UVC: Tu Ngo from Touchstone Partners on her first startup YOLA, her journey towards becoming a VC focused on macro-changes, the perks of working with early-stage startups, and the Touchstone Fellowship Program for founders

Understanding VC

The episode will answer:

• What’s the quest which commanded the trajectory of Tu’s brilliant career?
• What did Tu learn from her first internship at a VC firm?
• Tu’s working experience with VietAbroader, a student-run non-profit organization whose commitment for promoting sustainable development aligned with Tu’s personal quest since college.
• What were the challenges that Tu faced while building her first startup, YOLA? How did she manage to overcome them?
• What is Tu’s criteria to identify the right co-founders and investors?
• What are the factors which promote positive team-building in an early-stage startup?
• What are the perks of working as an early-stage startup employee?
• What is the Touchstone Fellowship Program?
• Which sectors does Touchstone focus on while investing?
• What are the ESG principles? How have they dictated Tu’s growth as an entrepreneur and an investor?

About

Tu believes everyone has an inner potential but opportunities are not equally distributed, hence as a startup founder, VC investor and community builder, she wants to build solutions to enable especially young people, entrepreneurs and women to grow their skillsets and lead their own lives. She's the co-founder and Chairwoman of YOLA, a leading online-offline English education services company in Vietnam and the founding General Partner of Touchstone Partners, an early-stage US$ 50 mil VC fund focusing on Vietnam with interests in education, healthcare, consumer tech, hardware and climate action related solutions.