Darren Chua
Startup Mentor at BEYOND4- Claim this Profile
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English Native or bilingual proficiency
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Chinese Native or bilingual proficiency
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台語 Native or bilingual proficiency
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Thai Elementary proficiency
Topline Score
Bio
Credentials
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Computer Engineering
National University of Singapore
Experience
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BEYOND4 SEA
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Malaysia
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IT Services and IT Consulting
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1 - 100 Employee
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Startup Mentor
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May 2022 - Present
Representing The Ideal Space and Taiwan Market, I mentor startups under various startup programmes executed by BEYOND4, such as the MYStartup Pre-Accelerator Programme (an initiative by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, powered by Cradle Fund).I mentor startups under various startup programmes executed by BEYOND4, such as the MYStartup Pre-Accelerator Programme (an initiative by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, powered by Cradle Fund).Skills: Start-up Ventures · Scale Up · Start-up Consulting · Business Development · Business Strategy · FinTech · Web3 · Blockchain · Energy · ESG · Solar Energy ·Investments ·Taiwan Market · Hong Kong Market · SEA Market · Singapore
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The Ideal Venture Studio
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Taiwan
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Managing Director
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Jan 2021 - Present
﹝Ideal 理想﹞The Ideal Venture Studio & Space, founded in 2021 with the mission to provide “Venture as a Service” for founders, SMEs & corporations. Besides offering an innovation space (private offices, meeting rooms & event spaces), it is a full service, one-stop innovation hub to assist in company growth, market development, and venture investments from Taiwan to Asia.Backed by an established family owned enterprise with over 70 years of history and experience in building companies from ground up across Asia and western markets with exposure & success in multiple industries.Ideal consults, scales and helps fund companies with disruptive ideas- combining experience, capital, resources and talent together, working hand in hand with founders to build great companies.-We combine the pace and growth ability of a startup with the knowledge and resources of an enterprise to validate, nurture and scale permanent ventures.-We designed a space with the community in mind, serving as a hub and designation for our portfolio companies, clients and broader startup ecosystem.-We assist to invest directly or indirectly into exceptional founders building disruptive technologies and solutions regardless of industries in Asia.
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Curves
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United States
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Health, Wellness & Fitness
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700 & Above Employee
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Director (Unity Brands) Curves Indonesia
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Jul 2014 - Present
Curves is a 30-minutes Women-only fitness and weight loss center founded in the US. It grew to be the largest women fitness franchise in the world with thousands of clubs in 96 countries.Director of Unity Brands Pte. Ltd., Master Franchise Owner of Curves for Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.Previously Taiwan. Growth of Curves Taiwan from 7 franchisees to a national chain of 135 before exit.Incorporation of company and setting up of group holdings in SingaporeDevised localized marketing strategy with in depth competitor analysis and deep understanding of local market needs. In charge of financial, risk and investment projection analysis for overall development and market penetration. Company accounts management and compliance.Operations/Growth/Marketing/Sales of each local market. Oversaw the design and creation of Curves e-commerce platform for internal franchisee’s use and Curves Taiwan corporate site. Setting up of Curves Indonesia Markethttp://www.curvesindonesia.com/
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BlackStorm Group
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Singapore
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Partner (Taiwan)
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Dec 2020 - Present
BlackStorm Consulting is a regional growth consulting firm that specialises in innovative scaling and technology deployment strategy in Southeast Asia.For businesses ranging from small and medium enterprises to large corporates, who want to bring their ventures to greater heightFor investors ranging from angel investor, venture capitalist, private equity to corporate venture capitalist, who want to multiply their returnsFor startup communities such as accelerator, incubator and education institution, who promote innovation
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Lyght
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Taiwan
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Financial Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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CEO (Co-Founder)
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Jun 2020 - Jun 2021
Our Vision:Carbon Neutrality for Every IndividualWhat is Lyght?Lyght enables any individual to participate in environmentally impactful solar projects whilst generating positive social & environmental impact alongside a financial return.How does it work?Through Lyght, anyone can purchase solar energy producing panels, lease it to solar projects and enjoy a long term income from electricity sales to TaiPower (utilities companies) or big corporations backed by a 20 years power purchase agreement.
