Disclaimer: The following piece is based on my personal perspective and experience. Some names, characters, and details have been fictionalized or altered for storytelling purposes. The purpose is to share observations on management, operations, and employee experience, not to make definitive judgments or generalizations about any individual or organization.

If I had to describe my experience at Tích Tích in one sentence, it would probably be:

“It’s a place that taught me a lot about Marketing, KPIs, industry benchmarks… and, most importantly, the art of answering the question: ‘Where are the results?’”

I used to think working in Marketing for a brand-new product would be an interesting challenge: new product, new data, new customers, new market.

Then I joined and discovered there is one type of data that is even harder to measure than CAC.

The boss’s expectations.

1. The interview: “Just build the roadmap”

Right from the interview, I asked quite a few questions about the business challenge.

A new product needs testing.

Testing means things might go wrong.

If something goes wrong, you need data to figure out where.

Once you know what went wrong, you can optimize.

And if you want to find a winning formula, you need time.

So I asked very directly:

“If we run ads to test different approaches and it takes some time to find the right formula, is the company okay with that?”

The answer was reassuring.

Basically:

“You take the initiative and build the roadmap.”

I also made my position clear:

“I can’t promise a beautiful number right away. But I can promise a roadmap, data, and a plan.”

From my experience, when you’re working with a completely new product, some problems simply take time to solve.

If things move quickly, maybe two months.

If they don’t, maybe six.

But that doesn’t mean sitting around drinking coffee and waiting for miracles.

There still need to be interim results.

You still track CAC.

You still track NPU and eKYC.

You still optimize the funnel.

You still do SEO.

You still build content.

You still test TikTok.

You still monitor AUM.

In other words:

You may not have a “win” on Day One, but you need signals showing that you’re moving in the right direction.

That was the mindset I brought into the company.

2. Then I started working: “Wait… you guys are all related?”

On my first day, a colleague gave me a quick introduction to some of the people in the company.

“That person is related to…”

“That person is best friends with…”

“That person has a relationship with…”

“And that person is a VIP customer. They’ve put several billion VND into the app.”

I sat there.

Nodded.

Drank my coffee.

And had exactly one thought:

“Is this a family business?”

But then I reminded myself:

Forget it. Just do the work. Your own results are the one thing that can’t lie.

So I didn’t pay too much attention to who was who.

I focused on my job.

Marketing had a problem? Solve it.

Digital needed testing? Test it.

SEO needed work? Do it.

Content needed building? Build it.

TikTok needed experimenting? Experiment.

And after a few weeks, some fairly positive signals started to show up.

CAC started coming down.

NPU started generating data.

eKYC numbers started coming in.

New AUM reached several billion VND in some weeks.

Some campaigns hit around 85–139% of target.

SEO keywords reached #1.

A TikTok video passed 20K views.

I looked at the report and thought:

“Three weeks. Not bad.”

Of course, I understood that this was far from the final success story.

Marketing isn’t a school exam where:

Score 100 today → graduate tomorrow.

Especially with a new product, early numbers are just signals.

But at the very least, they showed one thing:

The team was moving in the right direction and had enough data to keep optimizing.

Until I walked into a meeting.

3. The result: “The result is zero”

My boss looked at me and said:

“After the probation period, I see the result as zero.”

I stayed silent for a few seconds.

Not because I had nothing to say.

But because I was trying to figure out:

“Zero according to which formula?”

I opened the report.

CAC NPU.

CAC eKYC.

AUM.

NPU.

SEO.

TikTok.

The metrics all had data.

I presented them.

The response was still:

“I haven’t seen the results.”

That was when I started to realize that the problem was no longer whether there was data.

The problem was that:

We were using two completely different definitions of what “results” meant.

I was asked to continue proving my capabilities and hit an even lower CAC target.

I’m not afraid of targets.

Seriously.

Being afraid of KPIs in Marketing is a bit like being afraid of exam questions when you’ve already signed up for the exam.

What bothered me was something else:

This condition had never been clearly communicated at the beginning.

