Member of Technical Staff at BDT/Carlyle/CMG/KSS/JSS
Founder, Researcher, Author & Investor at FCT
Researcher, Assistant at University of Florida
Education
Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Venture Capital & Private Equity
Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, Venture Capital
Stanford University, Entrepreneurship/Venture Capital
U.S. Navy War College, Officer Candidate School (OCS)
University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE), specialized in semiconductors (advanced ceramics) with concentrations in Computer Science, Aerospace, and Business Administration (MBA)
💡 INNOVATION, ƒ(x) = { ENTREPRENEURS, CASHFLOW, MARKET }
⏰ SUCCESS, ƒ(t) = { T, I, M, E } : Team, Idea, Money, Execution
(from one of my articles, see more below)
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin
Side Note : After supporting multiple technology companies and innovative startups for well over a decade and having my first startup while in college in 1992, I have successfully targeted early-stage companies that went public on the NASDAQ and NYSE. I have been putting my personal capital to work and investing in knowledge and experience in the investment sector, particularly in venture capital and private equity from early-stage to exits, including traveling to and living in several cities, states, and countries. The information below is from my collective years of experience, knowledge, and insight in the investment sector that focuses on technology and innovation.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin
Carl is interested in meeting with entrepreneurs and founders with innovative technology products for scale for their early-stage growth companies. He brings past investments and operational excellence from his corporate experiences in both private and public companies and startups to entrepreneurial teams and companies. He has worked and lived in New England and Silicon Valley, supporting top Fortune 500 technology companies, taking designed products from prototype to production and market.
With his technical knowledge and management skills, Carl has led small and large global cross-functional teams and has brought complex hardware and software products from design to manufacturing, including marketing and sales. He has generated multi-million dollar sales and has supported in growing both million and billion-dollar technology companies. Carl possesses a strong understanding of innovation and product life cycle and markets, including the venture capital and private equity universe, investment series toward an exit: IPO or M&A. He has been evaluating technology and internet startups for investments before the dot-com bubble and heavily since 2000. After fourteen mergers and acquisitions (14 M&As) from previous years that were valued at more than $3 billion and multiple startups, one of the companies Carl supported in early 2000 generated $500 million in grand total sales revenue in 2005. Through those startup and corporate experiences and transactions, he has honed his technical understanding, investment skills, and business acumen to select outstanding management teams and their scalable companies for strategic support and capital for growth, expansion, and sustainability via Inhite Ventures, https://www.inhite.com.
In 1994, Carl graduated from the University of Florida, http://www.ufl.edu, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) and with concentrations in Computer Science, Aeronautical Engineering, and Business Administration (MBA). He received academic scholarships and achieved athletic awards; he was granted a full U.S. Navy scholarship to an officer candidate school (OCS). He received military training and education at the U.S. Naval War College, https://www.usnwc.edu, in Newport, Rhode Island where he achieved and held outstanding marks across the charts. In the last ten (10) years, Carl has been traveling to several cities and visiting startup communities, spending some time living in the ASEAN region and returning to Silicon Valley to spend some time at Stanford University, http://www.stanford.edu, to attend courses, seminars, and events on innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. In November 2005, he did his first sabbatical tour to Asia and Southeast Asia, visiting Vietnam, Japan, and China, and he recognized the growth potential in the region since the early 1990s. In March 2019, he got accepted into the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, https://www.upenn.edu, Aresty Institute of Executive Education for Venture Capital Program for 2020. In June 2023, Carl got accepted into Columbia Business School, Columbia University, https://www.columbia.edu, enrolling in Executive Education for Venture Capital Private Equity Program.
Carl is versed in different languages. He was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and in a Vietnamese military and business family. His birth name is Nguyễn Quốc Khánh, and while growing up, the family was fluent in four languages, multilingual in English, Chinese, French, and Vietnamese. During their time in Vietnam, his affluent grandfather Trần Minh Chiều was a prominent attorney (Luật Sư) and businessman, and he founded the family business in real estates and later in the petroleum (oil & gas) industry. The family-owned and operated their long-running family business for over forty (40) years, buying and selling petroleum products from the Shell Oil Company (Royal Dutch Shell), https://www.shell.com. The family also distributed and sold gasoline in Europe (European Union, EU) and the Southeast Asia region (ASEAN). Later the family started money lending to family members, friends, and local businesses in South Vietnam.
From the family's profitable business and senior military background, Carl and his family were propelled to leave their beloved homeland after the Vietnam War and at the last hour on Wednesday evening of April 29th, 1975. His family started their half-the-world journey to the United States under the command of his father Nguyễn Duy Long – a Senior and Commanding Naval officer serving for the Republic of Vietnam Navy and alongside the U.S. Navy. The family boarded RVN Navy ship destroyer escort, Hải Quân - 1 [HQ-1], Trần Hưng Đạo which his father was appointed as the Commanding Officer. The family and hundreds of refugees escaped at night as his father steamed HQ-1 to rendezvous to safety to Côn Sơn Island and then to Subic Bay — Our Journey. The family settled in the United States on August 1975 and became U.S. citizens in 1983 under their American names and of the names of their senior American fellowship church sponsor families. The family now resides in the states of California, Florida, and Texas, and family members have previously lived in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
Having proven management experience and leadership skills in both corporate and startup environments, as well as having obtained a security clearance to work on government projects, Carl is opened to serving on the board, mentoring and advising founders and teams through the growth of their companies and navigating to succeed in the market. He brings diversity and deep knowledge of investing and taking companies from early-stage to exits and working in various cultures and different languages for the past twenty years. His global experiences and travels have exposed him to the following languages, in alphabetical order: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
For extracurricular activities and interests, Carl enjoys personal fitness and occasionally plays tennis and golf. He was a competitive tennis player in single and double during his academic years and was ranked first place and received recognitions and awards; he also played in team league sports: football (running back, returner), baseball (third base, shortstop), and soccer (center, winger). He spends his spare time reading, coding, getting together with the family, and regularly staying abreast in the technology stock markets and emerging trends, locally and globally.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston S. Churchill
Successful Investment Professional with 25 years of experience in the technology investment sector; a Venture Capitalist having a local and global deal flow network with multiple channels; focuses on scalable, transformative, and disruptive positions in innovative technology companies for investments for multiple returns (10x - 20x): portfolio management from early-stage to exits, M&As and IPOs; venture capital ("VC") fund formation and opportunity funds ranging from $50 to $500 million.
Well connected in the “VC/startup” ecosystem and with investors; invitation to join the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA.org), http://www.nvca.org; traveled locally and globally and can speak additional languages; established relationships and contacts in areas of media, legal, government, stock markets, financial institutions, underwriters, family offices, venture capital firms, and hedge funds, including with lead underwriters on deals and upcoming tech IPOs – a scheduled pipeline of companies to go public on the NASDAQ or NYSE.
Evaluate hundreds of technology and software companies annually for support and investment since 2000 through personal and family funding; analyze company’s health and scalability, fundability; review investment documents, markets, and technologies; perform a thorough due diligence process; and regularly interact with founding CEOs, VCs, investors, and organizers.
Keenly knowledgeable in identifying investable, fundable, technology companies from early-stage to late-stage; evaluate teams, markets, and trends; negotiate terms and structures; utilize research tools and three knowledge strengths in financial analysis, business model scalability, and marketability — performing a full investment decision cycle — a thorough due diligence process on investment opportunities. Constantly pinging the market and monitoring technology stocks.
Action-oriented and laser-focused on results, investments, and returns; a strong understanding and proven experience in building products, managing teams, and growing companies; possesses critical thinking, strategic planning, technical skills, and business acumen, performing research and analyzing startups and companies regularly to make intelligent decisions and take thought-out actions during the investment process.
Previously targeted early-stage startup companies including Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, Square, Dropbox, Pandora, Fitbit, and Alibaba; additional targets also went public (IPO) on the NYSE or NASDAQ or got acquired (M&A) by Fortune 500 companies: Microsoft, Google/Alphabet, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple, Salesforce, and Amazon.
Deal flow primarily in the cloud, mobile iOS, and Android applications: SaaS/IaaS/XaaS, Mobile Payments, FinTech, Healthcare and TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications), plus Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Cleantech, Autonomous Vehicles, Automotive Devices, Semiconductor, Wearables, Drones, Big Data, Digital Media, Wireless, Cybersecurity, Gaming, Sports and Entertainment, Insurance and Education Technology, Crowdfunding Platforms (Reg: CF, D 506, A+), Batteries, Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tokens, and IEOs/STOs/ICOs, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), Real Estate/Building Materials/Construction, Renewable and New Energy.
Demonstrated 20 years of success in both corporate and startup environment managing strategic plans and staff in both million and billion dollar companies and have obtained a security clearance by the United States government, responsibilities in managing teams in both private and public companies while launching new software and hardware products from design to large-scale production plus marketing and sales; and as a technical and business advisor in developing and launching a cloud (crowd) funding portal to support portfolio companies and investments, and as a chief investment officer and advisor to two (2) public companies and six (6) startups in recent years.
Spearheaded five (5) startups in developing and deploying software products from inception to marketing & sales in the healthcare and life sciences industry, and closed multi-million dollar sales; managed teams between 5 and 100 employees, and led to champion a pharmaceutical software in receiving a 510(k) (Class I & II) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Successfully advised SoftComputer ($500 million, 2000 - 2004); weekly meeting with family founding members on managing company's operations and eight (8) global cross-functional teams; evaluated M&As of hospitals, and negotiated terms and closed multi-year multi-million dollar contracts with external and internal clients; directed a $100 million contract from start to completion, a statement of work (SOW) agreement — an integrated and secured interoperability bilingual healthcare software system; and co-led company’s project management office (PMO) from start to accelerated expansion; collaborated across all business functions including legal, human resources, finance, accounting, sales, marketing, and strategic business units (SBUs).
Additionally, obtained a PMP certification in 2001 and self-initiated an internal project management training program and software to lead managers and directors, and incorporated software development life cycle (SDLC) and capability maturity model (CMM) for over 500 employees and into the company’s culture; the company and subsidiaries reached scale and global footprint with four (4) offshore locations that generated $500 million in grand total sales revenue in 2005.
Early career experiences as a technical staff member: a liaison to universities: Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Georgia Tech, and Alabama; worked at Breed Technologies (NYSE: BDT, $1.7 billion, 8 M&As, 1996 - 1998; acquired by Carlyle Management Group, CMG) and Loctite (NYSE: LOC, $1.3 billion, 3 M&As, 1998 - 2000; acquired by Henkel AG & Company, KGaA); provided technical support in merger & acquisition (M&A) and engineering across business units on prototyping, scaling, and manufacturing of products and electronic devices in mobile phones, computers, and automobiles for top Fortune 500 companies; OEM client companies specifically located in Silicon Valley, New England, and Detroit Automotive regions.
Traveled to client locations on new product development, including at Intel, AMD, National Semiconductor, California Micro Devices, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Cisco, Seagate, Western Digital, Adaptec, 3Com, Sun Microsystems, Siemens, Motorola, Nokia, Jabil, Flextronics, Solectron, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Halo, Hella Electronics, LSI Logic, Delphi, Visteon, TRW, Asymtek, and Nordson, plus collaborated with Purkinje, and Microsoft.
University of Florida Alumnus and Life Member: public relations officer, co-published two (2) technical papers and a senior thesis paper while working for one of my engineering professors and volunteering in sales & marketing research studies for brand name companies, awarded academic scholarships, founder and researcher of a technology startup (awarded top place), achievements in individual and team sports: 1st places and MVPs, and in 1994 graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) — studied metals, polymers, ceramics, biomaterials, and electronic materials, and specialized in advanced engineering ceramics (semiconductors).
University of Florida, with additional concentrations in Computer Science, Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering (under Prof Knox Millsaps, Prof Richard Fearn, and Prof Wei Shyy), and Business Administration — studied FAME courses: finance, managerial & financial accounting, management, micro & macro economics, marketing, and statistics, pursuing a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the Warrington College of Business of the University of Florida (1992 – 1994).
Stanford University, in recent years, regularly attended courses, seminars, and events on entrepreneurship, innovation, and venture capital, and throughout Silicon Valley for startups pitching events and demo days including at Google, Linkedin, eBay, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Apple, plus at law firms and accelerators.
Accepted to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Aresty Institute of Executive Education in 2019 for Venture Capital study, expected to complete in 2020.
Accepted to the Columbia Business School, Executive Education, Columbia University in June 2023 for Venture Capital (VC) and Private Equity (PE) study along with elective courses: 1) Family Enterprises, Family Offices, Wealth, Philanthopy, Impact Investing, ESG, and Trusts, 2) Venture Capital Due Diligence and Investment Thesis, and 3) Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As), and Leveraged Buyout (LBO). Expect to complete in June 2024.
Have traveled to other startup communities in the United States: Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, Boston, MA, New York, NY, Miami, FL, and Orlando, FL, and other countries; and created a network database in the technology and investment universe for syndication — a worldwide who’s who of over 150,000 professionals.
Enjoy cooking, traveling, learning, reading, mentoring, and investing, plus experiencing cultures and languages: alphabetical, including English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” — Leonardo da Vinci
Issued Jan 2024 Credential ID 99863876 https://images.credential.net/embed/dm6c623e.png Family Enterprises, Family Offices, and Family Wealth, including Philanthropy, Trusts, ESG, and Impact Investing
Issued Apr 2024 Credential ID 92825703 https://images.credential.net/embed/agulwhlw.png Venture Capital (VC) Decision Making, Investment Thesis, including Portfolio Management and Investment Strategy
“To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous” — Confucius
BUSINESS SCHOOLS:
Columbia Business School (CBS), Columbia University, Executive Education for Venture Capital Private Equity Program, https://www.columbia.edu/, (accepted June 2023).
Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Aresty Institute of Executive Education, Venture Capital, https://www.upenn.edu/, (accepted March 2019).
Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education Program for Private Equity & Venture Capital at Harvard University, https://www.harvard.edu/, (applied, 2008).
Warrington College of Business of the University of Florida: studied finance / management / business administration, https://warrington.ufl.edu/, (1993 – 1994): managerial & financial accounting, management, finance, microeconomics, macroeconomics, marketing, and statistics; plus analyzed M&As, IPOs, law, and case studies on several Fortune 500 companies including Gatorade, Microsoft, Intel, FedEx, IBM, Coca-Cola, and Kyocera.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
Semyond (semiconductor), CardioZoom (Peloton [NASDAQ: PTON] for runners), ideo (IDEO) (Pandora [NASDAQ: P] for radios), Pharmativ (WebMD [NASDAQ: WBMD] for pharmacy), Yowzah (Spotify [NYSE: SPOT] for online streaming music platform), Cryptocurrency Exchange & Bitcoin Mining (cryptocurrencies, blockchains and applications), among others.
Microwave Hybrid Heating (MHH, 2.45GHz) Sintering Fabrication by Electromagnetic Radiation and Characterization of Thin Layer Ceramics — suitable for mass production in multiple markets in advanced ceramics, electronics, semiconductors, and aerospace, C.B. Jones, (Startup Founder, Advisor & Researcher, 1992 - 1996), plus initial team members: R.H. Boswell, C.G. Santos, J.J. Fijol, and D. Ball, (1992).
MENTORSHIP — Advisor, Investor, and or Consultant:
HTC & Company, SoftBank, SoftDonor, SoftPharmacy, SoftRadiology, SoftGenetics, SoftComputer, Semyond (semiconductor), Cardiozoom (Peloton [NASDAQ: PTON] for runners), ideo (Pandora [NASDAQ: P] for radios), Pharmativ (WebMD [NASDAQ: WBMD] for pharmacy), Yowzah (Spotify [NYSE: SPOT] for online music streaming platform), Cryptocurrency Exchange platform (cryptocurrencies, blockchains and applications), among others.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Semyond (semiconductor), Cardiozoom (Peloton [NASDAQ: PTON] for runners), ideo (Pandora [NASDAQ: P] for radios), Pharmativ (WebMD [NASDAQ: WBMD] for pharmacy), Yowzah (Spotify [NYSE: SPOT] for online streaming music platform).
CERTIFICATIONS:
Family Enterprises, Family Offices, and Family Wealth, including Philanthropy, Trusts, ESG, and Impact Investing from Columbia Business School, Jan 2024.
Venture Capital (VC) Decision Making, Investment Thesis, including Portfolio Management and Investment Strategy from Columbia Business School, Apr 2024.
Dale Carnegie Training, Effective Communication & Human Relations, Certificate of Recognition and received Human Relations Award and Special 100 Percent Recognition, 2002.
Project Management Professional (PMP), Enterprise / Project Management Office (E/PMO), Certificate of Completion, 2001.
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) / Lean / Agile, Certificate of Completion, 2000.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS & SENIOR THESIS:
The Phenomena of Microwave Hybrid Heating (MHH, 2.45GHz) of Thin Layer Ceramics with Susceptor System, sponsored by Kyocera and led by C.B. Jones — Senior Thesis & Research, D.E. Clark, K.D. Lobel, and P. Komarenko, (1994).
Statistical Methods Optimize a Slip System for Spray Drying Ceramics, D.A. Earl, C.B. Jones, R. Singh and D.E. Clark, Ceramic Industry, Vol. 145[5]:123-128 (1995).
Microwave Processing of Materials at the University of Florida, D.E. Clark, D.C. Folz, R.L. Schulz, Z. Fathi, A.D. Cozzi, P. Komarenko, A. Boonyapiwat and C.B. Jones, Microwave Processing of Materials IV, M.F. Iskander, R.J. Lauf and W.H. Sutton, eds., Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh, PA, Vol. 347, 489-500 (1994).
THE FUTURE IS HERE | “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Peter Drucker
Google Map: Pinned most cities I have visited in the USA and Canada, except those in China, Japan, Vietnam, and the islands.
TRAVELS — lived, stayed, and visited:
CA: San Francisco Bay (SFB), Altherton, Los Altos, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Milpitas, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Jose, and Woodside.
TX: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Plano, and San Antonio.
FL: Tampa Bay (TB), Gainesville, Jacksonville, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Palm Beach, and St. Petersburg.
NE: Arlington, Boston, District of Columbia, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Hartford, New York, and Silver Spring.
Among other cities in the U.S. (in Silicon Valley and New England), Canada, Japan, China, and Vietnam.
Besides flying ✈️️ to these destinations, the other best way to see the United States of America is to drive 🚘 the roads as intended during the early years of the automobile. In 1941, the national inter-state highways was initiated by the 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He then signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, authorizing a 40,000-mile national system of interstate highways. Twelve years later, on June 29, 1956, the 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, creating a 41,000-mile “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways” that would, according to Eisenhower, eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams and all of the other things that got in the way of “speedy, safe transcontinental travel.”
Through my work and personal interest, I got the opportunities to visit and stay in many cities and several states. Wherever I travel, I enjoy sensing the vibe of the local people and engaging in meaningful conversations, sometimes about life or work or a mix of both, while creating memories from experiencing local scenic scenes and tasting delicious local food.
One of the most scenic routes I have driven was the drive on the California State Route 1 (SR1) or Pacific Coast Highway (PCH or Highway 1) from Silicon Valley – San Francisco to La Jolla Beach Cove and back using U.S. Route 101 (US 101).
Generally speaking, I see the United States 🇺🇸 by state(s) and region(s) and in various layers: a layer of technology and innovation, a layer of population density and unique local culture, and a layer of financial economics and gross domestic product (GDP).
Side Note : History is one of my interests. It is interesting to see the migration of people through the decades and even centuries. I have researched into where population densities have evolved and shifted over time in the United States. This on and off interest traces back from the learning of the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s to our ever-changing climate and today's pandemic period. Furthermore, technology is one of the major economic anchor and driver of the United States. And being in the technology industry for a long time, I have experienced the clusters of innovative startups and the support from leading technology companies from multiple states and regions. I also have worked with many leading companies since the early 1990s and decided to document by posting and sharing my travels and career experiences in this online journal webpage.
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
Image: The plant growing out of the slap boulder represents an opportunity to prosper in any life-challenging situation. Also, from beginning to end, showing my once desire of becoming a U.S. Naval Flight Officer (NFO) and future astronaut and having witnessed two NASA Space Shuttle's disasters: the Challenger in 1986 (during liftoff from an o-ring failure) and Columbia in 2003 (during reentry from a tile failure), plus watching the ceremonial retirement and farewell piggyback flight of the Endeavour (and NASA's Space Shuttle fleet) onboard a modified Boeing 747 in 2011, ending the 30-year Space Shuttle program that my father, Nguyen Duy Long, had contributed during his time at Honeywell.
Tiding to the section below from my U.S. Naval Officer Candicate Training, after reprogramming and redirecting my thinking while in college, I mentally stepped away from wanting to become a U.S. Naval officer and both mentally and physically transitioned back to a civilian lifestyle.
Background, back then starting in 1959, an astronaut for NASA had to have the following qualifications: less than 40 years of age; less than 5 feet 11 inches tall; excellent physical condition; bachelor's degree or equivalent in engineering; qualified jet pilot; graduate of test pilot school, and at least 1500 hours of flying time.
Today, a cilivian can become an astronaut, e.g., Jeff Bezos aboard Blue Origin and Richard Branson aboard Virgin Galactic.
On April 30th, 1994, I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science & Engineering, specialized in advanced engineering ceramics (semiconductors). I also completed several elective courses in aerospace, computer science, and business administration (pursuing a master's degree taking financial and managerial accounting, finance, management, micro and macro economics, marketing, and statistics). And while studying for the LSAT, I took the test and received an acceptable score to apply to law schools.
At the time, my cup was already overflowing; there was so much work on my calendar, including my research, startup, publications, classes, and a part-time job. I figured I would pull my attorneys in when necessary. And when the opportunity comes, I enjoy going through legal documents, contracts, and related materials; e.g., I spent much time reading a multimillion-dollar contract and combing through the Agreement to ensure we had met our contractual obligations while avoiding potential lawsuits. And with other contracts that were south of a hundred million dollars, I treated them with the same level of scrutiny and expectation on the team's deliverables. In doing so, I was safeguarding the work and monitoring cash flow (the budget) while wearing multiple hats and also hats of legal perspectives: (i) shareholder, (ii) director, and (iii) manager.
That said, my studies, thoughts, and actions have been put to good use throughout my career. I placed the following three (3) due diligence measures into focus and in play: (a) governance, (b) accounting, and (c) law (corporate) in the operational management in the investment sector. While in college, I wanted to gain an understanding of engineering, management, and law. Since graduation in 1994, I have been putting my energy, focus, and interest in the following and progressing career stack, as shown below.
[ that's venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) ]
(i) shareholder, (ii) director, and (iii) manager
2
Management | Operations
spearheading cross-functional teams and startups
[ that's management and operations ]
(a) governance, (b) accounting, and (c) law (corporate)
3
Innovation | Technologies
developing and launching technology products to markets
[ that's engineering and innovation ]
(α) management, (β) engineering, and (γ) design
Image: The combustion from the rocket fuel creates a three component flame, similarly illustrated to the three areas of my Career Stack: Investment, Management, and Innovation.
In addition, progressively from products to teams and now companies, I have been following the footsteps of my grandfather's legal practice and business acumen in supporting selected business engagements and transitioning my father’s military strategic thinking and operations into taking thought-out decision making and implementing proper and timely actions in the startup, corporate, and venture environment — the venture capital ("VC") ecosystem. All this started when I was back in college (at UF) realizing that I was deliberately pulled away and days before graduating from the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) to become a U.S. Naval officer, and that the deliberate and behind the scene act was to remove my candidacy and desire of becoming a U.S. Naval Flight Officer (NFO).
Initially, I started studying aeronautical & aerospace engineering and later switched to materials science & engineering and added business administration to my studies. Having witnessed the live NASA Space Shuttle Challenger launch and the tragic devastation soon after takeoff, seventy-three (73) seconds into flight, on January 28, 1986, the Shuttle carrying a crew of seven (7) astronauts suddenly broke apart and exploded from an o-ring failure that froze, "stiffen", at low temperature (31°F / -0.5°C) while resting on the launchpad overnight and at liftoff at the Kennedy Space Center. The horrific tragedy, unknown root cause at the time, impacted my decisions when I got into college, and I held on to my continued interest in flight and out of space travel.
Fast forward to today and tomorrow, my career stack encompasses a strong understanding of operations, governance, and funding.
Steadiness & Resilience sit at the heart of my career, and adversity is a part of life that everyone and every group has to deal with in one form or another. You can make an impact (a difference) in the things you can change and let go (walk away) of the things you cannot, e.g., my opportunity and short-lived military life with the U.S. Navy.
"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." — Napoleon Hill
While staying in Palo Alto, I heard the passing of Apple CEO & Co-Founder Steve Jobs on October 5, 2011. Early morning I went to the Apple Palo Alto Store of University Avenue to see the notes and flowers placed in front of the store by many residents expressing love and condolences. The quote below from him rings true then and to the above mentioned.
“I think the things you regret most in life are the things you didn’t do.” — Steve Jobs
Image: The footprints I’ve created along the shores of San Francisco have absorbed in memories forever. I first came to the Valley in the 1990s when the semiconductor, mobile, and computer products were getting even smaller and processing power was getting even faster — surely, this is ongoing. In the photo, I'm standing at Crissy Field and in the background is the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.
|| HISTORY || Today, we are now in the intelligence age putting big computing power and big data to work creating computer farms to produce benefits that will improve our lives...making machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) smart so we can be even smarter to do more advanced things. Some of the popular consumer products in the market today are Google Home, Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, and Sonos One. For autonomous vehicles, there are AutoX, Drive.ai, nuTonomy, Optimus Ride, Waymo, and Zoox.
Back then in the 1990s, I was working on heat dissipation and long-term circuit reliability for semiconductor chips and chip-on-boards (COBs) for advanced and innovative electronic products including manufacturing of cellular phones, engineering of low-g and high-g accelerometers, and redesigning of sensors and modules. Hence, from the research and work on mobile phones, it resulted in why mobile phones today last, still function, after multiple drops at a reasonable height. Also, during this period software programs lag hardware devices, and the internet was starting to get daily use with multiple search engine options, notably Netscape, Yahoo, and Google. At the time, I had already done a few basic software programs and noticed software companies were rapidly releasing new iterations into the market every some months, flooding programmers and consumers every three to six months with new product versions, and it is why a standardization nomenclature on software versions was released — X.Y.Z.
In 2000 and onward, software and hardware technologies were increasingly converging and integrating for even smaller and faster products in AI (neural networks and deep learning, internet AI), IoT, VR/AR/MR, and AAV. It’s evident when the internet and cloud computing were beginning to take-off in 2000 and when smartphones were beginning to go mainstream globally as early as 2005. When I was in Asia in early and mid 2000, I noticed local people were using more advanced devices than the ones in the United States. For example, solid state laptops were being used in Asia starting in the mid-late 1990s and smartphones in early-mid 2000.
Today & Tomorrow, private startups and public companies are continuously developing and launching new innovative and advanced products to better our lives and the world. As I look at today's deals for tomorrow's growth, the convergence and integration of technologies will continue to shine bright for the future for all of us, tracing back to the amazing history of the technology sector, particularly in the automotive, aerospace, and telecommunication industries, from morse code to millimeter (mm) wave spectrum for 5G network and beyond, that have connected us even closer. We are constantly witnessing how the technology sector is shaping our lives, our economy, and our world.
Image: LEFT : In San Francisco Bay | RIGHT : In Tampa Bay:
Enjoying the weather, taking in the scenic views of the land and water, and speaking with a lot of founders of startup companies.
“We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?” — Steve Jobs
Image: Photo Collage // Throughout my career, I worked extra hard and with much focus to achieve my goals as I journeyed through periods of career transition. Along the way, I have met many wonderful people who continue to inspire my desire and drive to achieve my milestone achievements and goals.
"In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity." — Albert Einstein
Image: It's my U.S. Navy graduation invitation card and envelope between 1989/1990 that I have kept all these years. I was about to mail it to my family to attend my upcoming graduation until the unexpected circumstance and wretched outcome that occurred.
It is my strong family background, good work ethics, and moral values that represent my integrity and character well; I have been living the best of both worlds of business and military principles and balancing the best essence of both Asian and American cultures throughout my personal and professional life. I have received academic scholarships and achieved athletic awards and was granted a U.S. Navy scholarship to an officer candidate school (OCS); I received military training and education at the U.S. Naval War College, https://www.usnwc.edu, in Newport, Rhode Island where I held outstanding marks across the charts during the training program.
Coincidentally, near the end of my Naval training at the U.S. Navy War College, I responded to a military doctor and officer of the Navy (Medical Corps) that I wanted to train to become a Naval Flight Officer (NFO). It was a natural response since I have had discussions on this topic with my father multiple times in previous years and in length on what I wanted to do in the Navy. Anyhow, the one-on-one conversation with the Navy doctor was in his private office. To my surprise, so unexpected, a few weeks later I was secretly and carefully being removed from the program and with only some days left from the graduation date and becoming a Naval officer in my early 20s. I remember the terrible occurrence vividly, and especially the shared expression I had with my gunnery sergeant and fellow cadets; we were utterly baffled of the situation. I also recall their expressed kindness and care when I was packing up my belongings and leaving the Naval War College. I still can picture "the walk" in my mind and recall the feeling of emptiness and confusion at that time. Lastly, many cadets wrote their names and telephone numbers on a standard size notebook paper for me to have that I still have somewhere in storage. Once I find it again, I will post it here so it can help reach out to people and those cadets. I can imagine they are now retired U.S. Navy officers.
Image: After my Navy training, I returned home to Tampa Bay in 1990. Two good friends joined me for a day of relaxation. We went to the beach to enjoy the sun and throw frisbees. In the photo, I had a shaved head from the training and was wearing a hat. Behind us was the new and old Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
During the training program, we were trained by a U.S. Marine gunnery sergeant, and unlike in the film, "A few Good Men" where a secret "code red" was issued, an incident occurred in which a Marine private first class (PFC) died under a dreadful circumstance — see movie poster below. The film "A few Good Men" was based on a true story, but some key facts were changed. For example, the horrific step taken by the role of Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Andrew Markinson of the United States Marine Corps.
