Vinny Lingham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vinny Lingham
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| Born | 7 February 1979 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of South Africa Gordon Institute of Business Science Damelin |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur and Technology Investor |
| Title | Co-Founder and GP Member of Praxos Capital (2024-present)
Founder and Chairman of Rumi.ai (2020-present) Co-Founder and Chairman of Civic (2015–present) |
| Board member of | Bitcoin Foundation (the foundation dissolved in 2015) |
| Awards | World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders (2009), Top Young ICT Entrepreneur in Africa Award (2006), Endeavor High Impact Entrepreneur (2006) |
Vinny Lingham (born February 7, 1979) is a clever entrepreneur and investor in technology. He is famous for his important work in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain. Think of cryptocurrency as digital money, and blockchain as a super secure way to record information. Vinny is known for investing early in big blockchain projects like Solana, Filecoin, and Render. He also worked as a General Partner at Multicoin Capital from 2017 to 2020. In 2024, he helped start Praxos Capital, which is a special fund for cryptocurrency.
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Vinny Lingham's Career Journey
Vinny Lingham's journey in technology started in 2003. He created a company called incuBeta. This company helped new businesses grow and invested in them. It became a big company focused on digital marketing and technology. In the same year, he also helped start Clicks2Customers. This part of the company focused on helping websites show up higher in search results. Clicks2Customers grew and worked in many countries. In 2023, incuBeta was sold to a large investment group called The Carlyle Group. This was a big step for the company.
Building Websites with Yola
In 2007, Vinny launched a platform called Yola. It was first known as SynthaSite. Yola was special because it let people build their own websites without needing to know computer code. It received a lot of money from investors and helped millions of people create websites. After a while, Vinny moved on to new projects.
Early Steps in Crypto with Gyft
Vinny got into the world of cryptocurrency in 2012. He helped create Gyft, which was a mobile app for gift cards. What made Gyft special was that it was one of the first apps to accept Bitcoin payments. Bitcoin is a type of digital money. In 2014, a big company called First Data Corporation bought Gyft for about $54 million.
Investing in Big Blockchain Projects
From 2017 to 2020, Vinny was a General Partner at Multicoin Capital. This is a well-known company that invests in crypto. During this time, he led the first investment round for Solana. Solana is a very fast blockchain platform. He also advised the Solana project. Vinny also invested early in other important blockchain projects. These included Filecoin, which is a network for storing digital information in a decentralized way, and Render, a platform that uses blockchain for creating digital images and videos. These investments showed he was a key investor in new blockchain technologies.
Civic and Rumi.ai
In 2015, Vinny co-founded Civic. This platform uses blockchain to help people prove who they are online in a secure way. He was the CEO of Civic for some time. Today, he is the Chairman of Civic Technologies. He is also the Chairman of Rumi.ai. Rumi.ai is an AI platform that helps businesses get important information from customer calls and interactions.
Other Activities and Mentoring
Vinny Lingham is also an "angel investor." This means he invests his own money in new startup companies. He also mentors, or guides, many startups in the technology and crypto fields. He appeared on the South African TV show Dragon’s Den in 2015. Later, he became a "Shark" on Shark Tank South Africa. On these shows, he offered money and advice to people with new business ideas.
Personal Life
Vinny Lingham lives in Austin, Texas, in the United States. He is a citizen of both South Africa and the U.S. He continues to be very active in the global technology and crypto communities.
Recognition and Awards
Vinny Lingham is well-known for his influence in cryptocurrency and blockchain. He has been featured in famous publications like Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and TechCrunch. People sometimes call him the “Bitcoin Oracle” because he has a good understanding of what might happen in the crypto market. He is seen as a very important person who helped shape early cryptocurrency investments.
Awards and Achievements
Vinny Lingham has received several awards for his work:
- Crypto Weekly: One of the 100 Most Influential People In Crypto, 2024
- One of the Top 500 CEOs in the World, 2015
- World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders, 2009
- Endeavor High Impact Entrepreneur, 2006
- Top Young ICT Entrepreneur in Africa Award, 2006
