The First Business I Ever Built

Lunch money capitalism, sticker equity, and financial independence at 7 years old.

📍 2007. First Grade. Saigon. The economy was small, but my ambition was not.

Most kids spent their lunch money.

I didn't. Because I didn't need to.

🍜 The Setup

Every morning, my dad would take me to school and hand me 20,000 VND for lunch.

Back then, that was baller money for a first grader, enough for three noodle bowls, two drinks, one or two sticker sheets, and gum.

But me? I didn't touch it.

Not because I was frugal or disliked noodles.

I simply didn't need it. I was already planning how to make my own money, like a mini mogul with pigtails, instead of relying on Dad's allowance.

I saw something others didn't:

Where there’s demand, there’s opportunity (to make more money)

🧺 SaaS = Shopping-as-a-Service (First-Grader edition: Stickers & Meals)

Here’s what you need to know about the elementary school economy:

Kids wanted two things at break:

• Food (3-4k VND/bowl)

• The shiniest, sparkliest, most extra doll stickers money could buy (500–1.5k VND/sheet)

The problem?

Recess was only 15 minutes, and the canteen was a chaotic battlefield. Hundreds of sweaty kids fighting over one stall. People got trampled. Tears were shed. Friendships were tested.

I had the exact strategy and resources needed to solve that problem.

I had:

• A desk near the door (distribution advantage)

• Marathon-trained legs (speed to market)

• Fashion taste (trust me, I knew which Barbie sticker slapped)

• Zero shame in charging service fees

So I started a little side hustle:

“Give me your money. Tell me what you want. I’ll go in, fight the crowd, and deliver it to your desk—hot and shiny.”

Some were skeptical at first and tried it themselves. They failed miserably. Soon, everyone was onboard.

Just like that, I became everyone’s personal shopper.

🍜 The Noodle + Sticker Equity Model™

Here’s how it worked:

• Kids gave me money.

• I sourced stickers and/or noodles, placed the order, and paid.

• We’d share. I’d get 1/3 or 1/4 of the bowl as my return on investment, or I’d keep the change, take my cut, sometimes even negotiating “early access” to new sticker designs with the vendor.

• We all enjoyed it happily.

They got peace of mind and snacks. I got fed and richer. Everyone won.

💅 The Real Flex

Baby Hien in her 2006 - 2007 era.

I was technically financially independent in first grade.

Didn’t need Dad’s money. Didn’t spend it. Just saved it.

Meanwhile, I was sourcing goods, running ops, building trust, and eating noodles off margin.

If that’s not bootstrapping, I don’t know what is.

👀 What That Taught Me & Lessons for Today

I didn’t know the word “entrepreneur” yet.

But I did know:

• Trust moves faster than money.

• Being close to the door is still a moat.

• And real leverage is when you eat for free and take home a profit.

These scrappy lessons still guide how I build today, and they're what Screate Labs is all about – a behind-the-scenes look at the scrappy lessons that shaped how I build today. No MBA required.

Because the playground may be bigger now, and the currency might be in users, attention, or equity—but the game? The game is the same.

Start with what you’ve got.

Move faster than the rest.

Serve well. Take your share.

Reinvest.

And always sit near the door.

💬 If you enjoyed this first business story, I'd love to hear: what was your first business, and what did you learn from it?

Cheers,

Hien