Sometimes later back home and when my mind was clear I suspected that the Navy doctor’s office presented a front for opened communications, but in reality it was an examination room and an interrogation room in disguised for Naval cadets to reveal their ambitions in joining the U.S. Navy. Nonetheless, it was a life changing opportunity for Naval cadets while mine turned out to be a disappointing one. Though I’m still proud to have received the scholarship, education, and training from the U.S. Navy, and the nearly 12-weeks time spent at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. I still hold my shoulder boards and a few other items that I received in 1989/1990 to remember the unfortunate time and unforgetable situation.
Side Note : During the private conversation with the U.S. Navy physician, I believe now that I should have said to the doctor that I prefer sailing warships rather than flying jets, like my father.
With outstanding marks across the charts during the training and without seeing a written reason or hearing from any senior Naval commanding officers, the Navy officers and my Navy recruiting officer back home were dumbfounded; they were shocked with me when they saw me back a few days early. Again, I remember the moment vividly, because we were starring at each other’s faces in disbelief for a few seconds. After the realization of having to part ways from the U.S. Navy in 1990, I refocused and erased my childhood interest and upbringing of becoming a U.S. Naval officer and ended the pursuit of my father’s footsteps as a Naval officer and put all of my energy into studying and completing my engineering and business degrees. The unexpected circumstance and outcome during my U.S. Navy officer training was unfortunate indeed, and it is simply a blip and frozen moment in time.
“In life, you have three choices. Give up, give in, or give it your all.”
— Charleston Parker
Fast forward, I recently told my father months before he passed away and to family members what had happened to me at the U.S. Naval War College. I showed them my U.S. Navy graduation invitation card that they were supposed to receive in the mailbox. I have kept the incident inside and held onto the card for decades, and it was satisfying to have shared my personal story with the family and especially with my dear father months before he passed.
With that said. I decided to post it here, sharing it openly, because I still see the path to success isn’t without encounting challenges, obstacles, and problems. Life is about overcoming them. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, i.e., my family and I made it through the Vietnam War, and we can relate with military veterans and families effected by wars. It’s about learning from the past, continuously evolving, and living and practicing not to give up, additionally give it your all! It is one of the most significant life lessons of becoming a thriving and successful person, a survivor, and even possibly a future leader in a civilian or military life — meaning don't be a victim by someone else's wrongful actions or ill will towards you...you must pull yourself together, stand up again and keep pressing forward.
During my Naval training, I met and trained with many driven and outstanding men and women cadets and would like to reconnect with any of those who was in the Charlie company. There were group photos taken by the Navy, and a cadet in the room next to mine had his camera and took some photos of us in white, khaki, and blue uniforms. If you were there or know someone that attended 1989/1990 class at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, please feel free to contact me at anytime.
“The best view is after the hardest climb.” — Unknown
It is an absolute neccessary action to find and take a silver lining in life difficult times, in life altering and transformative situations — referencing "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity" — Sun Tzu
Image: Sun Tzu — The Art of War. Outside of military strategy and tactics, I have gone over the book to see how the philosophy of war is being interpreted and applied into the spheres of business, sports, and government.
Gradually increasing in the past twenty years, I have been advancing and sharpening my skills in operations and the investment sector to support growth and sustainability of innovative technology and disruptive, transformative, companies through capital and insight. I’m sharing my personal story because my father and grandfather played a huge role in our family lives — one served for the people of a country as a senior Naval officer and one served for the people of a community as an attorney and businessman, respectively. Though my grandfather passed away before I was born, his contribution and impact in business and the communities still echoes through our families and friends today. I believe this is the best way for me to contribute back and support founding CEOs and executives in their companies. The sphere of business is what I think and read about and analyze often, tracing back since the early 1990s.
“Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.” – Sun Tzu
Image: We went out to sea on a Naval destroyer and had a flyby by two Blue Angels. It was memorable to have felt two supersonic booms as I stood on deck and watched the two aircrafts zipping by the port side and accelerating above Mach 1.
Everyone on deck was amazed and thrilled to have seen two Blue Angel supersonic aircrafts flew by along the ship’s port side. We were some miles off of the New England coast on a beautiful clear sunny day in July out in the North Atlantic Ocean for R&R.
Just before seeing the aircrafts, we were below deck with our companies and crew. I was chatting with other cadets, and we were fixing to have lunch with other commissioned officers and crewmen. As we were sitting down, people below deck were rushing to go on deck. The person across from me said let’s go on deck as we felt the ship rattled. I was puzzled and curious to know what was going on. As we rushed on deck and ran to the edge of the ship, I saw two aircrafts miles away flying toward us. I recall seeing the aircrafts flying by us but without hearing a sound. It was totally silent until the aircrafts flew past the ship. The reason it was silent at that moment is because we were in front of the shockwaves.
Then a few seconds later there was a sudden rattling of the ship again and a huge explosive sound or a thunderclap. That’s the loud sound of a super / sonic boom, indicating the breaking of the speed of sound or breaking through the sound barrier at March > 1. At this point, the leading shockwaves have just moved behind us and as the loud thundering sound quieted and rattling dampened. Albeit the first rattling of the ship occurred when we were below deck was the initial flyby past along the starboard side, and when we were on deck the two aircrafts were making a circled back for their second flyby past along the port side. We were close to have seen them and felt the shockwaves rattling the ship and heard their super / sonic booms.
At sonic speed or at the speed of sound when March = 1. This occurs whenever an object (e.g., an aircraft) travels through a medium (e.g., air) traveling faster than the speed of sound at Mach > 1. The occurrence also depends on temperature and pressure, and the afternoon was perfect: sunny and cool with clear blue sky and low humidity. Our super / sonic boom didn’t have a vapor cone, also known as shock collar or shock egg. This is seen when a visible cloud of condensed water which can sometimes form around an object moving at high speed through moist (humid) air.
As both aircrafts gradually disappeared away from the ship and into space, everyone was still in Awe. Having studied aerospace and aeronautical engineering courses and on the speed of sound and breaking the sound barrier, it was an enlightening memory to have experienced the supersonic boom up close on a U.S. Navy destroyer. It was one of my unforgettable moments during my training and education at the U.S. Naval War College.
Video: On a moist day, flashes of a vapor cone were created in the first few seconds as the aircraft reaches supersonic speed at Mach > 1, creating a thunderclap at 5 second. The video doesn’t provide enough justice as being present, feeling the effects from the shockwaves and hearing the loud thunderclaps (multiple sonic booms) can be an amazing experience.
Q3 Pitchbook-NVCA Yearbook Monitor report for 2020 talks about the performance of the venture capital industry. While going through it, I thought of an article I posted on Linkedin in 2015 titled "Venture Capital Investments Shifted and Evolved". See the article below.
Recently, I updated the data on my spreadsheet used in the article above to generate the graph below. It now includes 2015 through 2019, and I projected 2020* that is highlighted in the red box below. The actual data were obtained from each of the NVCA Yearbook since 1984 that I have archived.
For the Q3 Pitchbook-NVCA Yearbook Monitor report for 2020, below is the graph from the report showing actual data from 2015 through 2019, plus 2020 Q1, Q2, and Q3.
With that mentioned and as I look at the venture capital industry and the market this year, I included the projection for Q4 2020. See the highlighted red box in the graph below.
IF the trend for Q4 2020 continues in a gradual downward slope, its performance outcome would look similar to the deal value ($B) of last year Q4 (2019). See the graph above.
Also, I'm hoping that the deal count isn't going to continue in the same downward slope and ending up having a slightly higher uptick above 2,000 counts and that estimated deal count be above 2,500 as in Q2 2020. See the graph below.
Below is a heat map of the U.S. VC deal activity by region. The red boxes below are blanks, and once the data: deal count (%) and deal value (%) are released by the NVCA they will be posted here.
It is interesting to foresee where we will be at the end of 2020 and as the calendar turns into 2021 under this COVID-19 pandemic and after a U.S. Presidential election year.
NOTE: When the data for 2020 and Q4 are released, the outcome will be posted here.
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UPDATE: See below for US VC deal activity by region for 2020.
There has been talks on corporate governance, and it seems every some years the topic and its issues resurface again. From a wide angle perspective, the first time I conducted due diligence on corporate governance was many years ago when I was going through corporate documents of startup companies.
While going through the process then, it brought back memories of previous corrupt companies, e.g., Enron and WorldCom in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Their failure in corporate governance and abuse in accounting practices stemmed new accounting standards. I watched the rise and fall of the two once admired companies that caused the downfall and bankruptcy of an accounting and consulting firm Arthur Andersen, which then emerged a new company named Accenture. The fiasco and corruption from greed during those years enacted the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 to improve corporate governance and financial accounting standards in the United States.
In recent months, the latest debacle in corporate governance occurred at WeWork while the company was setting up to go public (IPO) and filing its prospectus submission to the SEC and FINRA. The unveiling of the company's operations and financial information turned business matters upside down putting the company in turmoil and brought the company's valuation from $47 billion to less than $10 billion in ten months in October 2019.
WeWork biggest investor, SoftBank, has taken a majority stake position and control over "The We Company" that includes WeWork, WeLive, and WeGrow. SoftBank removed founding CEO Adam Neumann from the company and got him to step-down from being a board member to a board observer on a $1.7 billion takeover offer of the parent company and subsidiaries. SoftBank also rearranged two WeWork senior management members around having Chief Financial Officer Artie Minson and Vice Chair and Chief Automation Officer Sebastian Gunningham as co-CEOs.
The corporation structure of "The We Company" with a parent company and three subsidiaries is an added risk that raises a warning flag for venture capital investments. In the startup and venture capital funding series, there need to be accountable board and management members that can effectively direct the company and possess control in the interests of the shareholders and stakeholders.
Besides the due diligence on technology (the product), management (the team), and traction (the company and market penetration and expansion), the pillar for Corporate Governance is a systematic framework and approach that translates the culture behind which decisions are made by the company's leadership team, comprising of founding members, shareholders, and stakeholders. It is another layer (or pillar) that can factor into a make or break decision on a deal when evaluating a startup company for venture capital investment series.
When an investment opportunity looks appealing from the surface ("outside"), a further effort is needed to look into the internal layers ("inside") of the company's structure, operations, and decision-making hierarchy. It is how the company's business is being operated, directed, and controlled by the management team and board of directors under the corporate governance principles and practices. It is at the core of the management and board’s responsibility, accountability, and oversight function.
Image: The five pillars in clear (lucent) sky, showing clarity and transparency.
The Five Pillars below include Corporate Governance. It is an ongoing process by the board members and senior management team to assure business operations are sound for sustainability and growth and to minimize risks.
Image: The five pillars in dark (murky) sky, showing unclear and non-transparency.
In essence, it is wise to not have a "clever" corporation structure in a startup company, and the complexity in the corporate documents makes it difficult to see a good long-term investment opportunity and relationship. The two images above simply illustrate it is easier to see through clear sky than murky sky. The basic conflict in corporate governance stems fundamentally between major (controlling) shareholders and minority (non-controlling) shareholders as seen in WeWork pre-IPO promotion period.
It is expected that the obligation of the board is to direct ethically and legally with its control of the company for the shareholders. In the recent fall out from WeWork, it resulted in a massive devaluation of the company within a year period after the company revealed the financial (prospectus) to the SEC and investors. A further look of the company allows an inner understanding into The We Company's business model and financial situation that indicate uncertain sustainability and unsatisfactory performances, respectively.
If leadership team does not fulfill its commitments, a member(s) must raise awareness and fulfill the fiduciary responsibility for immediate mediation to maintain a strong corporate governance and build a sustainable long-term value for shareholders and employees. In the guiding principles of corporate governance, the board of directors has fiduciary duties of loyalty and care to the company and shareholders.
The key takeaway here is to keep your corporation structure and business matters as simple as possible. There is no need to overcomplicate the business and investment opportunity. Eventually, the sky will clear and all matters will become visible.
Funding in the venture capital "VC" ecosystem — a further look into the investment space for entrepreneurs and investors.
In the past five-plus years and for the next and future waves of technology and innovation, it is necessary to highlight the two key drivers: Integrity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) that have been pressing in the startup and venture capital community.
Why? Because they set a supportive backbone and culture as startup companies receive support and funding, and as startup companies scale and make a positive impact everywhere. With these two anchoring drivers mentioned above, they create and foster a better, brighter, and safer working environment for everyone.
In addition, these two focused drivers have a direct impact on startup and venture capital funding for entrepreneurs and investors. It is an inside perspective while raising a fund from venture capitalists, family office founders, corporate directors, and institutional investors. The effort created a deeper take on the investment industry, particularly venture capital.
There are many published articles online on funding, and I thought to express it a little bit openly. It is about reflecting back and looking ahead in the venture capital industry and as technology evolves and innovation advances in our lifetime and beyond.
The above is mentioned because, from an Asian-American perspective and the "bamboo ceiling" phenomenon, I am able to see things a little bit slightly different than most others. And so I decided to highlight the two important drivers that should be rooted in our community.
In terms of background, it would be beneficial for readers to get a closer look at Integrity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in the startup and venture capital community. Because over the past decades and even the following year(s), people tend to forget or don't care to remember the reality and impact that come from embracing DE&I (including Neurodiversity) and upholding Integrity in the corporate environment and in the venture capital community. At the end of the day, the creations made by talented people mean the most. And all the creativities end in feeding back into our local and global ecosystem and eventually into our world economy.
NVCA.org
First, let's note the link below from the National Venture Capital Association, NVCA.org, that provides a written supporting article on diversity and to improve diversity in the venture capital communities in the United States, posted on August 4, 2015.
The above provides an initial reading from the NVCA. There are plenty of articles inquiring readers can search on the internet for additional information and details on various cases on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the startup and venture capital communities, spanning from the West Coast, particularly in Silicon Valley, to the East Coast. The news media outlets have criticized the investment industry for its lack of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) and cited many incidents, stating evidence of why women and people of color plus Asian-Americans do not feel welcome and are being blocked out in the deal flow syndications and raising of venture funds.
In addition, the workplace issues on discrimination on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) have even brought to the surface the #MeToo movement to attention in the past five-plus years in the world of startup and venture capital. It is not the purpose nor the place here to identify the victims and suspected or accused bullies and their #MeToo cases of sexual misconduct and bullying allegations; it is about recognition and acceptance in order to take step-by-step in moving onward and forward for everyone.
For those who say without data, it is an opinion. For that, I welcome and encourage readers, especially for those that are not deeply involved in the investment sector: venture capital, private equity, investment banking, wealth management, and asset management to search the internet for more information to discover and to gather facts and interviews on these #MeToo stories and lawsuits. Before making mental judgments, casting stones, or verbally voicing out, do the digging and studying first before concluding thoughts and or opinions. And so, enjoy your research and discoveries, and ask yourself if you are nurturing and protecting the network, supporting the pledge — feeding fuel to the fire for bullies to continue to thrive and possibly harm additional innocents, putting them or forcing them into becoming victims, down the road.
Integrity
Before we can embrace and have Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in our organizations, we must first have true Integrity. Definitely, Integrity is about doing the right thing even when no one is watching as said in the quote below by Clive Staples Lewis.
"Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching." — C.S. Lewis
In all, I continue to seek to work with outstanding and talented people that don't do harm to others by treating others with kindness and fairness. In the venture capital community, we talk about founders having Integrity. That further means it is expected from the people that said it, and it involves both entrepreneurs and investors to hold onto it dearly and act on it unconsciously. Below are two philosophical quotes that shine a light on Integrity.
"Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you." — Confucius
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." — Golden Rule
Either preference on belief or viewpoint, both carry the same principle. The discussions on Integrity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) have weighed on the startup and venture capital community for more than five-plus years. And in more recent years, the college admission scandal, #CollegeScandal, has put a spin on Integrity and further stirred the startup and venture capital community. As legal matters on bribery are being resolved, the venture community now needs to rise up and better transition the psyche and actions by putting things right for the community and not just talking points around the water coolers, at family gatherings, or at conferences.
Transition
With Integrity in check and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in play, how do the dynamics in both startup and venture capital environments affect entrepreneurs in raising capital and venture capitalists in syndicating deals, raising funds, and exiting portfolio companies?
The outcome is we still have plenty of room to grow and improve in order for the industry to completely accept and to make a meaningful transition to best serve the minority groups of women and people of color plus Asian-Americans. Since this has been stated in "the press" over time, what does it completely mean for all those people, including all women and men?
For the past ten-plus years, here is what I have seen from personal experience and saw what is being done out in the field. I do see the inclusion is improving a bit for those already well connected and established in the field. The one main impact to note is that the investment community has been reshaping in the past five-plus years with venture capital firms promoting people of minority groups to general partners and board of directors positions, allocating capital into new funds, and restructuring the organization for ongoing venture reach and network — reshaping, reshuffling and or restacking the established network and funds to best suit the future needs and growth of the organizations in a constantly changing world and evolving global markets.
The Transition is to do what is right as said in the two quotes below from Roy T. Bennett and Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Do what is right, not what is easy nor what is popular.” — Roy T. Bennett
"The time is always right to do what is right." — Martin Luther King, Jr.
The move forward just touches the surface on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in doing the right thing in the startup and venture capital community.
Forward
Based on my years of experience in both technology and investment sectors, I have put in the time, energy, and personal capital in venture capital. And I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in startup opportunities, M&As, and IPOs. As I source deals and conduct due diligence, there is only a hand full of opportunities that do make product-market sense and fit, plus a perspective of a venture capitalist. And to get involved those deals need to provide a healthy return for all parties.
To reinforce and as we move forward, the outlook for the future in the startup and venture capital communities around the world is getting better, brighter, and safer for everyone when we support one another openly and under the true definition of Integrity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I). In every team and company I have supported, there is a need in time to leverage each other strengths by combining forces of talented people and their organizations that adopt Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) and defend Integrity.
On a final note, we all can embrace and live by the quote below by Andrew Carnegie.
"You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big, and live big." — Andrew Carnegie
I truly believe in and live by the simple message of positive thinking — what you are is what you think and do ... meaning your positive thinking comes first that produces positive actions creating who you are. These actions will result in a positive and healthy community and funding ecosystem for everyone, including minority groups of women and people of color plus Asian-Americans. With that in mind, let the two non-dividing drivers: Integrity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) bring us and lead us into even more openness and prosperity.
Closing
I want to thank you for reading this post, and friends that have made valuable suggestions and personal inputs. The topics mentioned have been on my mind for some time now. And in transitioning forward, I look to hearing about your unique entrepreneurial and innovation story and welcoming your positivity and opportunity. The support system and funding need to improve to better our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) that ultimately have an important role in building a stronger and healthier startup and venture capital community and ecosystem that uplift our Integrity and boost our economy while creating and bringing jobs and opportunity to our communities.
Its secret sauce; Its secret formula; Its ingredients.
As mentioned, I would share a post that covers my venture capital experience in Silicon Valley that includes my first early visits to the Valley in the mid-1990s and looks at the history of venture capital ("VC") since the 1940s. I have visited other startup communities over the years, and I have the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful local people and those around the world.
So, what makes the Valley great? Over the years I have noticed several economic drivers that have made the Valley sustaintable, and I have listed 10 economic drivers and descriptions below. I believe they are key drivers to the Valley’s ecosystem and long-standing success record in launching and scaling technology companies.
Before listing them I wanted to provide a feedback for those who wants to know how the Valley has become a successful community and the efforts to support and maintain such a thriving ecosystem. Perhaps, the Valley has perfected a system for fostering and helping entrepreneurs build and grow startups into leading companies. What is mentioned here roots back to the culture that the Valley has created and nurtured through the 75+ years that has inspired thousands of business and community leaders around the world to mirror for their communities to succeed. Since its early founding years, the Valley has kept its unique, dynamic and vibrate startup+VC culture and ecosystem that’s difficult to duplicate. For a glimpse look on how Venture Capital in Silicon Valley have evolved and shifted from its early years, you can take a quick read from the link.
Getting back, nearly 10 years ago I responded to a group on how Silicon Valley has maintained its startup hub mega status of the world. That said, when you look at the 60 miles stretch of U.S. Highway 101 from San Jose to San Francisco, see Google Map below, you can imagine all the tech companies along either side of the highway as you drive here; you can also see the list of tech companies from the Valley's Wikipedia page. These leading client companies that I have visited (worked with) in the 1990s, primarily OEMs in the semiconductor/computer industry, remain an important and integral ingredient/component to the Vally's economy and ecosystem, and literally everything else associated with the Valley formed a supporting infrastructure to support entrepreneurs.
Today and since 2000, the Valley has obviously become more software-centric focusing on various cloud computing architectures (XaaS: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, CaaS, DaaS, MaaS, etc.) and with mobile applications — see graphs. There is a growing number of software companies headquartered here now versus hardware companies from previous decades. Altogether, everyone here "pitch-in" one way or another by hosting and or sponsoring various events to give entrepreneurs tools, resources and or insights on how to build and grow their startups. I truly enjoy every minute living here attending weekly events and meeting like-minded professionals, entrepreneurs and friends. There isn’t an area I haven’t visited along 101 that is marked on the map below.
Image: Google Map - the 60 mile stretch that shows the strength in the Valley’s startup ecosystem.
The people that come here bring their enthusiasm gathering at conferences and events to pitch their companies and products for funding. The Valley is loaded with weekly/monthly hackathons, pitching and demo events for all kinds of software (or related) startups. Everyone here welcomes all. It is the hub for collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship that is friendly and culturally diverse — a welcoming community surrounded by entrepreneurs, technology companies, law firms, investment firms and banks, and startup accelerators and incubators.
And now, I have listed 10 economic drivers and descriptions below that I believe to have made Silicon Valley successful since the 1940s. When you review them you may want to note what is missing from your community that you would want to build-up to further create a thriving startup community. It is difficult to replicate Silicon Valley’s long-time success, its “secret sauce,” its "secret formula;" nonetheless, the ingredients are there and in your reach to enrich your startup community. In no particular order, each economic driver plays a vital role in the whole startup ecosystem. The image of a scale below is to help stir the thinking of measurability and accountability, generating a baseline first — if you can't measure it, you can't improve it.
Image: Measurement Bar - a measuring bar to mark milestone accomplishments.
Driver: Description
Connectivity: Connecting and establishing relationships with like-minded people to take actions and to make things happened, raising engagements.
Creativity: Imagineering to ignite and try new ideas that have enduring business models and possessing a not afraid to fail mentality and culture.
Code-ability: Bringing developers and designers together to brainstorm ideas and codes, developing products/ prototypes at hackathons/coding events.
Commutability: Providing multiple ways for ease of travel to meet, engage and collaborate with like-minded people at a common location.
Climate: Providing an environment that fosters creativity to produce optimal productivity that delivers quality and meaningful outcomes.
Co-Investing: Weighing risks and injecting local capital to create a community driven crowdfunding for local startups and setting transparency and trust.
Competition: Competing products (e.g., in consumer products), teams (e.g., in sports) and companies drive competition that improves products and cost.
Colleges: Utilizing local colleges and universities to leverage added reach, resources, knowledge, feedback, and talent for local startups.
Cluster: Pulling like-minded people together to create a cluster of a densely populated group that plays an important role in the social collaboration.
Capital: Raising new capital, series rounds, through syndication for scale after a business model has shown an ability to prosper further.
These economic drivers are interconnected, interlocking to create an economic engine, an economic ecosystem for growth, that share some common verbiages but each driver carries a core objective. And as mentioned above, if one of the drivers is missing, it would be difficult, but not impossible, to create a sustainable startup community. In all, it is an economic engine that is being fueled, nurtured and sustained.
The question to ask now is, are the gears in your startup community have all its teeth, windmills with all its sails/blades, or flowers with all its petals? The image of a gear below shows a ring of interconnected Cs, and the illustration can be applied to your startup community.
Image: Gear - an interconnected ring of Cs forming a "gear" depicting a startup community.
I hope this post stimulated additional thoughts to your efforts in building a sustainable startup community, and I look forward to hearing from you on your startup development.
“The Art of TIME” can shine additional light to helping entrepreneurs build a fundable company. The work put into building a company takes years, and never easy. Only a small percentage of companies, less than 5%, reach self sustainability having revenues and or take an IPO or M&A exit.
The Art of TIME is based on codependent time factors of T, I, M, and E that a company needs to possess, manage and lead properly in order to thrive and succeed. Success is a function of time on the actions taken, and at times at critical situations. Every milestone completed toward building a company is based on “time,” i.e., knowing when to pivot, knowing when to launch, knowing when to hire staff and knowing when to scale locally and globally. The Art of TIME can assist entrepreneurs put focus on the vital factors, in function of time, that are necessary to monitor and manage in a growing company.
Taking a technology company through or around obstacles in a market from inception to growth is very challenging and never a smooth set roadmap. Founding team members that can best manage TIME can carve a path toward success.
Why TIME? Everything we do in life is based on time ... timing. When you hear someone say, “it’s all about timing,” then you can relate and understand what that truly means. In the VC + startup ecosystem, TIME is the core that's rooted in building, running and scaling a startup company. Its acronym stands for Team, Idea, Money, and Execution. Each variable is codependent on one another, interconnected. As a function of time, ƒ(t), the equation for building a company for success is expressed below.
success, ƒ(t) = { T, I, M, E }
variables:
t = time is not unlimited, and can be set between 3 and 10 year.
T = Team is a function of leadership; the founding team members’ ability to execute, i.e. in managing when to launch, when to pivot, when to hire and when to scale locally and globally.
I = Idea is a function of creativity, developing an admiring product(s) and or services; and it is based on market growth and size, technology, innovation, scalability, intellectual property, etc.
M = Money is a function of finance, cash flow, managing capital properly to fuel the operations ranging from early years cash in order to raise later capital rounds from outside investors: angels and venture capitalists.
E = Execution is a function of action (sets of strategic tasks, milestones) that are planned (executable) to build a great working prototype and to head toward creating an outstanding product / platform (or services) that people want to download, love to use and pleased to share with friends and family.
Market will evolve and shift. Competitors will innovate. The market will never sleep, and the turning of time will never stop. In a competitive landscape for any size companies, you can build and run a company that is fundable if you can manage T.I.M.E. effectively throughout time.
The Art of TIME and the acronym of TIME can help entrepreneurs identify and manage the dynamics and codependent factors in creating and building a successful company. The equation above can contribute in making checks and balances on measurable actions completed to determine if operations is on track and on target.
In total, The Art of TIME is in the timing of managing TIME effectively to obtain market traction and to reach critical mass in order to become a churning company heading toward a path of success.
When you are rock climbing you don’t often look back to find your shadow; you look to shift your weight to put where your hands and feet will be next.
Investing is forward looking, and investing in technology companies is risky and yet calculated. The venture capital industry got its starts in the mid 1940’s. The early investments in DEC, Genentech, Intel, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and Apple allowed the industry to thrive successfully in its initial 40 years.
The graph below shows the movements in the venture capital industry in the past 30 years from 1984 to 2014, showing the changing numbers of professionals and firms. The data were obtained from the National Venture Capital Association, NVCA’s 1984 to 2014 Yearbook with missing data from 1995, 1996, 2005, and 2006.
The attempt of this post is to show the investment pattern in the venture capital industry, and how the investments have transitioned or shifted with innovations and leading technologies in the past 3 decades — see span A, B, and C in the graph below.
The span of A, B, and C is not absolute; it is to provide a timeframe referencing about 12 years of change in innovations and technologies. Some examples presented of what venture capitalists have funded in the three spans and with some overlaps. Note (*): span A investments focused more on computers/hardware innovations/companies, span B investments focused mostly on Internet innovations/companies, and span C investments focused mostly on cloud and mobile applications/innovations/companies for mobile devices.
The graph below includes the capital managed and capital raised in billions of dollars ($B, USD) per year. It also shows that venture capital firms are managing more capital with fewer venture capitalists/resources/people than in previous years. Possibly, we are heading toward a lean (leanest) VC period as well, reaching near the numbers of professionals in the low 5,000 as seen in the early 1990s, but having a much greater amount of capital to manage.
I'm interested to seeing where the next quarter data lands, and where this year data ends. The next 5 to 10 years will be exciting for everyone in the venture capital and growth equity ecosystems and opportunities. And as innovations and technologies evolved, are we on track of a 50 year projection?
NOTE: if you hold the yearbooks for the missing years, could you email me. I will include the data to complete the graph.
Stocks: NASDAQ & NYSE | Venture Capital & Private Equity
Technology Investment Sector | From Private To Public Stock Market & Diversification Strategy https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#StockMarket
|| HISTORY || In the 1990s, my path into the world of startup and venture capital started when I was in college, studying engineering, finance, and business management while conducting lab research on thin films for engineering ceramics and building a startup based from the research for the semiconductor industry. It was also my thirst for knowledge and understanding that drove me to inquire and study several case studies from Harvard Business School and reading books on M&As and IPOs; in addition, one of my enlightenment readings and go-to authors on corporate strategies was from Michael E. Porter; he is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School (HBS). After graduation, I continue to be a student in training — a lifelong learner of management and leadership throughout my career, and putting my attention on seeing the cyclic waves and trends in the market, the advancement in technologies and innovations, and the exit strategies in private and public companies.
Also during those years, AOL was going public in 1992, Yahoo in 1996, Amazon in 1997, and Fairchild in 1999 while the companies I was with were going through a buying spree of several companies, totaling twelve (12) M&As and nearly $3 billion dollars — a billion dollar was a big deal in the 1990s. In 1996, I was asked to join with senior members to look at targeted companies. Those were memorable times and work, and one of my most memorable trips and acquisitions was to the "Windy City" to acquire a company in Chicago, Illinois. And in the early 1990s, I made a conscious decision to understand how companies go from private to public market and why investors write checks to support such early business ventures and investment opportunities. At the time, I was paying close attention to AOL, Yahoo, Amazon, and Fairchild when they were going from private to public companies and other technology and internet companies during the dot-com era. I was absorbed on analyzing companies, evaluating their performances and core strengths, and seeing expansion stemming from organic and inorganic growth. In addition, the global effect and boom on globalization during the 1990s with public policy changes and advancements in technologies and innovations in telecommunications: internet, mobile phones, fiber optic cables, and global positioning system (GPS) satellites.
In 2000 (aka Y2K) I joined a software startup company in the healthcare and life sciences industry working with the family founding members and other executives on strategic planning, operations, and management, executing on the development of the company and the deployment and sales of software suite of products to new and existing client base. It was my primarily focus on supporting and driving products, teams, and company toward achieving monthly and yearly goals. In 2005, I decided to invest into the startup world and venture capital business and traveled to many cities in the United States and multiple countries.
