The team is redefining Asian Representation via their non-profit organisation, Gold House.
Gold House may not (yet) be a familiar name here in Southeast Asia but its CEO Bing Chen and Head of Platform Oscar Wong has major expansion plans for this region, starting with Singapore. Its main purpose as a non-profit organisation with operations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and now Singapore, is to lend a support by uniting, championing and investing in Asian Pacific creators and companies across various industries.
Launched in 2018, a cornerstone of their success is #GoldOpen, a revolutionary movement that galvanised communities to champion API-led films like “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Parasite,” conclusively shifting perceptions of the API community in Hollywood and beyond.
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I got to understand a bit more about Gold House’s activities at last year’s Milken Asia Summit, where I was moderating a panel session. Gold House was also involved with the conference with a handful of curated panels.
Having built the largest Asian Leadership Network in America, both Chen and Wong are now excited to expand Gold House to Asia, beginning with Singapore.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what do you do at Gold House?
Bing: As an impact founder and investor, I’ve devoted my career to building more empowering, inclusive worlds for all. My role as Executive Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder of Gold House is a testament to that passion for uniting, investing in, and championing the fastest-growing and most-overlooked communities. Through a slate of companies–from multiple technology and creative funds to cultural agencies and a superpowered network, we’re able to forge these new worlds by enhancing beliefs and sustained economic opportunities.
My journey in shaping new worlds we can all aspire to began at YouTube, where I served as the Global Head of Creator Development and Management and the company’s first Creator Marketing Manager. There, I was privileged to be one of the original architects of the multi-billion-dollar creator and influencer ecosystem through most of the foundational creator programs from the global Partner Program to its talent incubator to global rewards program to marquee events like VidCon. Helping to build a platform that now supports 300 million creators worldwide was an incredible experience that showed me the transformative power of creativity–or beliefs–and scaled technology to enable economic opportunity.
Oscar: I am the Co-Head of APAC and the Head of Ventures Platform overseeing the strategy, operations, partnerships, and the venture fund’s community-leading accelerator. My role is focused on empowering the next generation of leading entrepreneurs, particularly within the Asian Pacific community. I’m proud to say that our fund is the definitive Asian Pacific fund in North America, boasting the largest preeminent Asian Pacific founder network. Our accelerator alumni have raised over $2 billion, which is a testament to the incredible talent and potential we’re nurturing. Backers of fund 1 include the founders of DoorDash, OpenDoor, YouTube, and Zoom, as well as celebrities including Anderson Paak, Daniel Dae Kim, Jeremy Lin, and Padma Lakshmi. Their support underscores the importance and potential of our mission.
My passion for driving financial inclusion for all has been a constant thread throughout my career. Prior to Gold House, I led Google/YouTube’s go-to-market strategy and product marketing teams across the United States and Asia-Pacific region. I was on the founding team behind Grow with Google, the company’s $1 billion commitment to create economic opportunity and empower over 10 million Americans to grow their businesses and careers. From launching products in emerging markets to accelerating cross-border opportunities for businesses, I’ve always been driven by the goal of creating economic opportunity for underserved communities.
Why did you choose to start Gold House and what are its objectives?
Bing: Gold House was built for and by hundreds of us because we realised the Asian Pacific diaspora was–at once–the global majority responsible for significant multinational growth but also grossly underserved or penalised across society, from having the widest income disparity to being invisibilised on screens. To that end, we embarked on a year-long roadshow to assess what the diaspora needed to not only reverse these ills while honing our power to support all communities.
Of course, as humans are more concentric than we are different, the community agreed we needed to first forge a more mutually supportive, familial group that shared knowledge, resources, and support. Second, we wanted to reshape public opinion through authentic and affirming media portrayals. And third, we wanted to sustain economic opportunity from shattering the glass ceiling for Asian women to catapulting new businesses and industries. Our multiple programs and subsidiaries address each of these three pillars.
Tell us why working at Gold House aligns with your personal values?
Oscar: Gold House champions socioeconomic equity and empowers marginalised communities, particularly those of Asian Pacific descent. The organisation’s mission to promote authentic representation in media resonates with my belief in diverse narratives. I value Gold House’s focus on unity and collaboration among community leaders, which fosters a supportive environment. Additionally, its commitment to investing in creators and entrepreneurs reflects my passion for innovation and economic success within underrepresented groups. Being part of an organization that prioritises excellence and community upliftment allows me to contribute to meaningful causes while fostering personal growth.
