Douglas Gan

Douglas Gan (颜義东)
Born (1983-08-03) August 3, 1983
Singapore
Residence Singapore, Indonesia, Japan
Nationality Singaporean
Alma mater Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Occupation Co-Founder of EurekaPro, Executive Director of iFashion Group
Years active 1997–present
Spouse(s) Kanna Kawaguchi
Parent(s) Richard Gan, Mary Jane Tan
Website Douglas Gan Twitter account

Douglas Gan 颜義东 (born 3 August 1983) is the co-founder of EurekaPro [1] and additionally serves as a co-founder and executive director of iFashion Group.[2] He is also an angel investor investing in startups in Southeast Asia.[3]

Between 1997 and 2018, he founded 6 companies which are all sold to MNCs, including the most recent sale of iFashion Group to MC Payment for S$25 Million [4]

His accolades include being named SCS Young Professional of The Year,[5] Top 25 Outstanding Alumni Award in Technopreneurship[6]

Career

Gan is a school dropout[7] who started his first business attempt at the age of four when he was still in kindergarten. He sold toy cars for $2 apiece and later, he was selling marbles, bubble gums, chewing gums, stickers, stamps and Dragon Ball Cards. Gan amassed a small fortune of $15,000 by 11. At 12, he started selling Magic: The Gathering Card Games and he made more than $20,000 throughout his secondary school education of 4 years.[8]

Gan's first actual business was incorporated by his mother. In an article in The New Paper, he is quoted as saying: "She became my admin assistant and my accountant. She was with me every step of the way."[9]

In 2008, Gan founded ShowNearby, a location based mobile application that won multiple awards in Asia.[10] ShowNearby's private investors[11] pulled out investing during the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. Within 2 weeks, Gan partner with Microsoft BizSpark to save hosting costs using Microsoft Azure.[12]

With no further investments, a Global Financial Crisis, bankruptcy seemed imminent, but Gan managed to turn the company around and got further funding from Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) in August 2009.[13] Later, ShowNearby became a high-profile mobile app in Singapore with over 20,000 mobile users per day.[14] and the Top 3 Apps in Singapore on the Google Play.[15]

In 2010, ShowNearby was acquired by Global Yellow Pages.[16]

In 2012, Gan founded VanityTrove, a beauty sampling business.[17] Gan led VanityTrove on an acquisition spree, acquiring 4 beauty sampling businesses in Southeast Asia[18] and by August 2013, VanityTrove acquired Glamybox, a beauty sampling business in Vietnam[19]

In July 2013, Gan evolved the beauty sampling business to customizing data sales to beauty brands.[20] By 2014, the beauty sampling business has failed. In an article in TechInAsia, Gan was quoted as saying "The key trigger occurred on the fourth month of our business, where we realized we could not build out a $100 million subscription commerce business due to the limited sampling supply."[21]

In 2015, Gan pivoted[22] VanityTrove's beauty sampling business to Vanitee, a beauty and wellness marketplace.[23][24] Within 4 months of launch, Vanitee raised $1.4 million from Luxasia Group and Robert Yap.[25] In Dec 2015, Vanitee raised a further $2.1 million from Garena, Thai Express Founder Ivan Lee and iStyle Inc (TSE:3660).[26][27][28][29][30]

Vanitee is the Top 3 startups to look out for in 2016.[31] In November 2015, Vanitee acquired Padang, a Korean Beauty Information App in Seoul[32] and in May 2016 Vanitee acquired MeFitted, a Singapore based Beauty Directory.[33][34][35]

In 2014, Gan started iFashion Group together with Fatfish Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Lau Kin Wai[36]. In 2016, iFashion Group raised US$736,000 to help 3 to 5 year old fashion startups with mentorship, marketing, logistics, warehousing, sales, fulfillment, and financial services. [37].

In 2016, iFashion Group did a series of acquisitions in the online fashion space. In April 2016, iFashion Group acquired Invade for US$1.1M, an online retail rental booking platform for pop-up stores in Singapore[38]. In May 2016, iFashion Group announced its strategy to aggregate businesses via mergers and acquisitions in its sectors of interest to create synergy among the businesses looking to achieve rapid growth.[39]. In July 2016, iFashion Group paid S$7.5M to acquire Dressabelle. Dressabelle has an annual revenue run rate of SG$3.24 million and presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia[40]. In August 2016, iFashion Group acquired NOSE, Malaysia's top shoe brand for US$3.7m[41]. In February 2017, iFashion Group acquired MegaFash, an online marketplace with more than 2000 orders a day for S$3.15M[42].

Business strategy

Focusing on acquisitions to grow his startups, "When we started Vanitee, we presented acquisition offers to about seven beauty startups but were rejected for various reasons, largely due to unrealistic valuation demands. If the competitors do not unite, we will start seeing more startups closing down. I say, don't worry about the valuation, if we can dominate the market together, we can all share the pie."[43]

Specifically Gan has through VanityTrove and Vanitee, made 7 acquisitions and through iFashion Group, made 5 acquisitions to fast track the growth of his businesses.

Gan has gained a reputation for his perseverance and determination to succeed, particularly in the face of adversity, and has spoken at various start-up and entrepreneur events such as Startup Grind, BEAM Connect, General Assembly and eTail Asia.[44][45] He is quoted as saying "I think what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur is to be realistic, focused and yet also be a dreamer and be fanatical about perfection. My own four words are: Perseverance. Determination. Passion. Ambition."[46][47][48]

Recognition

Among the awards and recognition Gan has received for his entrepreneurial achievements are:

  • 2011: Named a "Young Professional of The Year" by Singapore Computer Society from Singapore Minister for the Minister of Communications and Information & the Arts, awarded by the MICA Minister Lui Tuck Yew[49]
  • 2012: Named a "Outstanding Alumni Award" at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Alumni 50th Anniversary" awarded by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong [50]

Education

Gan studied at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 2003 graduating with a Cambridge IT Skills Diploma.[50] Before that he was at both Ngee Ann Primary School and Ngee Ann Secondary School.

