Who is Nguyen Manh Duong? He’s the founder of Viet Anh School, now serving over 700 students with international-standard education at accessible prices. But that description skips the part that makes his story remarkable.

In December 2006, after completing his Master’s degree in Marketing, Duong left his mother and sister in the UK and returned to Vietnam alone. His total assets: $300 and a small suitcase. No one waiting at the airport. No place to stay. He dragged his suitcase straight from the airport to 186 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in District 3—a struggling English center where an old friend had just started a business and offered him a job.

That center, Cleverlearn, had revenue under $300,000 and was losing money. Within four years, Duong became Vice General Director and helped transform it into AMA with a franchise system generating tens of millions in revenue.

But he wasn’t done. He’d found his mission: filling the gap in Vietnamese education.

Who is Nguyen Manh Duong?

Nguyen Manh Duong is the founder of Viet Anh School (truongvietanh.com), an educational institution that now spans from preschool through high school. He holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from the UK and has spent nearly two decades building educational businesses in Vietnam.

Today, Viet Anh School in Ho Chi Minh City serves over 700 students with approximately 90% annual re-enrollment rate and 100% student progress rate (measured against each student’s own baseline). The school is an official partner of Oxford University Press, verified and recognized since 2023 for implementing the Oxford International Curriculum alongside the Vietnamese national program.

The school has expanded beyond HCMC to Can Giuoc (Long An Province) and Rach Gia (Kien Giang Province), with plans for additional locations—bringing international-standard education to children in their hometowns rather than requiring families to relocate to major cities.

The First Year: 5 Students in June

When Duong left AMA in 2011 to found Viet Anh School, he thought he knew what he was doing. He started marketing in March, following textbook approaches: SEO, SEM, advertising, invitation letters, closing deals at seminars. He even hired the most famous education speaker of that era at significant cost.

By June 2011, he had recruited exactly five students for seven grade levels. At that rate, he couldn’t open even one class. Complete failure seemed imminent.

But instead of panicking, he analyzed every touchpoint in his customer journey. He discovered something important: parents were attending the seminars. They just weren’t converting.

He made a radical decision. He replaced the famous speaker with himself. Instead of elegant theories and gentle lessons, he told his own study abroad story. He exposed raw truths. He targeted the exact pain point: “rote learning without skills.” He offered specific solutions and passionate commitments.

Then he did something most people wouldn’t: he held three to four seminars every week. Some sessions had only one family attending. He delivered the full content anyway and stayed until everyone’s questions were answered.

Students started enrolling gradually. By the 2011-2012 school opening, they had 88 students—just enough cash flow to operate, though still at a loss. But he had a chance to run the school and fulfill his commitments.

The Daughter Who Changed Everything

In 2015, when Duong’s first daughter turned two, he searched districts across HCMC for a suitable preschool. Even at the best schools, he found children were being “raised rather than taught.” The golden learning period from zero to six years—critical for language, thinking, habits, and social skills—was being wasted.

Unwilling to disadvantage his daughter, he decided to open an experimental preschool class inside the existing Viet Anh secondary school, officially labeled as an “English class” for regulatory purposes.

He personally researched leading global early childhood education philosophies: Montessori, Waldorf, Highscope, Reggio Emilia. He ultimately chose Highscope for deep implementation.

The experimental class included his daughter, children of colleagues, and siblings of Viet Anh students who learned about it through internal referrals. Only a few paid anything. At that point, Duong wasn’t earning much, but his daughter’s preschool education alone cost over 100 million VND monthly (approximately $5,000). His family joked that she was “the baby with the world’s most expensive tuition.”

When his daughter reached elementary age, he continued researching and developing that level too. Today, Viet Anh School offers a complete model from preschool through high school.

The K-12 Discovery

Something unexpected happened when the full K-12 model came together. Student development improved dramatically.

With thinking patterns, habits, and social skills formed early, students learned much more effectively in secondary school. Most displayed creative, mature behavior and conduct—indistinguishable from children in developed countries.

The K-12 model creates continuous rhythm instead of the “breaks” that occur during school transitions. Children don’t lose momentum switching from preschool to elementary to middle to high school. Each phase builds on the previous one.

