It seems like things have slowed down for tech start-ups in Vietnam. There is no regular gathering, few jaw-dropping projects. Tech bloggers are retired and almost all big headlines are considered braggy. Some entrepreneurial gurus have made a point that Vietnam, start-ups wise, won’t speed up again for 2 years. There are many reasons for them to be cautious: the serial failures of social networks, micro-blogging projects, the recent economic meltdown, a new dot com bubble expected to burst any time.

But I don’t think so. I believe that tech start-ups in Vietnam are undergoing tacit development, and that there are hundreds of innovative ideas out there waiting to make a boom. The question is when.

After my last blog post about some interesting ideas spotted in tech start-up scene in Vietnam, someone from Red Herring has contacted me about Red Herring 100 Asia Award 2010 that “will highlight the exciting startups from Asia. The finalists for the award will be announced in July 2010. The 100 Winners will be unveiled at Red Herring Asia 2010 in Hong Kong.” They asked if I could give them, cited from the email, “insiders view about startups you find relevant in Asia (Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.) so we could offer them the opportunity to compete for the Top 100 Asia award.”

I’ve heard of Red Herring for quite a while, both good and bad things. Though I wouldn’t say that it’s the most prestigious award in the field, nor try to compare it with Tech Crunch Award, I think it’s a great exposure for local start-ups to be in the list. The award event is also a precious opportunity for ambitious young entrepreneurs to meet, exchange ideas and find partnership opportunities with other entrepreneurs, venture capitalists as well as other big names in the region. As stated on their website, “Red Herring 100 Asia will bring together 300 C-level technology entrepreneurs, corporate strategists, and venture financiers from across the continent.”

So, if you are working on a start-up anywhere in Asia, and you think that your start-up is innovative enough (which you certainly do, else why waste time working on it?), what are you waiting for? Submit your start-up profile before Jun 30, 2010 and stand a chance to be on the list of Top 100 most innovative start-ups in Asia!

The award ceremony will be held in Hong Kong, China, August 10-12, 2010.

Applicants must be:

* A technology company

* Headquartered in the specific geographical region of the corresponding Red Herring 100 award program

* Privately held and not listed on any exchanges anywhere in the world

* Not a previous winner of a Red Herring 100 regional award

For more information, please visit Red Herring website.

P/S

If you are chosen, don’t forget me lah

Tags: Asia, Award, Innovation, Red Herring, Start-ups, Top 100 Asia, Vietnam