In the past twenty years, I have seen many companies come and go, many business models and many financial models, and those made operational transitions and structural transformations from mergers and acquisitions (M&As) implementations and the strategies within M&As, plus targeted companies going from early stage to going public (IPOs) on the NASDAQ and NYSE. I have posted some of them below. It is from my personal experiences from those ups and downs of fiscal growth, country specific, and dynamics in the stock market that I have gained a great amount of experience and insight from all these companies and transactions. With that said, I am still a student in training, as mentioned above, and will be forever, because the market constantly moving ahead and doesn’t sleep nor stop. There are good examples of people and companies that have failed from not learning, not adapting, and not evolving with the market, staying adamant about their technologies and innovations that have falling more behind the time, plateuing and trailing on the innovation curve. Their products have become "legacy products" in the marketplace.
"Either you innovate or innovation innovates you." — Unknown
Now that I have arrived with my own experiences of success, plus challenges and failures, I’m reflecting back, voicing out, advancing and sharpening skills, and looking forward to the next waves of innovations and great leading and innovative companies that can improve our lives and make a positive impact on the world. There is a lot to say and list so I decided to post some of them here and can discuss further in person. The lists below include some listed companies and those mentioned above, and they are my most memorable IPOs and M&As transactions in the technology sector that have impacted and improved our lives.
"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." — Napoleon Hill
In addition, in today's technology and innovation scene, starting a startup company has become so much easier and faster than in the 1990s. There are a lot of tools (hardware and software) and infrastructures (communities and universities accelerator programs) in play to support entrepreneurs and investors. I personally know this because I worked on my first startup in 1992 while studying engineering and business. Back then, there weren't enough tools and supporting infrastructures in place for entrepreneurs and investors. After twenty years, the traditional method and channels have gradually and definitely evolved for entrepreneurs and investors, e.g., crowdfunding and SPAC (special purpose acquisition company).
NOTE: There are about two thousands Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the equity asset class.
Unicorn — A Billion Dollar Valuation Startup Company
When your startup accomplished a major feat in becoming a billion dollar valuation company. https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#Unicorn
As mentioned above about previous companies, their balance sheets having a billion dollar was a big deal in the 1990s. Today, there are many startup companies that have a valuation of over a billion dollar ($1B).
⇳ Company (Startup)
Valuation (US $B)
Country
Exit Date
Review S-1 (Y/N)
Exit Valuation (US $bn)
Par Value Debut
Exchange: Ticker
10x Genomics
$1.28 billion
USA
12Sept2019
Y
$3.6bn
$39
NASDAQ: TXG
17Zuoye
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
23andMe
$2.50 billion
USA
4Feb2021
-
$3.5bn
$10
SPAC | NYSE: VGAC
36Kr Media
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
4Paradigm
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
58 Daojia
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
9fbank.com
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
About You
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Actifio
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Adyen
$15.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Affirm
$2.90 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Afiniti
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Age of Learning
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Aihuishou
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Aijia Life
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Airbnb
$38.00 billion
USA
10Dec2020
Y
$47bn
$68
NASDAQ: ABNB
Airtable
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Airwallex
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AirWatch
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AIWAYS
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Alibaba
$42.00 billion
China
18Sept2014
Y
$231bn
$68
NYSE: BABA
AliMusic
$3.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Alisports
$1.27 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Allbirds
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AmWINS Group
$2.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Anduril
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ant Financial (Alipay)
$150.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AppDirect
$1.04 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AppDynamics
$2.05 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AppLovin
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Apus Group
$1.85 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Argo AI
$7.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Asana
$1.50 billion
USA
30Sept2020
-
$3.99bn
$21
NYSE : ASAN*
Asana
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Atlassian
$3.30 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Atom Bank
$1.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Aurora
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Auth0
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Auto1 Group
$3.54 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Automation Anywhere
$2.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Automattic
$1.16 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Avaloq Group
$1.01 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Avant
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
AvidXchange
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Avito.ru
$1.82 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Away
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Babylon Health
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Babytree
$2.19 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BAIC BJEV
$4.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BeiBei
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Beijing Weiying Technology
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Beike Zhaofang
$10.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BenevolentAI
$2.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Better Place
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BGL Group
$3.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Big Basket
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bill.com
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BillDesk
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bird Rides
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bitfury
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bitmain
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bitmain Technologies
$12.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BlaBlaCar
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bloom Energy
$2.83 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Blue Apron
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bluehole
$5.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bolt
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Box
$2.40 billion
USA
23Jan2015
Y
$1.6bn
$14
NYSE: BOX
Branch
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Branch Metrics
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BrewDog
$1.15 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Brex
$2.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bukalapak
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bumble Dating
$1.20 billion
USA
11Feb2021
Y
$14bn
$43
NASDAQ: BMBL
Butterfly
$1.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Butterfly Network
$1.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Buzzfeed
$1.70 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
BYJU'S
$5.75 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Byton
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
C2FO
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
C3
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cabify
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cainiao
$20.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Calm
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cambricon
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Canva
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Caocao Zhuanche
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Carbon
$2.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Careem
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Carta
$1.70 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Casper
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
CATL
$20.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cell C
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Celonis
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
CGTZ
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Checkout.com
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Chime
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Chubao Technology
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Circle Internet Financial
$3.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
CitiusTech
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
CloudFlare
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cloudwalk
$3.32 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Clover Health
$1.20 billion
USA
8Jan2021
N
$7bn
$10
NASDAQ: CLOV
Cohesity
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Coinbase
$8.00 billion
USA
14Apr2021
Y
$65bn
$250
NASDAQ: COIN*
Collibra
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Compass
$6.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Confluent
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Convoy
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Coocaa
$1.45 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Coupa
$1.08 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Coupang
$9.00 billion
S. Korea
11Mar2021
Y
$58bn
$35
NYSE: CPNG
Coursera
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Credit Karma
$3.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
CrowdStrike
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Crystal Lagoons
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
CureVac
$1.65 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cybereason
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dada
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dadi Cinema
$2.30 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Danke Apartment
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Darktrace
$1.65 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Databricks
$2.70 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dataminr
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
DataRobot
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Deezer
$1.16 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Delhivery
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Deliveroo
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Desktop Metal
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Devoted Health
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dfinity
$1.90 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dhruva software
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Didi Chuxing
$56.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ding Xiang Yuan
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Discord
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
DJI
$15.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Docker
$1.30 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Doctolib
$1.14 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dollar Shave Club
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Domo
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
DoorDash
$12.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Douyu TV
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dream11
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Druva
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
DT Dream
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Duo Security
$1.17 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
DXY
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
e-Shang Redwood
$3.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
EasyHome
$5.70 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
EasyLife Financial Services
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
eDaili
$1.90 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
eFront
$1.30 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ele.me
$6.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Epic Games
$15.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
ESR Cayman
$2.80 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Essential Products
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
ETCP
$1.30 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
ezCater
$1.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fab
$1.15 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Face++ (Megvii)
$4.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Facebook
$50.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fair
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fanatics
$4.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fangdd.com
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fanli
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Farfetch
$6.20 billion
UK-PT
21Sep2018
-
$6.2bn
$20
NYSE: FTCH
Firstp2p
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Flexport
$3.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Flipkart
$18.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
FlixBus
$2.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
FlixMobility
$2.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Formlabs
$1.06 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Freshworks
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Frontline Education
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Futu Securities
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
FXiaoKe
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Garena
$3.70 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Geek+
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Gett
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
GetYourGuide
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Gilt Groupe
$1.15 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ginkgo BioWorks
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
GitLab
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Global Fashion Group
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Global Switch
$11.08 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Globality
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Glossier
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Go-Jek
$10.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
GoGoVan
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Good Technology
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
GoodRx
$1 billion
USA
28Aug2021
Y
$18bn
$33
NASDAQ: GDRX
GoPro
$2.25 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
GPClub
$1.32 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grab
$14.30 billion
Singapore
-
-
$39.6bn
-
SPAC | NASDAQ: GRAB
Grail
$3.20 billion
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Graphcore
$1.70 billion
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Greensill
$3.50 billion
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Groupon
$4.75 billion
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Grove Collaborative
$1.00 billion
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GuaHao (We Doctor)
$1.50 billion
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Guazi (Chehaoduo)
$9.00 billion
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Gusto
$3.80 billion
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Gympass
$1.00 billion
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HashiCorp
$1.90 billion
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HeartFlow
$1.50 billion
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Hello Bike
$1.47 billion
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Hello TransTech
$5.00 billion
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Hike
$1.40 billion
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Hims
$1.10 billion
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Hippo
$1.00 billion
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HomeAway
$1.40 billion
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Horizon Robotics
$3.00 billion
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Houzz
$4.00 billion
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Huike Group
$1.00 billion
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Huikedu Group
$1.00 billion
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Huimin
$2.00 billion
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Huitongda
$3.18 billion
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HuJiang
$1.00 billion
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Ibotta
$1.00 billion
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iCarbonX
$1.00 billion
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Icertis
$1.00 billion
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Icertis
$1.00 billion
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iFood
$1.00 billion
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Illumio
$1.00 billion
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Impossible Foods
$2.00 billion
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Improbable
$2.00 billion
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Indigo Agriculture
$3.50 billion
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Infi
$1.25 billion
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Infinidat
$1.60 billion
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Infor
$10.00 billion
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InMobi
$1.00 billion
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Innovent Biologics
$1.00 billion
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Insidesales.com
$1.70 billion
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Instacart
$7.60 billion
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Intarcia Therapeutics
$5.50 billion
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Intellifusion
$1.00 billion
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Intercom
$1.29 billion
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InVision
$1.00 billion
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ironSource
$1.50 billion
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iTutorGroup
$1.00 billion
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iTutorGroup
$1.00 billion
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Ivalua
$1.10 billion
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Iwjw
$1.25 billion
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IZettle
$2.20 billion
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Jasper
$1.35 billion
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JD Finance
$7.30 billion
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Jet.com
$1.50 billion
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JFrog
$1.20 billion
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Jia.com
$3.00 billion
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Jiangsu Zimi Technology
$1.00 billion
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Jiedaibao
$10.77 billion
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Jiuxian
$1.05 billion
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JOLLY Information Technology
$1.00 billion
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Jollychic
$1.00 billion
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Judo Capital
$1.04 billion
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Junlebao
$1.14 billion
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Jusfoun Big Data
$1.65 billion
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JUUL Labs
$50.00 billion
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Kabam
$1.00 billion
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Kabbage
$1.00 billion
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Kaseya
$1.75 billion
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Katerra
$1.00 billion
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KeepTruckin
$1.25 billion
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Kendra Scott
$1.00 billion
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Kik Interactive
$1.00 billion
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Kingsoft Cloud
$2.40 billion
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Klarna
$5.50 billion
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Klook
$1.00 billion
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Knotel
$1.30 billion
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KnowBe4
$1.00 billion
USA
22Apr2021
Y
$3bn
$16
NASDAQ: KNBE
KnowBox
$1.00 billion
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Koudai
$1.40 billion
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Koudai Gouwu
$1.45 billion
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Kr Space
$1.30 billion
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Kuaishou
$18.00 billion
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L&P Cosmetic
$1.78 billion
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Lakala
$1.50 billion
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Lalamove
$1.00 billion
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Lamabang
$1.00 billion
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Leap Motor
$1.01 billion
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LegalZoom
$2.00 billion
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Legendary Entertainment
$3.00 billion
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Lemonade
$2.00 billion
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Lending Club
$3.80 billion
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Letgo
$1.50 billion
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Lianjia (Homelink)
$13.00 billion
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LIfeMiles
$1.15 billion
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Lightricks
$1.00 billion
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Lime
$2.40 billion
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LinkDoc Technology
$1.00 billion
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LinkedIn
$1.06 billion
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LinkSure Network
$1.00 billion
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Liquid
$1.00 billion
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LivingSocial
$1.50 billion
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Lixiang Automotive
$2.93 billion
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Loggi
$1.00 billion
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Loji Logistics
$1.26 billion
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Lookout
$1.00 billion
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Luckin Coffee
$2.90 billion
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Lufax
$30.00 billion
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Luoji Siwei
$1.17 billion
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LY.com
$3.00 billion
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Lyft
$15.10 billion
USA
29Mar2019
Y
$20.6bn
$72
NASDAQ: LYFT
Lynda.com
$1.00 billion
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Machine Zone
$5.00 billion
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Mafengwo
$2.00 billion
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Magic Leap
$6.30 billion
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Maimai
$1.00 billion
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Manbang Group
$6.00 billion
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Maoyan-Weiying
$2.00 billion
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MarkLogic
$1.00 billion
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Marqeta
$2.00 billion
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Marqeta
$1.90 billion
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MediaMath
$1.00 billion
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Medlinker
$1.00 billion
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MedMen
$1.00 billion
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Meero
$1.00 billion
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Megvii
$4.00 billion
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Meicai
$2.80 billion
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Meili United Group
$3.00 billion
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Meitu
$2.00 billion
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Meituan-Dianping
$30.00 billion
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Meizu Technology
$4.58 billion
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Mia.com
$1.00 billion
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Miaoshou Doctor
$1.02 billion
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MindMaze
$1.00 billion
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MINISO Life
$2.20 billion
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MissFresh
$1.00 billion
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Mobike
$3.00 billion
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Mobileye
$1.90 billion
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Mobvoi
$1.00 billion
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Moderna Therapeutics
$7.50 billion
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Mofang Living
$1.00 billion
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Momenta
$1.00 billion
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Monday.com
$1.90 billion
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Monzo
$2.55 billion
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Mozido
$2.39 billion
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Mu Sigma
$1.50 billion
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MuleSoft
$1.50 billion
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musical.ly
$1.00 billion
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Musigma
$1.50 billion
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N26
$3.50 billion
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NantHealth
$2.00 billion
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NantOmics
$1.80 billion
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Nearmap
$1.00 billion
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NetEase Youdao
$1.10 billion
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Netskope
$1.00 billion
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New Relic
$1.00 billion
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Nextdoor
$2.10 billion
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Niantic
$4.00 billion
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Ninebot
$1.50 billion
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Northvolt
$1.60 billion
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Novogene
$1.00 billion
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Nubank
$10.00 billion
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NuCom Group
$2.20 billion
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Numbrs
$1.00 billion
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Nuro
$2.70 billion
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Nutanix
$2.00 billion
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Nxin (农信互联)
$1.00 billion
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OakNorth
$2.80 billion
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OCSiAl
$1.00 billion
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OfferUp
$1.20 billion
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Ola Cabs
$6.20 billion
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Ola Electric Mobility
$1.00 billion
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Omio
$1.00 billion
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One Medical Group
$1.00 billion
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One97 Communications
$10.00 billion
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OneConnect
$8.00 billion
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OneTrust
$1.30 billion
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Opendoor
$3.80 billion
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OrCam Technologies
$1.00 billion
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Oscar Health
$3.20 billion
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Otto Bock HealthCare
$3.50 billion
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Outreach
$1.10 billion
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OutSystems
$1.00 billion
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OVH
$1.10 billion
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Ovo Energy
$1.28 billion
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Oxford Nanopore
$2.00 billion
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OYO
$10.00 billion
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PagerDuty
$1.30 billion
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Palantir Technologies
$20.00 billion
USA
30Sept2020
Y
$16.5bn
$7.25
NYSE: PLTR*
Pat McGrath Labs
$1.00 billion
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-
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Pax Labs
$1.70 billion
-
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Paytm
$18.00 billion
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Peloton
$4.20 billion
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Perfect Diary
$1.00 billion
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Pinduoduo
$15.00 billion
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Pine Lab
$1.00 billion
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Ping An Good Doctor
$3.00 billion
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PingAn Health Insurance Tech
$8.80 billion
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Pinterest
$13.00 billion
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Pivotal
$2.80 billion
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Plaid
$2.65 billion
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Plaid Technologies
$2.65 billion
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Poizon
$1.00 billion
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Policy Bazaar
$1.00 billion
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Pony.ai
$1.70 billion
-
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Postmates
$1.85 billion
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Preferred Networks
$2.00 billion
-
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Procore Technologies
$3.00 billion
-
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Promasidor Holdings
$1.58 billion
-
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-
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Prometheus Group
$1.00 billion
-
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Prosper Marketplace
$1.90 billion
-
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Proteus Digital Health
$1.50 billion
-
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-
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B/R, Chapter 11
Pure Storage
$3.00 billion
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QingCloud
$1.00 billion
-
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Qualtrics
$2.50 billion
-
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Quanergy Systems
$1.59 billion
-
-
-
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Quikr
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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QuintoAndar
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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Quora
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
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Quotient Technology
$1.00 billion
-
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Radius Payment Solutions
$1.07 billion
-
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Rappi
$3.00 billion
-
-
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Red Ventures
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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Reddit
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
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ReNew Power
$2.00 billion
-
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Rent the Runway
$1.00 billion
-
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Revolut
$1.70 billion
-
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-
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Revolution Precrafted
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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Ring
$1.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rivian Automotive
$3.50 billion
USA
10Nov2021
Y
$100bn
$78
NASDAQ: RIVN
Rivigo
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Robinhood
$7.60 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Roblox
$2.50 billion
USA
10Mar2021
Y
$29.5bn
$45
NYSE: RBLX*
Rocket Lab
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Roivant Sciences
$7.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Roku, Inc.
$2.10 billion
-
-
-
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-
Root Insurance Co
$3.65 billion
-
-
-
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-
Royole Corporation
$3.00 billion
-
-
-
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Rubicon Global
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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Rubrik
$3.30 billion
-
-
-
-
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Samsara Networks
$6.00 billion
-
-
-
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Samumed
$12.00 billion
-
-
-
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-
Sanpower Group
$1.93 billion
-
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-
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-
Scale AI
$1.00 billion
-
-
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Segment
$1.50 billion
-
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Seismic
$1.00 billion
-
-
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SenseTime
$7.50 billion
-
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ServiceTitan
$1.65 billion
-
-
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Shanghai Henlius
$2.90 billion
-
-
-
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-
Shansong Express (FlashEx)
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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Shape Security
$1.00 billion
-
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Shazam
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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ShopClues
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Shopify
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Shouqi Car Rental
$3.55 billion
-
-
-
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-
Sila Nanotechnologies
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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-
-
SimpliVity
$1.03 billion
-
-
-
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-
Skype
$8.50 billion
-
-
-
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-
-
Skyscanner
$1.60 billion
-
-
-
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-
-
Slack Technologies
$7.00 billion
-
-
-
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-
-
Smartmi
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
SmartNews
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
SmileDirectClub
$3.20 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
SMS Assist
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
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-
Snap Inc
$19.30 billion
-
-
-
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-
Snapdeal
$7.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
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Snowflake Computing
$3.95 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
SoFi (Social Finance)
$4.50 billion
-
-
-
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-
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Solstice
$1.00 billion
-
-
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-
Sonder
$1.10 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Souche
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
SouChe Holdings
$3.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Soundhound
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Souq.com
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
SpaceX
$30.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Spotify
$8.53 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Spring Rain Software
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sprinklr
$1.80 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Square
$6.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Squarespace
$1.70 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Starry
$1.27 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Stemcentrx
$5.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Stitch Fix
$1.40 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
StockX
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Stripe
$22.50 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
STX Entertainment
$1.50 billion
-
-
-
-
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-
Sumo Logic
$1.00 billion
-
-
-
-
-
-
Suning Sports
$1.47 billion
-
-
-
-
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-
Sunrun
$1.30 billion
-
-
-
-
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-
Supreme
$1.00 billion
-
-
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SurveyMonkey
$2.00 billion
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-
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Sweetgreen
$1.00 billion
-
-
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Swiggy
$3.30 billion
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-
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Symphony
$1.40 billion
-
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Taihe Music Group
$1.70 billion
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TalkDesk
$1.00 billion
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TangoMe
$1.10 billion
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Tanium
$6.70 billion
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Taobao Movie
$2.10 billion
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Taopiaopiao
$2.00 billion
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team.blue (merge of Combell Group and TransIP Group)
$1.00 billion
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TechStyle Fashion Group
$1.00 billion
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Tempus (Labs)
$3.10 billion
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-
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Ten-X
$1.20 billion
-
-
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-
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Tencent Music
$18.00 billion
-
-
-
-
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-
The Honest Company
$1.70 billion
USA
6May2021
Y
$1.45bn
$16
NASDAQ: HNST
The Hut Group
$3.25 billion
-
-
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ThoughtSpot
$1.95 billion
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Three Squirrels
$2.09 billion
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Thumbtack
$1.70 billion
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Toast
$2.70 billion
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Tokopedia
$7.00 billion
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-
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Tongdun Technology
$1.00 billion
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-
-
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Toutiao (Bytedance)
$78.00 billion
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-
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Tradeshift
$1.10 billion
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-
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TransferWise
$3.50 billion
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-
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Traveloka
$2.00 billion
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Trax
$1.30 billion
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Trendy International Group
$2.00 billion
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Tresata
$1.00 billion
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TripActions
$4.00 billion
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Tuandaiwang
$1.46 billion
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-
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Tubatu.com
$2.00 billion
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-
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Tuhu
$1.16 billion
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-
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Tujia
$1.50 billion
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Turo
$1.00 billion
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TuSimple
$1.00 billion
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Twilio
$1.03 billion
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-
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Twitter
$8.00 billion
-
-
-
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Uber
$72.00 billion
USA
9May2019
Y
$75bn
$45
NYSE: UBER
UBtech Robotics
$4.00 billion
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-
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Ucar
$4.40 billion
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UCloud
$1.50 billion
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UCommune
$3.00 billion
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Udaan
$2.30 billion
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Udacity
$1.00 billion
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UiPath
$7.10 billion
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UnionPay
$2.80 billion
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Unisound
$1.00 billion
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United Imaging Healthcare
$5.00 billion
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Unity Technologies
$6.00 billion
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Uptake
$2.30 billion
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VANCL
$3.00 billion
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Vice Media
$5.70 billion
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Vipkid
$3.00 billion
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Vista Global
$2.50 billion
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Viva Republica (Toss)
$2.20 billion
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Vlocity
$1.00 billion
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Vonage
$1.11 billion
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Vox Media
$1.00 billion
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VTS
$1.00 billion
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Wacai.com
$1.00 billion
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WalkMe
$1.00 billion
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Wanda E-commerce
$3.00 billion
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Warby Parker
$1.20 billion
USA
29Sept2021
-
$5bn
$40
NYSE: WRBY
Wayfair
$2.00 billion
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-
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WeBank
$9.23 billion
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Wemakeprice
$2.65 billion
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WeWork
$45.00 billion
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WhatsApp
$1.50 billion
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Wheels Up
$1.10 billion
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Wifi Master Key
$1.00 billion
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Wish (fka ContextLogic)
$11.00 billion
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Womai
$1.00 billion
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Woowa Brothers
$2.60 billion
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Xiaohongshu
$3.00 billion
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Xiaomi
$45.00 billion
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XiaoZhu
$1.00 billion
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XPeng Motors
$3.65 billion
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Yanolja
$1.00 billion
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Yello Mobile
$4.05 billion
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YH Global
$1.00 billion
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Yidian Zixun
$1.00 billion
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-
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Yiguo (易果生鲜)
$1.20 billion
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-
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Yijiupi (易久批)
$1.10 billion
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Yimidida
$1.17 billion
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Yinlong Group
$1.95 billion
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Yitu Technology
$2.37 billion
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Yixia Technology
$3.00 billion
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Youxia Motors
$3.35 billion
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Youxinpai
$2.00 billion
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Yuanfudao
$3.00 billion
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-
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Zalando
$4.03 billion
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Zappos
$1.00 billion
USA
01Nov2009
-
$1.2bn
-
AMZN acquired
ZBJ.com
$1.50 billion
-
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Zenefits
$4.50 billion
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Zeta Global
$1.30 billion
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Zhangmen
$1.00 billion
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Zhaogang
$1.00 billion
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-
-
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Zhaogang.com
$1.00 billion
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-
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Zhihu
$2.50 billion
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-
-
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Zhuan Zhuan
$1.00 billion
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Zipline International
$1.20 billion
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ZipRecruiter
$1.00 billion
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-
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Ziroom
$4.50 billion
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Zocdoc
$1.80 billion
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-
-
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-
Zomato
$2.50 billion
-
-
-
-
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-
Zoom
$1.00 billion
USA
18Apr2019
Y
$9.2B
$36
NASDAQ: ZM
Zoox
$3.20 billion
USA
26Jun2020
-
$1.3bn
-
AMZN acquired
Zulily
$1.09 billion
-
-
-
-
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Zume Pizza
$2.25 billion
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-
-
-
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Zuoyebang
$1.00 billion
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-
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Zynga
$9.10 billion
USA
16Dec2011
Y
$9bn
$11
NASDAQ: ZNGA
NOTE: Above is a list of these billion dollar valuation startup companies, and the list is incomprehensive - incomplete and maybe outdated and incorrect. I have a separate spreadsheet with detail inforamtion for personal record and interest.
* indicates a direct listing IPO with a market value greater than $250 million for both institutions: Nasdaq and NYSE.
NOTE: Above is a list of these billion dollar valuation startup companies, and the list is incomprehensive - incomplete and maybe outdated and incorrect. I have a separate spreadsheet with detail inforamtion for personal record and interest.
*Livongo (NASDAQ: LVGO) was acquired by Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) on August 5th 2020.
Image: The depiction illustrates a slowing down of the aging process during the latter years, and possily through the centenarian years. The goal is to maximize both lifespan and healthspan; thus, squaring the health curve.
Can science and innovation improve our bone mass (density) for better posture, maintain muscle mass and strength, and keep the mind vibrant, healthy, and sharp? All these desires to have a strong and healthy body, mind, and spirit are based on the needs to improve the life of our cells from diminishing and dying in our body which effect our biologic age while our chronologic age climb yearly. Have you ever say to yourself the person you just met looks young for being 40 or even 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90? If you could look (external) and feel (internal) younger at any age, wouldn't that be great as you age, especially in your later years! This is the science and innovation on Aging, Longevity, maximizing both lifespan and healthspan.
Longevity, manaing aging by getting the average life expectancy for people at 75 into the 90s and possibly 100+, centenarian years. I concur with experts and can relate and identify that the cause of aging is effected by two primary factors: 1) the environment that accounts for 80%, and 2) family genes that accounts for 20% of the aging process. I actually noticed these two factors and somewhat percentages while growing up as I see it in my own family genes and in our lifestyle and from a diversity of friends and families. The oldest person in my family was 98 years young and mentally strong at the end of life. It is why I have a personal interest in the science and innovation on aging gracefully, keeping skin healthy and radiant and bone dense and strong. It is necessary to note that everyone will age eventually; however, everyone will age at a different rate and time and by the environment and family genes in which how the two aging factors are managed during a lifespan, especially in the second half. And so, what if science and innovation can assist in managing genes, decreasing degradation and increasing rejuvenation? The environment can be controlled by disciplines by living a healthy lifestyle while genes can be managed by science and innovation of medicines, advanced biomedical technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Image: Ideally, in pushing-out and squaring-up the health curve, quality of life can be improved and lifespan can be increased. From the United Nations, the current life expectancy (lifespan) for U.S. in 2020 is 78.93 years.
In addition, in taking care of the body through a healthy food diet and regular physical exercise and weight-strength training, the speed of aging can be improved in a more gradual aging process during the latter lifespan years. Through the discoveries of aging of enzymes, scientists can possibly slowdown the aging process such as in the groundbreaking discoveries of telomeres and telomerase, also called terminal transferase, in plants' DNA by Elizabeth Blackburn of University of California at San Francisco, Carol Greider of Johns Hopkins University, and Jack Szostak of Harvard University — all Nobel Prize winners in 2009. Since their achievements many advances have emerged in the telomere and telomerase fields, and the science on aging has become more visible, believable, and even feasible as scientists develop and take what have been proven in the lab and into the marketplace. From having potential to possessing achievability and credibility, the science has been incredible, scientifically based and yielding real practical results, and relatively new studies have been experimented successfully to create a new industry on (Anti-) Aging, Longevity.
Image: DNA is damaged by the shortening of telomeres (end caps). They capped the end of each DNA strand that protect our chromosomes. The thread-like structures that contain all our genetic data. Telomeres will shorten over time as cell divides reaching a "replicative senescense" state which then reach a "Hayflick" limit - a concept advanced by American anatomist Leonard Hayflick.
⇳ Company (Startup)
Valuation (USD)
Country
Exit Date
Review S-1 (Y/N)
Exit Valuation (USD)
Par Value Debut
Exchange: Ticker
5 Alarm Bio
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712 North Inc
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Aeovian (was Aeonian)
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Age Labs
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AgeCurve Limited
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AgeX Ther. / Reverse Bio
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Alector
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USA
7Feb2019
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$1.3bn
$19
NASDAQ: ALEC
Alkahest
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Altoida
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ALX Oncology
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USA
17Jul2020
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$668.8mm
$19
Nasdaq: ALXO
Ambrosia
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Amprion
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Animal Biosciences
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Antoxis
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Athersys Inc
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Atropos Therapeutics
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Aurora Bio
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Beiwe Health
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BHB Therapeutics
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BioAge Labs
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Biophytis
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Bioquark
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BioViva
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Blue Rock Therapeutics
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BYOMass Therapeutics
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Calico
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Celevity
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CellAge
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Celularity
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Centers for Age Control
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Cerevance
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ChromaDex
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Chronomics
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Cleara Biotech
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CohBar Inc
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Continuum Biosciences
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Covalent Bioscience
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Cytegen
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Daphnia Labs
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Decibel Therapeutics
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USA
11Feb2021
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$437.4mm
$18
NASDAQ: DBTX
Deciduous Therapeutics
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Denali Therapeutics
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Dorian Therapeutics
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Elevian
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Elysium Health
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Enclear Therapies
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Epimorphy LLC
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Epirium Bio
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Eterly
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Eternans
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Everon Biosciences
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Fauna Bio
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Fountain Therapeutics
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FoxBio / Antoxerene
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GEn1E Lifesciences
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Genome Protection
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GenSight Biologics
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Gero
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Gerostate Alpha
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Gordian Biotechnology
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Guided Clarity
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Hanako Biotech
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Human Rejuvenation Biotechnologies
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Humanity Inc
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Ichor Ttherapeutics
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InSilico Med. / Generait
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Integrated Health Systems
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Intervene Immune
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iuve bio
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Juvena Therapeutics
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Juvenescence
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Life Biosciences
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Life Epigenetics
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Life Length
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LipidEv (Lipid Evolution Ltd.)
