Besides the NextTech ecosystem and cryptocurrency projects, businessman Nguyen Hoa Binh is also famous for his role as a "shark" on the Vietnamese Shark Tank program.
In 2019, Mr. Binh first appeared on the "hot seat" of Shark Tank Vietnam season 3. From then on, he became widely known to audiences nationwide by the nickname Shark Binh.
Successful deals
Shark Binh's most successful deal is arguably Coolmate, an online men's fashion startup that launched on Shark Tank Season 4 (2021). The deal was finalized at $500,000 for 10% of the company's shares, valuing the startup at $5 million, and it quickly received investment from NextTech.
After receiving funding from Shark Binh, Coolmate experienced a period of strong growth. In 2023, Coolmate recorded revenue of VND 363 billion, an increase of over 80% compared to the previous year. In 2024, Coolmate completed its Series B funding round, raising an additional USD 6 million led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India, marking a major milestone after 5 years of operation.
Recently, in an appearance on The Investors Season 2, Mr. Binh boasted that after several rounds of funding, Coolmate's valuation had reached 2 trillion VND, yielding a profit several tens of times greater for his investment portfolio.
Banh Mi Xin Chao is accelerating the opening of new stores across Japan (Photo: BanhMiXinChao).
Another notable deal was in season 6, when Shark Bình invested in the Bánh mì Xin Chào brand. After the show aired, NextTech representatives confirmed that they had disbursed $500,000 to the startup. The capital was used to standardize the franchise model, digitize store management, and support expansion into Japan.
Currently, Banh Mi Xin Chao has 24 stores spread across major cities and provinces in Japan.
Furthermore, Shark Bình also secured the Perfect deal in the first season of Shark Tank Vietnam. After closing the deal, the businessman signed a $1.2 million funding agreement for the smart home appliance brand Perfect. At that time, the startup was focusing on robotic vacuum cleaners and IoT-enabled home appliances, aligning with the technological direction of the NextTech ecosystem.
Another notable deal was Nada Oils – a startup in the essential oil and natural care products sector – which announced it received an 8 billion VND investment from Shark Binh in season 5. The capital will be used to expand production lines, standardize packaging, and develop online distribution channels.
Besides commercial startups, Shark Bình also invested 10 billion VND to support engineer Nguyễn Vĩnh Sơn in mass-producing and commercializing his mechanical inventions – double the amount he committed on television.
Despite being a "shark" with many signature statements, the disbursement rate is low.
In other news, Shark Bình's name also caused a stir when, in his first season as a judge, he criticized Dat Bike, claiming that their electric motorbike business model "had no chance and was not necessarily needed by society." However, in reality, the brand is still thriving and continuously raising capital.
On air, Shark Bình has also left behind many signature statements with phrases like "overpriced," "dragon vein," "east wind," and "soulmate."
One of the most noteworthy moments occurred in episode 2 of season 5, when Denise Sandquist (Tran Thanh Huong), the founder of the FIKA app, walked into the fundraising room with a proposal for $3 million for 2% of the company's shares.
Following the presentation, Shark Bình frankly stated that this was one of the most "overpriced" offers ever seen on Shark Tank Vietnam throughout its five seasons. This statement quickly became a focal point of discussion, making "overpriced" a phrase synonymous with Shark Bình.
However, after 5 seasons on Shark Tank, Shark Binh is one of the "sharks" with a relatively low disbursement rate, only about 15% of the capital committed to investment on television.
Shark Bình on Shark Tank (Photo: Shark Tank).
Expanding into real estate, blockchain, and stocks.
Not only in the technology sector, Mr. Binh also expanded into real estate when he established Nextland Real Estate Investment and Business Company Limited in February 2021, with a charter capital of 20 billion VND. In just over a year, the real estate company's capital had increased to hundreds of billions of VND.
The NextTech website no longer features cryptocurrency-related products, but in 2021, this ecosystem heavily promoted the blockchain field.
In 2021, Mr. Binh announced a $2.5 million investment in the AntEx blockchain project through the Next100Blockchain fund and served as a strategic advisor. However, the AntEx token quickly plummeted, losing 99% of its value, and the website and official communication channels also ceased operation.
In March 2023, AntEx changed its name to Rabbit (RAB), but the new token has still fallen by more than 95% from its peak. The project is currently under investigation by the police.
Regarding Shark Bình personally, with his series of startup investments, in his latest statement, he surprisingly revealed that he invests more in stocks than in startups.
He once shared that he only invests sparingly when he finds a good startup. While waiting, idle capital must be invested in more legitimate and secure channels. Therefore, in terms of the amount of money he invests in other investment channels, he invests more than in startups, sometimes using the profits from these quick investment channels to reinvest in startups.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/nhung-thuong-vu-cua-shark-binh-o-be-ca-map-20251012155932774.htm
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