This discovery validated Duong’s instinct to build downward from secondary school rather than just focusing on test preparation. The foundation matters more than the finish.

The Educational Philosophy

Viet Anh School’s approach focuses on developing thinking, character, and skills—not just knowledge like conventional education.

Duong’s reasoning: knowledge is free and constantly changing. What students actually need most are learning skills and habits that last a lifetime.

One of the most important qualities cultivated at Viet Anh is perseverance. The school doesn’t believe in “natural talent.” They believe in purposeful practice. Every student sets personal goals and follows the PDR cycle (Plan-Do-Review) throughout the year.

This philosophy produced concrete results in Duong’s own daughter. In first grade, she swam one kilometer. In fourth grade, she earned a black belt in Karate and won the district Kumite championship. In fifth grade, she became city champion—without any natural athletic talent.

The point isn’t that his daughter is special. The point is that systematic development produces results that “talent” narratives would attribute to genetics.

Accessible International Education

The mission driving Viet Anh School isn’t just quality education. It’s international-standard education at reasonable cost for the majority.

This distinguishes Viet Anh from elite international schools that serve only wealthy families. Duong’s experience returning with $300 and building from nothing shaped his belief that opportunity shouldn’t depend on family wealth.

The Oxford International Curriculum partnership, verified since 2023, allows students to learn integrated international content alongside the Vietnamese national program. Students gain global preparation without abandoning local requirements or paying elite school prices.

The expansion to Long An and Kien Giang provinces extends this further. Children can access international-standard education in their hometowns. Families don’t need to relocate to major cities or send children away.

The Seminar Lesson

I keep thinking about those early seminars with one family attending. Most entrepreneurs would have canceled, rescheduled, or cut content short. Duong delivered the full presentation and answered questions until everyone was satisfied.

That persistence—treating every interaction as worthy of full effort regardless of scale—likely explains much of his success. The 88 students who eventually enrolled came one family at a time, each convinced through complete attention.

It’s also a lesson in diagnosis versus panic. When only five students enrolled by June, he didn’t assume his product was wrong. He analyzed the funnel, found the conversion problem, and addressed it specifically. The seminars were working for awareness. They weren’t working for conversion. Changing the speaker changed the outcome.

What I’ve Learned from Nguyen Manh Duong

Studying Duong’s journey has reinforced several principles for me.

Personal experience drives product development. He built the preschool because he couldn’t find one for his daughter. He researched elementary because she reached that age. His own needs as a parent shaped the institution. That authenticity creates different products than market analysis alone.

Perseverance is teachable when systematized. The PDR cycle (Plan-Do-Review) transforms persistence from personality trait to learnable skill. His daughter’s athletic achievements without natural talent demonstrate this principle in action.

Downward building creates upward results. Starting with secondary school, then adding preschool, then elementary seems backward. But the K-12 integration improved outcomes at every level. Foundation quality affects everything built upon it.

Accessibility expands impact. International education serving only wealthy families changes few lives proportionally. Making quality accessible to ordinary families multiplies impact. The expansion to provinces demonstrates commitment to this mission.

Nguyen Manh Duong – My Perspective

After examining his story, here’s what stands out about Nguyen Manh Duong:

• He returned from the UK with $300 and built educational institutions serving hundreds of families
• He personally conducted 3-4 seminars weekly during the critical first year, even for single-family audiences
• He developed the preschool program to solve his own parenting problem, spending $5,000 monthly on research through his daughter’s education
• His school achieves 90% re-enrollment and 100% student progress through systematic character and skill development

Nguyen Manh Duong represents something Vietnamese education needs: combining international standards with local accessibility. He’s not building elite institutions for wealthy families. He’s building systems that work for ordinary people in ordinary places.

For anyone starting educational ventures, or any business really, his seminar persistence offers a template. Show up fully for every opportunity, regardless of audience size. Diagnose problems precisely instead of panicking broadly. And when you can’t find what you need, consider building it yourself.

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Le Duc Anh CEO of OceanLabs – Founder of QVID