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Longeveron
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Longevity Biotech
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Longevity Bridge
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LyGenesis
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Mesoblast
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Metacrine
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USA
15Sep2020
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$337mm
$13
NASDAQ: MTCR
Methuselah Health
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Minovia Therapeutics
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Mitochondrial Transfusion
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Mitoconix Bio (not responding)
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Mitokinin
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Mount Tam -> Torcept
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MyndYou
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Napa Therapeutics
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Navitor Pharmaceuticals
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NemaLife Inc.
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NeuroTrack
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Newomics
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Nuchido
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Oisin Bio (& OncoSenX)
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OneSkin Technologies
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OpenCures / OpenOme
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Osiris Green
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Oxitope Inc.
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Pano Therapeutics
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Pentraxin Therapeutics
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PharmatrophiX
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Ponce de Leon Health / Rejuvant
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Precision BioSciences
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USA
27Mar2019
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$784mm
$16
NASDAQ: DTIL
Proclara Biosciences
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Prodrome Sciences
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Proteostasis Therapeutics
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Rejuvenate Bio
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Rejuvenation Technologies
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Repair Biotechnologies
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resTORbio
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Retrotope
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Revel Pharmaceuticals
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Ridgeline Therapeutics
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Rubedo Life Sciences
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Samsara Therapeutics
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Samumed
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Selphagy Therapeutics
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Senolytx (Senolytic Therapeutics)
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Shift Biosciences
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Ship of Theseus
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Sierra Sciences
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Silene Biotech
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SIWA Therapeutics
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Souvien Therapeutics
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Spring Discovery
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Stealth BioTherapeutics
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System1 Biosciences
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TA Sciences
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TAmiRNA
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Telocyte
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Telomere Diagnostics
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Tiaki Therapeutics
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TruMe Labs
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Turn Biotechnologies
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Underdog Pharmaceuticals
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United Neuroscience
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Unity Biotechnology
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USA
2May2018
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$712mm
$17
NASDAQ: UBX
Youthereum Genetics
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Yuva Biosciences
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SPAC IPOs SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) IPOs in Technology Venture Capital / Private Equity Industry https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#SPAC
[1] Yahoo's core business, along with Yahoo Finance, was acquired by Verizon for $4.48 billion in 2017. This part of Yahoo is now under Verizon Media, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, and remaining stake of Yahoo is with Alibaba (BABA) and Yahoo Japan is with SoftBank Group.
[2] Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. was founded in 1957 and went public in 1999. ON Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: ON) successfully completed its acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor (Nasdaq: FCS) for $2.4 Billion in Cash in 2016.
[3] Adobe Systems acquired Macromedia at approximately $3.4 billion in 2005 and quickly made operations, networks, and customer care integrations.
[4] Microsoft acquired Visio Corporation in 2000, Skype in 2011, Nokia’s mobile and devices division in 2013, LinkedIn in 2016 and GitHub in 2018.
[5] Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, WhatsApp in 2014, and Oculus VR in 2014.
[1] Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) acquired LinkedIn Corporation [ NYSE : LNKD ] on Monday, June 13, 2016 for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash.
[2] Markel Corporation’s first public listing was on the NASDAQ exchange in December 1986 ($8.33/share IPO price). In 1997, Markel Corporation moved onto the NYSE.
[3] Google acquired Fitbit for $2.1 billion, annouced on November 1st 2019 and [ NYSE : FIT ] delisted.
[1] Yahoo Japan Corporation (4689.T) first publicly listed its shares on JASDAQ on November 4, 1997 and moved its listing to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE/TYO) on October 28, 2003.
[1][2] SoftBank plans to launch Vision Fund II of $108 billion, and go public (IPO) with its initial $100 billion Vision Fund I.
Exchange
Ticker
Company
IPO
52 Week Range
Day's Range
P/E
Beta
Stock Price
CRYPTO
BTC
Bitcoin
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CRYPTO
ETH
Ethereum
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CRYPTO
XRP
XRP
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CRYPTO
BCH
Bitcoin Cash
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CRYPTO
LTC
Litecoin
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CRYPTO
EOS
EOS
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CRYPTO
BNB
Binance
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CRYPTO
USDT
Tether
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CRYPTO
TTU
TaTaTu
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CRYPTO
XLM
Stellar
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CRYPTO
JPM[1]
JPMorganChase
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CRYPTO
Libra[2]
Facebook
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
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[1]J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. launched its own internal private cryptocurrency digital token ("coin") JPM on February 2019 in a U.S. banking first to speed up transactions on international settlements by major corporations. [2]Facebook announced the development of its digital currency Libra ("coin") on June 2019 and planned to go-live for its 2 billion users in mid 2020, and created an independent subsidiary, called Calibra, that will manage the development of applications for Libra on its FB platforms.
Since our capital are in financial institutions, their performances are of interest. The financial industry, including banking, is heavily regulated by the government. Generally speaking, everyone have deposited their savings and checks in most retail and commercial banks. Of the major institutions, the focus here is on retail and commercial banks, investment banks, and companies. The top 100 world banks of 2018 is listed below, and its purpose is to serve as a glimpse standing (a static snapshot) of big banks worldwide.
Note: added tickers and links to readily see banks’ stock information, performance, news, and activities; market cap data are derived from annual reports and financial statements of banks as of January 12th 2018.
|| HISTORY || Of the many startups I have spent some time on that have gone public over the decades, I wanted to point out two major startup companies that I have targeted and evaluated. I came across startup company Alibaba.com in 2000 (founded in 1999 by founding CEO and Chairman Jack Ma) when I was evaluating companies in Asia and seeing the growth potential in the region, including Southeast Asia (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN). The second was Facebook.com in 2005 (founded in 2004 by founding CEO Mark Zuckerberg) when I was evaluating social media startup companies since the late 1990s. Alibaba went public in 2014 under ticker [ NYSE : BABA ], and Facebook went public in 2012 under ticker [ NASDAQ : FB ]. I came across founding CEO Mark Zuckerberg again in Palo Alto, California on a presentation day, and on another event at Stanford University.
Side Note : At those moments, I didn't know Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend (now wife) Priscilla Chan. She shared with everyone that her parents had escaped Vietnam in the 1970s. I later discovered her parents are Chinese-Vietnamese Americans, and they have a similar story of escaping Vietnam as my family. If I had known beforehand, I would have gone further by speaking a bit of Vietnamese and Chinese to Mark. I called out "Mark!" And then later, I visited him at his rented home in Palo Alto after having visited Facebook HQ.
Image: Signed in at Facebook Headquarter in Palo Alto, California to see a friend and Mark Zuckerberg; this was way before the startup company filed to go public. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) went public with its initial public offering (IPO) on May 18, 2012. With a peak market capitalization of over $500 billion, the social networking company had one of the largest and most anticipated IPOs in history after Jack Ma with Alibaba.com in 2000.
Fast forward, it’s amazing to see these two startup companies coming from the early stages and watched them grew into large size private companies that continued to expand globally into even bigger public companies. And so I decided to put together the steps to roadmap the IPO process. In a major IPO, Facebook had 32 underwriters and debuted on the public market on May 18, 2012. It was the biggest in technology, and one of the biggest in internet history with a peak market capitalization of over $104 billion. For Alibaba, the world’s highest in history debuted on September 19, 2014 and had 35 underwriters with a market capitalization of $231 billion. That in mind, it takes about ten years, historically around eight, from start to expansion and then exit. In recent years startup companies are staying private longer to further build on an enormous valuation and market capitalization at exit, reaching in multi and mega billion dollars. This was achieved with Uber, a ride-sharing services startup company, that went public on May 10, 2019 on the NYSE with a valuation of $82 billion, but initially $120 billion. Above are selected technology startup companies that I have placed much time on from early stage to growth and expansion and then toward an IPO exit as shown.
Market Capitalization =
Total Outstanding Shares × Stock Price
Valuation =
There are several methods to set a value on a mature or public company, recognizing tangible and intangiable assets, plus the type of accounting method used to generate the financial statements needs to be noted. Basically, there are three approaches: market, income, and asset. For startup companies, pre-money valuation and post-money valuation are utilized. In order to expand on valuation, a seperate section is needed to present various methods applied to public and private companies.
All these growth startup companies, particularly Facebook, Alibaba, and Uber, have already closed multiple series of fundings and completed several mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to increase valuation and maximize market capitalization during the growth and expansion stages before filing to go public. The senior management team typically consists of a founder(s) and board members, and once they decide to go public the required steps of filing for an initial public offering (IPO) triggers a cascading step process with the SEC, FINRA, attorneys, accountants (CPAs), and an advisory transfer agent. Deciding to take a private company into the public domain takes careful thinking, meticulous planning, and time sensitive executing on the IPO process and in an ideal market condition. Prior to filing on a major stock exchange, a company needs to have traded over 1.25 million shares held by at least 550 shareholders upon listing on the NASDAQ and 1.1 million publicly held shares held by a minimum of 2,200 shareholders upon listing on the NYSE. For startup companies, I have come across shareholders that include accredited investors of angel investors, venture capitalists, (ultra) high net worth individuals, and family offices (SFOs and MFOs). And in early stage rounds the seed capital have come from founders, families, friends, angel investors, venture capitalists, and even crowdfunding services.
Below are needed information and highlighted steps to plan and take a private and major size company into the public market for the first time, listing its shares on a stock exchange such as NASDAQ or NYSE.
Some questions to note and answer:
What's the ticker, trading symbol?
Company issue name?
Is it a US issue?
How many number of shares outstanding?
What is its world wide shares outstanding, if non-US?
What's the listing date?
List the industry SIC code?
List the prior market code?
List/provide industry description?
What type of issue description?
Any prior market description?
Some steps to highlight and execute:
Receive board approval.
Assemble IPO team: CFO, CPAs, lawyers, advisors.
Draft prospectus and filing information for S-1 document.
Review and restate financials.
Obtain letter of intent with an investment bank, bookrunner.
Submit prospectus for review: the SEC and FINRA.
Conduct due diligence and filings.
Submit preliminary prospectus presentation to SEC.
Syndicate to other investment banks, underwriters.
Conduct road show, meeting investors.
Finalize prospectus, finalize again.
Determine offering size and price.
Print final prospectus and materials.
Create tombstone ad from investment banks.
Stabilize the market price.
Go IPO day and quiet period, an official public date.
Transition to rely on the market forces.
Lockup 90 day period for small shareholders.
Lockup 180 day period for mid shareholders.
Lockup 365 day period for large shareholders.
In an ideal market condition, meaning the economy and public appetite for IPOs and considering sporadic market dynamic or shift including threats from local and global competition, the initial public offering (IPO) process or direct public offering (DPO) process can take between nine months and a year depending on the company, market, and economy. Besides the CEO and board members, having or hiring an experience CFO is a must for financial preparation and SEC filings.
Role
Order
Underwriter
Rating
USD ($B)
Link
List of Companies
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Academy Securities, Inc.
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Allen & Company LLC
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4
Bank of America Merrill Lynch ("MLPF&S")
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8
Barclays Capital Inc.
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BHF-BANK Aktiengesellschaft
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Blaylock Robert Van LLC
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BMO Capital Markets Corp.
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BNP Paribas Securities Corp
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BOCI (Bank of China International) Asia Ltd
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BTIG, LLC (Baypoint / Bass Trading Instl Group)
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C.L. King & Associates, Inc.
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Cabrera Capital Markets LLC
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Canaccord Genuity LLC
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CastleOak Securities L.P.
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China International Capital Corp HK Securities Ltd
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China Merchants Securities HK Co Ltd
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CIMB Securities Ltd
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7
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
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CLSA (Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia) Ltd
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Code Advisors LLC
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Cowen & Company
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5
Credit Suisse Group
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DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd
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6
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
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Drexel Hamilton, LLC
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Evercore Group L.L.C.
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2
Goldman Sachs & Co.
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Great Pacific Securities
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HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
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ING Financial Markets LLC
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3
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.
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10
Jefferies LLC
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JMP Securities LLC
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KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.
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KKR Capital Markets LLC
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Lazard Capital Markets LLC
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Lebenthal & Co.,
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Loop Capital Markets LLC
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LOYAL3 Securities, Inc.
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M.R. Beal & Co.,
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Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc.
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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
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Mischler Financial Group, Inc.
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Mizuho Securities USA LLC
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1
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
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Muriel Siebert & Co.,
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Needham & Company, LLC
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Nicolaus & Co.,
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Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
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Pacific Crest Securities LLC,
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Penserra Securities LLC
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Piper Jaffray & Co.
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R. Seelaus & Co., LLC
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Raine Securities LLC
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Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
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RBC Capital Markets, LLC
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Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Securities Inc
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Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
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Samuel A. Ramirez & Co.
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SG Americas Securities LLC
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Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., L.L.C.
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SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc.
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Stifel, Nicolaus & Company
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SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.
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The Williams Capital Group L.P.
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Tigress Financial Partners LLC
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TPG Capital BD, LLC
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9
UBS Group
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Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
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William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
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Note: The top ten (10) underwriters in the technology sector are marked, totaling $262 billion USD in gross proceeds raised. Also, list includes previous underwriters, e.g., Wells Fargo & Company acquired Wachovia Capital Markets in 2008, valuing the deal at roughly $7 per Wachovia common share, or approximately $15.1 billion all-stock merger.
[1]TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB was acquired by EverBank on June 9, 2017. TIAA-CREF is an acronym for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund.
[2]CIBC Bank USA is an American commercial bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1989 as PrivateBancorp Inc., the company became a subsidiary of the Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after a $5 billion USD acquisition in June 2017.
Note: The list above shows the top 100 banks and assets under management (AUM) totaling $14.6 Trillion or $14,588,577,974,000.00 in 2018. The total number of banks and total AUM in the United States comes to over $18 Trillion or $18,034,498,495,000.00 in 2018. MORE »»
|| HISTORY || Startups with game-changing applications are beginning to appeal to big banks with focused apps in finance and other areas in cloud computing business software and integrated applications, including blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). The first cryptocurrency created by a major American bank is by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Banks make up six percent (6%) of all active investors in private equity, making them the eighth (8th) largest investor type by number of limited partners (LPs). However, it is interesting to note that banks account for eight percent (8%) of aggregate capital currently invested in private equity, making them the fifth (5th) most significant investor type in terms of invested capital, behind public and private sector pension funds, foundations and insurance companies. And with increasing concerns over liquidity and in light of the uncertainty surrounding certain financial regulations, such as Basel III (aka the Third Basel Accord or Basel Standards) — an international framework for bank regulation agreed to by U.S. and international bank regulators that called for making certain bank regulations more stringent and leverage, and the Volcker Rule (part of the Dodd-Frank Act) which restricts proprietary trading. These protected boundaries (guide rails) cause banks to become increasingly restricted when allocating capital to the asset class, particularly in venture capital, and the financial crisis in 2007 – 2008 have altered the landscape of investment banking around the world.
Stemming from the financial crisis, the Basel III Accord was developed and is intended to strengthen bank capital requirements by increasing bank liquidity and decreasing bank leverage. Below are key approaches based on fundamental accounting principles:
Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR)
Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR)
Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision
Monitoring Metrics Report
And as of May 30, 2018, the Federal Reserve Board approved a 373 page notice of proposed rulemaking (the “proposal”) to amend the regulations implementing the Volcker Rule (the Rule), a centerpiece of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The proposal establishes three categories of banking entities based on their level of trading activity: significant, moderate, and limited trading assets and liabilities.
Banking entities with significant trading assets and liabilities ( > $10 billion ) —
would include banking entities with trading assets and liabilities of at least $10 billion. For US banking entities this calculation would be based on worldwide trading assets and liabilities whereas for foreign banking entities this would be based on trading assets and liabilities of their combined US operations (including its US branches, agencies, and subsidiaries). These entities would be required to comply with the most extensive set of requirements under the proposal.
Banking entities with moderate trading assets and liabilities ( > $1 billion, < $10 billion ) —
would include banking entities which have trading assets and liabilities equal to or above $1 billion but less than $10 billion. These banking entities would be subject to reduced compliance requirements.
Banking entities with limited trading assets and liabilities ( < $1 billion ) —
would include banking entities with trading assets and liabilities of less than $1 billion. This calculation would be based on worldwide trading assets and liabilities for both US and foreign banking entities. These banking entities would be able to operate under a presumption of compliance.
Tracing back to 1970, Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) / Anti-Money Laundering (AML) law to require financial institutions / banking companies to cooperate with government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering — BSA AML Compliance, the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) program and controls. Below are some of the major fines from the federal and or state agencies.
01/09/2009 – Lloyds TSB Bank PLC agreed to pay $350 million in Connection with Violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
12/16/2009 – Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay $536 million in Connection with Violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and New York State Law.
05/10/2010 – Former ABN Amro Bank N.V., now named the Royal Bank of Scotland N.V., agreed to pay $500 million in Connection with Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and with Violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.
08/18/2010 – Barclays Bank PLC agreed to pay $298 million in Connection with Violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act.
06/12/2012 – ING Bank N.V. agreed to pay $619 million for Illegal Transactions with Cuban and Iranian Entities.
12/10/2012 – Standard Chartered Bank agreed to pay $227 million for Illegal Transactions with Iran, Sudan, Libya, and Burma.
12/11/2012 – HSBC Holdings PLC. and HSBC Bank USA N.A. agreed to pay $1.9 billion in Deferred Prosecution Agreement on an anti-money laundering and Sanctions Violations.
06/21/2013 – Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi agreed to pay $250 million settlement to New York State in relation to 28,000 transactions totaling $100 billion handled by its New York operation between 2002 and 2007.
12/11/2013 – RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland has become mired in fresh controversy after being fined $100m for breaching sanctions with Iran, Burma, Cuba and other countries.
08/25/2014 – Standard Chartered agreed to pay $300 million to the New York state Department of Financial Services over lapses in its anti-money laundering procedures.
05/12/2015 – Commerzbank agreed to pay $1.45 billion and fire an employee to settle investigations into its dealings with black-listed nations like Iran and Sudan.
07/22/2015 – Banamex USA, a Century City unit of Citigroup Inc. that served customers doing business in Mexico and the U.S., has agreed to shut down and pay $140 million in penalties to settle state and federal money-laundering probes.
02/15/2018 – U.S. Bancorp agreed to pay $613 million penalties for felling to guard against money laundering: $453 million to the Department of Justice (DoJ), $75 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), $70 million to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), and $15 million to the Federal Reserve (Fed).
04/20/2018 – the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) announced a $1 billion penalty against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in a coordinated action with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and credited the $500 million penalty collected by the OCC.
05/10/2018 – RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland has reached a $4.9 billion civil settlement in principle with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over mis-selling residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007.
10/23/2018 – Capital One, N.A. entered into a consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) requiring the bank to pay a civil money penalty of $100 million in relation to alleged BSA/AML deficiencies cited in a 2015 consent order with the agency.
In addition, for banks and customers’ protection from fraud, cyberthreats have become another top concern as Cybersecurity risks surface for all banks around the world to offer secure network and safe cloud infrastructure with authentication for online banking and mobile payments that have been a steady growth and convenient adoption over the past decade. The continuous success of banks on these rules and regulations is vital, including cybersecurity protection to provide consistent prevention-based endpoint protection technology to prevent negative financial impact and possibly severe damage to the financial stability. If a domino failure occurred from scandals and or cyberattacks bombarding hacks on the banking system, committing cybercrimes, these threats could trigger instability to the whole banking network and system, domestically and internationally. With these added methods and security measures to banking online and mobile, banks and third-party providers (TPP) need to comply with Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) requirements on Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) by September 14, 2019. Currently, financial institutions should be aware of these PSD2 criteria:
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) : PSD2 authentication must be based on two or more (multi) factors, including passwords or PIN, tokens or mobile devices, or biometrics, categorized as knowledge, possession and inherence.
🔐 Knowledge, what user knows : password or PIN
📱 Possession, what user has : mobile phone or hardware token
👤 Inherence, what user is : fingerprint or face recognition
Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA) : the transaction happens in real time, and it is invisible to the customer; therefore, it does not add friction to the purchasing process. PSD2 mandates the use of transaction risk analysis to deter fraudulent payments.
Dynamic Linking: under PSD2 payment transactions, it involves dynamically linking authentication tokens to the specific payment amount and the specific payee of the transaction; thus, the authentication code must be dynamically linked to both the amount and payee.
Mobile App Security: payment service providers (PSPs) must adopt security measures to mitigate the risk resulting from compromised mobile devices. PSD2 also mandates the use of dedicated mobile app cloning counter-measures in applications, also known as replication protection.
That said, over the decades I have evaluated many fintech, cybersecurity, and internet of things (IoT) applications and companies for strategic funding and support, and I got an early jumpstart and interest in mobile payment applications, starting with an online and mobile funds transfers company PayPal [ NASDAQ: PYPL ], and then later mobile payment device and platform company Square [ NYSE : SQ ]. After looking at the application, device and business model, I later met founding CEO Jack Dorsey in Palo Alto in 2011 when Square was an early stage startup. Currently, Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that he has started spearheading his cryptocurrency endeavor to only support Bitcoin (BTC) by developing an infrastructure to handle rapid payments on the Bitcoin blockchain network.
Side Note : When Square first started during the early stage of growth, Jack Dorsey was presenting how the device Square works with its cloud mobile payment software. Afterward, I ended up getting a Square device from him.
Also, more recently, founding Facebook [ NASDAQ : FB ] CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his cryptocurrency endeavor in creating Libra coin via an independent subsidiary called Calibra that will develop the coin and platform. The coin is expected to be launched in mid 2020 for Facebook 2 billion plus global monthly active users (MAU). When these two ambitious founders succeed, creating momentum, and other crypto founders, cryptocurrencies may begin penetrating to the masses in the coming decade, 2030. Its growth curve may even follow or exceed the growth curve adaption of mobile phones and mobile payments.
The federal and state governments have a myriad of agencies, some listed below, in place that regulate and oversee financial markets and companies. These agencies each have a specific range of duties and responsibilities that enable them to act independently of each other while they work to accomplish similar objectives. Although opinions vary on the efficiency, effectiveness and even the need for some of these agencies, they were each designed with specific goals to review and regulate the financial industry. The SEC is the most obvious and is listed first below then the Federal Reserve.
SEC, Securities & Exchange Commission : the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent federal government agency responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of the securities markets, and facilitating capital formation. It was created by Congress in 1934 as the first federal regulator of the securities markets. The SEC promotes full public disclosure, protects investors against fraudulent and manipulative practices in the market, and monitors corporate takeover actions in the United States.
Fed, Federal Reserve System : the Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of financial panics led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate financial crises.
CFTC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission : the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent U.S. federal agency established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates the commodity futures and options markets. Its goals include the promotion of competitive and efficient futures markets and the protection of investors against manipulation, abusive trade practices, and fraud.
FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation : the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation providing deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. commercial banks and savings institutions. The FDIC was created by the 1933 Banking Act, enacted during the Great Depression to restore trust in the American banking system. Its mandate is to protect up to $250,000 per depositor. The catalyst for creating the FDIC was the run on banks during the Great Depression of the 1920s.
FinCEN, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network : the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is government bureau that maintains a network whose goal it is to prevent and punish criminals and criminal networks that participate in money laundering and other financial crimes. FinCEN, administered by the United States Department of the Treasury, operates domestically and internationally, and it consists of three major players: law-enforcement agencies, the regulatory community and the financial-services community that collect and analyze information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
FINRA, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority : the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is a private corporation in the United States that acts as a self-regulatory organization. FINRA is the successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers and the member regulation, enforcement, and arbitration operations of the New York Stock Exchange.
OCC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency : the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and thrift institutions and the federally licensed branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States.
NCUA, National Credit Union Administration : the National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency created by the United States Congress to regulate, charter, and supervise federal credit unions across the country.
CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau : the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a regulatory agency charged with overseeing financial products and services that are offered to consumers. The CFPB is divided into several units: research, community affairs, consumer complaints, the Office of Fair Lending and the Office of Financial Opportunity. These units work together to protect and educate consumers about the various types of financial products and services that are available.
NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners : the National Association of Insurance Commissioners is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.
NFA, National Futures Association : the National Futures Association (NFA) is an independent self-regulatory organization for the U.S. futures and derivatives markets. Designated by the Commodities Futures Trade Commission as a registered futures association, the NFA’s mandate is to safeguard the integrity of the derivatives markets, protect investors, and ensure that members fulfill their regulatory obligations. NFA is headquartered in Chicago and maintains an office in New York City.
OFAC, Office of Foreign Asset Control : the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) is a department of the U.S. Treasury that enforces economic and trade sanctions against countries and groups of individuals involved in terrorism, narcotics and other disreputable activities.
FFIEC, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council : the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council is a formal U.S. government interagency body composed of five banking regulators that is "empowered to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms to promote uniformity in the supervision of financial institutions". In 2006, the State Liaison Committee (SLC), an advisory panel of state financial regulators, was added to the Council as a voting member.
SLC, State Liaison Committee, under the FFIEC, the State Liaison Committee serves as an important conduit to their state colleagues and represent state supervisory interests before the Council - FFIEC, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
The regulators above are at the federal level and do not include individual states (state level) that have their own banking authority.
I’ve been evaluating performance of banks in my spare time and as a personal interest by reviewing their financial statements, giving the importance of the intermediation function of banks between investors and companies and as a function of our quick need for spending cash. Of particular interest here are some financial ratios: return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), cost-to-income (C/I) ratio, and net interest margin (NIM) that focus on performance of banks. Also, the advances to deposits (AD) ratio measures loans (advances) as a percentage of deposits. A ratio of 100% (meaning 1 to 1) or less (typically, eighty-ish percent) shows that the bank is funding all its loans from deposits rather than relying on wholesale funding (funding from the capital markets or other banks); thus, liquidity. It is also called loans to deposits ratio (LTD) or LDR. Below are formulas on the mentioned ratios:
ROA, return on assets =
net income
average total assets
ROE, return on equity =
average shareholders equity
net income
C/I, cost-to-income =
operating expenses
operating income
NIM, net interest margin =
interest returns – interest expenses
average earning assets
LDR, loan to deposit =
total loans
total deposits
Balance Sheet
Total Assets = a sum amount of assets owned by a bank.
Total Liabilities = an aggregate total debt and financial obligations owed by a bank.
Total Bank Equity Capital = a sum of Equity Capital minus minority interests.
Domestic Deposits = a sum of insured deposits are total domestic deposits minus uninsured deposits.
Total Deposits =
Net Loans & Leases =
Loan Loss Allowance =
Income Statement
Total Interest Income = a sum of interest on loans, investment securities, and deposits with banks and others.
Total Non-Interest Income =
Total Interest Expense =
Total Non-Interest Expense =
Net Income =
Net Charge Offs (NCO) = recovered assets from loans that were written off in previous years.
Regulatory Capital
Total Capital = a sum of long-term debt and total shareholder equity.
Total Assets for the Leverage Ratio = a sum amount of debt relative to assets.
Tier 1 Leverage Ratio = a ratio between a banking organization’s core capital and its total assets.
Tier 1 Capital Ratio = a key ratio of a bank’s financial strength, adopted as part of the Basel III Accord.
Total Capital Ratio = an amount of a bank’s capital in relation to the amount of risk it is taking.
Quarterly Averages
Total Loans =
Loans Secured by Real Estate =
Commercial and Industrial Loans =
Loans to Individuals - Credit Cards =
Loans to Individuals - Other =
Below are the three Regulatory Capital ratios and figures from top 10 banks, monitoring to best balance and leverage assets under management (AUM) and being well capitalized to be able to absorb unexpected negative impact while predicting risks from reaching potential issues and even failure.
Tier 1 Leverage Ratio =
Tier 1 Capital
Consolidated Assets
Tier 1 Capital Ratio =
Tier 1 Capital
Risk Weighted Assets
Total Capital Ratio =
Tier 1 Capital + Tier 2 Capital
Risk Weighted Assets
The components of Total Capital is Tier 1 Capital plus Tier 2 Capital:
Tier 1 Capital is at least 50 percent of a bank’s capital base to consist of a core element comprised of shareholders equity
capital and published reserves from post-tax retained earnings minus goodwill.
Tier 2 Capital is an undisclosed reserves, asset revaluation reserves, general provisions/general loan-loss reserves, hybrid (debt/equity) capital instruments and subordinated debt, and limited to a maximum of 100 percent of the total of Tier 1 elements.
The figures below are those from the top 10 banks in the United States. Their ratio values all exceeded the minimum expected values set by "The Fed," showing many of them doubled the expectations.
Performance : Regulatory Capital Ratios
JP Morgan Chase & Co
Bank of America
Wells Fargo Bank
Citibank
U.S. Bank
PNC Bank
Capital One
Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank
The Bank of New York Mellon
State Street Bank and Trust Company
Tier 1 Leverage Ratio, ≥ 4%
8.57
8.95
8.81
9.46
8.69
8.53
9.13
9.32
7.56
8.29
Tier 1 Capital Ratio, ≥ 6%
14.03
12.64
12.69
12.69
10.28
9.94
13.50
15.31
16.63
17.02
Total Capital Ratio, ≥ 8%
14.86
13.63
14.50
14.99
12.31
11.97
14.69
16.18
17.33
17.88
Tier 1 Leverage Ratio, ≥ 4% :
A high Tier 1 Leverage Ratio value is better. Having a higher the percentage value the likelihood the bank withstanding negative shocks to its balance sheet.
Tier 1 Leverage Ratio = Tier 1 capital / Average Total Consolidated Assets
Tier 1 Capital Ratio, ≥ 6% :
A high Tier 1 Capital Ratio value indicates that a bank can absorb a reasonable amount of losses without risk of failure.
Tier 1 Capital Ratio = Tier 1 Capital / Credit Risk-Adjusted Assets
Total Capital Ratio, ≥ 8% :
A Total Capital Ratio value must be no lower than 8%. Tier 2 Capital is limited to 100% of Tier 1 Capital.
Total Capital (Tier 1 and Tier 2) Ratio = Total Capital (Tier 1 + Tier 2) / Credit Risk-Adjusted Assets
These financial ratios and values are filed quarterly to the Fed (FFIEC), submitting a call report. The above serves as a snapshot view as a static data cycle reported earlier in June 2019.
