Duong Xuan Phi, 32, has been an inspiration to the tourism community and young people who dare to think, dare to do, and dare to pursue their dreams, as long as you want to do it.

In February 2020, Phi established UTO Tech JSC in Da Nang. In August 2021, he launched the jGooooo - a global travel search, connection and support platform with a desire to build a community of travel lovers.

In February 2020, Duong Xuan Phi established UTO Tech JSC in Da Nang. In August 2021, his company launched jGooooo - a global travel search, connection and support platform. Photo: THANH TINH

Trans-Viet Nam journey

Duong Xuan Phi was born in Nam Dinh Province but lived in Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang City and studied at the Viet Nam Aviation Academy in Ho Chi Minh City.

As being a sophomore, Phi decided to drop out of the academy. In 2014, Phi and his best friend cycled about 18,000km across 63 provinces and cities of Viet Nam within a year and a half. Phi has become the first Vietnamese person to have cycled across Viet Nam.

“When I was young, I always asked myself what made a meaningful life. Does money really make us happy? In 2014, I decided to cycle across Viet Nam with my best friend to find my own answer,” Phi explained the purpose of the trip.

During that trans-country journey, Phi and his friend not only cycled, they also ran three social projects namely “Thu Tay Xuyen Viet” (Handwritten Letters across Viet Nam), “Toi Co Mot Giac Mo” (I Have A Dream), and “Phim Ngan Viet Nam” (Short Films about Viet Nam) with only VND1 million.

With the “Thu Tay Xuyen Viet” project, Phi and his friend sent handwritten letters to their recipients in anywhere in Viet Nam as required by bicycles.

Phi said, through this project, he wanted to encourage people to write letters instead of using email and texting as it used to be a meaningful way to show love, but has gradually disappeared in modern society.

Meanwhile, “Toi Co Mot Giac Mo” is an inspirational project. Accordingly, Phi told to people about his own stories, experiences, and aspirations in a bid to inspire young people to do what they want.

Phi came up with an idea for the “Phim Ngan Viet Nam” project as he wanted to promote the beautiful images of Viet Nam to both domestic and international friends. "At that time, I decided to travel around Viet Nam to explore life from many different perspectives" Phi confided.

Phi started his trans-Viet Nam trip with a bicycle, and a backpack containing clothes, a camera, a computer, a camcorder and such survival equipment as knives, lighters, and a bike repair tool kit.

His trip had countless incidents such as a bike tire puncture or no money left. However, for him, every day was an interesting experience.

“At the end of the trip, I returned home in Nha Trang City. My family members opened the door and asked who I was because I looked different with a beard, long hair and dark skin after a long cycling journey” Phi laughed.

In 2016, Phi built the Utopia Eco Lodge eco-tourism area in Sa Pa District, Lao Cai Province for those who want to immerse themselves in nature.

"Many people told me that I must have been born with a "golden spoon" to be so brave to do those things. But in fact I was born in a poor family, and I lost my dad at a very young age. My mother had to work hard to grow up my siblings. When I was in 10th grade, I had my first part-time job. I only brought VND800,000 to go to Ho Chi Minh City for university studying. I think that all great people have to go through many experiences and all of their experiences are worthy of that greatness" Phi asserted.

Building a tourism social network during COVID-19 pandemic

In February 2020, Phi established his own UTO Tech JSC, headquartered at 608 Vo Nguyen Giap Street in Ngu Hanh Son District’s Khue My Ward.

On August 8, 2021, UTO Tech JSC launched its jGooooo - a global travel search, connection and support platform after 1.5 years of construction and development. This was an important milestone for the founder and CEO of UTO Tech JSC Duong Xuan Phi because August 8 also marked the 7th anniversary of the start of his trans-Viet Nam trip.

As a person with displacementism, Phi understands well what travellers need before, during and after their trips, so right after the end of his trans-country trip, Phi begun developing a comprehensive social networking platform to support travellers.

“The only reason I founded UTO Tech JSC is not other than the desire to change the way we see the world and the desire to contribute to putting Viet Nam on the world technology map. For me, if life is only for enjoying is too boring, so I always set myself a series of challenges and conquer them. Life is a series of experiences. So somehow, I am constantly developing myself every day. And no one else but myself today will write the story of my life" Phi affirmed.

Phi said that jGooooo has 8 outstanding features: Profile, Check-in, My Map, Message, Plan, Page, Search and Community. These features allow users to keep all the moments in their lives in the form of images.

On this platform, you can only check-in at places you have been. A check-in location with a written text is considered as a Review which will be included in jGooooo's data system. Meanwhile, My Map will display all the locations that you have been at and written about.

One of jGooooo’s most outstanding features is an instant translation messaging. In the message box, user has the option to translate from one’s native language to the receiving party, which helps them connect with international friends while travelling as well as encourages them to learn new languages.  

“Usually, before travelling, people will search information about their trips on Google, then install apps to make accommodation reservations, book air tickets, etc. During the trip, travellers have to download google map (digital map) for driving directions, and GrabCar (private hire car-hailing) for transport. After the trips, they need to share photos and memorable moments on Meta (Facebook's new name). Therefore, jGooooo was born to meet all those needs for travellers" Phi explained.

After 2 years of operation, the UTO Tech JSC has become the fastest growing technology enterprise in Da Nang. The proof is that the company still created jobs for about 40 employees during the epidemic, and the figure is expected to increase to about 150-200 in 2022.

In addition, over the past 3 months, JGooooo has more than 4,000 users, and the figure is expected to increase to about 1 million by the end of 2022.

Reporting by THANH TINH - Translating by M.DUNG