To put this into perspective, we most recently published our 2024 Social Impact Report reflecting on our work across narrative change and economic empowerment. Through our community’s efforts, we delivered $101 million in social impact value (i.e. dollars directly created/contributed to the Asian Pacific community), which is a 102% increase from 2022. This includes supporting over 300 API focused NGOs, backing 250 creative projects that promote narrative change and rallying our network of 250,000 members and active followers.
Why did you choose to base Gold House in Hollywood and not somewhere else?
Bing: We actually have three headquarters: LA, SF, and NYC. Hollywood remains the beating heart of the media and entertainment industry, across creators, streamers, studios, networks, and more–all crucial for our mission of reshaping media narratives.
Our location enables us to work closely with entertainment leaders, fostering market-leading cultural consultation, strategic creative investments, and our marketing and publicity arms to ensure the right and most eyeballs see all forms of our community’s artistry. We’ve also anchored certain assets like our Gold Gala, colloquially referred to as the “Asian Pacific Met Gala,” in LA, bringing together impactful Asians in culture and society to what we believe is the gateway to the Pacific.
Why did you choose to expand Gold House in Asia via Singapore first?
Oscar: Gold Bridge is our three-pronged strategy to forge a pan-Pacific opportunity bridge through capital, connections, and celebration. Through local and regional partnerships, we’d like to generate investment and distribution opportunities, expert connections and community-building, and mainstream awareness of leaders and their initiatives between North America and Asia.
Our initial focus is Southeast Asia — a region undergoing countless economic and cultural transformations that is poised to reach $1 trillion gross merchandise value by 2030 — with in-motion efforts for Korea, Japan, India, and Taiwan. As the world’s fifth-largest economy, the 11 Southeast Asian nations have a market size of about 650 million people — larger than both North America and the European Union. While the whole Southeast Asian region has grown in population and GDP, Singapore stands out among the countries. As the gateway to the rest of Southeast Asia for both domestic and international founders, Singapore accounts for two-thirds of the region’s total VC funding and houses nearly half of the Asian regional headquarters of multinational corporations — not to mention over 4,000 tech startups.
The foundation for Gold Bridge begins with an annual “Gold Prix” convening of over 200 top builders and creators to immersively explore Singapore-based opportunities. This is made possible by partnering with leading government institutions and family offices across the region. In particular, our strategic partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board represents a shared vision to build stronger bridges between North American and Asia.
How will Gold House champion stories and/or personalities from Asian countries? How can members of the community show their support for Gold House’s work?
Bing: We’ve been fortunate to partner with several governments, family offices, and corporations to foster the next generation of leading creators and companies from Asia to the world. We provide our formidable and supportive network, cultural consultation, strategic capital, and distribution resources to ensure their accelerated success.
Everyone can support in their own way–whether buying opening tickets or streaming downloads, posting on social media, or pursuing a creative or founding career, themselves.
What are some of the events that Gold House is championing to spread awareness?
Oscar: From intimate family dinners to large-scale cultural tentpole events like Gold Gala, we celebrate Asian Pacific excellence and heritage by convening influential leaders across art, business, entertainment, fashion, media, public service, tech, and more. Some key highlights:
- Gold Prix during F1 Singapore: An annual, seminal convening of top founders, investors, family offices, and creatives to identify navigation and collaboration opportunities across the Pacific in partnership with Singapore’s Economic Development Board, the Milken Institute, and more.
- Gold Women: Gold Women empowers the foremost Asian Pacific women executives – to claim and sustain leadership through connection and advancement, essential given that Asian women are the least likely demographic to be promoted to management. Partners can provide funding and other resources to support curated events, career opportunities, and mentorship programs.
- Gold Gala: From tech to entertainment to fashion, the Gold Gala is the most-viewed and coveted Asian Pacific gathering on the continent, anchored by the nation’s most-recognised Asian Pacific award: the A100. Partners are integrated in authentic and bespoke activations at Gold House’s and the Asian Pacific community’s most-coveted event.
What’s your goals for Gold House in 2025 and the next five years?
Bing: We’re going to continue listening to and collaborating with our members and partners to hone our unique resources and share them with the world. For specifics, you’ll have to wait and see 🙂
For more information on Gold House, click here.