Venture Capital Investments
Venture Capital: Fund Formation, Fund Structure, Driving The U.S. Innovation and Economy https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#Funds
Image: Venture Capital Fund's organizational structure.
I've been reading Harvard Business Review (HBR) since the '90s, and one review in particular on venture capital has resurfaced in recent years. That said, not much has changed in venture capital in terms of allocation of time at a broad level perspective. The chart above was first posted in 1998 by Harvard Business Review (HBR), showing time spent by venture capitalists. Combined total, the two boxes above show an 80% allocation of time spent on cultivating companies with additional focus on those portfolio companies likely to exit in the near coming years.
In addition to the above on time allocation, I have also spent much time reviewing innovative, disruptive, and transformative technology companies, and various venture funds and industry reports, including Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). After analyzing several venture funds, ranging from $50MM to $500MM, I have gained much insight and knowledge in the performance of funds, interpreting returns and multiples. You are welcome to ask me.
Image: [*] A progression in the α′ period and exit strategy of a portfolio company. Besides the obvious growth of the company, it is not certain until the market condition indicates it’s a good time to go public or go through a merger and acquisition (M&A) event.
Series ranging from 1 to 12, each step/stage is specific in need of a capital raise but not necessarily to each alpha (α, α′) company.
Seed — Concept, wireframes, architecture schematic, coding, etc.
Seed — Build, continuous improvement and testing
Seed — MVP, minimum viable product, sales, scale
Series A-1
Series A-2
Series B-1
Series B-2
Series C...
Series D...
Series E...
Series F...
Pre/IPO*
The Alphas (α, α′) | Seeking for Alphas. The ins and outs in venture capital from funding early stage, supporting growth, and exiting companies. The numbering 1 through 12 represents the progression of product and team development and the advancing growth of the Alphas. Which number best states the stage of your company?
From decades of experience and market observation, I believe there’s a good time in the market to go public indicating an opening window for growth and a continuing of buying demands of shares and products for the company entering the public domain. It is the reason why a company shouldn’t flood its shares into the market, effecting supply and demand of shares that could harm the value and momentum of the company. I’ve been studying and watching the market since the 1990s, and this was happening when AOL, Yahoo, Amazon, and Fairchild went public and later with Google, Alibaba, Facebook, Linkedin, Square, and Twitter. In more recent years, a company typically floats 10 to 25 percent or less of the company’s shares to gauge demands before issuing additional shares into the public market.
Image: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow & Beyond | Digital Transformation : The Accelerating Growth in Technology started in the 1400s and through 2050 & Beyond, bringing technology and innovation to the world and to better our lives through digital transformation (2000 – 2050 & beyond).
After working with some directors in the past and speaking to others in more recent years, I noticed a number of them have been on the same board for a long time. With a strong board, the members can guide the management team through an initial public offering (IPO) or a merger and acquisition (M&A). The vital role of a strong board has the collective experience to support the company through the competitive landscape for five to ten years. Besides the visible role and responsibilities of a board of directors, the members are compensated for providing three (3) core strategic level serving duties: (1) fiduciary, (2) voting rights, and (3) strategic advice.
Some companies have two types of boards. The other type is an advisory board. The members on an advisory board are not compensated and do not have fiduciary obligations and no voting rights. Advisory board members have an opened range to advise the management team without being liable if the company does not satisfy performance expectations.
In addition, California passed a legislation proposal (Senate Bill No. 826) into law on September 30th 2018, requiring publicly held companies with headquarters in California to have at least one woman on boards of four members or less, two women on boards of five members, and three women on boards of six or more members before the close of the 2019 calendar year. And in growing privately held startup companies, for example Airbnb, there have been an increasing need to do better when it comes to diversifying and adding woman and minority on boards. Airbnb, the home rental app, recently added Angela Ahrendts to the board of directors after she left Apple as their Senior Vice President in Retail (2014–2019) and was CEO of Burberry (2006–2014). Airbnb is planning to file an iniitial public offering (IPO) in late 2019, but more likely in 2020.
With the rise of the internet and cloud software companies in the past two decades, there is now a long list of women that expanding startup companies can recruit from the talent pool in the technology industry. Some of the big names include: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) and eBay former CEO Meg Whitney, SHI International CEO Thai Lee, Epic Systems founder and CEO Judy Faulkner, Yahoo former CEO Marissa Mayer, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandbergs, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Arista Networks President & CEO Jayshree Ullal, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz, Syntel co-founder Neerja Sethi, Marvell Technology cofounder Weili Dai, Veeva Systems investor Young Sohn, 23andMe co-founder & CEO Anne Wojcicki, Houzz co-founder Adi Tatarko, Stitch Fix founder & CEO Katrina Lake, BlackLine founder & CEO Therese Tucker, Confluent co-founder Neha Narkhede, PayPal former board of director Belinda Johnson, Sirius XM Satellite Radio co-founder Martine Rothblatt, ActioNet founder Ashley Chen, Lynda.com founder Lynda Weinman, and Bumble founder & CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd.
Image: An increasing demand for female directors rises under California Senate Bill No. 826, mandating more women on boards by the end of 2019.
Several studies have shown that having a diverse board strengthen a company’s talent pipeline and increase innovation, leading to a stronger performance. Listening to and including the viewpoints from a diverse board in a real way can bring a new perspective and new ideas to help further succeed a company.
If listed companies fail to comply, they will be subjected to financial penalties. The first violation will incur a $100,000 fine; second and subsequent violations will cost $300,000. The miminum qualification for compliance is having a woman in a board seat for at least part of the year. It should also come as no surprise that California is home to CalPERS, California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and CalSTRS, California State Teachers’ Retirement System, two of the world’s largest pension funds that have been among the strongest advocates for increased board diversity.
For more info, read publications below from Harvard University,
Once early stage startup companies, these now public companies have continued to transition successfully through the stages of market conditions while thriving through decades of innovation cycles to become sustainable Alphas. The strategic matters that I have studied and experiened from these companies since their founding years have carried throughout my career. These strategies, in mind, should be considered for implementation for on-going growth and longevity for selected technology companies.
Image: Facebook, (The).
Founded on February 4, 2004 in Cambridge, MA and went public on May 18, 2012. IPO priced at $38 a share for a $104 billion valuation (NASDAQ: FB). The Facebook Experience.
Image: Apple
Founded on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, CA and went public on December 12, 1980. IPO priced at $22 per share for a $1.8 billion dollar valuation (NASDAQ: APPL). The Apple Experience.
Image: Microsoft
Founded on April 4, 1975 in Albuquerque, NM and went public on March 13, 1986. IPO shares priced at $21 per share for a $20 million dollar valuation (NASDAQ: MSFT). The Microsoft Experience.
Image: amazon
Founded on July 5, 1994 in Bellevue, WA and went public on May 15, 1997. IPO shares priced at $18 per share for a valuation of $438 million (NASDAQ: AMZN). The amazon Experience.
Image: Google
Founded on September 4, 1998, Menlo Park, CA and went public on August 19, 2004 . IPO shares priced at $85 per share for a valuation of $23 billion. Google, now known as Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL). The Google Experience.
Meaningful quotes below and those shared on this webpage have personally resonated with me since the first time I've read them and that they have carried purposefully throughout my career.
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower, was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States.
Good leaders are MADE, not born! is a valid statement to keep in mind, and there are plenty of notable and recognizable names who have transitioned from being founding CEOs to becoming industry business leaders, e.g., Bill Gates, founder and former chairman and CEO of Microsoft; Jeff Bezos, founder, chairman, CEO, and president of Amazon; and Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook.
Obviously, becoming a business leader takes time, and time comes with a lot of experience and overcoming a lot of pressure from the constant changes and forces in the market. Hence, enduring the ups and downs of running a company, founder(s) need to be on-top of the market in order to better navigate through the new challenges from the forces in the market. The leadership teams need to spearhead and evolve their products to compete effectively; thus, stagnation in innovations and technologies have caused companies to fall to a point of difficult return to no chance of recovery.
The ability to foresee and evolve is critical as customers’ values and or interests may change as forces in the market from competition may gradually morph the market with innovative products offering the "wow" factors from new features and or functions that could eventually shift the market and even industry. This is clearly evident in the mobile phone industry in the adaptation of the digital era of cloud computing and software applications and when capacitive touchscreen and digital technology took over resistive touchscreen and analog technology for more than a decade ago.
From past and present leaders, Great ones possess an understanding of the past, executing in the present, and foreseeing on the future. The below quotes support that message.
Image: Quotation : fill in the bubble box.
“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” — Benjamin Franklin, was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was an author, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
“Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.” — Vince Lombardi, was an American football player, coach, and executive in the National Football League (NFL).
“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” — Jonathan Swift, was an Anglo-Irish poet, political writer, and cleric who becomes Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” — John Quincy Adams, was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the 6th U.S. President.
“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” — Jack Welch, was a former chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001, author, and chemical engineer.
“Leadership is an action, not a position.” — Donald McGannon, was an American broadcasting industry executive during the formative years of the television industry.
“Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people-motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centered.” — Colin Powell, an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army.
“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” — Eleanor Roosevelt, was an American political figure, diplomat and activist.
“Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing.” — Peter F. Drucker, was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author.
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” — Helen Keller, was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer.
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” — William Arthur Ward, was an American and most quoted writers of inspirational maxims.
“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.” — John P. Morgan Sr., was an American financier and banker who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation.
“Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.” — Stephen Covey, was an American educator, businessman, speaker, and author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” — Ronald Reagan, was an American politician and film actor who served as the 40th U.S. President.
“If you can’t swallow your pride, you can’t lead. Even the highest mountain had animals that step on it.” — Jack Weatherford, an American professor and author of "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World".
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” — William Arthur Ward, was an American and most quoted writers of inspirational maxims.
“You don’t have to be great at something to start, but you have to start to be great at something.” — Zig Ziglar, was an American author, salesman, and motivational speaker.
“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” — Napoleon Hill, was an American and author of "Think and Grow Rich."
“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.” — Andrew Carnegie, was a Scottish-American steel business magnate, industrialist, and philanthropist.
“I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.” — John D. Rockefeller, was an American oil industry business magnate, industrialist, and philanthropist.
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." — Dale Carnegie, was an American writer and lecturer, author of "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” — Estée Lauder, was an American beautician and business executive who started a beauty company.
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” — John F. Kennedy, was an American politician who served as the 35th U.S. President.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Martin Luther King Jr., was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” — John C. Maxwell, is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney, was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor, and film producer. He pioneered the American animation industry.
“You can’t solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to rise above it to the next level.” — Albert Einstein, was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics.
“Don’t be afraid to take a big step when one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” — David Lloyd George, was a British politician, statesman
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” — Steve Jobs, was an American business magnate, industrial designer, investor, and media proprietor.
“If you were not born with wings, do nothing to impede their growth.” — Coco Chanel, was a French fashion designer and businesswoman, and the founder and namesake of the Chanel brand.
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” — Bill Gates, a cofounder and former chairman and CEO of Microsoft, an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian.
“Generally speaking, investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you.” — Warren Buffett, an American business magnate, investor, speaker and philanthropist.
This section is dedicated to my ("great") grandfather Luật Sư (Attorney) Trần Minh Chiều, my grandmother Phan Thị Úc, my father Đại Tá (Captain) Nguyễn Duy Long, and my mother Trần Thị Thanh Hường.
If anyone who knows my father, specially alumni, having any information about him and or photos of my father, please don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime. My contact info is provided in the header above. My father graduated from the Military Academy in 1962 and Naval Academy in 1964. In advance, thank you. I would greatly appreciate any information, photos and or memories about his time and service in Vietnam. We lost our country, but not our Integrity and Pride. We reside in the United States 🇺🇸 since the 1970s.
Image: My ("great") grandfather, Luật Sư Trần Minh Chiều, a photo of him in his early 50s in 1940s. He was a sincere gentleman and a family man — an honest and giving attorney to his family, friends, and the people in his communities. He was also an entrepreneur and an investor — a well respected and admired businessman to many people. Recalled by senior family members, when my grandfather passed away at an early age of 69, there were at least a few hundreds of people that came near and far to attend his funeral to express love, respect and gratitude, and their final farewell, including his longtime friend and colleague Vice President Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ — a former Prime Minister of the Republic of South Vietnam between 1963 and 1964. Imagined my grandfather overcoming his illness and lived another 30 more years to hit his centenarian year. His contribution and impact to the people would have been continued and even much more to the community.
Image: My ("great") grandfather, Luật Sư Trần Minh Chiều, on the left of the photo above, wearing his white suit and tie in the early 50s in 1940s and standing with three family members.
The Petroleum (Oil & Gas) Market & Industry in Vietnam in 1940s
From my Grandfather and Father’s days in Vietnam to Today and Tomorrow https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#OGMI40s
My ("great") grandfather, Luật Sư (Attorney) Trần Minh Chiều (1888 – 1957), was a respected and trusted attorney for the people in the communities and was an influential businessman to business owners and their companies and partners. He was fluent in French, and Vietnamese, and had limited fluency in English, Chinese, and Japanese. In the 1940s, he founded the family business in real estates and later established a long-term business relationship in the petroleum (oil & gas) industry with a premier brand Shell and its parent company Shell Oil Company (Royal Dutch Shell) for over forty (40) years.
Image: In the 1940s, my grandfather established a long-time relationship with Shell Oil Company (Royal Dutch Shell) that carried for over forty (40) years. This was his long standing accomplishment that got passed to my grandmother Phan Thị Úc and mother Trần Thị Thanh Hường in 1952.
In 1918, my grandfather moved to France to study business law, and after graduation from Sorbonne Law School in Paris in 1920 he returned to Vietnam and became a trusted and prominent attorney for the people and business owners in Long Xuyên, Cần Thơ, and Saigon. In the 1940s, my grandparents got married in Cần Thơ in 1942 and where my mother, Trần Thị Thanh Hường, was born in 1947. They then moved to Saigon in 1950 to further the family businesses and legal practices, included investing in real estate properties.
My grandfather was a generous person to the people in his communities; he gave food, supplies, and his legal services to the poor and charitable causes. He was also a good longtime friend of Vice President Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ (1908 – 1976). Both gentlemen came from affluent families and were born and raised in Long Xuyên in the Mekong Delta, approximately 118 miles (190 km) from Saigon. The two businessmen were admired by many people in their communities, and while my grandfather was more senior their close friendship was kept throughout their careers and lives. In 1956, Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ became the Vice President for the first (1st) President of the Republic of (South) Vietnam, Ngô Đình Diệm (1901 – 1963).
In 1952, my grandfather transitioned the ownership and handed the family businesses to my grandmother, Phan Thị Úc, and mother. With my grandmother support in 1966, my mother took ownership and managed the family businesses and employees till April of 1975. Before leaving for America, the United States, my mother placed the ownership back to my grandmother and a family member, Phạm Văn Khả. They both have affiliation in doing business with Shell Oil Company (Royal Dutch Shell) for over forty (40) years.
Then, starting in the 1980s, the oil and gas (O&G) market in Vietnam took a sharp turn downward for the family business owners in the country as their supply chain and distribution channels were being taken over and controlled by the country's new government and as described by my grandmother at the time and as view today. The new government deployed its mandate similar to a hostile takeover of a company, but in this case, it impacted the family businesses and affected their welfares.
Image: In the 1940s, my grandfather constructed a long-standing partnership with Shell Oil Company (Royal Dutch Shell). The family distributed and sold gasoline in Vietnam and later through Shell in Europe (European Union, EU) and the Southeast Asia (ASEAN) region. The brand Shell is still doing well in Vietnam after returning to Vietnam in 1988 when the current Vietnamese government issues the latest Law on Foreign Investment.
It was my grandfather’s entrepreneurship and stewardship that led the family through the Great Depression of the 1930s. Not only did my grandfather showed the family the meaning of good work ethics and strong family values, his kind demeanor and trust, and ethical principles and business acumen that have also been impactful and timeless for decades for our family, friends, and partners.
With that said, the oil & gas (O&G) industry was going through major changes. The Royal Dutch Shell is one of the three original supermajors, oil companies, along with Standard Oil Company (John D. Rockefeller) and British Petroleum (BP). On 27 January 1988, Standard Oil Company acquired British Petroleum (BP) and renamed the newly-merged company BP-America. Almost immediately, BP-America bought and merged with smaller companies and is now known as BP-AMOCO. Standard Oil also owns Mobil and merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. In 2017, listing by revenue, Saudi Aramco, China Sinopec Group Corporation, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), ExxonMobil [ NYSE : XOM ], Standard Oil Company, and Shell Oil Company [ NYSE : RDS.A and RDS.B ], Royal Dutch Shell, are the top five (5) biggest petroleum (oil and gas) companies, including supermajors, in the world.
Image: Esso, originally Standard Oil of New Jersey, is a trade name, brand, of ExxonMobil. In 1972, the name Esso was largely replaced in the U.S. by the Exxon brand after the company bought Humble Oil in 1959, while the Esso name remained widely used elsewhere. The company Exxon began as Standard Oil of New Jersey following the breakup of Standard Oil. In 1998, Exxon and Mobil signed a $73.7 billion merger agreement forming a new company named ExxonMobil Corporation, finalized in 1999 and as a Standard Oil Company.
Both Shell and Esso were popular in Vietnam during the time my grandparents and parents were living in the country. After leaving Vietnam and residing in the States since 1975 and while growing up, my father spoke plenty of times on the petroleum #OilBasins and real estate #RealEstate businesses in Vietnam and the increasing growth potential on trades for the country and other Asian countries in the region. In recent decades, Asia has experienced dramatic rates of economic growth, and Vietnam has become a major trading partner largely with the United States and following with other world leading countries: China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong (China). Vietnam top exports include rice, coffee, rubber, textiles and garment, and crude oil. For more info, the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) of the World Bank allows querying of several international trade databases.
Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization on Thursday, 11 January 2007, becoming the 150th member. The country’s economy had already begun to grow in 1995, shortly after the United States and Vietnam governments restored economic and political ties. Since 2009, Vietnam’s state oil firm Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has been seeking to develop the so-called Red Emperor oil and gas discovery project known in Vietnamese as Cá Rồng Đỏ (CRD) field; it’s part of Block 07/03 in the Nam Côn Sơn basin, 273 miles (440 km) off of the coast of Vietnam’s southern city of Vũng Tàu.
Mobil Oil (previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company) and Pecten International Company began exploration drilling in 1975 in the Nam Côn Sơn and Cửu Long basins and found the largest oil field in the South China Sea. Nam Côn Sơn is said to contain 20% of Vietnam’s oil resources and Cửu Long is said to contain 30% of Vietnam’s total hydrocarbon resources. However, all exploration and drilling ended with the 1975 unification of Vietnam. Mobil Oil Corporation would have to wait almost twenty (20) years, 21 December 1993, to finalize a new agreement to continue exploiting Vietnam’s oil in those same offshore basins.
Image: According to a more recent United States Geological Survey (USGS), https://www.usgs.gov, study, “Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of Southeast Asia, 2010,” see publication, there is a 95% chance that there is at least 750 million barrels of oil in the South China Sea (SCS) Platform, a median chance of around 2,000 million barrels, and a low probability (5%) of over 5,000 million barrels.
In recent development, the United States rejects China's "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea (SCS). The Vanguard Bank (also known as Bãi Tư Chính) basin (off Vietnam) is in the westernmost reef of the Spratly Islands and is known for its rich oil and gas reserves. The Vietnamese government currently has dozens of oil rigs in the area, and China wants access to Vanguard Bank’s oil and gas resources. The United States and China would not risk military conflict over the South China Sea, but both countries have recently conducted naval exercises to assert their presence.
The Petroleum (Oil & Gas) Market & Industry in Vietnam in 1980s
From my Grandfather and Father’s days in Vietnam to Today and Tomorrow https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#OGMI80s
|| HISTORY || In the late 11080s, before becoming the 31st president of the United States (1929 – 1933), Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was a geologist and entrepreneur, and prior to studying geology he studied mathematics at Stanford University. In his early career as a student assistant on geological survey teams he prepared a geological study that showed one of the world’s largest oil fields ran along the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea (SCS).
From 1954 to 1975, Vietnam was divided politically at the 17th Parallel, splitting the country in halves into the communist North (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and the capitalist South (the Republic of Vietnam). Also, at this time, offshore drilling was yet invented and before George Herbert Walker Bush (1924 – 2018) became the CEO/President of a world-wide offshore drilling company, Zapata Offshore Company, a subsidiary which specialized in offshore drilling, and before he became the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd vice president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. And in 1964, military aircrafts dropped unsafe or unused bombs in the South China Sea (SCS) before landing back on the aircraft carriers. The bombing effort was to support in a geological study for discovering oil along the coastline of Vietnam, dropping of bombs in the water and listening to the bounced echos to locate possible underwater oilfields. In addition, in 1972, the U.S. Navy carriers had begun Operation Linebacker I (from 9 May to 23 October 1972) and Operation Linebacker II (from 18 to 29 December 1972), and a U.S. oil company (Rockefeller’s Standard Oil) had already begun its ten (10) year oil survey of the seabed off of the coast of Vietnam.
After 1975 and when the dust had finally settled from the war in the early 1980s, the unified Vietnam created new joint venture agreements and divided their offshore coastal area into numerous oil lots and allowed foreign companies to bid on the lots, with the proviso that Vietnam got a percentage of the action. The energetic governmental plan and determine undertaking to drill for and to find oil and natural gas (O&G) along the coastlines of Vietnam in the past decades includes or included the following companies and countries: Shell Oil Company (Royal Dutch Shell), ExxonMobil (Standard Oil Company), Norway’s Equinor ASA (Statoil ASA), British Petroleum (BP), PJSC Lukoil Oil Company (Russia), Wintershall Holding (Germany), Woodside Petroleum (Australia), Saudi Aramco (United Arab Emirates, UAE), and more recently ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil) (India). All won bids and began oil drilling within their allotted areas.
Image: Red Emperor oil and gas (O&G) discovery project known in Vietnamese as Cá Rồng Đỏ (CRD) field; it’s part of Block 07/03 in the Nam Côn Sơn basin, 273 miles (440 km) off the coast of Vietnam’s southern city of Vũng Tàu. In partnerships, Vietnam is drilling for oil and gas (O&G) in blocks 118, 128, and 136 as noted in color brown.
In more recent years, in block 118, there is a natural gas field called the "Blue Whale" also known as Cá Voi Xanh field project in Vietnamese that’s worth $10 billion; its natural resource is large enough to provide power to a city the size of Hanoi for more than twenty (20) years having a population of 7.781 million and a population density of approximately 5,900 people per square mile (2,300 people per square kilometer) within the city, spanning a total surface area of 1,292 square miles (3,329 square kilometers).
After several years of planning and negotiation, in 2018, the United States and Vietnam have secured a joint venture agreement for the Blue Whale (Cá Voi Xanh field) project and have commenced collaboration and begun drilling for natural gas within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 miles (322km) off of its coast or 50 miles (80km) off of the coast of central Quảng Nam province. See block 118.
Image: ExxonMobil (ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Vietnam Ltd., EMEPVL) landed a joint venture with PetroVietnam (PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation, PVEP) on the "Blue Whale" project in block 118.
The joint venture partnership is finalized in 2018 and is spearheaded by an American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Vietnam Ltd., EMEPVL (an ExxonMobil subsidiary) and a Vietnamese oil and gas group PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation, PVEP (a PetroVietnam subsidiary). The exploration of the "Blue Whale" project also known as Cá Voi Xanh field project for the two subsidiaries is Vietnam’s biggest gas project and is expected to contain natural gas reserves of up to 283 billion cubic meters, or nearly 10 trillion cubic feet or 1.78 trillion barrels.
Image: The logo symbolizes the joint venture for ExxonMobil and PetroVietnam on the "Blue Whale" project (Cá Voi Xanh field).
In 2017, India (ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil)) landed a partnership with Vietnam’s PetroVietnam on an oil exploration drilling in block 128. For block 136, China (Hong Kong) and Vietnam are currently exploring and drilling for oil in the common ocean seabed in the South China Sea (SCS). The South China Sea importance largely results from one-third of the world’s shipping sailing through its waters and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed. Japan is also in the mix by committing over $900 million in aid to Vietnam for various government projects.
The increase in oil production in Vietnam requires additional refineries; currently, there are two refineries: Dung Quất Refinery having capacity of about 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day (22,000 cubic meters per day) and Nghi Sơn Refinery having capacity of about 200,822 barrels of crude oil per day (32,000 cubic meters per day). The Nghi Sơn Refinery and Petrochemical Plant process imported crude oil from the Middle East, producing petrochemical products such as gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene, jet fuel, and polypropylene. The co-owners of the plant are Nghi Sơn Refinery and Petrochemical, which is a joint venture formed by PetroVietnam, Kuwait Petroleum, Idemitsu Kosan, and Mitsui Chemicals.
For Vietnam in recent years, PetroVietnam has secured multiple joint venture partnerships with several of the largest oil & gas companies in the world. The list of 10 largest companies in the petroleum (oil & gas) industry is below, and they are ranked by revenue in 2017 (US$ billion).
Ranking of the global top 10 oil and gas companies in 2017, based on revenue (in billion U.S. dollars)
Saudi Aramco generated $111.10 billion in net income in 2018, easily dwarfed all other companies in the world.
Sources:
https://www.energyworldmag.com
http://www.worldstopexports.com/worlds-top-oil-exports-country/
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/biggest-oil-companies-in-the-world.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_oil_and_gas_companies_by_revenue
https://www.statista.com/statistics/272710/top-10-oil-and-gas-companies-worldwide-based-on-revenue/
In 2016, the U.S. EIA, Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov, generated the chart below, showing nearly one third (⅓) of global crude oil trade moves through the South China Sea (SCS), passing along the coast of Southern Vietnam.
Image: The South China Sea (SCS) is a major trade route for crude oil, and in 2016, nearly one third of global maritime crude oil trade, or about 15 million barrels per day (bbl/d), passed through the SCS, according to the U.S. EIA. Additionally, more than 90% of these crude oil volumes transited the Strait of Malacca, the shortest sea route between suppliers in Africa and the Persian Gulf and markets in Asia, making it one of the world’s primary oil transit chokepoints.
Energy Trends and Outlook
In 2020 and beyond, the petroleum industry will have a significant impact on technology and innovation.
Ranking of the global top 10 oil and gas companies in 2018, based on net income (in billion U.S. dollars)
The financial data from the table above is shown in the chart below, showing the delta between revenue and net income.
The below chart shows the comparison of net income between various tech companies: Apple, Sansung, Alphabet (Google), JPMorganChase, Shell, and ExxonMobil.
Note: Saudi Aramco generated $111.10 billion in net income in 2018, easily dwarfed all other companies in the world.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – China
The list of countries participating in the BRI economic & infrastructure development and construction.
The Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is being described through the lens of six
main economic corridors and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. See the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with listing of 72 countires below.
I'm interested in seeing the BRI actitivies, and how it will impact the U.S. and allies. I'm also particulary interested in the cost and debt these participating countries will accrue overtime and their impact on global economies and superpowers.
For Southeast Asia, the 10 ASEAN member countries, the loan associated and the benefit percentage for each country in the region is presented below.
ASEAN Member Countries : BRI-participating economies and benefits
Route
ASEAN Country
Investment ($USD bn)
To Benefit
Economic Corridor
⑥
Vietnam
$1.6 billion
66%
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
Singapore
$1.9 billion
57%
China-Indochina Peninsula
…
Indonesia
$3 billion
57%
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
⑤
Myanmar (Burma)
50%
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑥
Malaysia
50%
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
Thailand
48%
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
Cambodia
$2.5 billion
41%
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
Philippines
36%
China-Indochina Peninsula
Laos
30%
⑥
Brunei
7%
China-Indochina Peninsula
Source: Data from PwC. Blanks to be completed.
BRI-participating economies and economic corridors
Route
Count
Economy
Economic Corridor
-
1
People’s Republic of China
-
①
2
Belarus
China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
①
3
Estonia
China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
①
4
Latvia
China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
①
5
Lithuania
China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
①
6
Mongolia
China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
①
7
Russian Federation
China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
②
8
Czech Republic
New Eurasian Land Bridge
②
9
Hungary
New Eurasian Land Bridge
②
10
Slovak Republic
New Eurasian Land Bridge
②
11
Slovenia
New Eurasian Land Bridge
②
12
Poland
New Eurasian Land Bridge
②
13
Kazakhstan
New Eurasian Land Bridge
②
14
Ukraine
New Eurasian Land Bridge
③
15
Albania
China-Central West Asia
③
16
Armenia
China-Central West Asia
③
17
Azerbaijan
China-Central West Asia
③
18
Bosnia and Herzegovina
China-Central West Asia
③
19
Bulgaria
China-Central West Asia
③
20
Croatia
China-Central West Asia
③
21
Georgia
China-Central West Asia
③
22
Islamic Republic of Iran
China-Central West Asia
③
23
Iraq
China-Central West Asia
③
24
Israel
China-Central West Asia
③
25
Jordan
China-Central West Asia
③
26
Kyrgyzstan
China-Central West Asia
③
27
Lebanon
China-Central West Asia
③
28
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
China-Central West Asia
③
29
Republic of Moldova
China-Central West Asia
③
30
Montenegro
China-Central West Asia
③
31
Palestinian Authority or West Bank and Gaza Strip
China-Central West Asia
③
32
Romania
China-Central West Asia
③
33
Serbia
China-Central West Asia
③
34
Syrian Arab Republic
China-Central West Asia
③
35
Tajikistan
China-Central West Asia
③
36
Turkey
China-Central West Asia
③
37
Turkmenistan
China-Central West Asia
③
38
Uzbekistan
China-Central West Asia
④
39
Afghanistan
China-Pakistan
④
40
Pakistan
China-Pakistan
④
41
Bahrain
China-Pakistan1
④
42
Kuwait
China-Pakistan1
④
43
Oman
China-Pakistan1
④
44
Qatar
China-Pakistan1
④
45
Saudi Arabia
China-Pakistan1
④
46
United Arab Emirates
China-Pakistan1
④
47
Yemen
China-Pakistan1
⑤
48
Bangladesh
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑤
49
Bhutan
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑤
50
India
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑤
51
Myanmar
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑤
52
Nepal
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑤
53
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar
⑥
54
Brunei Darussalam
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
55
Cambodia
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
56
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
57
Malaysia
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
58
Philippines
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
59
Singapore
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
60
Thailand
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
61
Timor-Leste
China-Indochina Peninsula
⑥
62
Vietnam
China-Indochina Peninsula
…
63
Egypt
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
64
Ethiopia
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
65
Indonesia
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
66
Kenya
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
67
Maldives
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
68
Morocco
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
69
New Zealand
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
70
Panama
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
71
Korea
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
…
72
South Africa
21st-C Maritime Silk Road
Note: This list contains the 65 economies listed in China’s Official Action Plan for the BRI launched in March 2015 and seven economies that have been associated with the initiative more recently.
