Thanh Ha was from a traditional family with strong roots, but was raised in a more open and liberal environment. She was born in Sofia, Bulgaria when her Dad was sent on a program to Eastern Europe as part of the plan to strengthen diplomatic ties between Russia and Vietnam back in the late 80s. Her family quickly returned to Vietnam upon completion of the program, and instead of going back to rice farming in their hometown in the North, decided to settle in the South of Vietnam where they saw a lot more opportunities.
From an early age, it was expected that she be a “good girl” who was obedient, studious, and “knew her place”, and that was exactly who she was growing up. She was the captain of her primary school, and went on to attend Tran Dai Nghia High School for the gifted, one of the most prestigious schools in the city, and while there, won top prizes in city-wide competitions for two years in a row.
Little did Ha realized that deep inside, all she wanted was to break away and explore the world out there, just like the lyrics that she kept singing from her favorite childhood movie, “The Little Mermaid”.
She thought she was able to break out of the cage when she earned a scholarship and persuaded her parents to send her overseas to pursue a Bachelor degree. Again, she excelled at school and achieved the highest distinction, Summa Cum Laude upon graduation from Seattle University, U.S with a double major in Finance and Management. She was proud of her academic achievement, but she felt lost. Her life has been written by someone else, and she was not sure where it was going next.
After graduation, she jumped from company to company, and finally found her home at VNDirect, a local Investment bank where she was intrigued with the M&A world – the pace, and the fact that no project was ever the same. By a stroke of luck, during her time there she got a chance to engage with Mekong Capital as a sell-side advisor for their two exits in VAF. That was why she was excited when she learned that Mekong Capital was looking to fill an investment associate position, and quickly applied.
And from that moment, her life turned to a new chaper. Gradually, and then all at once, it becomes clear to Ha what message she wants this book of her life to deliver to the world: partnering with companies and passionate founders to unlock their true potential and achieve their purposes, bringing wealth and fulfillment to millions of Vietnamese. From this commitment, Ha is now living each page and each sentence of her book – joyfully, and intentionally.
