Luck is built different in San Francisco by Son Chu Hoang

It’s been 1 month and 15 days since I (Son, Founder @ upnova) arrived here through the SILTA program. In that time, I’ve:

• Made incredible friends
• Closed deals
• Gained amazing funding knowledge
• Met founders who’ve reshaped my mindset

It has been an exceptional experience. And most of it is completely unplanned. I’ll share 4 short stories of these unplanned, lucky, encounters from my time here in SF. These stories highlight how “luck” here, comes to those who seek it.

Story 1. Internet friends - United in San Francisco

Naz and I became internet friends 10 years ago when we were just two kids trying to break into the world of front-end development. Both of us went on different paths later on in our careers. He started creating developer content, then became a coding coach, and now he’s co-founding an AI startup. Meanwhile, I launched a sustainable shoe company (I know, random as hell) and now I run an e-commerce software startup. He lived in Michigan, and I was in Helsinki. But through all that, we stayed connected online.

Then, just before I landed in San Francisco, I saw his Instagram story—he was complaining about how early coffee shops close in SF (which, honestly, I still don’t get it either). “HOLY SH*T,” I thought. “Naz and I are in the same city!”. I DM’ed him immediately, and on my second day in SF, we met up. It was so amazing to see his workplace, aka his apartment, and how he bootstrapped his app from 0 to 6-figure in just 6 months. The dude is a hustler. We spent the afternoon swapping stories about how we run our businesses. After 10 years of knowing each other online, I couldn’t believe we were finally hanging out in person. And out of all the places, it was San Fransisco.

Story 2. New business partner, located in different parts of the world - United in San Francisco

In week two of the SILTA program, one of my American investors—who’s also a customer—was checking in with me. He mentioned wanting an A/B testing feature in my app. I had to tell him, “I don’t have the time or resources to focus on that”. The next day, I got a message: “You have to meet this guy. He’s a beast.” He was talking about Jeffrey, the founder of an A/B testing app. I looked him up, and his company was way ahead of mine in terms of customer growth. We scheduled a call, and during the small talk, he mentioned he was visiting San Francisco—for just two more weeks. He’s based in Hong Kong, but he was staying just 15 minutes away from the SILTA house. We ditched Google Meet and met in a park nearby just 3 hours later instead.

I was so inspired by how he singlehandedly grew his company to over 1000 users with no marketing. Jeffrey’s growth strategy was entirely organic, while mine had been mostly outbound. We quickly realized we could help each other explore each other’s strategies. We met up a few times after. We even went to a Kygo concert together and now we’re business besties helping each other grow. Mind you, when we actually partner up, it will be the biggest thing for both of us and for the space we work in. None of this would’ve happened if I wasn’t in San Francisco.

Story 3. Old acquaintance—New mentor

Denise was an incredible entrepreneur woman, who once visited our office back in my shoe startup days. Back then, I knew she had an impressive CV: #2 in the Swedish Kickboxing Nationals, Speaks 6 languages, Worked at Goldman Sachs, And CEO of one of the biggest dating apps in Vietnam. She was a friend of a friend and unfortunately, back then, I didn’t get to talk to her much.

Fast forward three years, and I spot her casually walking down the street in SF. My friends and I were about to catch an Uber in just 3 minutes, but I sprinted over to say hi anyway. I could tell she didn’t ever remember who I was. After all, we only talked to each other once and that was 3 years ago. We later reconnected over coffee. We shared our entrepreneurship stories and how we ended up in SF. She taught me so much about fundraising with VC. Both the bad and the good. And before talking with her, I was on the fence on whether I should focus on fundraising or continuing the bootstrap way. Her insights on fundraising were invaluable, and after hearing her experiences, it became clear to me: fundraising wasn’t the right path for me right now. Instead, I needed to trust my gut and focus on growing my business.

Denise and I are great friends now—she’s mentoring me on fundraising, and I’m helping her with outbound marketing. That conversation changed the course of my business. If I hadn’t been in San Francisco, it wouldn’t have happened.

Story 4. The network game is on easy mode in San Francisco

After witnessing how startups here in SF work, I’m a little bit pissed off by how slow my company was moving compared to them. The speed they execute is fast. And their goal is always to dominate on a global scale. To be honest, I was complacent with my little wins back in Finland. And I knew I couldn’t keep going on like that.

After my first week in SF, I was on a mission to find a COO for my company. Thanks to the YC network, the SILTA house crew, and my new friends in SF, I had tons of amazing referrals. All I had to do was ask. Don’t get me wrong—I always return the favor by helping them in some way, but these kinds of opportunities? They didn’t happen when I was in Finland.

How to create more LUCK when you’re in San Francisco

Yes, to me, it felt like these things happen from out of nowhere. But if it wasn’t for my actions towards these small windows called chances, luck probably wouldn’t have come my way.

If I hadn’t suggested meeting up with Jeffrey, we wouldn’t be business partners.

If I hadn’t sprinted after Denise, I would’ve missed out on a great mentor and friend.

If I hadn’t asked for referrals for a COO, my company might have stayed small forever.

Here’s the thing—people were willing to help me because I tried to help them first. I’m not a believer in luck. But, I’m a strong believer in serendipity. Help others however you can, and great things will come back around. And in San Francisco, and in the SILTA house, it happens faster than you think.

Son Chu Hoang, Founder @ upnova, Silta F24