1May also be counted as part of the China-Central West Asia Economic Corridor.
Source: OECD research from multiple sources, including: HKTDC, MERICS, Belt and Road Center, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, Silk Routes, State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China, WWF Hong Kong (China).
The Information below was provided by my father, Nguyễn Duy Long, in the recent years before his passing on August 2020 and by his former commanding officer Rear Admiral (Đề Đốc) Lâm Ngươn Tánh from the previous years before his passing on February 2018, plus U.S. Naval officers that have served alongside my father and memories from his wife Trần Thị Thanh Hường. The military records for the South Vietnamese Military before 1975 have not been kept nor updated by any recogized official entity. There are missing records that either have been lost or destroyed after the war. The Information below was also gathered from my childhood memories of my father and his fellow comrades, including those not mentioned that served alongside my father since attending and graduating from Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Đà Lạt and Trung Tâm Huấn Luyện Hải Quân Nha Trang.
At this time, there isn't an official source by the United States government to have an archive database records for the South Vietnam Military. For the U.S. Military archives, visit the National Archives, or NARA - AAD - Access to Archival Databases.
Image: When my father, Nguyễn Duy Long, was a Naval Commander (Trung Tá) in 1973 – 1974 for the South Vietnamese Navy and before his promotion to Captain (Đại Tá) and Chief of Office of the Navy Commander-in-Chief (Chánh Văn Phòng Tư-Lịnh Hải-Quân) to assist and advise on strategic naval warfare and operations, his officers and crew gave him an honorable nickname of “Chỉ Huy Trưởng, Người Hùng Thủy Bộ” (Captain, The War Water Hero) for leading and winning their battles with American and or South Vietnamese Armed Forces since 1964. He received multiple promotions and awarded multiple medals before and after 1972 and before his promotion to Captain (Đại Tá) in 1975, totaling Sixteen (16) Armed Forces — Navy and Marine Corps Medals of the Republic of Vietnam. In 1962 my father graduated from military academy Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Việt Nam (TVBQGVN); and then in 1964, he graduated from naval academy Trung Tâm Huấn Luyện Hải Quân Nha Trang (a.k.a. Nha Trang Naval Training Center, NTNTC). Read more of his military career in South Vietnam and career achievemetns in the United States below.
Vietnamese
English
Languages | Proficiency : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Vietnamese 5 | English 5 | French 5 | Chinese 3 | Japanese 3
Life In Saigon, Vietnam:
Sanh năm 1937 tại Saigon, Việt Nam Born 1937 in Saigon, Vietnam
Education and Training:
Khóa 16 Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Đà Lạt (1959 – 1962)
Á Khoa của 326 Ứng Viên Class 16 of Da Lat Military Academy (1959 – 1962)
Salutatorian of 326 Candidates
Graduated with high distinction and top of class
Khóa 13 Trung Tâm Huấn Luyện Hải Quân Nha Trang (1962 – 1964)
Á Khoa của 87 Ứng Viên Class 13 of Nha Trang Naval Academy (1962 – 1964)
Salutatorian of 87 Candidates
Graduated with high distinction and top of class.
Đại Úy, Tốt nghiệp Naval Strategic Command and Operations (1964) tại Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Nhật Bản, dưới U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet. Lieutenant, Graduated Naval Strategic Command and Operations (1964) in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, under the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet.
https://www.c7f.navy.mil 🇺🇸
Đại Úy, Tốt nghiệp Landing Force Training Command, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (1969) tại San Diego, California, Hoa Kỳ, dưới U.S. Navy Third Fleet. Lieutenant, Graduated Landing Force Training Command, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (1969) in San Diego, California, United States, under the U.S. Navy Third Fleet.
https://www.c3f.navy.mil 🇺🇸
Naval Warships and Amphibious Squadrons:
Thiếu Tá Hạm Trưởng Song Tự – Hải Quân: HQ-614.
Lieutenant Commander of Song Tu – Navy ship: HQ-614.
(aka = Patrol Gunboat Medium: USS PGM-74)
Thiếu Tá Hạm Phó Thị Nại – Hải Quân: HQ-502.
Lieutenant Commander of Thị Nại – Navy ship: HQ-502.
(aka = Landing Ship, Tank (LST): USS Cayuga County (LST-529))
Thiếu Tá Hạm Phó Trần Quốc Toản – Hải Quân: HQ-06.
Lieutenant Commander of Tran Quoc Toan – Navy ship: HQ-06.
(aka = Patrol Craft: USS Anacortes (PC-1569))
Thiếu Tá Chỉ Huy Trưởng Giang Đoàn 72 Thủy Bộ. Lieutenant Commander of the 72nd Naval Amphibious Squadron.
(commanded a total of 10 patrol boat river (PBR), tactical operations)
Trung Tá, Awarded Fourragere Colors. Commander, Awarded The Highest Honor, The National Order of Vietnam.
Trung Tá, Ngọn Sóng của Sĩ quan Chỉ huy Hải Quân - Danh Dự, Kỷ Luật, và Tài Dức:
Huy Hiệu Hạm Trưởng Hải Quân Việt Nam Commander, Awarded Navy Commanding Officer's Crest - Honor, Discipline, and Talent:
Coat of Arms of Vietnam Navy Captain
Trung Tá Hạm Trưởng Nguyễn Ngọc Long – Hải Quân: HQ-230.
Commander of Nguyen Ngoc Long – Navy ship: HQ-230.
(aka = Landing Ship Support Large: USS LSSL-96)
Trung Tá Hạm Trưởng Van Kiếp II – Hải Quân: HQ-14.
Commander of Van Kiep II – Navy ship: HQ-14.
(aka = Patrol Craft Escort: USS Amherst (PCE(R)-853))
Trung Tá Chỉ Huy Trưởng Liên Giang Đoàn 70 và 71 Thủy Bộ. Commander of the 70th and 71st Naval Amphibious Squadrons.
(commanded a total of 20 patrol boat river (PBR), tactical operations)
Trung Tá Chỉ Huy Trưởng Liên Giang Đoàn 70 và 71 Thủy Bộ. Commander of the 70th and 71st Naval Amphibious Squadrons.
(commanded a total of 20 patrol boat river (PBR), tactical operations)
Trung Tá Hạm Trưởng Cần Thơ – Hải Quân: HQ-801. Commander of Can Tho – Navy ship: HQ-801.
(aka = Patrol Craft Tender: USS Garrett County (Landing Ship, Tank: LST-786))
Trung Tá và Chánh Văn Phòng Tư-Lịnh Hải-Quân cho Đề Đốc Lâm Ngươn Tánh (cuối năm 1974 - 1975). Commander and Chief of Office of the Navy Commander-in-Chief for Rear Admiral Lam Nguon Tanh (late 1974 - 1975).
Đại Tá và Chánh Văn Phòng Tư-Lịnh Hải-Quân cho Đề Đốc Lâm Ngươn Tánh (1975). Captain and Chief of Office of the Navy Commander-in-Chief for Rear Admiral Lam Nguon Tanh (1975).
Đại Tá Hạm Trưởng Trần Hưng Đạo – Hải Quân: HQ-1. Captain of Tran Hung Dao – Navy ship: HQ-1.
(aka = Destroyer Escort: USS Camp (DE-251))
Sixteen (16) Navy and Marine Corps Medals of the Republic of Vietnam:
Bảo Quốc Huân Chương Đệ Ngủ Đẳng National Order of Vietnam, Knight
Quân Vụ Bội Tinh Vietnam Military Service Medal Fourth Class
Hải Quân Huân Chương Việt Nam Đệ Nhị Hạng Vietnam Navy Distinguished Service Order Second Class
Anh Dũng Bội Tinh với Nhành Dương Liễu Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm
Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi với Hai Sao Vàng và Một Sao Đồng Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars and One Bronze Star
Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi với Hai Sao Vàng và Một Sao Đồng Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars and One Bronze Star
Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi với Hai Sao Vàng Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars
Quân Phong Bội Tinh III Vietnam Good Conduct Medal Third Class
Danh Dự Bội Tinh Việt Nam Hạng I Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class
Tham Mưu Bội Tinh Vietnam Staff Service Medal
Kỹ Thuật Bội Tinh Vietnam Technical Service Medal Second Class
Chiến Thương Bội Tinh Vietnam Wound Medal
Biệt Công Bội Tinh Vietnam Special Service Medal
Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Hải Vụ Bội Tinh Vietnam Navy Service Medal
Dải Chiến Trường Ngoại Biên Bội Tinh Việt Nam, Kampuchea Campaign Bar Outside Frontier, Kampuchea
Life In The United States:
Định cư tại Hoa Kỳ từ tháng 8 năm 1975 (rời Saigon ngày April 29, 1975). Settled in the United States on August 8, 1975 (left Saigon on April 29, 1975).
Retired from Honeywell and Nielsen, totaling 35 years in engineering and management working on U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA Space Shuttle programs from the late '70s to '90s and television media and research from the '90s to '10s, respectively.
Presidential Task Force Nominated and approved into The Republican Presidential Task Force by the 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan
(presidential term: January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989)
The Republican Presidential Task Force was founded by the 40th U.S. President Reagan in 1981 with one focus — to permanently advance the President's work towards building a "freer, stronger America."
Presidential Task Force Nominated and approved into The Republican Presidential Task Force by the 41st U.S. President George H.W. Bush
(presidential term: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993)
The Republican Presidential Task Force was founded by the 40th U.S. President Reagan in 1981 with one focus — to permanently advance the President's work towards building a "freer, stronger America."
Pinellas Technical College Electronics Diploma
The Electronics program focuses on broad, transferable skills and stresses understanding and demonstration of the following elements of the Electronics Technology Integration industry.
St. Petersburg College AS in Electronics Engineering Technology
Theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of electrical and electronics circuits, digital circuits, computers, power systems, programmable logic controllers, microprocessors and control Systems.
University of South Florida BSEE/MSEE in Electrical Engineering
The Electrical Engineering major offers study in all areas fundamental to the analysis, design, and development of electrical devices and systems.
Paradyne Paradyne once developed, manufactured, and distributed broadband and narrowband network access products for network service providers, commonly referred to as NSPs, and business customers. In 1989, AT&T acquired Paradyne for $250 million; and then in 1996, Texas Pacific Group acquired Paradyne from AT&T spinoff Lucent Technologies for $175 million. On July 16, 1999, Paradyne went public under NASDAQ: PDYN and delisted on September 1, 2005. Afterward, DZS, formerly Zhone Technologies and DASAN Zhone Solutions, has ownership.
① 1977 - 1978
Honeywell Honeywell is an advanced-technology company that manufactures aerospace and automotive products; residential, commercial, and industrial control systems; specialty chemicals and plastics; and engineered materials. On January 2, 1970, Honeywell went public under NYSE: HON; and in 1999, AlliedSignal acquired Honeywell for $14.8 billion.
⑮ 1978 - 1992
Nielsen Nielsen is a leading global data and analytics company that provides a holistic and objective understanding of the media industry. The company offers measurement and analytics service in nearly 60 countries. On January 26, 2011, Nielsen Holdings plc went public under NYSE: NLSN. On August 31, 2015, Nielsen N.V. merged with Nielsen Holdings plc with Nielsen Holdings plc being the surviving company.
⑯ 1994 - 2010
Inhite Inhite ventures with leading emerging high tech growth companies, discovering applications and technologies that shape Today and Tomorrow. The meaning behind "inhite" \ in·hite \ ˈin·hītˈ \ — we are into high tech ventures, and we are focused on supporting creative entrepreneurs that are inspired by innovation and can innovate technology products or provide efficient services to market while generating susttainable and ongoing growth for years to come.
⑩ 2010 - 2020
Image: In the late 1970s, my father started his new career in the United States at Honeywell as seen in the photo. Nearly two decades later he was recruited to work at Nielsen. In the 35+ years of his career in the United States, my father primarily worked on U.S. government projects and NASA Space Shuttle programs and later managed technical teams until he retired.
Image : From the late '70s to '90s, my father worked on the NASA Space Shuttle programs at Honeywell. During summer school breaks, he took us to many great places, including to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo here, our cousin and family from Paris, France visiting us for the summer of August 1982.
Image: Photo here my father was having a dinner gathering with fellow church members from the First United Methodist Church of Clearwater. See our beloved #ChurchSponsors from our church between 1975 and 1985.
Image: Spanning the width of the United States from the East coast to the West coast, my father at an annual gathering with his friends and colleagues. In the photo they were in Houston in 2006. These social gatherings are held in several states, including Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Washington. In previsous years and when available, I have attended other locations hosted in the states of California, Florida, and Texas.
Image: One of my father's dear friend and fellow Marine commanding officer is wearing sunglasses in the photo. I greeted him as "chú Kim". They were in San Francisco, California for a reunion.
Image^ : In 1969, my father first came to the U.S. for additional Naval command training under the U.S. Navy Third Fleet. His contact U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills was in San Diego, Califorina, and he accompanied my father after the training. Ron took this photo before they drove off for rest and recuperation (R&R) at Disneyland. My father just finished his Navy training at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) in 1969. He then traveled to Washington, D.C. for meetings. During my childhood, I remember my father loved looking at maps (see the map in the photo), planning family trips and driving us to see many beautiful places and cities. MORE: Photos from former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills are marked with "Image^".
The Reverend Dr. James Sanford “Jimmy” Jones, a retired Florida Conference elder, passed on March 2, 2008. Jones was a part-time local pastor in the Alabama-West Florida Conference in 1946 and a student local pastor in the North Georgia Conference in 1948. He became an ordained deacon in 1950 and an ordained elder in full connection in 1951, transferring into the Florida Conference from the North Georgia Conference in 1951.
Reverend Jones served as superintendent of the Lakeland District (1979-82) and Gainesville District (1989-94). He also served Bushnell-Saint Catherine (1951-54); First, Orlando (1954-56 and 1982-89); Mount Dora (1956-62); First, Eau Gallie (1962-66); Lakewood, Saint Petersburg (1966-70); First, Fort Myers (1970-74); and First United Methodist Church of Clearwater (1974-79).
James S. Jones was born in Selma, Alabama, on September 15, 1927, to Irene Easters and Samuel Robert Jones. Since his father was a Methodist minister in the AlabamaWest Florida Conference, Jimmy moved a lot as a child. In high school, much to his mother’s consternation, he played football, and in 1945 he went to Auburn on a football scholarship.
After graduation from Auburn in 1949 he entered Candler School of Theology, Emory University. There he met Julia Blake, who was studying religious education. Jimmy and Julia were married in 1950 at First Methodist Church, Jacksonville, Florida.
During his second appointment in Orlando he was instrumental in starting a city-wide homeless ministry. In 1984 he led the delegation to General Conference and was the Florida Conference candidate for bishop. Upon retirement in 1994 he and Julia moved to Lake Junaluska, where they had built a home. For a year he served as president of the Junaluskans and worked with others to establish Inspiration Point. He and Julia delivered Meals on Wheels. Then he truly retired to his workshop in the basement of their home.
1982 Directory
John & Dorothy Bolton
Charles & Louise Calloway
Herman Grey Carroll
Louis & Marie Jones
Thomas & Dorothy Peasley
Charles & Laura Rollins
Carl & Ronnie Schultz
Image: In 1982, the Rollins family (upper corner) gathered with friends and our sponsor fellowship families (listed above) and Reverend Dr. Thomas Calvin Kelsey Sr. and his wife Carolyn (lower corner) to celebrate Mr. Charles and Mrs. Laura Rollins' Golden 50th Wedding Anniversary at the First United Methodist Church of Clearwater, Florida.
Our loving senior fellowship church sponsor families gave my parents/family so much love and care and helped us settled in our new home in America during the critical and transitional years from 1975 to 1980. With a heavy heart and dedication, this section is here to honor our loving father and loving senior fellowship church sponsor families.
Having AAPI section posted here is because my father, Nguyen Duy Long, was a big supporter of the Asian American community (#AAPICommunity). He was an advocate of helping others and had spent much time giving to those in need since the '80s till his late years, e.g., assisting those newly settled in the United States. He also supported local non-profit organizations and the U.S. presidential elections for the 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the 41st U.S. President George H.W. Bush.
Image: In 1981, my father was accepted into The Republican Presidential Task Force. He received the Lapel Pin (left, 0.625") and Medal of Merit (right, 2.025") from President Ronald Reagan and then later from President George H.W. Bush. The Republican Presidential Task Force was founded by President Reagan in 1981 with one focus — to permanently advance the President's work towards building a "freer, stronger America."
Having the above mentioned first in supporting the U.S. presidents during the elections, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (#WhiteHouseAAPI) was formed on June 17, 1999, and is a United States governmental office that works to empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (#AAPI) to improve the quality of their lives, raise the standard of living of their families and communities, and more fully participate in the economy of the United States.
Side Note : The office is currently being held by Tina Wei Smith, appointed on December 9, 2019 as the eighth (8th) Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (#WHIAAPI).
Side Note : To better serve the AAPI communities, on December 22, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) signed a package of legislation, enacted the "Asian Subdivision Act", (S.06639-A/A.06896-A), that tackles racism and discrimination, with one of the bills aimed at disaggregating Asian American data by ethnic group, mandating that any state department collecting information about ethnicity or ancestry will have to use different categories for each major Asian group, including the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Bangladeshi and Hmong communities, which the bill names. The same will be done for individual Pacific Islander groups, including Native Hawaiians, Guamanians, Chamorros and Samoans. Presently, California, Washington State, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and New York City have passed the Asian Subdivision Act, while Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, and Georgia are discussing details.
#StopAAPIHate : The AAPI initiative vowed to create a national infrastructure for the AAPI community that has faced well over six (6) thousand reported racial attacks since the coronavirus pandemic. These hate crime incidents are often ignored and underreported, and so we want to make the reporting process easier and accessible at the federal, state, or local level. AAPI Philanthropists have committed over a billion dollars for AAPI communities for the next five (5) years. The launch featured former United States Presidents: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. On April 22, 2021, Congress passed, in an overwhelmingly 94-1 bipartisan vote, the legislation called the S.937 — COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act under the United States President Joe Biden — read the speeches and remarks from the White House Briefing Room here.
#AAPI#WhiteHouseAAPI#AAPIWomen#StopAAPIHate#StopAsianHate#AAPICommunity
On May 21, 2021, the TV special below was first aired across ViacomCBS channels and on Facebook Watch. Actor Ken Jeong hosted the special “See Us Unite for Change” (#SeeUsUnite) — an effort to address the rising tide of hate crimes against Asian Americans.
The television special event, which coincides with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (#AAPIHM), is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios in partnership with Ford Foundation and MacArthur Foundation.
“This event comes at an important time for our AAPI community (#AAPICommunity), as we unite with our allies to celebrate the breadth and diversity of the Asian American experience,” “See Us Unite for Change” executive producer Sheila Lirio Marcelo said, who is also the founder of Care.com. “There is more work to be done in raising awareness of the contributions of our AAPI community and we’re honored to have the support of our partners as we work to build solidarity in service of a more equal and just society in America.”
Through music and comedy performances, short film packages, and speakers, “See Us Unite for Change” aims to inspire and educate viewers about the AAPI community’s impact on the United States and how to support on-the-ground efforts building solidarity against hate. The special will simulcast worldwide across MTV Entertainment platforms, including MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, Pop TV, VH1, CMT, TV Land, Lego, BET, and Nickelodeon, and will stream on Facebook Watch. In addition to Marcelo, it is executive produced by Jesse Collins’ Entertainment Carol Donovan, Kimmie Kim, and Jessie Collins.
“We are in solidarity with the Asian and Pacific Islander community in the face of bigotry, racism, and violence,” Facebook Watch’s head of programming and development Mina Leferve said. “We see what the community is enduring, and we’re honored to help raise awareness and to help spotlight the rich and beautiful history of Asian and Pacific Islanders in America.”
Part of a broader advocacy initiative, the See Us Unite campaign works to expand support for the AAPI community through education. It has partnered with the Asian Pacific Fund (#AsianPacificFund) and directs support to Asian Americans Advancing Justice (#AAAJ), Stop AAPI Hate (#StopAAPIHate), National Asian Pacific Women’s Forum (#NAPAWF), The Asian American Education Project (#AAEdu), Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (#AAPIP) and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (#NCAPA), among other AAPI organizations.
In the late '90s, my father, Nguyen Duy Long, said, the United States and Vietnam will ultimately become major trading partners on goods and services. He suggested I should be on the lookout for the increasing bilateral trade initiatives between the two countries and economic growth in the South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). After five (5), ten (10), and twenty (20) years, all that came to a reality — see figure and data below from the U.S. International Trade Commission.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on September 2021 Vietnam maintains in the top 10 trading partner position with the United States. The top 5 includes Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and Mexico.
And since my father spoke about the potential trade and economic growth in Vietnam and the region, I have seen an increasing tide and mutual benefits between the United States and Vietnam. Specifically, after 1975, four (4) U.S. Presidents: Bill Clinton (42nd), George W. Bush (43rd), Barack Obama (44th), and Donald Trump (45th) have made visits to Vietnam to strengthen bilateral relationship. It's possible to see President Joe Biden (46th) to carry the baton to Vietnam.
Since 2005, I have visited family members in Vietnam several times. The experiences were incredible. I observed the ongoing changes in the country and new developments of cities that have morphed the country. The efforts have evolved Vietnam into a major trading partner that also has been trading with China, Japan, and Korea.
That said, on January 11, 2007, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) to become the 150th member country. On July 13, 2000, the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) was signed between the United States and Vietnam and entered in into force on December 10, 2001 — see figure below as trades begin to increase in 2001. On November 1998 Vietnam joined the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and on July 28, 1995 Vietnam became the 7th member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) that was founded on August 8, 1967, and also in 1995 the United States opened normal diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
U.S. goods and services trade with Vietnam totaled an estimated $92.2 billion in 2020. Exports were $12.1 billion; imports were $80.1 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with Vietnam was $68.0 billion in 2020 — source below. https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/southeast-asia-pacific/vietnam
Figure: U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Merchandise Trade — official trade figures in billions of U.S. dollars.
US-VN $ BN
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 🗓️ SEP
2025 MONTH
2026 MONTH
2027 MONTH
2028 MONTH
Exports
3.71
4.32
4.62
5.04
5.73
7.10
10.10
8.13
9.68
10.82
9.91
10.95
11.39
9.84
9.28
—
—
—
—
Imports
14.87
17.49
20.27
24.66
30.62
38.02
42.09
46.48
49.14
66.46
79.62
101.91
127.52
114.43
99.86
—
—
—
—
Balance
-11.16
-13.17
-15.65
-19.61
-24.89
-30.91
-31.99
-38.34
-39.46
-55.64
-69.71
-90.96
-116.12
-104.58
-90.58
—
—
—
—
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission; General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam and Vietnam Customs.
U.S. trade in goods with Vietnam, see above graph for 1995 through 2017 and data above through the month reported in 2022.
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5520.html
🗓, indicating the total data to date to the end of the month shown.
PDF: My father's CẢM TẠ (SPECIAL THANKS) was printed in the Saigon Nhỏ October 2020 Issue (photo added), thanking everyone that served directly and indirectly with my father since November 23rd 1959.
Image: In 1972, my father was awarded The Highest Honor from the South Vietnam goverment – The Republic of Vietnam; he received The National Order of Vietnam. The Award was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government. The decoration was created in 1950 and was awarded to any person who performed "grandiose works, remarkable deeds, showed bravery, or for those who have honored and served the country by lofty virtues and outstanding knowledge." Along with other recognized officers, my father and his commanding officer, Rear Admiral Lam Nguon Tanh, hold this distinguished award.
Medal Rack:
Armed Forces — Navy and Marine Corps Medals, after 1972 in dress grey-blue uniform
1. Bảo Quốc Huân Chương Đệ Ngủ Đẳng § Hải Quân Huân Chương § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh với Nhành Dương Liễu
1. National Order of Vietnam, Knight § Vietnam Distinguished Service Order § Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm
2. Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi với Hai Sao Vàng § Danh Dự Bội Tinh Việt Nam Hạng I § Tham Mưu Bội Tinh
2. Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars § Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class § Vietnam Staff Service Medal
3. Kỹ Thuật Bội Tinh § Chiến-Thương Bội-Tinh § Biệt Công Bội Tinh
3. Vietnam Technical Service Medal Second Class § Vietnam Wound Medal § Vietnam Special Service Medal
4. Quân Vụ Bội Tinh § Hải Vụ Bội Tinh § Dải Chiến Trường Ngoại Biên Bội Tinh Việt Nam, Kampuchea
4. Vietnam Military Service Medal Fourth Class § Vietnam Navy Service Medal § Campaign Bar Outside Frontier, Kampuchea
The Twelve (12) Medal Ribbons pinned on to my father's Navy uniform are somewhat difficult to identify (also see color photo version), but I was abled to zoom in with a high magnifier (software and hardware) to identify most and have listed them on his profile and only a few that were best identified. Right before we left our homes in Saigon, my father came home to pick us up in his military jeep (the MUTT, Military Utility Tactical Truck). In order to avoid the ememy from spotting military officers easily, my father had on mimimal Navy clothing — dressing down toward a civilian. His full Navy dress uniforms with decorations, ribbons and awards were left behind. I have been with my father to identify the few other medals, and it has been a bit challenging task after 45+ years from not talking a lot about his Navy time served in Việtnam. I am confidence on these medals shown above (after 1972) and the ones shown below (before 1972) that came from my best efforts to match patterns and colors plus memories from my father. I have spent countless hours to research, find and understand these military medals (medal ribbons) that my father received before he was promoted to Captain (Đại Tá). And in the photo above, my father was standing on the shores of Phú Quốc Island, Việtnam when he was a Commander (Trung Tá). All of his ranks, warships, and medals are listed in the beginning of his profile here.
Medal Rack:
Armed Forces — Navy and Marine Corps Medals, before 1972 in dress white uniform
1. Hải Quân Huân Chương § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi Hai Sao Vàng
1. Vietnam Distinguished Service Order § Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars
2. Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi 2 Sao Vàng 1 Sao Đồng § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi 2 Sao Vàng 1 Sao Đồng § Danh Dự Bội Tinh Việt Nam Hạng I
2. Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars, One Bronze Star § Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars, One Bronze Star § Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class
3. Tham mưu Bội Tinh § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh với Nhành Dương Liễu § Quân Phong Bội Tinh III
3. Vietnam Staff Service Medal § Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm § Good Conduct Medal Third Class
4. Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh § Biệt Công Bội Tinh § Hải Vụ Bội Tinh
4. Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal § Vietnam Special Service Medal § Vietnam Navy Service Medal
Medal Rack:
Armed Forces — Navy and Marine Corps Medals, combined before and after 1972
1. Bảo Quốc Huân Chương Đệ Ngủ Đẳng
1. National Order of Vietnam, Knight
2. Quân Vụ Bội Tinh § Hải Vụ Bội Tinh § Hải Quân Huân Chương § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh với Nhành Dương Liễu
2. Vietnam Military Service Medal Fourth Class § Vietnam Distinguished Service Order § Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm
3. Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi 2 Sao Vàng 1 Sao Đồng § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi 2 Sao Vàng 1 Sao Đồng § Anh Dũng Bội Tinh Ngôi với Hai Sao Vàng
3. Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars, One Bronze Star § Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars, One Bronze Star § Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Two Gold Stars
4. Quân Phong Bội Tinh III § Danh Dự Bội Tinh Việt Nam Hạng I § Tham Mưu Bội Tinh
4. Good Conduct Medal Third Class § Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class § Vietnam Staff Service Medal
5. Kỹ Thuật Bội Tinh § Chiến-Thương Bội-Tinh § Biệt Công Bội Tinh
5. Vietnam Technical Service Medal Second Class § Vietnam Wound Medal § Vietnam Special Service Medal
6. Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh § Hải Vụ Bội Tinh § Dải Chiến Trường Ngoại Biên Bội Tinh Việt Nam, Kampuchea
6. Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal § Vietnam Navy Service Medal § Campaign Bar Outside Frontier, Kampuchea
If you have expertise on these medals and served with my father, my contact info is in the header. Note, see color photo below.
Image: A line extracted from one of my father's letters in the mid 1970s.
Spratly Islands
On January 4, 1977, he wrote about the potential oilfields in the basins of Trường Sa (Spratly Islands) off of South Vietnam. Besides probable Oil and Gas (O&G) reserves between the islands, the Trường Sa (Spratly Islands) and the Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) are strategic significance military and surveillance locations for South Vietnam extending the country's defensive perimeter.
In a six page handwritten letter to a friend in the United States, my father wrote saying that from August 1974 to January 1975 he was commanding his Navy ship to steam back and forth from Saigon to Trường Sa (Spratly Islands). During those six months, my father and his crew were steaming 300 miles (482 km) regularly to reach the nearest islands. Their mission was to patrol the islands, protecting and safeguarding the territories from enemy intruders. The basins near the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands reported to have probable Oil and Gas (O&G) reserves beneath the basins of South Vietnam, below the [ — ] 17th Parallel.
Map: In South Vietnam, there is a 300 miles (482 km) distance [ – – – ] that spans between Saigon and Spratly Islands.
|| HISTORY || Both the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands have been a part of South Vietnam and been claimed assertion of sovereignty many decades ago during the time of World War II and withdrawal of Japanese military from the islands in 1945 and then the French military in 1954. In addition, the Spratly Islands (300 miles or 482 km from Saigon) and the Paracel Islands (238 nautical miles or 382 km from Da Nang) are in constant territorial dispute with surrounding ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries: Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines; however, the dispute is primarily with China as its military might is becoming increasingly more present and its expansive sovereignty claims of the two islands and in the region in the South China Sea (SCS). Decades before the Vietnam War, both island chains were allocated and lawed under the jurisdiction of the administration of the South Vietnamese government because of their geographic locations below the [ — ] 17th Parallel.
