Vincent Ha (Singapore Entrepreneur)

Vincent Ha (born 31 October 1984) is the co-founder and chairman of Singapore-based global talent agency Gushcloud International.[1] As the co-founder of Gushcloud, Vincent Ha has led the company to become one of the largest social media talent management companies in Southeast Asia.[2]

Vincent Ha
Vincent Ha (2).jpg
Born31 October 1984
EducationBachelor of Business Management, Bachelor of Finance and Accounting
Alma materSingapore Management University
Spouse(s)Jasmine Chua (m. 2011)

Background

Family

Vincent Ha was born on 31 October 1984.[3][4]

Education

From 1991 to 2000, Vincent Ha completed his primary and secondary education at Anglo Chinese School (ACS).[1] From 2001 to 2002, he studied at Anglo Chinese Junior College (ACJC) where he attained his GCE Advanced (‘A’) Levels certificate.[1] From 2005 to 2009, he studied at the Singapore Management University (SMU), graduating with double degrees in business management and accountancy as well as finance and accounting.[5][1][6]

Personal life

Vincent Ha is married to Jasmine Chua, with whom he has three children.[7][8] The couple met while they were both students in SMU as part of the SMU Broadcast and Entertainment co-curricular activity.[9]

Early career

From June 2009 to May 2016, Vincent Ha was a non-executive director of Big 3 Productions, a video production and content creation company.[1] Being a non-executive director, Vincent’s role was to oversee the company’s executive directors.[10] From January 2011 to December 2012, he was a director for creative agency The Barnett Group.[1] Vincent Ha was also the chief strategy officer for digital communications firm Yello Digital Marketing Global (YDMG) from 2015 to 2018.[1]

Gushcloud International (June 2011 to current)

Since January 2018, Vincent Ha has been the co-founder and chairman of global influencer marketing and talent agency Gushcloud International.[1][6] Prior to being the chairman, he was the chief executive officer (CEO) since co-founding the company with fellow entrepreneur Althea Lim in June 2011.[1][4] According to a 2019 Successpedia Asia interview with Vincent, Gushcloud International currently operates in nine countries with over 200 employees.[2]

Beginnings

Vincent Ha started Gushcloud in June 2009 after realising the need for an online platform for influencers to market themselves, since social media was still up and coming at that point of time.[4] In a 2019 interview with CNA Luxury, he was quoted as having said:

“When we first began, we created an influencer marketing platform because people then were still working manually with bloggers. People were still trying to figure out how to get onto social media. We felt this called for a need for a technology platform, and for brands to do it at scale.”[4]

 
Vincent Ha and Althea Lim, co-founders of Gushcloud.

Business expansion

In May 2015, Gushcloud was acquired by South Korea-based digital firm Yello Digital Marketing Global (YDMG), after which Vincent Ha stayed on as CEO of Gushcloud and took on the role of chief strategy officer of YDMG.[11] The acquisition was to help Gushcloud and YDMG expand its reach into the Southeast Asian market for influencer marketing and content creation.[11] Speaking to TODAYonline about the acquisition, Vincent was quoted as saying:

“Now we will have more resources and we are able to grow a lot faster. One of the big opportunities for us is that they (YDMG) will be supporting us not just in terms of financial resources to expand regionally, but also in terms of the opportunity to tap into the existing client base of all these Korean digital agencies.”[11]

Rebranding and further expansion

In November 2016, Gushcloud announced that it was rebranding, launching its new logo as well as its plans for regional expansion and into the entertainment industry.[12] The company also acquired US-based social media influencer management firm uFluencer Group in March 2017 in a bid to enter the American market.[13]

Independence from Yello Digital Marketing Global (November 2018)

In November 2018, it was announced that Gushcloud International co-founders Vincent Ha and Althea Lim had bought back their company from YDMG for a reported US$8.2 million.[14] In a statement released, Vincent Ha was quoted as having said the following about the decision:

“As co-founders of Gushcloud International, we see the company evolving beyond influencer marketing services so we can build out a sustainable future for influencers and content creators. To play an important role within the media and entertainment industry, and to build out what this ecosystem looks like, we believe we had to take back control of steering the company forward and to onboard more strategic partners and investors.”[14]

Board positions

Besides holding key roles at Gushcloud, Vincent Ha has also taken up key positions such as being a director at the YMCA of Singapore and CEO of financing solutions firm Lyte Ventures, which he co-founded.[15][16] The following is a list of board positions Vincent Ha has held over the years.

Year Organisation Role References
2018 - current Gushcloud International Chairman [6]
2011 - 2017 Chief executive officer [11][1]
2019 - current YMCA Director [15]
2016 - current Lyte Ventures Chief executive officer [16]
2011 - 2012 Big 3 Productions Non-executive director [1]
2009 - 2016 The Barnett Group Director

References / Citations

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Vincent Ha. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 22 December, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinceha/?originalSubdomain=sg
  2. 2.0 2.1 Successpedia Asia. “SINGAPORE: Co-founder of Gushcloud International, Vincent Ha on What Drives His Company and Success”. Youtube. July 5, 2019. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  3. jaschuahl. Instagram. October 31, 2019. Accessed 22 December, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B4SOlL3nTqJ/
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Rodrigues, Stacy. “From crises to conquest: How Gushcloud's founders turned their business around”. CNA Luxury. November 21, 2019. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  5. Vincent Ha”. Singapore Management University. n.d. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Leadership”. Gushcloud International. n.d. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  7. Vincent Ha. Facebook. October 11, 2017. Accessed 22 December, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/vincent.ha/posts/10159478767025154
  8. Vincent Ha. Facebook. January 29, 2020. Accessed 22 December, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/vincent.ha/posts/10163029748445154
  9. Jasmine & Vincent – An SMU Love Story”. Perfect Weddings. n.d. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  10. Barone, Adam. “Non-Executive Director”. Investopedia. July 25, 2020. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Tan, Weizhen. “Gushcloud acquired by South Korea’s Yello Digital Marketing”. TODAYonline. May 22, 2015. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  12. Gushcloud rebrands as it eyes the entertainment industry”. Marketing Interactive. November 2, 2016. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  13. Gushcloud acquires uFluencer Group to form Gushcloud Talent Agency, becomes largest global influencer media & marketing company”. Newswire. March 14, 2017. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Gushcloud splits from Yello Digital, founders buy back company for US$8.2m”. Marketing Interactive. November 16, 2018. Accessed 22 December, 2020.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Mr Vincent Ha Kwang Yuen”. YMCA of Singapore. n.d. Accessed 23 December, 2020.
  16. 16.0 16.1 About”. Lyte Ventures. n.d. Accessed 23 December, 2020.