During the interview, the message was:

“You build the roadmap.”

After I joined, the message became:

“You only get the official contract once you hit this number.”

And that was when I started asking a very simple question:

“What happens if I hit it?”

The answer:

We’ll consider signing the contract.

So I asked:

“And what happens if I don’t?”

Then I had to keep proving myself.

And I thought:

Wait. So where exactly is the win condition?

Benchmarks are a fun little story too

There’s one kind of benchmark I particularly enjoy.

It goes:

“Our competitors can do it.”

Fair enough.

If competitors can do it, we can learn from them.

But there’s one tiny detail:

Those competitors have been running for years.

They have customer data.

Brand trust.

An existing customer base.

A history of optimization.

Thousands of tests behind them.

Meanwhile, the new product has just started.

I can’t take the performance of a system that has been running for six years and use it as a mandatory standard for a system that has been running for three weeks.

That would be like looking at someone who has already run a 42K marathon and saying:

“Why have you only run 3K? Why aren’t you at their level yet?”

The question isn’t whether 3K is good or bad.

The question is:

How long did it take you to run those 3K? How fast are you getting? Are you improving? And can you keep going?

Marketing works the same way.

CAC is a metric to optimize.

NPU and eKYC matter.

But you shouldn’t turn one metric into:

“You didn’t hit this number, therefore you’re not a competent marketer.”

That’s when a KPI starts turning into…

KPI-karma.

4. Is this a company full of the boss’s people?

This was probably the most interesting part.

I don’t want to call it a “family business” in a negative sense.

Because in reality, it could simply be:

People know each other.

One person is a relative.

Another is the CEO’s friend.

Someone else has a relationship with the Co-Founder.

Another person is related to an advisor.

None of that is inherently wrong.

What I care about more is:

“When something goes wrong, how is accountability actually distributed?”

And this is where things started to feel particularly interesting.

In meetings, I noticed that people in other management positions were rarely put under the microscope quite as directly.

But whenever the topic was Marketing…

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Thị Mầu to the hot seat.

😂

There were situations that were genuinely difficult to understand.

For example, the system has an issue that makes customers unhappy and leads to one-star reviews.

Marketing gets asked:

“Why are customers reacting like this?”

And I’m thinking:

Marketing runs the advertising.

Marketing does not code the app.

But in some meetings, it felt like Marketing had acquired a supernatural ability:

To do absolutely everything.

App broken?

Marketing explains it.

Can’t recruit people?

Marketing needs to deliver results.

Budget too low?

Marketing still needs to drive growth.

Media resources not approved?

Marketing still needs real-user imagery.

Don’t want to use AI?

Marketing still needs creatives that look like real people.

Not enough data?

Marketing still needs to hit the competitor’s benchmark.

Put simply:

Marketing here isn’t a department. It’s a belief system.

The impossible triangle

For example:

Low budget.

No additional resources approved.

No AI.

But the creative has to look amazing.

It has to feature real users.

And the results need to come immediately.

I looked at the brief and thought:

“Right…”

“Could we add one more condition just to complete the set? Maybe make the Earth rotate counterclockwise?”

😂

Jokes aside, I understand that every business has budget constraints.

Marketing has to be accountable for efficiency.

You can’t just keep asking for more money.

But when resources are limited, expectations need to be adjusted accordingly.

You can’t simultaneously want minimum budget, minimum headcount, minimum time…

…and maximum results.

That’s the kind of equation that makes even Excel quietly request annual leave.

5. “You guys are just sitting around doing nothing”

This is one sentence I remember quite clearly.

In some meetings, when there was a problem, the team didn’t always have much room to explain.

Sometimes, we were barely allowed to say a sentence.

And there was one line I heard:

“You guys are just sitting around doing nothing.”

Honestly, that sentence is almost funny.

Because if Marketing were genuinely “sitting around doing nothing,” the dashboard wouldn’t magically update itself.

Ads wouldn’t set themselves up.

SEO wouldn’t climb the rankings on its own.

Content wouldn’t write itself.

TikTok wouldn’t film itself.

