Meet the Founders

Jaeson Ma is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and investor deeply involved in the entertainment, media, and technology sectors. He is the founder of East West Ventures, an innovative investment firm bridging Eastern and Western markets.

Ma holds the position of chairman and co-founder at EST Media Holdings, a prominent broadcast media production and distribution company, overseeing its subsidiary ventures including EST Studios, Eastern Standard Times, and the OPEN superapp. Notably, he is a member of the Milken Institute's Young Leaders Circle (YLC) and has been featured on the 2022 and 2023 Variety 500 index, which recognizes the most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry.

With a keen eye for strategic opportunities, Ma has played pivotal roles as an advisor and financier for various ventures. He co-founded 88rising, a digital media and music label, and Stampede Ventures, a Hollywood production studio. He also serves as a general partner at Caravan Digital Studios. Throughout his career, Ma has successfully facilitated transactions totaling more than $1 billion in capital raised.

Ma contributes his expertise as a Venture Partner at Goodwater Capital, focusing on consumer technology investments. His diverse investment portfolio includes notable companies such as TikTok (formerly Musical.ly), Brain.ai, Coinbase, Grab, Anthropic AI, Triller, Wonder, Dark Horse Comics, Oursong, Lomotif, and OneOf, showcasing his breadth of vision and commitment to fostering innovation in various industries.

Eric Tu is an award-winning development executive with more than 22 years in the industry, bringing with him a wealth of experience across the music, film, advertising, and professional sports industries. He focuses on storytelling and mission building for the most successful businesses in the world and has won every major award in the advertising business including the record-setting 8 Cannes Lions for Love Has No Labels in 2015.

Before building EST & OPEN, Eric led The Lab @ Anonymous Content, was the US Director of Brand Partnerships at Vice Media’s creative agency, VIRTUE Worldwide, and founded his own studio, F360.

Eric’s portfolio includes executive producing Beyoncé’s "Lemonade," alongside collaborations with acclaimed talents like Travis Scott, Selena Gomez, Björk, Kendrick Lamar, and LeBron James. His expertise extends to working with renowned brands such as Nike, The Honest Company, Lululemon, and Volvo.