# Hyungseok 'Dino' Ha

> Hyungseok “Dino” Ha is the co-founder and CEO of MBX (Memebox Corporation), the Korean beauty company behind nooni, Kaja, I DEW CARE, i’m meme and PONY EFFECT. His career spans environmental engineering studies, Army service, Parsons, Tom Ford and TMON. Memebox launched in 2012 and joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2014 batch; Ha has guided its evolution from beauty discovery boxes toward a global portfolio of owned brands.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at MBX (Memebox Corporation)
- **Organizations:** MBX (Memebox Corporation), TMON (Ticket Monster), Tom Ford, Y Combinator, SparkLabs
- **Nationality:** South Korean
- **Education:** Environmental engineering studies, Kyung Hee University, Parsons School of Design
- **Known for:** Co-founded Memebox, which launched in 2012 and became the first Korean company accepted into Y Combinator (W14)., Led the company’s evolution from subscription beauty boxes toward owned beauty brands and international distribution., Led Memebox when it co-developed Kaja with Sephora, launching in 2018.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2011** — Studied environmental engineering at Kyung Hee University, served in the Army with a voluntary Afghanistan deployment, attended Parsons in New York and worked in Tom Ford’s PR and marketing department.
- **2011** — Returned to South Korea and joined TMON, working on new businesses and sales.
- **2012** — Memebox officially launched in February; joined SparkLabs’ first accelerator batch later that year.
- **2014** — Memebox joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2014 cohort; Ha worked on U.S. expansion in Palo Alto.
- **2018** — Memebox launched Kaja, co-developed with Sephora.
- **2019** — Company adopted the MBX identity; Kaja announced a partnership with (G)I-DLE.
- **2026** — Ha reported a hero-product strategy and further U.S. retail expansion, including Kaja at Target.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Memebox, which launched in 2012 and became the first Korean company accepted into Y Combinator (W14).
- Led the company’s evolution from subscription beauty boxes toward owned beauty brands and international distribution.
- Led Memebox when it co-developed Kaja with Sephora, launching in 2018.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — The October 16 MBX & Dino newsletter reported Kaja in 611 Target stores, nooni’s September 28 launch on Olive Young’s U.S. online store, and Europe as the priority for new distribution partnerships.
- **2026-09** — Ha discussed Kaja’s 40-product Target Beauty Studio selection and reaching customers through a familiar retailer.
- **2026-07** — Ha reported Q2 revenue growth above 50% both year over year and quarter over quarter, a first double-digit EBITDA margin, and core hero products contributing more than 60% of revenue.

## Links

- Website: https://linktr.ee/dino_ha_
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinoha
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DinosWeeklyThoughts

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hyungseok-dino-ha
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21