right?” I hear this from Japanese founders all the time. Sake-based drinks, cosmetics, specialty foods. Japan is full of good products, and every time I listen to one of these founders, I think: this could work abroad. My answer is always […]
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Choosing a Vietnam Market-Entry Firm: Who Runs It After You Enter?
If you’ve talked to more than one Vietnam market-entry firm, you’ve probably noticed something: they all sound reassuring, they all have a deck, and you still can’t tell them apart. That’s not because you’re bad at evaluating vendors. It took me a while to see it, but the reason is simpler: the deciding factor rarely […]
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The Map Is in the Mouth — Why Offshore Development Still Fails When the Specs Are Right
Back in 2012, when I first arrived in Vietnam, Google Maps barely worked outside major cities. People navigated differently. When you got lost — and you always got lost — you asked someone. Every time, the same thing happened: they stopped. They turned to face you. They gave you directions with complete confidence. The directions […]
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The Japanese quality trap: Vietnam expansion on Hard Mode
Expanding to Vietnam? Learn why forcing “Japanese common sense” causes offshore failure, and how fixing this structural bug increases your survival rate.
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7 trust-building phrases for Vietnam inspections
Perfect English isn’t the key to Vietnam business—one Vietnamese phrase is. Discover 7 essential expressions to build trust & get real results.
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