Aric Austin is the co-founder and CEO of MyStorage Vietnam, a startup that turns unused or underutilized urban space into tech-enabled, hyperlocal storage for consumers and businesses.

MyStorage is the self storage pioneer in Vietnam and looking to expand the concept into further countries in the Mekong. They are currently raising a seed round for growth!

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👋🏼  How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

I am building one of the first self-storage companies in Vietnam, a country that is completely unfamiliar with the concept of self-storage.

We are technology-focused to make the service appealing to the young, urban and extremely tech savvy population of Vietnam.

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🧐  What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I was in a train wreck in the Netherlands a few years back and was flung through the glass window into a nearby field when my rail car derailed and fell onto its side.

Fortunately I came out relatively unscathed, but after an experience like that, all other challenges seem trivial.

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‍🏆  What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Appearing on Shark Tank Vietnam, one of the most popular shows in the Vietnamese start-up scene. It was an amazing experience to stand in front of the Sharks and pitch our business concept in Vietnamese, after which we got investment offers from 3 out of 5 of the Sharks.

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🔍  What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

Sustainability and the circular economy are fascinating. It’s not just limited to the ‘usual suspects’, such as recycling, green energy, alternative food products, etc. It’s a space where virtually everyone can make an impact if you make the effort to look a bit harder. Who would have known, for example, that constructing a storage facility out of used containers vs. a new building makes a massive impact on carbon emissions.

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💼  What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

Be absolutely laser-focused on the customers and the problem your product or service solves. If you execute this effectively, you have a competitive advantage that is surprisingly difficult for competitors to overcome.

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🗣  What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Travel, the world, business, or geography.

Having been born in Spain, raised in Germany and then lived in many other countries before moving to Vietnam, I am fascinated by the interplay of nations and how cross-border travel and business shape the world we live in today.

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🎥  What's your favorite movie/TV show?

One of the most amazing movies ever is Office Space, by Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis & Butthead

To quote a famous reviewer, the film is “a comic cry of rage against the nightmare of modern office life.” The film uses Orwellian satirical techniques and offers up absurd aspects of office life. I can watch it over and over.

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🍨  What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Hazelnut. However, there’s a cartoon I saw ages ago showing a kid at an ice cream counter holding an ice cream that looks like a brown hairy ball.

The clerk behind the counter is saying, “You said you wanted vanilla? Sorry, I thought you said gorilla flavor.” Since that time, I’ve always wondered what that would taste like.