Dear Entrepreneur: This City Doesn’t Need Another Cafe. It Needs a Vision

Dear Entrepreneur,

Walk through the streets of Đà Nẵng on any given weekend and you’ll feel it—the buzz of youthful energy, the comfort of curated aesthetics, the hum of espresso machines and ambient playlists floating from yet another carefully designed cafe. Every block seems to boast a new spot, each with slightly better lighting, slightly trendier fonts, or slightly stronger matcha.

It’s easy to be impressed by the momentum. But under the surface, a difficult question lingers: Are we building for attention, or are we building for impact?

Đà Nẵng is full of ambition—but much of it is stuck on repeat. From artisan coffee to concept stores, smoothie bowls to startup "weekend hacks," we’re swimming in a sea of lifestyle businesses. Many are beautiful. Some are profitable. A few may even be innovative. But too often, these ventures are optimized for the short-term: quick launches, quick likes, quick exits. Their shelf life is designed for social media, not society.

And this isn’t a critique of cafes. Coffee is culture. Spaces for connection are vital. But when the default playbook for entrepreneurship in Đà Nẵng centers around what’s already familiar, we lose the chance to shape what’s possible. We stop solving real problems. We start following trends instead of setting them.

So here’s a thought: what if Đà Nẵng became known not for its ability to multiply cafes, but for its capacity to grow purpose-driven companies? What if instead of another plant-filled coffee shop, we saw startups tackling urban mobility, climate resilience, education access, or digital tools for underserved communities?

What if we stopped building what’s easy—and started building what lasts?

The truth is, vision is harder than velocity. It takes more than hustle to build something that matters. It takes courage to challenge the status quo. It takes depth to explore untapped problems and design long-term solutions. It takes patience to craft a company that doesn’t just look good in a launch photo, but still serves people five or ten years from now.

Đà Nẵng is perfectly positioned to be a different kind of innovation hub—one not driven by hype, but by heart. A city where entrepreneurs aren't just chasing market trends, but setting out to improve lives. Where success isn’t measured by how fast you open, but by how much value you create over time.

This is a call to every founder, dreamer, and builder in the city:

• Stop copying what already exists. Start imagining what doesn’t.

• Trade in the temporary wins for long-term significance.

• Build something that survives beyond the hype cycle.

• Ask harder questions: Who am I helping? Why does this need to exist? What happens if it succeeds?

  
  

Đà Nẵng doesn’t need another Instagrammable corner or curated menu. It needs systems that uplift people, ideas that disrupt the status quo, businesses that grow because they’re solving meaningful problems—not just serving flat whites.

To the next generation of Đà Nẵng entrepreneurs: don’t settle for the easy path. Choose the meaningful one. Build not just for this weekend’s crowd, but for the next decade’s challenges. Your city doesn’t need another cafe. It needs your vision.

Will you bring it?

Always have your back,

Wildcats

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