Thematic Seminar: ‘From Ideas to Startup Projects – The Role of Mentorship’

Nguyen Tat Thanh University recently successfully organized the seminar “From Ideas to Startup Projects: The Guiding Role of Mentors, Coaches, Trainers, and Angel Investors.” The program provided practical insights into the role of the startup mentorship ecosystem, helping students clearly understand the journey of transforming ideas into viable projects, gradually approaching the market and investors, drawing a large number of experts, entrepreneurs, lecturers, and more than 200 students.

The seminar brought together a large number of experts, entrepreneurs, lecturers, and students

Attending the program were experts, entrepreneurs, and members of the NTTU Startup Mentoring Network, including: Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong – Director of the Dong Nai Innovation Institute; MSc. Thai Thi Nhu Hong – Director of Nhu Hong Trading Service Co., Ltd., Executive Board Member of the NTTU Business Club; MSc. Cao Quang Huan – Director of Nhu Hong Trading Service Co., Ltd.; MSc. Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy – Member of the Southern Advisory Council for Startup Support; MSc. Dang Tran Thuy Huong – Founder of Haley’D Beauty & PMU; MSc. Tran Ha Phuong Thanh – Director of Khoi Minh Mechanical Co., Ltd.; along with many businesses, investors, and strategic partners accompanying the startup ecosystem of Nguyen Tat Thanh University.

Representing Nguyen Tat Thanh University were: Dr. Bui Van Thoi – Vice Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration; Dr. Hoang Thinh Nhan and MSc. Huynh Hong Mai – Deputy Directors of the Innovation and Incubation Center; Dr. Ngo To Giao – Head of Logistics Department, NTT Bilingual Education Institute; along with a large number of lecturers, staff, and students from various units across the university.

When Ideas Need Guides

Delivering the opening remarks at the seminar, MSc. Huynh Hong Mai – Deputy Director of the Innovation and Incubation Center, emphasized that many student startup ideas fail not because of a lack of creativity, but due to a lack of direction, companions, and opportunities to access appropriate resources.

According to MSc. Huynh Hong Mai, entrepreneurship is not the journey of a single individual but the journey of an ecosystem. Within it, Trainers help equip foundational knowledge, Coaches support unlocking action capacity, Mentors provide strategic direction, and Angel Investors bring financial resources and networking opportunities for the project to scale. MSc. Huynh Hong Mai shared: “Behind a successful startup project, there are always companions. The crucial thing is not just what ideas students have, but how they are guided in the process of turning those ideas into real value for society.”

MSc. Huynh Hong Mai – Deputy Director of the NTTU Innovation and Incubation Center sharing at the seminar

Following up on the opening topic, MSc. Huynh Hong Mai presented a keynote paper, clearly analyzing the role of each stakeholder in the startup support ecosystem and the connection between these forces on the project development journey. This helped students better understand the process of building a startup project, the connection between training, mentoring, coaching, and investment in turning ideas into practical value, as well as distinguishing the specific roles, functions, and value that each group of experts brings at each stage of a startup. While Trainers equip basic knowledge, methods, and necessary tools for students to form a startup mindset; Mentors act as guides, sharing practical experience and helping learners avoid common mistakes; Coaches focus on unlocking individual capacity, helping project teams define goals, build action plans, and maximize their potential. Meanwhile, Investors not only provide capital but also bring networking opportunities, management experience, and market expansion opportunities for the project.

In addition to clarifying the concepts and working methods of each “guide,” MSc. Huynh Hong Mai also analyzed the relationship between these roles in the startup ecosystem. For a project to develop sustainably, it needs appropriate companionship at each stage, from idea formation, business model building, product testing to approaching investors and commercialization.

From practical experience in supporting student startups, she also shared further perspectives on the project development journey of young groups. They often focus too much on the product without fully understanding customer needs, leading to difficulties when introducing ideas to the market. “Investors do not just look at the idea, but also evaluate the problem-solving ability, the execution capacity of the team, and the development potential of the project. Therefore, students need to validate real demands before thinking about raising capital,” she emphasized.

Multi-dimensional Dialogue on the Roles of Mentors, Coaches, and Investors

While the presentation provided a foundational perspective on the startup mentoring ecosystem, the panel discussion within the framework of the program opened up a multi-dimensional exchange space among experts, lecturers, and entrepreneurs about the challenges that students often face during project development, such as lack of market research skills, limited resources, absence of a network, and fear of failure.

The speakers analyzed the practical difficulties that students often encounter when starting a business

From the perspective of an innovation expert, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong – Director of the Dong Nai Innovation Institute, stated that he highly appreciated the learning environment at Nguyen Tat Thanh University, which always creates conditions for students to develop creative thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to apply knowledge into practice. This is an important foundation that helps students step-by-step develop ideas into viable projects, thereby creating practical values and actively contributing to the development of the community and society.

Referring to entrepreneurship in the university environment, Dr. Bui Van Thoi – Vice Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, believed that this issue should be viewed as an experiential learning process. Success is measured not only by revenue or capital raised but also by the ability to form problem-solving, teamwork, and change-adaptation mindsets. According to Dr. Bui Van Thoi, alongside financial capital, students need to focus on building “social capital” – which represents relationships with trainers, mentors, coaches, and companions in the startup ecosystem. This is the resource that helps young people access knowledge, expand connections, and increase the likelihood of developing projects sustainably.

Meanwhile, MSc. Thai Thi Nhu Hong – Director of Nhu Hong Trading Service Co., Ltd., Executive Board Member of the NTTU Business Club, shared from a business perspective that young people need to proactively seek mentors, build relationships, and learn from business realities to shorten the gap between ideas and the market. She noted that through corporate connection activities, many students of the University have had opportunities to access internship environments, jobs, and expand their professional networks right from the lecture halls. These activities contribute to narrowing the gap between training and practice, while strengthening the connection between the University and enterprises, helping ensure career opportunities for learners after graduation.

Dr. Ngo To Giao, Dr. Hoang Thinh Nhan, and MSc. Huynh Hong Mai shared the same viewpoint in presenting practical perspectives on entrepreneurship, the importance of correctly identifying market needs, building a reality-associated startup mindset, and proactively taking action to turn ideas into projects. The speakers also encouraged students to constantly learn, accumulate experience through practical activities, boldly take up challenges, and leverage support from the network of mentors, the university, and businesses to develop a sustainable startup journey.

Not only bringing practical knowledge, the seminar also affirmed NTTU’s orientation in building an innovation environment connecting university and enterprise

Beyond delivering practical knowledge, the seminar “From Ideas to Startup Projects: The Guiding Role of Mentors, Coaches, Trainers, and Angel Investors” affirmed the orientation of Nguyen Tat Thanh University in constructing an innovation environment that binds the university, enterprises, experts, and investors. Through connecting and accompanying activities, students have more opportunities to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, improve startup capabilities, and step-by-step turn creative ideas into practical values for the community.

News article: Dai Hai

Photos: Media Team