Gold Stevie-Winning eCommerce Entrepreneur Started Career by Running Errands, Now Leverages Fintech, Blockchain for International Clients

Stevie-winner Thai Son Nguyen is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SmartOSC, a premium, full-service eCommerce agency established in 2006. SmartOSC offers solutions in areas from consulting, website development, UX/UI design to managed services.

With a variety of large customers in North America, Singapore, Australia, Japan and Europe, SmartOSC has proved its expertise in guiding companies to take advantage of the online marketplace to drive revenue opportunities. Over the past 16 years, SmartOSC has built its reputation through a focus on eCommerce and cost effectiveness, together with a faster go-to-market service thanks to its scalable resource offering, and a track record of successfully delivering enterprise-level projects. 

Thai Son's customer-centric mindset has led to large, revenue-generating deals and award-winning projects with famous brands like LG, ASUS, and Toshiba, alongside regional giants like Korean ride-hailing firm Baemin and Independent Hardware Group, the largest independent hardware wholesaler in Australia. 

SmartOSC has grown quickly, opening new local entities in competitive markets such as Singapore, Japan, Australia, the US, and the UK, with steady growth even throughout the COVID pandemic.

From Humble Beginnings to Widespread Impact 
Thai Son Nguyen has never been one to stand still. He got his start in commerce running errands at his parents' grocery shop as a young boy before founding and growing one of Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated's (APAC’s) most prestigious eCommerce agencies, SmartOSC Corporation. Under his leadership, the business scaled from zero to more than 800 employees, achieving consistent 50%+ year-over-year growth. His sharp mind and resilience in the last 16 years have proved that he is an entrepreneur of extraordinary talent and a business leader whose impact and influence have extended beyond Vietnam and Asia, especially amid the global pandemic.

Instead of offering basic IT outsourcing services at cut-rate prices like many peers in the Asia Pacific, SmartOSC helps businesses save time and money by enabling them to build excellent experiences for customers on their eCommerce websites. Instead of selling cheap labor resources, Thai Son aims at digging into the nature of the client’s business models, analyzing their operations to offer comprehensive and customized eCommerce solutions for long-term growth.

Thai Son believes his industry has a duty to act in the interest of society in times of crisis. Since 2020, he has been an active force in building a community that knows how to leverage technology for the benefit of society amid the pandemic. SmartOSC collaborated with three other leading companies to introduce the Omnichannel Framework documentation to more than 500 retailers to guide them through the pressure of the strict lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 with digitalization. Thai Son has also invested in cutting-edge eCommerce technology such as ConnectPOS, GritGlobal, Antsomi and other fintech and blockchain applications to ensure global merchants get the best out of digital innovation.

The Vietnamese press has called his company “a pioneer in building the eCommerce community” as they have hosted many events for retailers such as Meet Magento (the largest annual event for the eCommerce community), and the Omnichannel Playbook. 

Years of active and thoughtful leadership have made Thai Son one of Vietnam’s top entrepreneurs. He is now also Vice President of the Vietnam-Australia Business Council (VABC), which strives to create a more favorable business investment environment with technology. Thai Son is also a trusted voice for top media platforms for C-suite members such as Vietnam Innovators, ticker NEWS, and Startup Grind. 

Since Winning His Gold Stevie Award 
Thai Son Nguyen has long been fixed on boosting SmartOSC’s presence across the globe and transcending its sources of advantage. As an eCommerce front-runner, Thai Son is dedicated to growing a network of local entities in new markets for the company, evidenced by SmartOSC’s newly opened office in South Korea. 

By maintaining teams of professionals who are highly knowledgeable of local regulatory structures and consumer markets, SmartOSC has been able to leverage both existing capabilities and new host country-specific capabilities, which help maximize the company’s competitiveness in new markets. The result has been a continuous cycle of exploration, adaptation, enhancement, and the exceptional growth that SmartOSC helps businesses around the globe achieve.

Thai Son’s strengthened ambition is not just reflected in the company’s expansion plan, but also in lower staff turnover and a reinforced digital talent engine. With Thai Son's strong emphasis on building a culture that encourages taking ownership and large ambitions, each organizational unit is characterized by a collective determination to constantly innovate. This helps ensure that SmartOSC's clients worldwide can meet rapidly changing customer needs and deliver exceptional customer experiences.  

SmartOSC Corporation Co-founder & CEO Thai Son Nguyen won a Gold Stevie Award for Best Entrepreneur - Computer Services in The 2022 International Business Awards. Read his Gold-Stevie winning nomination here.