Convo Comrades

What is the purpose of education? What is the difference between Vietnamese and international education, apart from the massive difference in tuition? Do we really use all the knowledge and skills learnt in primary, secondary and high school? What are the true 'costs' of Vietnamese education? In this episode, we explored the education journey between ourselves, comparing the lessons learnt in Vietnam versus that from other developed countries, namely Singapore and the UK. All of this will be considered with the backdrop of Asian expectations, including the pressure for kids to perform extremely well in grades. We will dig deep to explore why there are such Asian expectations in the first place, and whether it is necessary for kids to have best grades in order to 'succeed' in life. Join our conversation as we explore the true objectives of education and reflect on the different education system that we are blessed to have been part of.

Recently, many has criticised Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phu, one of the sharks, or angel investors on Shark Tank Vietnam regarding the comments and remarks he made against a female participant, miss Nguyen Thi Thu Hang. For context, Shark Tank Vietnam is a reality TV show where young entrepreneurs participate and persuade the sharks to invest money in their business. On season 4, episode 2, Ms. Hang went on the show and presented her business, Wiibike, a company focusing on green traffic solutions. The remarks and comments made by Mr. Phu suggested he invested because of how Ms. Hang looks and throughout the show we could hear certain jokes praising Ms. Hang appearance but ultimately undermining her intelligence and ability as an entrepreneur.

These comments are still accepted in Vietnam but will definitely be regarded as sexual harassment in Western countries. This raises the issues of gender inequality, sex discrimination, and more importantly, showing these behaviours and comments on aired television thus allowing viewers to perceive this as acceptable. Please join us on our Raw Reaction series, where we expressed our unfiltered thoughts on the matter.

What are NFTs, or non-fungible tokens? Are NFTs the future of art or is it just a bubble that will crash sooner or later? We all heard the news that an NFT art piece was sold for $69million recently. The artist was Beeple, also known as Mike Winkelmann, who until October 2020 had only ever sold a print for $100. The explosion of NFTs has created a new way of earnings for digital content creators and collectors, both in the primary markets and in the secondary markets. Our guest also talked about NBA top shot, a type of NFT currently on the market. They are short videos of unique moments in basketball minted as an NFT thus becoming the "Officially Licensed Digital Collectibles". Join our conversation this week as we discuss why NFTs are becoming so popular, what are the issues with NFTs and our take on whether this alternative investment can be the future of investing.

What is Bitcoin? What is blockchain? These questions probably have been asked thousands of times. Yet, do we, as an average investor, really know what bitcoin does? Do we know what problems blockchain try to solve for the world? What is the difference between gold and bitcoin? How do maintain trust in bitcoin, and ultimately, its value? In this episode, we will be discussing all these questions and debate whether crypto is the 'future' of investing. In addtion, we also talked careers in finance, including the likes of venture capitalists (or VCs), private equity firms and investment banking, and discuss what purposes do they serve in society generally and in financial markets specifically. Come join our conversation and let us know your thoughts on the matter! 

Disclaimer: this podcast is not financial advice and is purely for education and entertainment purposes. We are not certified financial advisors and are only expressing our opinion and personal experience. Please do your own research diligently before taking on any investment, including the ones mentioned on this podcast.

What is investing and why do we invest? As technology and human creativity develops, we face a paradox of choice with investment options. From your traditional products like savings, real estates buy-to-let / flipping, stocks and bonds to the more complex exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds and the new kid on the block crypto currencies along with its small cousin NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Please welcome welcome Andy to this week's golden guest as we discuss his journey into discovering investing as a passion. He is currently working for Fora, a disruptive co-working space provider in the UK market. Together, we will debunk many investment myths and concepts, dive deep into the pros and cons of each investment options and outline the risks involved. Thank you for joining and see you in the next episode.

Disclaimer: this podcast is not financial advice and is purely for education and entertainment purposes. We are not certified financial advisors and are only expressing our opinion and personal experience. Please do your own research diligently before taking on any investment, including the ones mentioned on this podcast.

Traditional Vietnamese weddings consist of firstly lễ chạm ngõ / lễ dạm ngõ / lễ xem mặt (or touch-the-alley ceremony in literal english translation), which is actually a close meeting between two families. Next we have lễ ăn hỏi (engagement ceremony), the date of which is often chosen by a shaman / monk / spiritual leader. In lễ ăn hỏi, the groom and his family will make their way towards the bride’s house carrying an array of fancy gifts in red colour, because red represents love and good luck. After several sub-ceremonies, we then have lễ rước dâu (bride's pick up ceremony), where the groom and his family brings the bride back to their home. Finally we have the main wedding party, often organised in hotels with western ceremonies such as cake cutting and champagne pouring. Congratulations, you can do Vietnamese wedding now. But hold on, in this episode, we challenge the relevance of traditional wedding ceremonies, explore alternative options such as destination weddings, and discuss tough decisions , such as who should and should not be on the invite list? Join our conversation and share with us your thoughts. As aways, see you in the next episode.

The larger their carat, the more expensive the diamond. But what about the ethical issues of buying a diamond that no one really talks about? These are human rights abuses, including child labour and forced labour where workers and miners work for little pay in unsafe conditions. Unregulated and irresponsible diamonds mining can have severe environmental consequences such as soil erosion and deforestation. With the mentioned problems of a naturally mined diamond, some are looking for alternatives, such as a lab-grown diamond or a different gem stone altogether. In this Topical Two episode, we also touch on 'new' types of services being offered in the market, including engagement services or proposal services. Tune in and join our conversation, let us know if you disagree with our comments and be part of the community!

On part B of our conversation with Trang @im.trangdang, we discuss how luxury handbags can be considered as an alternative investment, and not just merely a fashion accessories. We also explored how Trang navigate her two parallel personalities, a corporate professional versus an online content creator. Join us in this exciting journey with Trang and see you guys in the next episode!

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Trang, who has an impressive following of close to 100k on Instagram, to be our Golden Guest this week. Trang, @im.trangdang on ig, shared how her journey started, the challenges as well as rewards along the way, and finally on the future plan for her account. She also shared the exact tips that she used to grow her instagram account, the type of project that she collaborated with brands, and of course, the dark side of instagram. Tune in and listen for more as you will not want to miss this!

Following on from our discussion on society's expectation on different 'age buckets', we tear open the concept of 'the older the wiser', which is arguably more prominent in Asia and Vietnam, and how it affects the way (as well as the content!) we communicate. We then closed off the episode with some Chinese zodiac and horoscope readings and evaluate their predictable values. Thank you for tuning in and see you in the next episode!