ZOMBIE

Contract-review AI survived 7 yr · ZOMBIE

Bùi Hải Đăng, 45 · 7 yr

“Made it 7 years. Still not rich. Still open. 🙃”

The company is alive. So why am I still doing this?

The company is alive. Growth has stopped. Revenue barely keeps up with costs, and there is no next step in sight. Cash ₫264,271,547, debt ₫0, 0 employees, 1 customer. You go to the office every day, but you are not sure why. The reason you cannot close and the reason you keep going feel like the same thing.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openBùi Hải Đăng, 39. You have decided to try starting a company in Ho Chi Minh City. No idea, no product yet. Savings ₫410,019,399, employed (₫23,084,384 a month).
2. 8/2026: what now?Start a business: «Factory defect-detection vision AI» — You are going with «Factory defect-detection vision AI». Still no company, no product. Now find out whether the idea is real.
3. 2026 · year 1 beginsA Quiet Year
4. 8/12 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
5. 9/2026: what now?Interview 20 people — 5 of 20 said they would pay. 6 only said it would be "nice to have".
6. 10/2026: what now?Decide to build it — You decided to build. Validation ends here.
7. 11/2026: what now?Build it yourself — You settled on how to build it.
8. 11/19 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
9. 12/2026: what now?Quit your job — You quit. The next morning, not having to go to work felt strange.
10. 1/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
11. 1/9 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
12. 2/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
13. 3/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
14. 4/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
15. 5/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
16. 5/11 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
17. 6/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
18. 6/9 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
19. 7/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
20. 7/12 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
21. 8/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 1 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
22. A Quiet YearNothing much happened. You got up at the same time every day and did the same work. That repetition can build something, or wear a person down.
23. Year 1 closeRevenue ₫0, loss ₫99,398,642. Cash ₫275,895,247.
24. 2027 · year 2 beginsChinese Demand Cooled
25. 8/8 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
26. 8/14 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
27. 9/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 1 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
28. 9/5 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
29. 9/28 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
30. 10/2027: what now?Incorporate — The company is registered. Your business card now says CEO.
31. 10/9 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 1.2%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
32. A specialist could unblock the productDefer for free — You spent nothing and will reconsider at another opportunity.
33. 11/18 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
34. 12/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — No new customers this month. The channel has to change.
35. 12/10 · Patent warning letterA legal demand letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
36. 1/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — No new customers this month. The channel has to change.
37. 1/3 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,371. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
38. 1/26 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
39. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
40. 2/16 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
41. 3/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 1 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
42. 3/8 · Down sickYou came down with something. You took medicine and pushed through, but could not concentrate.
43. 3/27 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
44. 4/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 2 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
45. 4/26 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
46. Financing approvedCredit Guarantee Fund guaranteed loan ₫150,000,000 · 7.4%/yr · 60 months
47. You are short of moneyGuaranteed loan — You went to the Credit Guarantee Fund for a guarantee. It costs a fee and another review, but you can knock on the bank’s door without collateral. Credit Guarantee Fund guaranteed loan ₫150,000,000 approved.
48. 5/5 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
49. 6/20 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
50. 7/10 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,001,248 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫145,844,070.
51. 7/15 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
52. Financing declinedThe business household (hộ kinh doanh) Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) application was declined.
53. You are short of moneyApply for the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) — You rewrote the business plan. The officer at Department of Planning and Investment / Department of Finance spent longer on cash flow and repayment than on revenue. The answer arrives by post. But underwriting declined it. Credit and cash flow need an
54. Chinese Demand CooledA prolonged slump in Chinese domestic demand and real estate lowered Asia's export outlook. Clients who bought raw materials cut orders, and domestic consumption turned cautious as well.
55. Year 2 closeRevenue ₫235,583,508, loss ₫213,335,766. Cash ₫93,877,755.
56. 2028 · year 3 beginsAn Unexpected Break
57. 8/9 · Rate hike newsThe news said the policy rate went up. You reread the terms on the existing loan.
58. 8/15 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,600. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
59. AI redrew the marketAI tools changed the industry’s cost and speed. Companies that adopted them move cheap and fast; the rest pay twice for the same customer.
60. The runway is running outTake a job and keep the company on the side — An interviewer asked what you had been doing all this time. The salary started again, and the product became something that happens after 11 p.m.
61. 9/9 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
62. 10/15 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
63. AI redrew the marketIgnore it — You did not buy the tools. Six months later, a competitor offered the same service at half the price.
64. 11/3 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
65. 11/22 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
66. 12/16 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
67. 12/24 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
68. 1/3 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,027,648 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫133,158,194.
69. 1/23 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
70. The “₫140,000,000 a month or your money back” courseBlock the ad — You block it and another account posts the same ad. The money is still in your account.
71. 2/17 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,600. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
72. 2/24 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
73. 3/11 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 0.5%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
74. 4/4 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
75. 4/17 · The bank asked for documentsYour bank contact changed. The new one asked for the past year’s statements again.
76. Do you pivot?Full pivot — Half the existing customers left. The new customers have not arrived. The only thing left in the meeting room was the question of whether this was right.
77. 5/13 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
78. 6/8 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
79. 6/23 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
80. 7/5 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
81. The competitor made it freeMove up to enterprise — Fewer customers, higher contract values. The sales cycle got longer, and the meeting rooms got bigger.
82. An Unexpected BreakAn old acquaintance called with a contract, and one introduction led to another. They say luck only comes to the prepared, but some moments cannot be explained by preparation alone.
83. Year 3 closeRevenue ₫334,092,529, operating profit ₫147,352,585. Cash ₫191,323,391.
84. 2029 · year 4 beginsPatent Dispute
85. 8/15 · Patent warning letterA legal demand letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
86. 9/4 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
87. 9/10 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 0.3%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
88. 10/16 · Rate hike newsThe news said the policy rate went up. You reread the terms on the existing loan.
89. 10/30 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,063,289 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫113,264,209.
