Joseph Phua is a Singaporean-Taiwanese entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of the dating app Paktor[1] and co-founder and chairman of the live streaming platform 17LIVE Group. He is also the founder of Next Apple News[2] and chairman of the single family office Turn Capital.[3][4]
Joseph Phua | |
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| Born | Singapore |
| Education |
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| Occupations |
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| Known for | Chairman of Turn Capital |
Education edit
Phua attended Stern School of Business, New York University, majoring in Finance for his undergraduate degree.[5] He obtained a master's degree in Business Administration from Booth School of Business, University of Chicago.[5] After graduation, he worked at McKinsey & Company and Citibank.[6]
Career edit
Phua is the founder of Paktor, a mobile dating app targeting Asia markets he launched in 2014.[7][8] He was inspired by the dating app Tinder that he used while attending the University of Chicago in 2012.[7][9]
In 2017, Phua merged Paktor with 17 Media, a live streaming platform founded by Jeffrey Huang, to form M17 Entertainment.[10] After the merger, Phua became the CEO of M17 Entertainment.[11] In 2020, he resigned as the CEO[12] and assumed the role of chairman and the group was renamed 17LIVE Group.[13][14][15] Phua is said to be 17LIVE's largest individual shareholder[16] after the company went public on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2023.[17] In 2019, Phua was selected by Asian fashion media Tatler as a Generation T (Gen.T) award recipient.[18]
In 2021, Phua's family investment office, Turn Capital, acquired the podcast platform SoundOn and merged it with the voice social service Goodnight.[19] The same year, he also acquired Dapp Pocket and Cappuu of a Taiwanese blockchain company.[20][21] The two companies, Dapp Pocket and Cappuu, were later merged into a retail blockchain finance platform Coinomo.[22][3]
In September 2022, Phua founded Next Apple News,[23] an independent news platform in Taiwan.[24]
Philanthropy edit
In 2021, Phua announced the establishment of the Phua and Chang Family Scholarship, a University of Chicago Booth School of Business endowment. The scholarship was first awarded to a student from Taiwan.[25]
Personal life edit
Phua has one child with his wife, whom he met through the Paktor app.[26]
References edit
- ^ Singh, Pooja (2018-12-11). "The App That is Helping People in Asia Find Love, One Swipe At A Time". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "17LIVE founder launches news site following failed Apple Online bid - Focus Taiwan". Focus Taiwan - CNA English News. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b Abudheen K, Sainul. "Joseph Phua's Turn Capital acquires Dapp Pocket to create SEA-focused retail crypto exchange". e27. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "We discuss podcasts and audio-entertainment with Joseph Phua from Turn Capital". Tech Collective. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b Sabina (2021-08-19). "首次創業遇上危機，卻沒想過放棄 Chicago Booth Joseph：不留後路，才能持續思考及成長". Sabina Huang (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Edmund, Simons (2014-12-22). "Interview With Paktor Founder Joseph Phua, Looking To Build Asia's IAC - Global Dating Insights". Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b Holliday, Katie (2014-08-29). "Singapore entrepreneur turns heartache into cash". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Ministry urged to foil Apple Online deal - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Wei, Chong Seow (March 10, 2020). "M17 Entertainment Group's Joseph Phua On The Lessons That Shaped His Leadership Approach". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Ellis, Jack (18 June 2019). "M17's ill-fated IPO: CEO reveals all". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Russell, Jon (2017-04-26). "Paktor, a major rival to Tinder in Asia, moves into live-streaming via merger deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Cordon, Miguel (17 August 2020). "M17 co-founder Joseph Phua steps down as group CEO". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Chew, Ryan (2022-04-19). "Evie Zhang wants to demystify crypto with OMO". The Peak Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "17LIVE GROUP REAPPOINTS CO-FOUNDER JOSEPH PHUA AS CEO AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN". 17LIVE. 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ "M17 Entertainment Limited changes its name to 17LIVE Inc. with new logo". 17LIVE. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ 壹蘋新聞網 (2023-10-02). "17LIVE將在新加坡上市！交易市值273億 龍丞宣布投資亞洲新創15億｜壹蘋新聞網". Nextapple (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ "VTAC to combine with livestreaming operator 17Live at S$1.2 billion valuation". www.businesstimes.com.sg. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
- ^ "Joseph Phua | Generation T". 2022-09-09. Archived from the original on 2022-09-09. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Kollective Ventures and Joseph Phua's family office acquire SoundOn, a Taiwanese startup with 35M monthly podcast downloads｜Meet Global". meet-global.bnext.com.tw. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Turn Capital Acquires Blockchain Startup Dapp Pocket". Enterprise IT News. 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Joseph Phua's Turn Capital acquires Dapp Pocket to create SEA-focused retail crypto exchange". news.nestia.com. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Strong, Matthew (2022-08-30). "Singapore businessman launches new Next Apple news network in Taiwan | Taiwan News | 2022-08-30 14:50:00". Taiwan News. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Xiung, Chong Jinn. "M17 Founder Joseph Phua Launches Next Apple News in Taiwan". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Taiwan student awarded first 'Phua and Chang Family Scholarship'". Asia Post. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "How An App From Southeast Asia Is Helping People Find Love Online". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
