I’m leaving Momos

Two years ago, I made a hard decision to go back to Vietnam to join Momos.

It meant taking the risk of turning down an offer in Singapore that provided a more predictable career path, the risk of building my network from scratch again in a new city, and the risk of relocating in the opposite direction from where most people of my age want to go.

And Momos took a risk too. Hiring fresh grads wasn’t the norm, and it isn’t still.

Since then, we have 5x our engineering team in Vietnam, opened our HCMC office, raised Series A, and earned the trust of some of the biggest F&B chains in the world. I’m proud to have been part of that journey.

Looking back, we are all happy with our decisions.

This time, I’m making another hard choice. I’m leaving to focus on building my own company.

Why

I increasingly feel the opportunity cost of not starting up. There is so much leverage now with the latest wave of technological advancements. And thanks to Momos, I have been learning to take advantage of it. And there is a high chance this window is closing (I’m not sure about this, as AI could open an even broader horizon, similar to how the internet did, but it’s not a safe bet).

I want to find my limit. Momos allows me to push myself, and it’s been the best place for me to learn and grow in the last two years. While the company is growing, there is a certain limit that is hard to break. Building something from scratch will allow me to find my personal limit faster. It most likely means failing faster, but it’s okay.

I’m happy that my ability is recognized, and, at the same time, I’m afraid of getting too comfortable. Being promoted, receiving a raise, handling harder and wider-scoped projects - I’m grateful for the team’s recognition of my contribution. There are still many harder and more exciting projects ahead, but the risk is shared with many people.

Therefore, I’m relatively comfortable now, knowing that most technical problems can be solved, and I will be rewarded if I continue doing what I’m good at. That is something I appreciate, but I don’t want to get comfortable too early in my career.

I still have a long career ahead of me, and thinking about jumping off a cliff to aim for a J-curve improvement gives me more excitement than climbing up a staircase. I could be wrong and might need to climb a staircase from the bottom up again, but if I do not jump off a cliff, I won’t stop wondering.

Building a business requires tremendous time, effort, attention, and dedication. I have been thinking about starting my own company for a long time, and I occasionally create things, both for fun and in search of something that sticks. While the cost of building things is significantly lower, building great products and a business remains hard. And I need a full-time commitment to do it.

Why not

There are plenty of reasons not to leave.

Momos is growing, and there are exciting bets that could change the company’s trajectory. As a result, I’m working on harder, more important projects.

There is still room for me to grow in my career and hone my skills here, both technical and non-technical, as our engineering team continues to grow.

And most importantly, the people. A company is nothing without its people, and I’m grateful to work with some of the most talented and passionate people I know, and for the relationships we have built together along the way.

Nevertheless, it’s time for new challenges.

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I can be completely wrong, but I choose to take another bet this time.