Gan tried a year at UOL in Singapore from Stansfield University for a double degree in Econs and management. He dropped out after 2 semesters to focus on OhGenki, an online forum.

References

  1. ↑ Southeast Asia’s First Fiat-Crypto Exchange Launches in Singapore , 9 Oct 2018
  2. ↑ iFashion Group acquires Megafash for US$2.48M, 9 Feb 2017
  3. ↑ More can be done to boost private funding: Investors, 9 February 2017
  4. ↑ , 3 May 2018
  5. ↑ IT role models honoured at SCS Gala Dinner, 4 March 2011
  6. ↑ PM Lee graces Ngee Ann Poly’s 50th anniversary, 3 May 2013
  7. ↑ 8 Entrepreneurs In Singapore Who Proved That You Don't Need A Business Degree To Succeed, 21 November 2016
  8. ↑ The Entrepreneur Who Lost it All, and Made It Back Again, 3 December 2012
  9. ↑ Entrepreneur could not have done it without mother, 26 March 2016
  10. ↑ ShowNearby Corporate Website
  11. ↑ Tech start-ups in trouble as private investors pull out, 11 November 2008
  12. ↑ Microsoft woos S'pore start-ups, 24 November 2008
  13. ↑ 2010 in review: Sectoral transformation, August 2009
  14. ↑ Four of Tech's Best, 9 March 2011
  15. ↑ 8 Apps For Android Lovers In Singapore, 8 July 2011
  16. ↑ Global Yellow Pages enhances offerings through strategic stakes in ShowNearby, 9 July 2010
  17. ↑ Serial Entrepreneur joins beauty business, 16 February 2013
  18. ↑ VanityTrove begins SEA consolidation with Glossybox Taiwan acquisition, 2 February 2013
  19. ↑ Singapore’s VanityTrove acquires Glamybox to enter Vietnam, 2 August 2013
  20. ↑ Data is becoming the beauty box end goal, 7 July 2013
  21. ↑ Beauty boxes, a once great ecommerce trend in Asia, has unraveled, 6 May 2014
  22. ↑ The men behind booking apps for beauty and wellness, 27 June 2016
  23. ↑ Taking the beauty biz straight to customers, 26 August 2015
  24. ↑ On-demand beauty services through an app, 1 September 2015]
  25. ↑ Beauty app gets $2m funding for facelift, 25 September 2015
  26. ↑ Vanitee Lands $3.5M To Expand Its Beauty Booking Service Across Asia, 3 December 2015
  27. ↑ On-demand beauty services startup Vanitee raises another US$2mil+, 4 December 2015
  28. ↑ Thai Express founder invests in beauty services site’s $3.5m round, 3 December 2015
  29. ↑ Singapore: Beauty services app Vanitee raises S$5m; ThaiExpress founder among investors, 3 December 2015
  30. ↑ This hipster tech-beauty startup raised $5m in just six months, 14 December 2015
  31. ↑ Singapore’s 20 hottest startups to watch out for in 2016, Issue of March 2016
  32. ↑ Vanity Trove of Singapore acquires Padang, mobile Korean beauty information app, 24 November 2015
  33. ↑ What a birthday present! Vanitee acquires Mefitted to fill B2B product gap, 6 June 2016
  34. ↑ Singapore’s Vanitee acquires startup to get beauty salons on its marketplace, 6 June 2016
  35. ↑ Vanitee acquires beauty salon site Mefitted, 14 June 2016
  36. ↑ Fatfish-backed venture platform iFashion Group raises $730k from Rimu, 22 Mar 2016
  37. ↑ Singapore’s iFashion raises funding to help small online fashion retailers grow bigger, 22 Mar 2016
  38. ↑ Fashion invasion: iFashion snaps up INVADE, online marketplace for retail spaces,28 April 2016
  39. ↑ Strength in numbers: iFashion Group is on the lookout for hot Asian e-commerce start-ups,9 May 2016
  40. ↑ iFashion Group acquires Dressabelle for SG$7.5mln,20 July 2016
  41. ↑ SEA’s iFashion Group acquires Malaysian fashion brand NOSE for US$3.7M, 24 August 2016
  42. ↑ iFashion Group acquires Megafash, Singapore’s leading luxury marketplace, 10 February 2017
  43. ↑ The Makeover Mainframe, 23 February 2016
  44. ↑ Startup Grind hosts Douglas Gan (Co-Founder at VanityTrove.com), 19 March 2015
  45. ↑ TOP 10 TIPS FOR STARTING A STARTUP: A FREE CLASS, 7 March 2016
  46. ↑ Douglas Gan is awarding beauty through Vanitee, 2 December 2016
  47. ↑ Lost and Founded Series – Douglas Gan, 20 October 2015
  48. ↑ Up close with a web entrepreneur, 3 November 2009
  49. ↑ "Mr Douglas Gan, Young Professional of the Year, 2011". SCS. Singapore Computer Society. 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  50. 1 2 "PM Lee Launches Ngee Ann Poly's 4th Strategic Plan". NgeeAnn. NgeeAnn. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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