Misfits in Vietnam: Creating the next fitness trackers (pictures)

Misfit, like most Vietnamese businesses, requires employees and visitors to remove their shoes before entering the offices.

Misfit CEO Sonny Vu co-founded the fitness tracker company in both the US and Vietnam. While he was born in Vietnam, he moved to the US at the age of six.

Misfit's office building in Ho Chi Minh City's District 4 shows no signs the company's housed within. District 4 is known as one of the city's poorer neighborhoods but also one with some of the best street food.

Misfit's Vietnamese workers aren't assembling its fitness trackers. Instead, they're writing algorithms and making entire apps, including the Link App that turns the Misfit devices into buttons for taking selfies or controlling the music playing on smartphones. Misfit's Vietnamese workers also do customer service, logistics and other tasks. Most design and product development are done in the US and China.

Nearly half of Misfit's employees will be located in Vietnam by the end of the year. In total, the company expects to have about 265 workers by the end of 2015.

Many of Misfit's employees in Vietnam studied or lived abroad before returning to the country to be closer to family or for other reasons. Misfit finds most of its new hires through word of mouth and Facebook.

Misfit's offices include a room for relaxing -- complete with purple bean bags. Employees can hang out in the room for lunch or breaks or whenever they need a rest.