Shark 5: Vinny Lingham

From Silicon Valley to Shark Tank South Africa.

Vinny Lingham

Renowned internet entrepreneur Vinny Lingham, who is currently moving and shaking the world of IT in California’s Silicon Valley, will be part of the panel of five investors on M-Net’s brand new reality show Shark Tank South Africa. 

Alongside serial entrepreneur Gil Oved, financial whiz Marnus Broodryk, telecommunications expert Romeo Khumalo and formidable businesswoman Dawn Nathan-Jones, Vinny will be evaluating the pitches of budding entrepreneurs who need financial backing to take their business ideas or products to the next level.

“Vinny’s presence on the panel is undoubtedly good news for everyone who’s dreaming of making big bucks online or with any tech-related products,”  says M-Net’s Head of Publicity, Lani Lombard. “But, he is in fact  prepared to cast the net much wider on Shark Tank South Africa. As long as you can prove that you’re a sophisticated entrepreneur who wants to build a meaningful and sustainable enterprise.”

Becoming a millionaire at the age of 35, Vinny is currently the co­-founder and CEO of Civic Technologies Inc, ­a startup company that sets out to eliminate new account fraud and prevent identity theft. He recently raised $2.75 million in venture funding led by notable investor Social Leverage. He was also the co­founder and CEO of Gyft, ­ a mobile gift card company founded in 2012 and backed by Google Ventures. Gyft quickly became the leading player in the space and was acquired by global payments giant, First Data Corporation in 2014, for over $50 million. Vinny previously founded and ran Yola.com, Clicks2Customers and incuBeta.

Furthermore, Vinny is the co­founder of SiliconCape.com, an NGO based in South Africa that aims to turn Cape Town into a technology hub.

What will Vinny be looking for in Shark Tank? “Original ideas,” he says. “Please don’t try and sell other people’s products. If you create and build your own products and business, you’ll have my attention.”