For my father’s commitment to his military skills, I was told by his fellow officers and soliders that he have stayed back on his warships during rest and recuperation (R&R) leaves to review warfare strategies and tactics, critiquing combating plans of actions and foreseeing maneuvering of warships in battles from ship to ship and from ship to land. The other two attack scenerios come from ship to sea (water) from divers setting mines and submaries and from ship to sky from missiles and fighter aircrafts. He showed bravery and demonstrated courage in attacks and displayed knowledge of war theater and attack strategies of the enemy combatants. He received the "National Order of Vietnam" medal, as shown below.
National Order of Vietnam, Knight (Bảo Quốc Huân Chương Đệ Ngủ Đẳng)
Ambushed
Illustration: In one of my father's handwritten letters, he drew this drawing to illustrate an ambush from thirty (30) missiles.
In one of my father's handwritten letters, he wrote after the war on some of his heavy battles and winnings. In one battle, in particular, his ship was heavily ambushed; he saw thirty (30) missiles (rockets) flying toward his ship. Seconds later there were explosions on the starboard. The sudden attack resulted in casualties on deck and fires in the rear. One missile hit the bridge, one hit the antenna, and another hit some piles of sandbags. Thankfully, nobody got injured on the bridge. The missile that hit the bridge was a few extra yards away from my father and those near the bridge. From my father's own words, he wrote it was another close and missed encounter with the North Vietnamese fighters. Despite the damages to his ship, my father and his crew striked back heavily with all the weapons and amunitiions on the ship. They were equally effective resulting in casualties and considerable damages to the combatants, resulting them to fallback and retreat.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” – Sun Tzu
Mekong River
On another day, his division was continuously being ambushed that lasted nearly the entire day, from 7 am to 5 pm. His ship and his commanding fleet experienced heavy battles along the Mekong River from constant strikes of missiles and gunfires. There were at least sixteen (16) missiles, but he was able to save his ship from additional damage and prevent the ship from being sunk. After the intense and long battle, there were no more ammunition left. He then took the remaining crew and casualties back to base safely.
One of the worst ambush attacks was when my father and his driver were able to pull themselves up to head back to base. The causality count was extensive. On both sides, the combatants were heavily damaged. And both sides had many soldiers who either got injured or killed in action (KIA). I believe my father received his "Vietnam Wound Medal" during this time.
Vietnam Wound Medal (Chiến Thương Bộ)
Kampuchea
After replenishing supplies and ammunition, my father and his fleet moved into Cambodia and Laos to support the RVN Armed Forces. One of my father's dear colleagues and friends was ARN commanding officer Nguyen Van Kim. They were successful in forcing out the enemy intruders from further penetrating the neighboring countries: Cambodia and Laos. Their heavy battles impeded the combatants from advancing into South Vietnam. It is when my father was awarded with a "Kampuchea" medal.
Campaign Bar Outside Frontier, Kampuchea (Dải Chiến Trường Ngoại Biên Bội Tinh Việt Nam, Kampuchea)
Qui Nhon Pier
Another method of these attacks came from enemy soldiers trying to place magnetic mines onto the ship's hull after docking. These magnetic mines were also placed drifting in the waters. They get magnetized onto the hull of the ship. Moments later an explosion occurred, as the ship steamed along the river or out in opened water.
Illustration: In one of my father's handwritten letters, he drew this drawing (on the left) to illustrate the missed attack on him, and his crew and ship at the Qui Nhon Pier. On the right, is a schematic map of the pier in 1970s.
In another missed attack, his ship almost got hit by a mine at the Qui Nhon Pier. On the following day, enemy soldiers placed a mine 100-yards in front of where his ship was previously located. The next day another ship, unfortunately, moored at the same location took the massive blast and got severely damaged and sunk.
Signature
In his handwritten letters to his friends in the United States, my father signed them with his first name or with his full name, as shown below.
Full Name // (first: Long, middle: Duy, and last: Nguyen)
Side Note : Traditionally, signatures in Vietnam start with surname first, follow by middle and then first. For my father's friends in America, he signed his handwritten letters using his first name first, follow by middle and then surname last.
Medals
Growing up in Saigon, Vietnam, my father was away a lot, six months at a time and rarely home for any extensive amount of time. Even when he wasn't on duty, he went to the Navy base and ship yard to check on the soliders and their warships. It is why I spent so many hours speaking to my father and learning about his time of service and researching on all of his sixteen (16) military medals.
Sixteen (16) Medals: Armed Forces — Navy and Marine Corps Medals
Forward Looking
I am sharing this section of my father's heavy battles and medals to express and show Honor and Respect for my father and to all of his fallen fellow officers and comrades during the time of war and to those that have passed during the time of peace.
Side Note : A note for the above mentioned is forward looking. The purpose of this section and all sections is not to relive the past but to live a better life in a better world for the next generation. In addition, it is a showing of Remembrance and an expression of Honor and Respect to those who currently serve or have served; especially, on November 11th on Veteran Day and May 31st on Memorial Day.
Reflecting back from past conversations with my father and his fellow Navy officers (Hải Quân Việt Nam Cộng Hòa, HQVNCH) and U.S. Navy officers, including U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills and U.S. Navy Advisor Richard Lee Armitage, they have shared their stories of being in missions and in battles alongside my father in Vietnam.
Camaraderie
Still today, those former officers that were in heavy battles with my father have thanked him for his courage for helping them and saving their lives. I recall their thank you's and expressed of respects when they came visit our homes in Vietnam and in the United States. One thing is for sure about combat veterans is that their strong military bond of camaraderie runs deep and last a lifetime, especially when a soldier experienced a life threatening combat situation and survived great hardship with comrades.
Taboo
While growing up in the United States, I have sporadically asked my father multiple times about the war. Unfortunately, he didn't want to discuss it, not even saying a word. I know it was difficult for him to share his experience during the time of war, and I recogized it was a taboo subject area. Only in recent years before he passed, he started to open-up and enough so I can document his time of service in Vietnam. However, when it comes near to talking about his war battles, he would go silent again. As I am writing this section, I can picture my father sitting next to me as I was speaking to him before. While we were talking I was looking into his eyes and having a strong feeling of utmost respect and utter love for my father. There isn't a day I don't think of him.
Integrity
The one main character trait I can say about my father is that he was surely a man of Integrity. He was a humble man and a man of action. He was a well-respected man by many friends and colleagues, and he took on actions with utmost responsibilities. He also took care of others: family, comrades, friends, and neighbors. He never boasted about what he did or what he had accomplished. From my childhood to my adulthood, people who know my father well have said to me that "there aren't many people out there like your father." He is a special man, and a special father. He is an amazing person. He is an officer and a gentleman. And so not everyone knows all about my father's contributions to this world and to his two countries: South Vietnam and the United States. His many victories in heavy battles and survival stories during the Vietnam War. His career accomplishments in the United States. In South Vietnam and the United States, I hope I did my father some justice by sharing his stories: his life accomplishments and his life experiences in both countries in his biography profile.
"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." — Confucius
Humility
In addition, my father was never an egotistical man. He never accounted himself with full of egos and arrogance. It's because he lived his life knowing that it takes great and courageous soldiers to win battles on the front lines, and he took on those duties and responsibilities to care for those serving with him. He carried his humbleness toward his colleagues in the corporate world as well. As mentioned above, my father was a humble man — possessing a humble mind-set of a servant leader. He respected all the soldiers that served and fought alongside him. He continued to show this well-grounded character trait... a man of Humility throughout his military and civilian life. It is why many people respect my father, and they have expressed to me personally and time again years before and after he passed.
"Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues." — Confucius
Hero's Farewell
As I was standing guard in front of my father during his funeral ceremony, I gave a salute to every (former) officer and solider that made a Hero's Farewell with a Final Salute to my father. They expressed Honor and Respect to my father, and I showed my Honor and Respect back to my father's dear friends and comrades.
Gentleman
With that appreciation, I want to say again that my father was a kind and generous man, a true and sincere gentleman. He contributed to this world and his two beloved countries: South Vietnam and the United States, and his colleagues and family. He lived his life in harmony providing an unwavering love for his family and friends and unending care in helping his communities and his fellow man. With a kind heart for giving back to others, my father was a man of action of doing good, and that he spoke gently and walked softly on this earth.
Image: For four decades, my father remained a stalwart supporter of the Asian-American community. He often was a speaker at various events that mainly included an audience of American, Vietnamese-American, and Chinese-American friends and families. At times, as well, he spoke during social gatherings and special occasions, e.g., wedding receptions for dear family friends and major holiday celebrations. He also made annual charitable donations to local organizations. This photo was taken at a Tết festival event in St. Petersburg on February 1989.
His Last Commanding Ship
Image: Commanding South Vietnamese Navy destroyer escort ship Trần Hưng Đạo, Hải Quân - 1 [HQ-1] in 1975, my father used to patrol the coastal lines of South Vietnam, and in the background here is Nha Trang. Ship length: 306 feet (93 meters, 102 yards).
Freedom Isn't Free!
|| HISTORY || Freedom isn't free! The wars and conflicts we engaged in cost lives, even civilians, and these engagements can alter people lives drastically. The (American) Vietnam War lasted 18+ years from May 1954 to April 1975. The history and timeline of the American - Vietnam War presented by the History Channel are shown below. All the links below are provided to give references to historical events and believe to be accurate and credible at this time. The credibility of any information requires multiple sources and an opened mindset to understand and to continuously carry out additional investigation to truly grasp a major event.
It was one of the lengthiest war along with the War in Afghanistan that took action from 2001 to today. World War II lasted 3 years and 8 months. Korean War lasted 3 years and 1 month. The list of wars or conflicts and lengths having the engagements of the United States are listed in the links below:
Image: In 1973, my father was a Commander (Trung Tá), standing on the beach of Phú Quốc Island near a Naval station. He commanded South Vietnamese Navy ship Van Kiếp II [Hải Quân, HQ-14] and then later Cần Thơ [Hải Quân, HQ-801]. During the war, he led the battles along the coastline from the 17th Parallel to Phú Quốc and Côn Đảo (incldues Côn Sơn) Islands and later received a promotion to Captain (Đại Tá) by Rear Admiral Lam Nguon Tanh.
Image: In 1962, my father graduated with high distinction and top of class and was in the first row and second position out of 326 officers in his class, Salutatorian, in Vietnamese Á Khoa. This day my mother said she attended to witness my father being sworn in at the graduation ceremony day at the Da Lat Military Academy in Da Lat, Vietnam – Khóa 16, Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Việt Nam (TVBQGVN). She also attended my father's graduation day from Khóa 13 Hải Quân Nha Trang in 1964, where he also graduated with high distinction and top of class.
Image: In the early 1970s, my father was a Lieutenant Commander (Thiêú Tá́, Chỉ Huy Trưởng Giang Đoàn 72 Thủy Bộ) of the 72nd Naval Amphibious Squadron, commanding ten (10) river boats and patrolling the vital rivers of the Mekong River and along coastal lines of South Vietnam. During these patrol boat river (PBR) tactical operations, his officers gave my father an honorable nickname of “Chỉ Huy Trưởng, Người Hùng Thủy Bộ” — translates to Captain, The War Water Hero.
Image: In 1970s, my father was a Commander (Trung Tá, Hạm Trưởng) commanding captain of Navy ship Nguyễn Ngọc Long [Hải Quân, HQ-230] (or Landing Ship Support Large: USS LSSL-96), operating in Cà Mau waters. Then, he was a Commander of Van Kiep II – Navy ship: HQ-14. After patrolling the waters, my father met with fellow RVN Naval officers and U.S. Naval officers. In the photo, my father stood amongst his fellow Naval officers for a group photo.
Image: In 1972, my father was a Commander (Trung Tá́, Chỉ Huy Trưởng Liên Giang Đoàn 70 và 71 Thủy Bộ) of the 70th and 71st Naval Amphibious Squadrons when he met U.S. Navy Lieutenant Richard Lee Armitage during their patrol boat river (PBR) tactical operations. In these operations, my father was commanding twenty (20) boats and patrolling vital rivers of the Mekong River and along coastlines of South Vietnam.
Image^ : In 1969, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills returned to Vietnam for another tour and took this photo of my father when he was sitting at the helm, patrolling the coastline of South Vietnam. HQ-614 (or Patrol Gunboat Medium: USS PGM-74) usually patrolled the waters of Phú Quốc, Vũng Tàu, Năm Căn, Qui Nhơn, and Nha Trang, but mostly the waters of Phú Quốc in blocking possible enemy boats disguised as fishing boats in violation of territorial waters and supporting artillery batteries for Naval bases in Năm Căn and Phú Quốc.
Image^ : In 1969, my father returned from his visit to the United States and became a Lieutenant Commander (Thiêú Tá). In the photo he was standing right outside the cabin's door and on the port side of his Navy ship Song Tự [Hải Quân, HQ-614] (or Patrol Gunboat Medium: USS PGM-74). His first Naval ship and served alongside U.S. Naval officers patrolling the coastline of South Vietnam.
Image^ : HQ-614 resting on Saigon River in 1968. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills served with my father on his first ship in command in 1968, [Hải Quân, HQ-614] (or Patrol Gunboat Medium: USS PGM-74), patrolling the coastline of South Vietnam.
Image^ : In 1968 my father was a Lieutenant (Đại Úy), and in 1969 he received a promotion to a Lieutenant Commander (Thiêú Tá) of Navy ship Song Tự [Hải Quân, HQ-614] (or Patrol Gunboat Medium: USS PGM-74). This photo shows him staying outside the cabin and patrolling the coast of South Vietnam from An Thới to Đà Nẵng.
Image^ : In 1968, my father was a Lieutenant (Đại Úy) meeting with fellow officers at the Phú Quôc base, serving alongside U.S. Naval officers patrolling the coastline of South Vietnam. A special Thank you to a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills for his photos. Ron is sitting (center) next to my father in the photo.
Image: In 1964, my father (first from left of photo) was with his fellow officers, including Naval officer Nguyễn Văn Phấn. They were in a commission officer indoctrination class. He was a Lieutenant Junior Grade (Trung Úy) going through additional training and studies for three (3) months under the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. In early 1969, no photo, my father was a Lieutenant (Đại Úy) attending four (4) months of training at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) in San Diego, California, under the U.S. Navy Third Fleet , headquartered in 1943 and again since 1973.
^, photo provided by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills.
In 1972, the South Vietnamese Navy, the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), had over 42,000 men, 1,400 capital warships, boats and other vessels, making the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Navy the fifth (5th) largest navy in the world, according to the U.S. Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command. In 2022, according to the Congressional Research Service, China’s navy is the largest of any country in East Asia, and within the past few years it has surpassed the U.S. Navy in numbers of battle force warships.
Image: Between 1968 and 1975, my father was the commanding officer for multiple South Vietnamese Navy Warships, the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Navy Warships — the Vietnam Navy (VNN). See the number on the hull of the commanded warships below.
Image: In 1974 / 1975, my father was promoted to Chief of Office of the Navy Commander-in-Chief (Chánh Văn Phòng Tư-Lịnh Hải-Quân) and Captain (Đại Tá̀) of the South Vietnamese Navy ship destroyer escort HQ-1, [Hải Quân - 1] Trần Hưng Đạo (or Destroyer Escort: USS Camp (DE-251)) for a Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). He commanded the ship and protected the areas between Saigon and Quần đảo Trường Sa (Spratly Islands). These islands are about 300 miles offshore and believed to have oil in South Vietnam. The ship served between 1971 – 1975.
Image: In 1973 / 1974, my father was a Commander (Trung Tá) of the South Vietnamese Navy ship Cần Thơ [Hải Quân, HQ-801] (or Patrol Craft Tender: USS Garrett County (Landing Ship, Tank: LST-786)), operating in Saigon, Da Nang, Qui Nhơn, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands), Quần đảo Trường Sa (Spratly Islands), Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, and Phú Quốc. The ship served from April 1971 to April 1975.
Image: In 1972 / 1973, my father was a Commander (Trung Tá) of the South Vietnamese Navy ship Van Kiếp II [Hải Quân, HQ-14] (or Patrol Craft Escort: USS Amherst (PCE(R)-853)), operating in Cà Mau waters in the southern areas of South Vietnam coastline and primarily in Da Nang (between 17th Parallel and 16th).
Image: In 1971 / 1972, my father was a Commander (Trung Tá) of the South Vietnamese Navy ship Nguyễn Ngọc Long [Hải Quân, HQ-230] (or Landing Ship Support Large: USS LSSL-96), operating in Cà Mau waters.
Image: In 1971 / 1972, my father was a Lieutenant Commander (Thiêú Tá) of the South Vietnamese Navy ship Trần Quốc Toản [Hải Quân, HQ-06] (or Patrol Craft: USS Anacortes (PC-1569)).
Image: In 1970 / 1971, my father was a Lieutenant Commander (Thiêú Tá) of the South Vietnamese Navy ship Thị Nại [Hải Quân, HQ-502] (or Landing Ship, Tank (LST): USS Cayuga County (LST-529)).
Video: 1969 / 1970: this video clip was made in 1969 by the US military film production crew during the time when my father got promoted from a Lieutenant (Đại Úy) to a Lieutenant Commander (Thiêú Tá) of Navy ship Song Tự [Hải Quân, HQ-614] (or Patrol Gunboat Medium: USS PGM-74). The PGMs go beyond their coastal surveillance tasks and more of the fleet command that plays an important role in Naval operations from the rivers of the deltas to the coastal waters from An Thoi to Da Nang. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Ronald Wills served with my father on HQ-614 in 1968 / 1969.
Image: There we were in sight on Navy ship Hải Quân 1 [HQ-1] on April 29th 1975. This visual of us in a documentary film "The Lucky Few" and book by Jan K. Herman, https://www.usni.org/people/jan-herman, historian of the Navy Medical Department.
Our family is a diverse Asian-American family, originally Nguyễn and Trần; we are Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-French Americans, and Vietnamese-Chinese-French Americans. From our escape journey of 12,800 miles (20,603 km), we are blessed to be living in the United States and transitioning onward from our once beloved homeland of Vietnam. We left Saigon under a political circumstance versus an economic situation. During our time in South Vietnam, my father (Nguyễn Duy Long) graduated from the Military Academy (Khóa 16 Trường Võ Bị Đà Lạt, 1962) and then the Naval Academy (Khóa 13 Hải Quân Nha Trang, 1964), serving for the South Vietnamese Navy — the Republic of Vietnam Navy, Hải Quân Việt Nam Cộng Hòa (HQVNCH), and my mother, Trần Thị Thanh Hường, managed and operated our long-running family business in the petroleum industry with my grandmother and employees. Sometime later, my grandparents: ("great") grandfather Luật Sư (Attorney) Trần Minh Chiều and my grandmother Phan Thị Úc started lending money to friends, family members, and local businesses in Saigon, Vietnam.
During my parents’ time in Vietnam, my father decided to attend military school at the age of twenty-two (22). He graduated with high distinction and top of class from Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Đà Lạt (The Vietnamese National Military Academy of Đà Lạt, VNNMAD), Khóa 16 in 1962, and after he graduated with high distinction and top of class from Trung Tâm Huấn Luyện Hải Quân Nha Trang (Nha Trang Naval Training Center, NTNTC), Hải Quân Khóa 13 in 1964. He was granted to study abroad for three (3) months taking additional Naval strategic command and operations in Japan under the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan in 1964, and in the United States for four (4) months at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) in San Diego, California in 1969 where the U.S. Navy Third Fleet is headquartered now and since February 1973. When he returned from the United States and with his fluent skills in multiple languages in English, Chinese, French, and Vietnamese, he received missions to lead and coordinate with U.S. Naval officers and commanded Squadron 72 (Chỉ Huy Trưởng Giang Đoàn 72 Thủy Bộ) and then followed by two (2) South Vietnamese Naval Squadron Fleets: Squadron 70 and Squadron 71 (Chỉ Huy Trưởng Liên Giang Đoàn 70 và 71 Thủy Bộ) in 1969 and early 1970s, totaling twenty (20) warships patrolling and winning vital rivers of the Mekong River and along coastal lines of South Vietnam.
Under his command of Cần Thơ [Hải Quân - 801 / HQ-801] and later Trần Hưng Đạo [Hải Quân - 1 / HQ-1], my father and his crew on multiple RVNS Navy capital warships secured coastal borders and areas spanning from the 17th Parallel, north of Con Thien and Huế, to south of Phú Quốc and Côn Đảo Islands (including Côn Sơn Island) with both American and or South Vietnamese (RVN) Naval River and Sea Forces. In winning under his command his fellow officers and crew gave my father an honorable nickname of "Chỉ Huy Trưởng, Người Hùng Thủy Bộ" — translates to Captain, The War Water Hero. In late 1973 my father was recruited to assist in strategic command and operations and received a promotion from Naval Commander (Trung Tá) to Captain (Đại Tá) to work alongside Rear Admiral (Đề Đốc) Lâm Ngươn Tánh; both men were connected with the Battle of Hoàng Sa Islands (Paracel Islands) on January 19th 1974 and served till April 30th 1975.
From my father’s military service as Naval Commander (Trung Tá) of Cần Thơ [Hải Quân - 801 / HQ-801] to Naval Captain (Đại Tá) of Trần Hưng Đạo [Hải Quân - 1 / HQ-1], the family, primarily my mother, decided it was necessary to leave Saigon. We left our homes located in District 1 (Quận 1) of Saigon at the latest hour, possibly before dark, at 6:00pm, on April 29th 1975, and accompanying our family on the 3 mile drive to the Navy base was Rear Admiral (Đề Đốc) Lâm Ngươn Tánh and his wife. With a very large crowd of families rushing briskly to find a way to escape on any size vessels, our group hurried tightly together to the Saigon Central Command Navy Base, Headquarter, located in Saigon and off of the Saigon River, about 30 miles (48 km) inland from the South China Sea (SCS). When we arrived we boarded quickly onto an already overcrowded ship, destroyer Trần Hưng Đạo [Hải Quân - 1 / HQ-1]. We later discovered there were additional flag officers and their officers aboard the ship. Once we settled into the captain's cabin, my father took command and worked with the crew to safely steamed the ship out of the Saigon River and into the South China Sea. There's a short video clip of us on HQ-1 steaming in the waters near Côn Sơn Island. See video below.
Video: There we were in sight on Navy ship Hải Quân 1 [HQ-1] on April 29th 1975; my father steamed his last mission and first leg from Saigon to Côn Sơn Island. We were the last capital ship to have left Saigon to rendezvous with U.S. Navy Advisor and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Richard Lee Armitage on USS Kirk 1087. Read more about our timeline to the United States below.
Last Ship
As we left the dock on Tuesday of April 29th 1975, we noticed we were on the last ship to steam out of the Saigon River. Before going aboard the ship and departing from the dock, my father and Rear Admiral Tánh were still working at the office. Their immediate trip was to return home to pickup the family. The two families got into the vehicles (jeeps) and drove the 3 mile to the Saigon Central Command Navy Base and boarded Navy destroyer escort ship HQ-1, Trần Hưng Đạo.
Dry Dock
We discovered that the Navy destroyer escort ship HQ-1, Trần Hưng Đạo, was in the dry dock for repairs. The ship was quickly being fixed during those vital and last hours. Fortunately, the repairs were completed to keep HQ-1 afloat, and with one of four working engine, she was pushed into the Saigon River to board the anticipating and fleeing South Vietnamese families, soliders, and officers.
Before Departing
Since my father had multiple success in war battle experience and commanded multiple large Navy capital ships, he was promoted to Chief of Office of the Navy Commander-in-Chief (Chánh Văn Phòng Tư-Lịnh Hải-Quân) and later to Captain (Đại Tá) to work for Rear Admiral Tánh. Having those experiences, my father was appointed to command HQ-1 by Rear Admiral Tánh to take command and steam HQ-1 out of the Saigon River and out to Vũng Tàu and then to a rendezvous point at Côn Sơn Island.
Major Dilemma
At the time, the active commanding officer (Trung Tá Nguyễn Địch Hùng) had left the ship, HQ-1, and was nowhere in sight; he mentioned to my father and Rear Admiral Tánh that he was going to go back home to get his family. After a long and reasonable waiting period, there was no time left to wait anymore for the commanding officer Hùng to return back to the ship on time. The officers aboard discussed commanding officer Hùng's predicament and had concluded three (3) scenarios in mind: (1st) he was captured by the enemy fighters, (2nd) he was held back at the gate by crowds of people, and or (3rd) he had decided to stay back home with his wife and family. With additional chaos and anxieties, and most pressing, there was no more time left to wait any longer for commanding officer Hùng to return back to the ship safely.
With each minute and seconds passing by turned into a major dilemma, and so Rear Admiral Tánh had to make a decisive decision and appointed my father the authority as the commanding officer of HQ-1, commanding and navigating of the RVNS Navy destroyer out of the Saigon River to make the rendezvous at Côn Sơn Island.
"Let's Steam Out Now"
As uncertainties accumulated and situation unrest as to when the ship was going to be attacked by mobs of enemy army fighters, the ship was in an ideal target location and condition as being an only "sitting duck" at the dock. Therefore, my father wasted no time and took the command of HQ-1 and immediately said to the crew, "LET'S STEAM OUT NOW." — but in Vietnamese.
Captain's Cabin To Bridge
For quick and easy access to the ship's bridge, Rear Admiral (Đề Đốc) Tánh and his wife stayed in the captain's cabin with my father and with us — my father needed and wanted the immediate access from captain's cabin to bridge. The other two officers we knew aboard at the time were Commodore (Phó Đề Đốc) Nguyễn Hữu Chí and Captain (Đại Tá) Phan Phi Phụng; they came along on the ship and were accompanying their family members and loved ones below or on deck HQ-1.
Lower Buoyancy
While heading out of the Saigon River some miles down the river, the only engine working of the four engines, the troubled propeller screws failed. And it needed fixing immediately. Afterward, the steering jammed, causing HQ-1 to pull right and head toward the river bank, piercing its front hull into the muddy riverbed. HQ-1 was aground from these consecutive mechanical failures. In addition, with more than a few thousand people jam-packed aboard, it made the well-overloaded ship extra heavy, producing a significantly lower buoyancy and an insufficient clearance from the river bottom floor that was also caused by an overcrowded river of many small boats and large warships escaping Saigon, creating such lower water level at a low tide condition during that evening and night.
Typically, in a normal buoyancy situation, Navy destroyer escort ship HQ-1 can occupy 8 officers and 201 enlisted to be fully operational. The ship had a length of 306 feet (93 meters, 102 yards) and can displace 1,590 ton fully loaded with a top speed of 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h) in a seaworthy and standard operating condition.
Thus, HQ-1 was awfully heavy, with one working engine of four and a much lower buoyancy, which devastated the ship's performance. The domino effect from the excessive load directly caused an increase in (hydrodynamic) drag that placed additional strain on the one engine and stress on the propeller screws. Remarkably, under tremendous stress and duty to those onboard, my father and crew members overcame all these challenging circumstances.
As my father was steaming HQ-1 at a much lower buoyancy and a much lower speed of 5 knots, this compromise between drag versus speed resulting a reduction in stress and strain on the ship's hull and the one working engine and propeller screws.
Rising Tide Rescue
With this abnormal buoyancy situation of being a well overly loaded ship plus the new chaos of malfunctions, my father radioed for assistance to pull HQ-1 back out of the muddy riverbed. After 30 minutes of constant radio communications no warships were responding to the distress calls. All the ships passing by were also overloaded with people, and their vessels were too small; particularly, their ships didn't have the engine power capacity to do the job. Until a former warship, HQ-801, my father once commanded, responded to the distress calls and said that their ship HQ-801 was coming to pull us out. The familiar voice on the receiving end of HQ-801 was Lieutenant Commander (Thiếu Tá) Nguyễn Phú Bá. He suggested to Captain (Đại Tá) Bùi Cửu Viên to assist and rescue HQ-1, and that Lieutenant Commander Bá knows my father personally from serving on previous Navy warships. During their attempts to pull us out, the tide was rising and getting adequately higher as the hour reached into the late evening. The timing of reaching high tide resulted in an uplift in buoyancy which then put some ease into the pulling effort. Suddenly, the added buoyancy and constant pulling and tugging allowed the ship's hull to become loose and free from the muddy riverbed.
It was incredible that these three influencing factors: man, machine and nature came together and caused the ship to be released from the muddy riverbed, allowing the ship to be pulled and moved willingly back into the deeper part of the channel. Right afterward, several hundreds of people were allowed to make a ship transfer from HQ-1 to HQ-801. The transfer alleviated the excessive load bearing on the destroyer and improved its buoyancy. This was a successful and incredible rescue effort. Thank goodness matters came together as it did and turned situation right again for all of us.
Guns Mounted
With guns mounted on the ship, HQ-1 (RVNS Trần Hưng Đạo) was equiped to return fires if enemy attacked and have the following armaments: three 3-inch/50 caliber guns, one 40mm anti-aircraft guns, eight 20mm anti-aircraft guns, one 21-inch torpedo, and eight depth charge projectors. And so for precaution and protection, my father steamed HQ-1 into the lead ship position and headed out of the Saigon River and toward Vũng Tàu off of the South China Sea (SCS) and then to Côn Sơn Island. The first leg of our journey was rough and with many uncertainties, and with all the extra pressures mounting the initial leg of our journey was complete and successful.
First Destination, Côn Sơn Island
Our first destination was to join the U.S. Navy and other South Vietnamese Navy warships and with friends and colleagues at Côn Sơn Island, about 130 miles (210 km) Southeast of Vũng Tàu. When we past far enough from Vũng Tàu, we knew we were too far away from enemy artillery fires to strike our ships. My father assured our safety during this marker, and there were no casualties aboard our warship while heading out to Côn Sơn Island. The first leg of our voyage totaled 160 miles (258km) from the Saigon Central Command Naval Base to Côn Sơn Island.
After 20 hours
After 20 hours of commanding HQ-1 and navigating the ship for 160 miles (258km), my father was pleased when we arrived safely at Côn Sơn Island on Wednesday, 30 April 1975. It was there and then when we begin to see a glimpse of hope for a brighter future as we begin our long journey halfway around the world to the United States. Also, at Côn Sơn Island, along with the coordination of South Vietnamese Navy Captain (Đại Tá) Đỗ Kiếm and U.S. Navy Advisor and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Richard Lee Armitage, my father and his fellow Naval commanding officers on nearby Naval warships collaborated to form a two column convoy that was five (5) miles long. Our next and first far away destination was set for Subic Bay, Philippines.
