Hanyang University Department of Industrial Engineering alumnus Kim Seung-yong, the representative of Coconut Silo, was introduced in a Segye Daily interview as a young entrepreneur fascinated by Vietnam on April 7. Mr. Kim first became interested in South-East Asia after visiting Vietnam through volunteering. He applied for Vietnam-related companies, and later became a young CEO who created a start-up Coconut Silo, which is a Vietnamese cargo transportation platform.

Before volunteering overseas, he thought of Vietnam as a developing nation. However, when he visited Vietnam in 2014, he said, “I strongly felt the industry was alive and moving organically” and “I was certain of the high possibility of future growth.” After returning to Korea, he set a goal to become an expert in South-East Asia.

When Mr. Kim was looking for a job after graduation, he considered whether the company’s work was related to Vietnam as important. He said, “In fact, I was not really into automobiles but applied to Hyundai motors because I was attracted by the fact that Vietnam had huge exports in trucks.” Mr. Kim added, “I was in charge of preparing engines and systems well suited for local characteristics when exported, but there were certain gaps in thoughts between the new employee and the company.” In October 2017, Mr. Kim saw the company’s start-up recruitment announcement and decided to participate in the challenge with some company colleagues from Hanyang University College of Engineering Sciences. As a result, for the first time among the major company in-house venture, the 2-year career "employee" was selected for the internal corporate start-up.

Coconut Silo was first launched in June 2020, to provide fast and low-cost transportation service by delivering the customer’s cargo transportation request to the distribution center and the cargo truck driver, and then connecting them. Mr. Kim said, “Passenger mobility using Uber, Grab, automobiles, and motorcycles is globally active, but the cargo truck platform is rather weak” and, “We are creating an ecology where one platform links truck drivers and manufacturing companies, to which customers send requests for product transportation.”

Regarding the difficulties of traveling between Seoul and Ho Chi Minh, along with the situation after the COVID-19 outbreak, Mr. Kim said, “Actually, it was easier to establish a unique competitive advantage as companies that weren’t active in the Vietnamese market disappeared when lots of barriers were formed during the quarantine.”

The average age of Coconut Silo employees is 27.5, which puts all of them in the MZ generation. Mr. Kim said, “Usually, companies try to find solutions by benchmarking the examples of other companies but I think there is the only repartee rather than an answer” and that “I believe business management means trying to find the answer by referring to the resource, environment, and the manpower structure.” Also, he stated, “I am trying to find the meaning in life by discovering the overlapping point by valuing work-life balance.” Moreover, he added, “I am always thinking about how to advance the company structure, work methods, and the work culture.”

The unique company name is also deeply related to Mr. Kim’s love for Vietnam. He said, “I am planning on continuing the business in regions near the equator such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, which are the main regions of coconut production. This is where the name coconut came from.” Furthermore, he explained, “Rockets are often used as a metaphor to start-ups, and when they do not reach the space orbit, they eventually fall drawing an arc shape.” “We put the word ‘Silo’ in reference to creating an environment to launch rockets.”

Meanwhile, Coconut Silo, where Mr. Kim is the representative, was selected as one of the Top 50 companies in Vietnam's largest start-up contest "Start-up Wheel". It was also the first time that an Asian company made it to the finals in the United States start-up contest, Code Launcher. Additionally, it was selected as one of the top 5 domestic start-ups among those that participated in the Start-up Autobahn, a start-up training platform of the Daimler group affliated with Mercedes-Benz Korea. Regarding future plans, Mr. Kim said, "We are now preparing not only for South-East Asia business but also new services for Korea's cargo trucks."