Ha Lam is the Vietnam-based CEO of Triip.me, a travel company she founded with her husband and other friends in 2013. She worked as a tour guide while in college as a way to improve her English. That was her inspiration for starting up Triip.me. With the company struggling in 2014, Ha Lam and her husband sold their house and used the proceeds and personal savings to bolster the finances of Triip.me, which lets locals craft their own sightseeing tours and local activities and become the tour guide. To date, Triip.me tour guides have given over 4,000 tours in 60 countries. Ha Lam says the company is valued at $1.0 million and that she hopes to raise another $500,000, which she says would value Triip.me at $2.5 million. She spoke recently about the company’s origins and its future and how she deals with work-life balance shortly before she’s due to give birth to her third child.  Triip.me is a travel platform that connects travelers with locals around the world. We allow everyone with an idea for a tour to share their lifestyle and personal stories with travelers. For example people who work in jewelry can invite travelers to visit and see aspects of the jewelry industry. If someone loves drinking coffee with friends and playing golf, he can offer that combined experience of coffee and golfing with tourists. The tours can be offered for free or marketed at any price. We take a 10% commission fee. Our tours are more diverse and flexible than tours offered by regular travel agencies. The name triip has two “i’s”. One is for the traveler, and the other is for the local guide.  Can you tell us the history of Triip.me?  We started Triip.me in February 2013 with four other people. We all had full-time jobs at other companies and worked for Triip.me in our free time. In mid-2014 two of our friends left the company, and we failed to find investors. At the time I had my second son and was returning from maternity leave. I took over the company and said to my husband, ‘This is our chance! What we have right now is something we are passionate about and what we love to do. How about I quit my job, we sell our house and we bootstrap for Triip.me? Maybe we will lose our money. Maybe we will lose the entire house, but we will have a great experience and something to be proud of and share with our kids.’ Fortunately my husband agreed. We sold our house and used the money to rebuild the company. At the time, I did everything at the company. After three months, I recruited more people to work with us. In December 2014, an angel investor provided us with funding.  Can you talk about your investors?  The first investor from Singapore was a tourist who booked a Vietnamese calligraphy class in Ho Chi Minh City through Triip.me. He really loved the experience and believed in our company. After taking the class, he said he would invest a little bit, and together we grew bigger. In June, we got an American investor. We invited him to join our board, and he invested in the company as a commitment. The value of the company today is $1 million.  Can you take us through a regular day at the office?  We start work at 9 a.m. Everybody does their tasks, and then we cook and enjoy lunch together. Sometimes if we feel quite stressed we play Ping-Pong. On weekends we travel somewhere outside the city. Whatever I do I consider family the most important thing. So I want to bring that family atmosphere into the company. We take care of each other, and every time someone at Triip.me feels down, we give help and encouragement. Previously, I worked in a corporation, and I know how hard it is. I don’t want to work in a company that doesn't create happiness for every staff member.  Why do your employees live at the office?  I want to create a family atmosphere because many of our staff are from different provinces and other countries. It is quite expensive to rent a house in Saigon and also hard to move around the city. I think it is better to have everyone live at the house and work together. The staff don’t have to pay for anything. We cover accommodation, food and drinks.  What is the biggest challenge you have had so far?  The hardest thing at the beginning was to convince people to believe in our idea and our products. When we described our idea to travel guides, they all loved it. But when we began the company, very few people created tours on the website.  What is the environment for startups in Vietnam?  It is hard to find investors, because the ecosystem for startups hasn't developed yet. The government doesn't provide support. We had many cases where investors put money in companies in Vietnam and failed. But this year, the startup community is beginning again with successful stories and many talented people. Most of the startups are in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Our company is registered in Singapore, because we consider ourselves a global company and like the legal system and transparency in Singapore. In Vietnam, because it is developing, many things are still not transparent.  Is it hard for a woman to start a company in Saigon?  To be successful as a woman in the industry especially in the travel and tech industries is a very difficult journey. To get recognized as a woman and company leader, we have to work harder than other people. In Vietnamese culture, the man always makes the final decision. Women have many different roles. They have tasks at work and home. We are the mom, wife and daughter. The daughter takes care of the parents, the mom takes care of the kids, and the wife takes care of the husband. So there is more pressure on us than the men.  Can you tell me something about your family?  We are a young family. Hai and I married 4½ years ago. We have two kids. Apple is 3½, and Leo is one-and-a-half. Now, the third baby is on the way. We also consider Triip.me as one of our kids. Fortunately, we have our parents to take care of the kids. When we sold our house, we all moved to our parents’ house. Our parents take care of the kids while we work. My husband and I divide our time to take care of the kids. Normally, I am at home by 7 or 8 p.m. Hai is normally home at 10 or 11 p.m. The children sleep at 9 p.m. We go to sleep at 1 or 2 a.m. I sleep about five hours per night. When you do something that you are passionate about, you are never tired. We not only want to run the company, but also spend quality time with our kids.  What’s your vision for Triip.me’s future?  In the next two years, we will expand to more cities and countries. I also want to increase the number of bookings through our website. Right now, we are still at the investment stage. Hopefully, in the next two years, after we grow sustainably and quickly, we will become profitable. For me, it is really hard to talk about the future. I live with passion, in the present. I breathe, live and put 100% effort into what I am passionate about and love.  Yes, I have traveled to some countries. Hai also likes travel a lot. I have been to the U.S., Peru, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos. We would love to visit Bhutan in the future, the happiest country in the world.
The Vietnam-based founder of travel company Triip.me talks about the shared economy and what it’s like being a female entrepreneur.