90. Priorities for the next three monthsCut costs — You canceled subscriptions, cut what you could do without, and turned off the lights you did not need. The account got a little thicker, and the place got a little darker.
91. 11/14 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
92. 11/18 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
93. 12/27 · The bank asked for documentsThe loan extension paperwork arrived: financial statements and copies of the VAT (GTGT) returns, please.
94. 1/22 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
95. 1/30 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
96. 2/7 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
97. 3/19 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
98. 4/13 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
99. 4/21 · Rate hike newsThe news said the policy rate went up. You reread the terms on the existing loan.
100. Priorities for the next three monthsTake care of people — You met an old friend and did not talk about work. The way home felt lighter.
101. 5/17 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
102. 6/8 · The bank asked for documentsYour bank contact changed. The new one asked for the past year’s statements again.
103. 6/20 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,063,289 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫94,701,206.
104. 7/9 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
105. Patent DisputeA company you had never heard of claimed patent infringement and sent a legal demand letter. The settlement demand is ₫54,316,198. Litigation would take two years.
106. Year 4 closeRevenue ₫146,116,823, operating profit ₫63,096,184. Cash ₫209,879,308.
107. 2030 · year 5 beginsA Competitor Copied You · US Rates Rose Again
108. 8/25 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 6.07%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
109. 9/22 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 0.8%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
110. 9/23 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
111. 10/20 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,212. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
112. Priorities for the next three monthsCut costs — You ended a lease on equipment nobody used. The monthly outgoings felt a little lighter.
113. 11/4 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
114. 11/8 · Service outageRight after the deploy, login broke. Restored in forty minutes, but customer messages flooded in.
115. 12/10 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
116. 12/20 · Patent warning letterA legal demand letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
117. 1/17 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
118. 1/22 · The bank asked for documentsThe bank asked for revenue evidence and the business plan again. One line said they would review whether the existing limit can be maintained.
119. 2/4 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,060,871 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫75,053,384.
120. 2/15 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
121. 3/4 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
122. 4/8 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
123. Priorities for the next three monthsCut costs — You canceled subscriptions, cut what you could do without, and turned off the lights you did not need. The account got a little thicker, and the place got a little darker.
124. 5/20 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 0.8%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
125. 6/15 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
126. 7/11 · Service outageRight after the deploy, login broke. Restored in forty minutes, but customer messages flooded in.
127. 7/22 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
128. A Competitor Copied YouA competitor duplicated your landing page and features almost exactly. The parts you can contest legally are fewer than you expected. The market remembers who does it well more than who did it first.
129. US Rates Rose AgainSignals of Fed tightening strengthened the dollar, and this country's funding rates followed. When the VND/USD rate jumped, costing got complicated again for anyone buying imported ingredients or parts.
130. Year 5 closeRevenue ₫131,675,162, operating profit ₫48,755,264. Cash ₫265,248,441.
131. 2031 · year 6 beginsGlobal Energy Prices Surged
132. 8/4 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 27,272. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
133. 8/16 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
134. 9/16 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
135. 9/23 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.60%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
136. 10/23 · Down sickYou came down with something. You took medicine and pushed through, but could not concentrate.
137. Keep going like this?Change concept: Contract-review AI — New name, new lineup. A few regulars said they liked it better before; new faces started walking in.
138. 11/26 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
139. 11/28 · Patent warning letterA legal demand letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
140. 12/13 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 2.1%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
141. 12/16 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
142. 1/20 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
143. 1/28 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,051,738 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫46,143,323.
144. Priorities for the next three monthsTake care of people — You met an old friend and did not talk about work. The way home felt lighter.
145. 2/5 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
146. 2/27 · The bank asked for documentsThe bank asked for revenue evidence and the business plan again. One line said they would review whether the existing limit can be maintained.
147. 3/10 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 27,272. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
148. 4/11 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
149. 4/13 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
150. 5/15 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
151. 5/30 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
152. 6/8 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
153. 6/11 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
154. 7/4 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
155. 7/14 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
156. Priorities for the next three monthsCut costs — You ended a lease on equipment nobody used. The monthly outgoings felt a little lighter.
157. Global Energy Prices SurgedTension in the Middle East pushed international crude prices up. Ships loaded with oil could not pass, and freight and packaging costs rose with them. A war in the news became a number on next month's cost sheet.
158. Year 6 closeRevenue ₫96,487,707, operating profit ₫5,502,437. Cash ₫236,940,886.
159. 2032 · year 7 beginsAn Unexpected Break · The Currency Calmed Down
160. 8/19 · Service outageRight after the deploy, login broke. Restored in forty minutes, but customer messages flooded in.
161. 8/28 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
162. 9/3 · Rate hike newsThe news said the policy rate went up. You reread the terms on the existing loan.
163. 9/18 · Server bill spikeA test server you forgot to switch off had been running all month.
164. 10/5 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,898. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
165. 10/28 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
166. 11/20 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
167. 11/23 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
168. 12/25 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
169. 12/29 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.40%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
170. 1/16 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
171. Priorities for the next three monthsImprove quality — You reread the complaint log from the start and fixed the most common one this month.
172. 2/4 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. ₫3,053,806 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is ₫9,036,982.
173. 3/12 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
174. 3/18 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
175. 4/19 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe VND/USD rate rose to 26,898. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
176. 4/21 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
177. 5/19 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
178. 5/20 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
179. 6/8 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
180. 6/16 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
181. 7/13 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 2.3%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
182. 7/22 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
183. Year seven: what now?Focus on profitability — You stopped hiring and cut costs. Growth slowed, and the company began to breathe on its own.

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