Today began with a presentation by one of the founders of Highlands Coffee in the HCM City Hard Rock Cafe. The presenter has a very interesting life story. He left Vietnam as a small child at the end of the war, spent some time in Fiji, and finally made it to the United States. He described how the discrimination his family faced as an immigants broke his fathers will and how he returned to Vietnam with only a few hundred dollars to start Highland's Coffee.
He has established himself as a brand builder for foreign companies seeking to do business in Vietnam. He assits in managing the operations of such companies as Hard Rock Cafe, ALDO, and Nike, as well as several others. He provided a lot of useful advice on doing business in developing countries though his personal experiences in Vietnam. He cautioned us of the many dangers that small obstacles present in undeveloped countries and informed us of the interesting opportunities available that make the dangers worthwhile.
We met the general manager of the Hard Rock Cafe. He said that the Vietnamese really like to rock out to Western cover bands because they recognize the songs and like to sing along.
Later in the evening we went to sing karaoke. Baker and I recieved the high score of the evening for a very sloppy rendition of "Ghost Busters." We were competing against Vietnamese who were far more experienced karaokeers than any of us. I think it might be the national pastime or something. Regardless of whether or not Baker and I deserved the high score, we all got to laugh and have a good time.
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