Second Destination, Subic Bay
The second destination of our voyage to Subic Bay, Philippines was 1,012 miles (1,629 km) long. The convoy of 32 Navy capital warships steamed successfully to Subic Bay. It took five days for my father and his fellow commanding officers to reach the Philippines.
Commitment, Pride and Courage
From Saigon to Côn Sơn Island and then to Subic Bay, my father was the only commanding officer on the ship's bridge to have commanded and navigated HQ-1. He held the course for five (5) consecutive days and nights to assure we make the entire way to the Philippines. The courage my father and his fellow Naval commanding officers on accompany Navy warships were abled to save over 30 thousands lives and 32 Naval capital warships, and my father and his fellow Naval commanding officers had demonstrated their commitment to duty when the time comes, especially during uneasy time and turmoil of war.
It was a clear showing of their commitment, pride and courage: Commitment to the people they serve and protect; Pride to the country they serve and protect; and Courage to themselves and their families, plus to their fellow Naval officers. Having these qualities as officers and gentlemen my father and Rear Admiral Tánh were abled to saved hundreds of lives and HQ-1.
Image: The remaining thirty-two ("32") Republic of Vietnam Navy Warships (RVNS) docking in Subic Bay in the Philippines on April 30th 1975.
"32"
The remaining thirty-two ("32") Navy capital warships of the Republic of South Vietnam Navy Fleet were saved from being captured nor destroyed, and all the Naval officers and their crew from the United States and South Vietnam were abled to return as many Navy capital warships back to the U.S. government. In Subic Bay, the 32 South Vietnamese Naval capital warships were than later sold to the government of the Philippines and Taiwan, including USS Kirk 1087 in 1993.
Read More...
The rest of our journey and #Timeline to the United States is posted below.
What If?
WHAT IF? THEY DIDN'T...TAKE THE ACTION!
The Responsibility of gentlemen to protect the weak and vulnerable, and The Ownness to do the right thing.
Critical: Times, Measures, and Actions
At the moment of war of critical time of life-and-death situation from the intense mounting pressures of incoming enemy attacks that were approaching nearby, plus there were no other flag officers stepping up to take the lead and to make the command, the timely and needed decision had to be made by Rear Admiral Tánh for my father to takeover the command of HQ-1. In life-and-death situation like these and especially at war, critical times need critical measures and critical actions. Since my father and Rear Admiral Tánh acted swifly and carefully, everyone, especially officers, aboard HQ-1 were saved. If not, everyone onboard would have gotten captured by the enemy army fighters and put into reeducation camps for at least ten (10) years or faced a death sentence or possibly gotten shot right there and then.
In addition, in life-and-death situation, there isn't much time to wait and act on protocol in both military and cilivian life. It is time to step up and act on experience and instinct; good officers in such situation only have seconds to decide on sound judgement and need to act on solid experience and instinct. If they don’t make the right decision at the right time and act quickly enough, people will be in harm's way and people will die.
There are several possible outcomes that could go through someone's mind in time of crisis; nonetheless, at war time my father and Rear Admiral Tánh did not have the time to wait. They only have time to act on sound judgement, experience and instinct. What if they have pondered on the situation much longer and waited much longer for another flag officer to take the lead? It is likely that everyone aboard HQ-1 would have faced a prison sentence (also known as a reeducation camp for at least 10+ years) or a firing squad, especially for the officers.
In closing, a good officer with battle experience and in dire situation would have reacted on great experience and on sound judgement and instinct to make the right move in order to save lives, several hundreds and even a few thousands of lives. It is necessary to emphasize again that in pivotal moment of critical times demand critical measures and critical actions; decision makers or whoever is able must step up in time of crisis.
Without a doubt and hesitation that was the decisive decision and action that my father and Rear Admiral Tánh took to save every man, woman and child aboard Navy destroyer HQ-1 (RVNS Trần Hưng Đạo) on Tuesday evening of April 29th 1975.
As military leaders, their quick thinking and conclusive decision to act accordingly echoes through the decades. Their action is more meaningful than words; hence, popular quotes below express the message of 'actions speak louder than words.'
"Pay less attention to what men say. Just watch what they do." — Dale Carnegie
"Well done is better than well said." — Benjamin Franklin
"The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions." — Confucius
Google Map: Our family, friends, and passengers traveled halfway around the world to the United States in 1975 - Google map illustrates a relatively realistic scale. The destinations (📍) with descriptions are listed below in chronological order.
🌏 Started from our homes we drove 3 miles in my father's military jeep (the MUTT) to the Navy Command Center.
📍 Saigon, Vietnam — April 29th, 1975
🚢 aboard HQ-1: at 7pm on April 29th 1975 our group hurried to the Navy Base in Saigon. We quickly boarded the destroyer Trần Hưng Đạo, HQ-1, and my father, Navy Captain Nguyễn Duy Long, took command and steamed HQ-1 safely out of the Saigon River to rendezvous with friends and colleagues, including Captain Kiem Do (Đại Tá Đỗ Kiếm), and U.S. Navy Advisor and former Lieutenant #Richard Lee Armitage on USS Kirk at Côn Sơn Island, Vietnam in the South China Sea. Our first leg voyage took nearly 20 hours non-stop from Saigon to Côn Sơn Island, and it's the last day of the month on April 30th 1975. See photo below on the "The Lucky Few."
🌏 160 miles (258km) to Côn Sơn Island, Vietnam
📍 Côn Sơn Island, Vietnam — April 30th, 1975
🚢 aboard HQ-1: that night a convoy was formed totaling the remaining 32 capital warships of the South Vietnamese Navy Fleet, two columns of sixteen (16) warships running as long as 5 miles. Also, all passengers and (political) refugees from small (fishing) boats were transferred onto capital warships before setting course or got picked up along the way to the Philippines. The convoy of warships comprised of 30,000 people was being escorted by USS Kirk during the five (5) day leg voyage. When we reached Subic Bay, Philippines, it was a relief and mission accomplished in retrieving as much of the $700 million funding that was once allocated by the U.S. government to South Vietnam.
🌏 1,012 miles (1,629 km) to Subic Bay, Philippines
📍 Subic Bay, Philippines — May 10th, 1975
🛳️ aboard commercial ship: in the Philippines we all transferred onto a commercial cargo ship, and said our farewells to Trần Hưng Đạo, HQ-1. Here the U.S. government offered a number of warships from the South Vietnamese Navy Fleet to the Philippines government. The next long travel out at sea was to Guam, a U.S. territory island. At this point, my father finally got some needed rest; he has been commanding non-stop for nearly five (5) days straight since leaving Saigon, steaming HQ-1 for 1,158 miles (1,865 km) and traveling at 5 knots in a large convoy with the slowest ship.
🌏 1,646 miles (2,649 km) to Guam
📍 Guam — May 15th, 1975
🛳️ aboard commercial ship: at Guam, we were preparing ourselves for the longest leg of our journey, 3,799 miles (6,114 km), to Tent City, Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Hawaii. Here we went through the immigration process for admittance into the United States before reaching MCBH, Hawaii. I recall everyone getting their immunization shots from an immunization vaccine jetgun, and I remember the instant sharp pain felt afterward. It was in Guam when I met Richard Lee Armitage when he greeted my father when we were walking around the camp to check-up on friends and the others.
🌏 3,799 miles (6,114 km) to Tent City, Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Hawaii
📍 Tent City, Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Hawaii — May 30th, 1975
✈️ aboard Boeing 747 (#a): after a lengthy travel out at sea from Guam, we all got transferred and boarded a Boeing 747 airplane. None of us have ever been on an airplane before except for some officers. Our next destination we flew to San Francisco, California. Being so exhausted, I can still clearly remember falling asleep easily as the airplane ascends into the sky while hearing the clicking and snapping noises from the retractable landing gear undercarriages being pulled inward into the airplane and then a last final click to lock-in-place.
🌏 2,393 miles (3,851 km) to San Francisco, California
📍 San Francisco, California — June 1st, 1975
✈️ aboard Boeing 747 (#b): from lack of a full rest we were filled with anxieties and excitements; this in some way balanced our energy level. In San Francisco, everyone was promptly transferred into an awaiting Boeing 747 airplane; we were scheduled to take flight to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Again I quickly fell asleep as the airplane took off. I believe it’s the combination of being worn-out from the travels and the rapid changing cabin pressure that triggers sleepiness and sleep.
🌏 2,771 miles (4,460 km) to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
📍 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — July 2nd, 1975
🚌 aboard buses: after landing we all boarded buses and were taken to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles from the Harrisburg International Airport (MDT). We stayed in Fort Indiantown Gap for about a month before getting a sponsorship. I recall looking outside the window when we were riding on the bus; and while here we watched #Movies at night, and I was mesmerized by the bioluminescence of fireflies. I was able to capture a few fireflies in a glass jar and added some grass to take care of them and to watch them illuminate at night in front of my eyes. When we received sponsorships from love ones in California, Florida, and Texas, my parents decided to go to Florida. We then boarded our third Boeing 747 airplane in late July 1975.
🌏 1,034 miles (1,664 km) to Clearwater, Florida
📍 Clearwater, Florida — July 31st, 1975
✈️ aboard Boeing 747 (#c): in late July 1975 we selected the First United Methodist Church of Clearwater as our sponsor; the church is located at the corner of Turner Street and Fort Harrison Avenue. Our sponsor families were senior members of the church, and the entire church welcomed and embraced us with love and support, including Charles Rollins and wife Laura Rollins, U.S. Army Colonel Albert Avery and wife Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Avery, Herman Grey Carroll, and Charles Galloway, Jr. and wife Louise Galloway. We settled into our first home in the United States on August 8th, 1975.
🌏 12,800 miles (20,603 km) : total
📍 The United States of America
🇺🇸 in 1983 the family became U.S. Citizens. Since then, our identity includes being the Jones, Nguyễn, Phan, Trần, Layton, and Kurtz settling in the states of California, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. In paying it forward, the family has contributed to our church and temple in various ways and have sponsored families coming to the States and helped those back home in Vietnam.
|| HISTORY || In the late 1990s I was working on a research paper, and while searching on the internet I came across imbd.com website. Like most URLs back then, it was a simple website and had just enough information. IMDb.com now has plenty of info on films and bios of leading actors and actresses, including info and bios on all cast members. If you enjoy movies, this is the perfect website to visit to learn more about the movies you enjoyed watching over and over again. I enjoy reading real life stories and watching documentary films as well. For one true story on the internet, on April 27, 1998, founder & CEO Colin Needham of IMDb.com sold his movie listing company to founder & CEO Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com for about $55 million. This purchased was Amazon's first target acquisition in the United States and third in the world. Amazon.com now has acquired over 100 companies.
The last movie I got to enjoy watching with my father and months before he passed was Greyhound (2020), based on a true event during WWII, directed by Aaron Schneider and starring Tom Hanks and his son Chet Hanks; his first filming with his father.
"The goods will be delivered by this nation, whose navy believes in the tradition of “[ Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead ].”"
— Franklin D. Roosevelt [ originally by David Glasgow Farragut ]
Below list of movies I have enjoyed and watched with my father, as noted by our favorite movie snack popcorn, 🍿. Each movie includes scenes of the U.S. Navy and or Navy SEALs.
With social distancing and staying at home initiated, hopefully the list stirred up some ideas of movies to watch, like the new ones. Any suggestion on a movie my father and I should watch, just let us know via email.
In addition to the timeline above, a documentary film “The Lucky Few” was released to tell the initial phase of our journey to the United States. USS Kirk (Navy ship 1087) had to undertake on two missions. In support of the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet, the first mission, “Operation Frequent Wind,” was to rescue the refugees from those helicopters that had escaped out to sea. On the following day the Seventh Fleet asked USS Kirk to carryout a second mission; the destroyer escort USS Kirk was to return to South Vietnam to rescue the South Vietnamese Navy Fleet.
Image: In the far left, USS Kirk 1087 was with the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet in 1975 before steaming to rendezvous with the rest of the South Vietnamese Navy Fleet at Côn Sơn Island in South Vietnam.
Image: USS Kirk 1087 in Hong Kong in 1975 before steaming to rendezvous with the South Vietnamese Navy Fleet at Côn Sơn Island in South Vietnam.
For our family, friends, colleagues, and passengers on Trần Hưng Đạo [HQ-1] on Wednesday evening of April 29th, 1975 and once we boarded the Naval destroyer HQ-1 at the Navy Base Headquarter in Saigon, my father took command and safely steamed HQ-1 out of the Saigon River to rendezvous with Naval colleagues: Captain Kiem Do (Đại Tá Đỗ Kiếm), and U.S. Navy Advisor and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Richard Lee Armitage on the USS Kirk at Côn Sơn Island. There were a lot of activities and chaos that evening, e.g., trying to transfer refugees from boat to ship and from ship to ship. As we near late at night, a convoy of 32 Naval capital warships was formed to follow USS Kirk to Subic Bay, Philippines. The 1,012 miles (1,629 km) voyage to the Philippines took five (5) grueling days in the South China Sea, and it wasn’t our last grueling time out at sea. I can recall a time when I was standing and holding onto the railing to watch the waves crashing into the hull as HQ-1 steamed us out to safety. And at another time late at night when we were communicating messages via flashing lights between two warships' signal lamps.
Videos: The film recounts the role of the USS Kirk in a rescue of remnants of the South Vietnamese Naval Fleet and 30,000 refugees on board thirty-two (32) South Vietnamese Naval capital warships.
In the transcript below, Richard’s responses to an interview for the making of the mentioned documentary film "The Lucky Few."
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Im Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And Im Melissa Block.
Yesterday, we brought you the story of one of the most extraordinary humanitarian missions in the history of the U.S. military. It’s a story that had long been forgotten, lost in the bitterness over the Vietnam War.
It begins when Saigon fell, in April of 1975. The crew of a small U.S. Navy ship, the destroyer escort USS Kirk, got orders to protect U.S. Marine helicopters as they evacuated the last Americans and thousands of Vietnamese allies. But that wasnt the Kirk’s most daring mission.
Correspondent Joseph Shapiro, with NPR’s investigative unit, interviewed more than 20 eyewitnesses and pored over hundreds of documents, to tell the history of the Kirk.
Here’s the second part of his report.
JOSEPH SHAPIRO: As the evacuation of Saigon was winding down, the USS Kirk got a strange order to head back to Vietnam, and to go alone. It was just before midnight the night of April 30th, 1975.
And there was one more thing: The Kirk would be taking orders from a young civilian.
Mr. RICHARD ARMITAGE (Consultant, Pentagon): I was put on a small boat and transferred from the Blue Ridge over to the Kirk. And it was then, it’s the middle of the night.
SHAPIRO: Richard Armitage had just turned 30 that week. He was on assignment from the secretary of Defense. He came aboard wearing a borrowed blue sport coat.
Mr. ARMITAGE: I went into the officers’ mess, and Commodore Roane was there along with Captain Jacobs. And Commodore Roane said: Young man, I’m not used to having strange civilians come aboard my ship in the middle of the night and give me orders. I said, I am equally unaccustomed, sir, to coming aboard strange ships in the middle of the night and giving you orders. But steam to Côn Sơn. And so they did.
SHAPIRO: Côn Sơn was the site of a notorious South Vietnamese prison. Now, its harbors were the gathering point for what was left of the South Vietnam's navy.
Armitage needed the Kirk to save those ships. It was a plan he'd put together with an old friend, Captain Kiem Do, a senior Vietnamese navy officer.
Captain KIEM DO (Former Deputy Chief of Staff, South Vietnamese Navy): Mr. Richard Armitage, he come and he told me that we need a plan to evacuate the Vietnamese navy. I said no way, because it would be very dangerous for us.
SHAPIRO: Armitage had been a Navy intelligence officer, assigned to Vietnamese units. He got fluent in the language, but he’d quit the Navy in protest when the Nixon administration signed the Paris Peace Accords. That agreement, two years earlier, ended direct U.S. military involvement.
Armitage thought the U.S. had sold out the South Vietnamese. Years later, Armitage would be Colin Powell’s top deputy at the State Department. But as the South Vietnamese government was falling, he’d returned as a civilian with an assignment from the Pentagon to save navy technology.
Mr. ARMITAGE: To keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy. And if you can get it out to Thailand, good. But if not, sink it, scuttle it. Do what you need to do.
SHAPIRO: The U.S. wanted those Vietnamese ships kept away from the Communists. But Captain Do had warned Armitage they’d be saving a lot more than the ships.
Capt. KIEM: I told him, I said that, well, our crew would not leave Saigon without their family so therefore, there would be a lot of people. He keep silent on that subject. He didn't say yeah. He didn't say no. So I just take it as a - acknowledgement.
SHAPIRO: In the Kirk’s radar room, Jim Bondgard(ph) was on duty.
Mr. JIM BONDGARD (Crewman, USS Kirk): So anyway, all of a sudden: Plot us a course for Côn Sơn Island. Said, where the heck is Côn Sơn Island?
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. BONDGARD: I didnt know what it was. Just pulled out a chart, and we figured what, you know, plot where we’re going to go - and off we went. And all of a sudden, the fleet is over here, fading off of the scope. And we're going this way. And Im going, uh, we're heading back to Vietnam, guys...
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. BONDGARD: ...by ourselves. At that point, we knew something was really going to be weird.
SHAPIRO: The Kirk reached Côn Sơn just as the sun was coming up.
(Soundbite of 1975 tape)
Mr. HUGH DOYLE (Chief Engineer, USS Kirk): All these ships were out there, and they were just packed to the gills with evacuees.
SHAPIRO: Hugh Doyle was the Kirk’s chief engineer. He made cassette tapes to send home to his wife. Today, they’re one of the best records of what happened. Theyve never been heard publicly until now.
(Soundbite of 1975 tape)
Mr. DOYLE: Peasants, navy people, fishermen, everything. They had come and they all had gathered, from all up and down the coast, they had all gathered at Côn Sơn Island.
SHAPIRO: Some records say there were 20,000 people on those ships. Historians for the U.S. Navy use the number 30,000. They were crowded on more than 30 Vietnamese navy ships, a couple of dozen rickety fishing boats, and a few large cargo ships. One cargo ship was so heavy, it was sinking. People below deck were bailing out the water with their shoes.
The passengers had to be moved to another ship, crossing over on a narrow wooden plank.
Mr. STEPHEN BURWINKEL (Hospital Corpsman, USS Kirk): A young woman wasnt moving fast enough or panicked or whatever, and she stopped.
SHAPIRO: Stephen Burwinkel saw what happened next.
Mr. BURWINKEL: And this guy behind her pushed her - and pushed her down.
SHAPIRO: The woman fell into the ocean, then was rescued.
Mr. BURWINKEL: And I thought, oh, boy, we’re going to have trouble here. This Vietnamese lieutenant did not hesitate. He went right up the back of that guy, took his gun out and shot him in the head, killed him, kicked him over the side. Stopped all the trouble right then and there.
SHAPIRO: It was up to the crew of the Kirk to keep order. The Kirk’s mechanics got engines running on rusted ships. The crew supplied food and fresh water. And Burwinkel went from ship to ship to check on the sick and injured. He was the Kirk’s medic. In the Navy, it’s called a hospital corpsman.
Mr. BURWINKEL: One mother, I remember, brought me her baby. And I thought the baby was - quite frankly - dead.
SHAPIRO: The child, a boy just a week old, was listless but alive. He had pneumonia.
Mr. BURWINKEL: I didnt know what to do, really. I had some penicillin with me. Of course, I was aboard the Vietnamese ship. You know, I gave it this massive dose of penicillin, thinking, well, it’s either going to be right or wrong - and the child was going to die anyway.
SHAPIRO: Only the child didnt die, as Burwinkel had expected. The corpsman’s desperate treatment had worked. But a couple days later, as Burwinkel was making his rounds, he got an urgent call to come back to the Kirk.
Mr. BURWINKEL: Said, I think the baby is dead. I said, what do you mean? The child was doing fine.
SHAPIRO: The baby had choked on formula. It was a freakish accident.
Mr. BURWINKEL: And because of his compromised condition, it was just too much for his system, and he died of cardiac arrest. And I remember we had a - excuse me just a minute. We had a funeral for him, a burial at sea. It’s very emotional. Still brings back emotions that I’d rather not have.
SHAPIRO: The crew gathered the child’s father and three siblings for a funeral on the Kirk. The captain said a prayer; a bugler played “Taps.” The child’s body was wrapped in a yellow and red South Vietnamese flag, and dropped into the ocean.
The ship sailed to the Philippines. Of the 20 to 30,000 refugees escorted by the Kirk over six days, only three died.
Hugh Doyle, recording a cassette to his wife, thought it was extraordinary, given the grim living conditions.
(Soundbite of 1975 tape)
Mr. DOYLE: You should see the sicknesses. You know, some of these small ships, with thousands of people on them, have widespread conjunctivitis - you know, in the eyes. They have diarrhea, dysentery - basic malnutrition, dehydration.
SHAPIRO: The Kirk became a maternity ward for five pregnant women, close to giving birth. Captain Paul Jacobs moved them into the enlisted men’s lounge. Jacobs, who knew how to take charge but keep things light, too, checked on them often. His message was clear, even though he addressed them through a Vietnamese interpreter.
Mr. PAUL JACOBS (Captain, USS Kirk): So I take this wrench, and I rap it against the bulkhead: Do you realize that if one of you has a baby on board, thats a U.S. citizen, thats your meal ticket to the United States? But it got them laughing and got them thinking about what could happen. See?
SHAPIRO: Lan Tran was 18 years old, the wife of a Vietnamese military pilot.
Ms. LAN TRAN: They put me in the big room with other - four pregnant women and their family. The next morning, captain come over and knock the door and then smiling and say: Hey, hurry. Hurry up, lady. Because he want a baby named after USS Kirk. Okay? So...
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. LAN TRAN: He said, hurry.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. LAN TRAN: They treat us very kindly and took good care of us.
SHAPIRO: The next day, other U.S. Navy ships joined the escort. But it’s clear from the daily logs for the ships that the crew of the Kirk took the lead. After sailing four days, the ships were getting close to their destination in the Philippines. That’s when Captain Jacobs got word that President Ferdinand Marcos was blocking their entry.
Mr. JACOBS: The Philippine government wasn’t going to allow us in, period, because these ships belonged to the North Vietnamese now, and they didn’t want to offend a new country.
SHAPIRO: It was Richard Armitage and Captain Kiem Do who came up with a solution: to transfer ownership of the vessels.
Capt. KIEM: We talk back and forth, and then I propose a solution that we will raise the American flag and lower the Vietnamese flag as a sign of - transfer the ship back to the United States. Because during the war, those - ship are given to the Vietnamese government as a loan, if you want, from the United States, to fight the Communists. Now the war is over, we turn them back to the United States.
SHAPIRO: Officers from the Kirk were sent aboard every ship to take command from the Vietnamese captains.
Mr. RICK SAUTTER: Their country was gone. Our job was to treat it with dignity.
SHAPIRO: Rick Sautter was one of those officers from the Kirk.
Mr. SAUTTER: That was the last vestige of South Vietnam. And when those flags came down and the American flags went up, that was it, because a Navy ship is sovereign territory. And so that was the last sovereign territory of the Republic of Vietnam.
SHAPIRO: Captain Kiem Do.
Capt. KIEM: Thousand of people on the boat start to sing the national anthem when they lower the flag. And they cry, cry, cry.
SHAPIRO: Thuy Hugo, a young teacher, was on one of the ships.
Ms. THUY HUGO: And we knew that we are - no longer belong to that. And we all cry, singing our national anthem.
Ms. THUY: (Singing in foreign language)
Ms. THUY: And also stand still to salute and raise up the American flag, which is - that’s the flag that save our life.
SHAPIRO: The Vietnamese military officers took off their hats, ripped the stripes off their uniforms, and threw them into the sea. On May 7th, the ships were allowed into Subic Bay. For the refugees, there’d still be a long ways to go. They’d take other ships to Guam. Eventually, most resettled in the United States.
Mr. DOYLE: I dont know what youve been reading in the news. I dont know how much of a play this evacuation of the Vietnamese navy is getting. But sorry -the whole thing was kind of cool in the way we did it.
SHAPIRO: What Hugh Doyle and the men of the Kirk didn’t know was that there’d been no coverage in the U.S.
Mr. DOYLE: I heard that there was a comment made by Radio Hanoi the other night about an American destroyer who flagrantly stole the Vietnamese navy.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. DOYLE: If you saw that comment, that was USS Kirk. We were the ones that grabbed it.
SHAPIRO: It was the USS Kirk that grabbed the South Vietnamese navy, and started the rescue of 20,000 to 30,000 refugees on a humanitarian mission that was forgotten - until now. Joseph Shapiro, NPR News.
BLOCK: You can see video and photos of the Kirk, read a timeline of its mission, and hear more tales from the sailors and refugees, at npr.org.
"Last Days in Vietnam" from PBS American Experience and from the experience of Richard Lee Armitage that spearheaded the convoy of warships to escape Vietnam. In the interview video below, it is possible that our Navy ship, Hải Quân - 1 [HQ-1], Trần Hưng Đạo, came into video frame starting at 1:12 as my father was steaming the ship into the bay of Côn Sơn Island.
Video: PBS American Experience, "Last Days in Vietnam" : In April 1975, the Pentagon assigned Naval Advisor Richard Armitage to remove or destroy South Vietnamese naval equipment to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. After rendezvousing at Côn Sơn Island, he saw the remnants of the South Vietnamese Naval Fleet crammed with thousands of refugees trying to escape Vietnam. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.
The Honorable Richard Lee Armitage
His life long service in the area of diplomatic relations for the United States of America. https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#Richard
Of all the U.S. Naval officers that served alongside my father when he was a Naval Lieutenant to Captain, U.S. Naval Lieutenant Richard Lee Armitage went much further on after his military career by later on serving for three (3) U.S. Presidents, serving for (1st) 40th President Ronald Reagan, (2nd) 41st President George H.W. Bush, and (3rd) 43rd President George W. Bush.
Richard was with my father when my father was a Naval Commander for the Amphibious Squadrons 70th and 71st. I recall my father saying, after patrolling the rivers Richard and my father would meet for lunch and occasionally with a few fellow officers.
Image: Photo from a ribbon cutting celebration event in 2003, in 2001 Richard Lee Armitage was appointed as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Secretary of State Colin Luther Powell (1937 – 2021), a former United States National Security Advisor and a retired four-star general in the United States Army that served two (2) combat tours in Vietnam.
With Richard's many awards and recognitions, on November 3rd 2015, he received a Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in recognition of his contributions to promoting friendly relations and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.
In 2018, I had a wonderful conversation with Richard and my father about their time together in Saigon, Vietnam. We spoke in both English and Vietnamese on the telephone. Richard speaks fluent Vietnamese. I said to him like a native. This conversation feels like yesterday. Time went by so fast as I remember speaking to my father and giving him a huge hug.
Richard resides with his family in Virginia, and he continues to serve in the area of diplomatic relations between the United States and foreign countries. I admire his work and service to our country 🇺🇸 as he have been doing since he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1967, and served three (3) combat tours in Vietnam for the U.S. Navy.
Image: In the photo, the Honorable Richard Lee Armitage (center, behind the President) was serving under U.S. President Ronald Reagan (presidential term: January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989), meeting here with national security team in the White House cabinet room in 1983.
Image: In the photo, the Honorable Richard Lee Armitage, a former Deputy Secretary of State and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and former President George H.W. Bush (presidential term: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993).
Image: In 2003, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Lee Armitage met with President George W. Bush (presidential term: January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009) and Secretary of State Colin Powell in Crawford, Texas.
My Father's Memorable & Cherished Photos
Some family photos of my father when he was in Saigon, Vietnam ... left behind and lost the rest of our photos. https://www.inhite.com/carljones/#Photos
Image: Soon after my father graduated from the Naval (Hải Quân) Academy in Nha Trang in 1964, he went with a family member to visit The Redeemer Church (or Notre Dame Cathedral) in Huế, Vietnam in 1965.
Image: Another photo of my father and a relative visiting Huế, Vietnam in 1965. He receently graduated from the Naval (Hải Quân) Academy in Nha Trang in 1964.
Image: This is us in the 1940s; it’s likely that this is the only photo we have left from those years. My father is on the left of the photo when he was 8 y/o. Men’s suits haven’t changed much. Vietnamese women wear áo dài (long dress) - see more on pinterest.
Image: In 1959, my father was riding on a moped to take his brother ("Chu Ut") around the streets of Saigon. The two were enjoying each other's company before my father head into the military academy at Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Đà Lạt.
Image: In 1959, my father and his brother ("Chu Ut") were walking on the sidewalks of Cho Lon, Saigon, Vietnam. Afterward, my father went into the military academy at Trường Võ Bị Quốc Gia Đà Lạt.
Image: In 1969, my father was showing his military jeep (the MUTT) to his brother ("Chu Ut"). I have a few wonderful memories of my father coming home on his military jeep as his driver dropped him off at home and greeted me with waving and smiling hellos.
Image: Wedding day, 19th of November 1964, of my fatther Nguyễn Duy Long and mother Trần Thị Thanh Hường in Saigon.
Image: In 2005 I visited family members in Saigon; they drove me to our homes that’s not too far from my father's ole Navy Base Headquarter. This is one of our homes that’s still standing since 1975 and even going back to my grandparents' times in the 1950s. The first trip and visit back to see family members in Saigon was in 1997. The homes in our ole neighborhood are like those in San Francisco, CA.
Image: After my father’s graduation from the Naval Academy, my parents got married when he was a Lieutenant Junior Grade.
This section is dedicated to my ("great") grandfather Luật Sư (Attorney) Trần Minh Chiều, my grandmother Phan Thị Úc, my father Đại Tá (Captain) Nguyễn Duy Long, and my mother Trần Thị Thanh Hường.
If anyone who knows my father, specially alumni, having any information about him and or photos of my father, please don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime. My contact info is provided in the header above. My father graduated from the Military Academy in 1962 and Naval Academy in 1964. In advance, thank you. I would greatly appreciate any information, photos and or memories about his time and service in Vietnam. We lost our country, but not our Integrity and Pride. We reside in the United States 🇺🇸 since the 1970s.
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Image: Photo from a ribbon cutting celebration event in 2003, in 2001 Richard Lee Armitage was appointed as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Secretary of State 
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