The portrait of the first Vietnamese to list a company on Nasdaq

DNHN - After spending nine months and millions of dollars preparing, Dennis Nguyen successfully brought Society Pass to Nasdaq, making it the first Vietnamese-owned company publicly listed in the U.S.

In November 2021, Society Pass, or SOPA, was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the U.S. During this process, the company successfully raised approximately $28 million and was valued at over $35 million.

SOPA was founded by entrepreneur Dennis Nguyen and operates in developing e-commerce ecosystems, fintech, and loyalty programs in markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The company's CEO currently holds 68.7% of the shares. Previously, he successfully supported major F&B brands like the Mon Hue restaurant chain and The Kafe coffee chain.

IPO process on Nasdaq

SOPA is the first company Dennis Nguyen personally took to Nasdaq. Previously, he primarily assisted companies trading in Hong Kong or Singapore. He shared that despite having an experienced team, there were still factors beyond their control.

According to Dennis Nguyen, the Nasdaq listing process involves multiple stages: from preparation, providing information, to waiting for approval. The cost for this transaction was estimated at around $4 million, mainly for legal fees, accounting, and investment bank fees. Fortunately, SOPA only took nine months for its first IPO, whereas other businesses typically take at least two years to proceed.

Success beyond expectations

From 2019 to 2022, SOPA's revenue surged from $10,000 to $6.1 million; 2023 revenue was approximately $42.7 million. This year, SOPA aims to carry out 7-10 mergers with $75 million in capital.

Currently, SOPA has 3.3 million customers and 200,000 registered sellers on its platform. The strategy of merging eight companies has expanded its ecosystem and achieved these results.

According to CEO Dennis Nguyen, this achievement is the result of efforts not only from himself but also from the entire team, advisors, investors, and family support.

H.C