#19: Living with courage and purpose
Alice’s journey to discovering her purpose in life through setbacks, entrepreneurship, and a near-death encounter.
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📌 "Tragedy struck when I was 16. Here's how I charted my own courageous path to become an entrepreneur"🔥 Trailblazers
Trailblazers features young startup founders, social leaders, and cultural mavericks in Southeast Asia.“Tragedy struck when I was 16. Here’s how I charted my own courageous path to become an entrepreneur”
“Be Kind and Brave.”
These words are Alice Hang’s guiding principles for life. They are also the greatest lessons that the 27-year-old took away from many trials and tribulations.
At age 16, an unexpected tragedy threw Alice’s life into a tumult. It created an opportunity for her to rediscover herself, first through her undergraduate studies, and later with an ambitious digital banking project. She subsequently ventured into Thailand and Singapore, where she learned new skills and expanded her network.
As her career took off, Alice set her sights on bigger challenges. But her hustle lifestyle unexpectedly ground to a halt after a near-death encounter in December last year, and she also began to reconsider what her life’s true purpose really is.
How did Alice chart her courageous path to become an entrepreneur today? And what did she realize in the process? Read on to find out more.
All images courtesy of Alice Hang.
Staying positive in the face of setbacks
Growing up, I had a happy childhood with my family in a small town in northern Vietnam.
My parents gave me and my sister the best that they could afford. They provided us with the best in education and a comfortable living environment. For instance, they managed to give us access to computers and the internet at home. This was when the internet penetration rate was at less than 30% in Vietnam before 2010.
And I began to explore the internet by playing games, creating my own blog, and following how people built websites through forums. At the age of 13, I began to learn how to code, even though I didn’t exactly know what I was doing.
But tragedy struck when I was 16.
Overnight, my life turned upside down. My sister and I eventually moved in with our grandparents, who did their best to provide us with basic essentials. We also endured chastising stares from the neighbors, who often treated us poorly. Thankfully, some relatives of ours became our pillars of support - they watched over our financial and emotional well-being during those trying times.
While I was faced with such circumstances, I didn’t know how to express the emotions that I was feeling. In Vietnam, we grew up being told that showing emotions is a sign of weakness.
So I told myself, “I need to be strong. I don’t want this and I want my life back.” I tried to stay positive and focused on finding solutions to my problems.
In fact, I was inspired by a book series titled “Life Changes When We Change”. It is a set of books for children with illustrations, and they convey the message that people can stay positive when faced with challenges or setbacks in life.
I didn’t even think about what others could do for me, and I found refuge in studying hard to get into university for a better life.
The lack of kindness I received at 16 also made me realize how important it is to be kind to others. By being kind, we can help people to be more confident in overcoming their challenges, which can be reciprocated.
On to new realizations
But little did I know that I’d soon embark on a new journey in life.
When I was 18, I moved to Hanoi to pursue a degree in Information Technology (IT) at a university, thanks to my aunt’s help.
I’ve never seen myself qualifying for university studies and had already resigned to a routine of part-time work and studies.
Because of that, I didn’t have the time to hang out with friends, and they were unable to get to know me well. I did feel lonely, but I just wanted to keep learning to improve myself, whenever I could.
After graduation, I got an opportunity to work in a data analyst role for a digital bank project in one of the big banks in Vietnam.
This project exposed me to a startup-like environment. The team was small and new, and I was tasked to lead the project’s data team. I learned many skills that would become useful for me today, such as adopting a flexible and open mindset by connecting with multiple departments in the bank.
At the same time, we had to work with foreign experts to build the project, and I quickly realized that my English wasn’t up to standard. That’s because I didn’t have the chance to learn English properly before university.
This realization changed my life forever. By improving my skills in English, I was able to gain access to more knowledge from around the world, which opened doors to more opportunities for myself.
For instance, as part of the digital bank project, I had a chance to move from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) with experienced directors from Korea.
I’ve never thought that I’d be able to live in a different city, but the move to HCMC exposed me to a more international landscape. From there, I found myself aiming to venture and live abroad, to pursue more knowledge, and improve my English.
That’s part of the reason why I decided to venture into Phuket, Thailand for one and a half years.
Searching for purpose
You might ask, why Phuket?
For one, Phuket has a vibrant international scene. You’d get to connect with people from all over the world, and you’d learn from their stories and experiences.
I also found that Phuket’s natural scenery is beautiful. It’s safe, and the locals are friendly. It felt like a perfect place for me to stay and learn from others!
But the actual reason was that I was burning out.
I’ve got to admit that I’ve always been a workaholic. I’m always engrossed in work, and it seemed like it was the most important thing for me to do in life.
I thought that staying comfortable with the status quo would only limit my prospects. I felt that I could only become a better person by learning and doing whatever I could, without thinking about the trade-offs and their impact on my well-being.
I just had to find out what I wanted to do in life, even if it meant that I had to chart my path forward alone.
With that mindset, I found an opportunity to build a Canada-based IT startup with a friend as a co-founder and chief operating officer. I worked with my co-founder for a few months before deciding if I wanted to commit to the startup full-time and move to Canada.
After about six months, we realized that we were unable to work together due to our differences in mindsets and what we envision for the company.
I also realized that moving to Canada wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want to rebuild my life in a foreign land that was far away from Southeast Asia and leave behind those who cared about me.
In hindsight, if I hadn’t made the decision to go to Thailand instead of Canada, I wouldn’t be here building Conexipro and trying to create meaningful connections through technology today.
A near-death realization
But it was only until my close brush with death that made me realized that I’m not a robot.
Last December, I got into an accident while traveling in a car. While the driver got injured, I managed to get away with a few scratches. It was a miracle for me, but I was emotionally traumatized by the accident.
At that moment, I felt that I had been given a second chance to live. The realization that life wasn’t just about work, but to share and spread love to people around me struck me. What truly mattered were the friends, mentors, and strangers who offered me help, advice, and kindness.
As I recover from the emotional trauma of the accident, I feel that I’ve become more courageous and motivated to learn and share more with the people around me. With that, I recently made the move to Singapore, as part of my goal to connect with more people across Southeast Asia.
I’ve met so many amazing people, and I feel that people can adopt an open mindset and learn from anyone. From ordinary people to those in higher positions, everyone has something unique to offer based on their own experiences.
By sharing my story, I hope to spread the message that life is short and unpredictable. You will never know what will happen tomorrow. So be kind and brave, be your best self, share more, learn more, and be grateful. Appreciate human love, for it is very important.
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