Data wouldn’t compile itself.

Campaigns wouldn’t optimize themselves.

I think the most dangerous thing in management isn’t employees making mistakes.

It’s this:

Employees eventually stop wanting to explain because they know no one is going to listen anyway.

A good meeting doesn’t necessarily need to end in agreement.

A boss can challenge you.

Disagree with you.

Ask you to redo the work.

But at the very least, employees should be able to say:

“Here’s the cause.”

“Here’s the data.”

“Here’s the proposed solution.”

“Here are the risks.”

If, after hearing all of that, the decision is still “no,” then at least both sides are still working through the problem rationally.

6. And then I realized: KPI probably wasn’t the biggest problem

After several conversations, I asked Kính Tâm:

“How was Marketing before, chị?”

Kính Tâm was quiet for a moment.

Then she said:

“The previous team worked for four months before they got their contracts.”

Me:

“…”

I asked:

“What about the previous Marketing Director?”

Kính Tâm:

“The Digital team had to run ads for around five months before getting a contract.”

“I also hesitated about renewing the contract.”

I put my coffee down.

That was when I finally understood:

Maybe the problem wasn’t just KPI.

Some problems are really about how a company builds trust with its people.

And when trust doesn’t exist, every KPI eventually becomes a negotiation.

7. A few things I think Tích Tích could do better

If I were to give fair feedback, I don’t think Tích Tích lacks ambition.

Quite the opposite.

It’s a fast-moving environment, with high expectations and a very clear desire to see results.

None of those things are inherently bad.

But if the goal is to turn that ambition into a better working environment, I think there are a few things worth considering:

1. Agree on KPIs from day one

Don’t let employees think the KPI is A, only to discover after joining that the actual KPI is B.

2. Know the difference between a KPI and a benchmark

A benchmark is a reference point.

It isn’t automatically a deadline.

3. Don’t evaluate marketing based on one number

A high CAC can absolutely be a problem.

But you also need to look at:

Funnel → Conversion → Retention → AUM → LTV → Brand → Data.

4. Give people the right to explain

One answer cannot replace an actual analysis.

Especially when the problem involves multiple departments.

5. If the budget isn’t enough, just say so

Marketing can’t be expected to use the budget of a motorbike and deliver the performance of a Ferrari.

6. If you want high speed, provide the resources

If you don’t hire enough people but still expect the output of a fully staffed, full-stack team…

the team is eventually going to need divine intervention.

7. Most importantly: build trust

If a company wants employees to make a long-term commitment, the company also needs to demonstrate that it is willing to make a commitment of its own.

8. Final thoughts: Do I hate Tích Tích?

No.

In fact, I’m fairly grateful for the experience.

It taught me a lot of things that no Marketing course could.

I learned that:

A KPI isn’t always the truth.

A benchmark isn’t always a target.

Having data doesn’t automatically mean people will believe the data.

Being capable doesn’t automatically mean two sides are a good fit.

And most importantly:

A good working relationship doesn’t only require employees to prove their capabilities.

The company also needs to prove that it is a place worth putting your trust in.

If someone ever asks me:

“So, what’s the working environment at Tích Tích like?”

I probably wouldn’t say:

“Great.”

Nor would I say:

“Terrible.”

I’d probably say:

“If you enjoy an environment with plenty of drama, aggressive KPIs, fast-paced work, and a brand-new story to tell every single day…”

“Then you’ll probably have plenty of material.”

But if you ask me what I remember most?

It’s probably this:

“Where are the results?”

And the lesson I took away from it is:

“Before asking how much the result is, make sure everyone agrees on what actually counts as a result.”

Because sometimes…

it’s not that the employee failed to produce results.

It’s that the two sides never agreed on what the result was supposed to look like in the first place.

If this story were turned into a comic, I don’t think Thị Mầu would walk out of the meeting room looking defeated.

She’d grab her coffee, fix her hair, look straight at the audience, and say:

“It’s okay.”

“I didn’t hit this KPI.”

“But I definitely hit my personal growth KPI.” 😌