[00:00:00] Linh: So the more you talk to the people that you want to serve, the more ideas you have, and they actually can even tell you to do different things. And at first, as it's kind of the mother of your idea, you'll be like, "Oh, I'm not going to do that." But if you, if you ask ten people and eight of them tell you to do certain things differently, then maybe there's something you need to consider.

Laura: That was Linh Le, founder of AYA Cup, a startup changing the way we drink coffee all over Vietnam. Linh is building a system that encourages coffee drinkers to use and return their coffee cups to eliminate single use plastic. She reminds us to approach potential customers with an open mind, to do our due diligence prior to launch, and that ideas are cheap, but execution is definitely expensive.

Take time to challenge your big ideas and collaborate with the people you're serving to make sure your solution [00:01:00] actually aligns with their needs.

Clement: You are listening to The Spaceship Podcast where we'll be speaking to entrepreneurs and global thought leaders to highlight the theories we cover in The Spaceship masterclass.

If you are set on solving some of the world's biggest problems, check out thespaceship.org. Now let's give the mic to our guests:

Thanks, Linh, for being here today. So I wanted to introduce you to Laura. You had a previous call, but I'm really glad that we have this podcast all together and that we have you as a, as a guest. We actually met online during this coronavirus period. And we discussed, uh, sustainability in Vietnam, where you're based and where you founded AYA Cup. We would love to learn more on your journey to become an impact entrepreneur and, um, what has been the, the challenges.

And [00:02:00] also,I would like maybe to start with one question to you, which is... so AYA Cup uh, we can introduce it a bit more and you can explain, but why do you care so much about reducing plastic waste in Vietnam?

Linh: Uh, uh, the story is quite long, but, if I can answer that in three or five sentences, I will say when I first heard about one statistic, which is Vietnam is the top five country polluting the ocean the most, the moment I heard that news, I got really, um, shocked, mixed with shame.

Uh, ashamed because as a Vietnamese, we always heard quite negative facts about our country. So we are the most populated country in the world. The top 13 most populated. We're also one of the most, quite poor country compared [00:03:00] to other countries. Our money value is not the best. It's quite low. So lots of things that make us not proud as citizens.

And then when I heard that, like we are top five country polluting the ocean, the most... about two, three years ago, I was really ashamed. And then there was like, Oh, people are not going to change, nobody is going to do anything. It is what it is. I just carry on with my life. So then one day, uh, I used to work for a golf construction company in Vietnam.

We, um, put out irrigation system for golf courses' development, and I went up for a check up North of Vietnam. And I started to see people cutting off trees in the small slope of mountains to make golf courses. So after that, I told my boss, like, I've had enough of seeing my country destroyed, [00:04:00] and natural resources not used to the optimum... and I don't want to be part of the problem anymore.

And I want to change. I want to be part of the solution. And also at that moment I was quite lost. Because I've been changing jobs quite often. I'd say every two years. Not sure about the millennial problem or is it because I can't find what actually I want to do. Most of the jobs, I find they are quite cynical.

So they say one thing, they want to do the good thing for society, but then they don't actually keep their word when it comes...