Why We’re Starting A Personalized Travel Accessories Biz In Vietnam
Heyo, my name is Zach. I’m one of three dudes who are starting a new travel accessories business in Vietnam. There’s a lot I’d love to unpack, but I think the most important thing to start with is “why”? And I don’t mean why we feel there’s a tremendous opportunity to produce high quality, personalized, branded goods (of which I will get into later). But the deeply personal “why” that caused each of us to start/join Wander Lab.
Square 0
I arrived in Vietnam a little over three months ago with a broken heart. The week before I left Canada my girlfriend and I broke up. The first night (and many other nights those first few weeks) I literally cried myself to sleep.
We lived together, and did basically everything together. So adjusting to life without her in a place where I didn’t know a soul was quite difficult.
At this time I was also gearing up to start *something* new, but I didn’t really know what it would be. A few months prior I sold my newsletter business (a bi-weekly publication about Elon Musk), and had been using my new found free time and money to relax a bit and travel.
In November my former girlfriend and I spent a month in Ko Pha Ngan, after which we spent a few weeks in Bali, and then flew to Denmark for what we hoped would be a very hygge Christmas (it wasn’t).
So while the breakup was extremely painful, I didn’t feel like returning to Thailand to laze about on a white sand beach (I can feel your sympathy). I wanted to switch my brain on, forget my sadness during working hours, and build something new.
Who’s this guy?
Luckily for me I spontaneously met Ricky a few weeks into my stay in Vietnam. We had/have a lot of common. Like our love for Bali —he’s a surfer dude who enjoys chilling in Canggu, and I lived in Ubud for a year in 2015. We also both sling t-shirts online, and are très entrepreneurially minded.
He told me about a brand new business that he and his friend Tony were starting. A business which:
- Focuses on travel accessories
- Enables personalization on every item sold
- Places the highest possible importance on customer happiness
- Allows for complete location independence
He also told me that he was already selling passport covers on Amazon as a test, and was ready to build a powerful brand behind it. Just hearing about all this made me feel like Elon Musk after the first Falcon Heavy launch+land (I was REALLY excited 😁).
So when Ricky asked me if I wanted to jump on board it was an immediate OUI!
We’re gonna do what?
One of the things I most like about this business is it’s focus on supporting travelers with both physical products, and inspiring people to get out there to explore more. This is a mission I really believe in.
After visiting ~30 countries in my life, I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for all the travel I’ve been fortunate enough to do. I definitely wouldn’t be working in Vietnam with two guys I only met a few months ago!
Physically being in the right place at the right time is super important, but so is being open to what’s presented to you. That’s the gift of travel, it works on both these levels simultaneously.
Now, as we are still in the very beginning stages, I thought it would be cool to chronicle our journey! If enough of you clap for this, then we’ll post updates periodically with news of our successes and shortcomings. We believe in being super open, and will be happy to share anything you guys want to know! Let us know in the comments 🎉
Who are we to do this thing?
I wouldn’t be working on this if I didn’t think we had an excellent chance at success. The thing is, the products we’re producing are really cool. But they’re not enough to blast us off to Mars on their own. I believe it’s our team that will be the differentiator.
I know you don’t want to hear more about me crying myself to sleep, so without further ado here’s a bit about Ricky and Tony.
Ricky has Vietnamese ancestry, but grew up in Santa Cruz. He sells a variety of products online in different niches, and has been able to automate most of it. Tony is also an American with Vietnamese ancestry. He is a PR + branding wiz who has worked with brands like Spotify and Amazon.
They have tons of experience, and I feel that together we can tackle all the major hurdles between where we are now and being an iconic travel brand.
Vietnam — where the Americanadian dream can take flight
One of the best things about being in Vietnam, besides the cheap cost of living and ridiculously good Pho, is access to high quality consumer goods manufacturing. The quality is on par with anything I’ve seen in North America.
This is remarkable because when I was here 14 years ago I had a very different feel of the country. It now feels much more modern, and it’s very clear that many people are entering the middle class. The hustle and focus on the future that the Vietnamese have is super inspiring!
We are also very good friends with Nhat, a rad 26 year old owner of a small factory in Vietnam. In general, something we feel that consumer goods are lacking is the ability to customize. It’s weird that it’s 2018 and yet so few brands offer customization of their products.
With Nhat and his magical machines we will be able to produce ultra high quality personalized travel accessories at a fraction of what it would cost us in Americanada.
Square 1
Well, more accurately we’re at square 0.84 right now. Our website isn’t launched yet, and we just pulled the plastic wrap off our brand new social media accounts.
So if you want to join us on our journey to square 1 that would be INCREDIBLE! Here’s how you can wander with us 😜
- ¡Leave a comment below. We’ll reply! We’d love to hear your questions, suggestions, or taqueria recommendations.
- Wander over to thewanderlabs.com! Discover how fun it is to personalize meaningful travel accessories. ✈
Muchas gracias for reading this far! You are one of a kind 💫