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FundPark
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Hong Kong
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Financial Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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CEO(Taiwan)總經理(台灣）
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Sep 2018 - Sep 2019
FundPark provides invoice financing and purchase order financing solutions for SMEs. For both institutional and individual Funders, FundPark provides an alternative investment opportunity in trade finance which has the characteristics of incremental yield, low volatility, low duration and diversification. FundPark has its own proprietary model for due diligence and invoice/purchase order verification, supported by Euler Hermes, the world’s largest trade credit insurer. The management team is composed of former bankers specialized in trade finance, SME credit risk and corporate investment.Headquartered in Hong Kong with operation also in Taiwan, we are now looking to expand to ASEAN countries.
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Markedshot
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Singapore
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Advertising Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Co-Founder and CEO
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Dec 2015 - Dec 2017
Co-founder of Markedshot. About Markedshot:We match over 150K authentic consumers/fans to brands they love, reward them for their engagement and contents they create (with lots of juicy data in the middle of it all for the brands)To consumers: Markedshot is a social platform for Fans to engage with their favourite Brands.To Businesses:An A.i.-powered marketing tool for UGC campaign to earn authentic contents from real fans.www.markedshot.comWe are a team from Singapore, invested by Mediacorp, Jireh Group and NUS Enterpise that raised $250K in funding.
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Co-Founder
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Nov 2015 - Apr 2016
We build native appsNative apps are built to last. iOS and Android native apps provide a smoother and richer experience for the end-users.We think about SEOWe understand how important Search Engine Optimization is and what it does to make your product visible on search enginesWe write good codeBy writing good code, following code standards, our apps perform better and are optimized for scalability. It also helps to keep the app size low.Over 5 million downloadsWe have built apps with over 5 million downloads. Scaling and expanding are something we have experienced to handle big projects.
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Crea8s
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Technology, Information and Internet
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1 - 100 Employee
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Solutions Consultant
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Mar 2015 - Apr 2016
Working with SMEs in the Singapore ecosystem. Providing them an opportunity to utilise the power of an ERP system to improve efficiency and create innovation.Roles:Project Manager/Co-developer (Odoo ERP System/ Web and Wordpress Development)End to end tech solution for companies in the FnB/ manufacturing/ events/ finance sector.Odoo is a suite of open source business apps that cover all your company needs: CRM, eCommerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale, project management, etc.https://www.odoo.com/
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IT Consultant
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Jan 2015 - Apr 2016
Lead a team in designing, conceptualizing and development of new Curves Taiwan corporate site. -UI/UX design-Lead a team of developers-Graphic Visual design-Backend database managementDirector and Producer for a series of Curves marketing videos.-Series of marketing videos for use on YouTube and social media advertising-Storyboarding and copywriting-Post production work and editingProject manager for on-going club management software development and hardware wearables integration.
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Self Employed
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Dec 2014 - May 2015
Video production for local educational center for primary schools.E-commerce Android App and database creation for local startup app.Web site Bugs fixing for Joomla backend for local Singapore lifestyle blog, The Smart Local Video production for local educational center for primary schools.E-commerce Android App and database creation for local startup app.Web site Bugs fixing for Joomla backend for local Singapore lifestyle blog, The Smart Local
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Curves
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United States
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Health, Wellness & Fitness
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700 & Above Employee
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Business Analyst
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Jul 2012 - Jul 2013
In charge of monthly KPI reporting from regional Curves marketProjection of profit/lossTrend predictionIn charge of logistical operationsProduct ideation to final manufacturing of brand merchandise Formulated shipping and export SOP to mitigate delays and loss of profit Oversaw the export of monthly Curves products to Curves Taiwan/VietnamAnalysis on shipping profitability based on import/export tariffs, variable shipping methods/merchantsCreation of Curves Hong Kong Website creationIn charged of digital media production for Curves Taiwan (Promotional Videos/Interviews)Market development strategies and legislation issues for Curves Vietnam
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Education
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2010 - 2014
National University of Singapore
Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) (Computer Engineering), Computer Engineering -
2012 - 2014
NUS Overseas Colleges
Bachelor’s Degree, Technopreneurship
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