Korean product manager says grit got him to Facebook

Choi Jeong-suh, left, speaks about Facebook's crisis response features during a disaster response forum in Miami, Florida, last year.

By Jane Han

MENLO PARK, California -- For Choi Jeong-suh, life did not always go as planned.

He ran two unsuccessful fashion startups, dabbled in sales, made some money selling pork online, got a master's degree from a top Ivy League school, landed a job at eBay and now works at Facebook.

A whirlwind of trial and error in a 15-year span, but if given another chance, Choi said he would do everything the same all over again.

''At one point, I was even hit with facial palsy due to extreme stress,'' the 42-year-old said, recalling one of his bigger failures while struggling to keep his startup afloat. ''But in the end, I know even those unsuccessful and painful experiences have all worked together to lead me to the next step.''

A quick look at Choi's career path shows just that.

Currently, the Seoul native works as a product manager in Facebook's Crisis Response Team, which is dedicated to helping communities cope with natural and man-made disasters, terror-related incidents and major accidents.

''Safety Check'' is one of the social media giant's better-known crisis response features that lets others know you are safe during an emergency situation.

''The work I do is extremely rewarding as it can potentially help millions of users in a time of dire need,'' said Choi, ''and it fits right into my long interest in social enterprise and giving back to the community.''

Looking back, his first experience with social enterprise was when he sold high-quality pork online.

''I remember it being a time when I was freshly devastated after failing my second startup,'' Choi said. ''A good friend took me out to eat pork belly and it was good, like eye-opening good.''

Instead of stopping at good, he decided to track down the farm where the pigs were raised. And so he drove hours outside of Seoul down to the country side.

There, he was met with small, family-owned farms that responsibly raised pigs with care and caution that was not comparable to any of the large commercial farms.

''That was the beginning of my third startup,'' said Choi, who then launched an online social e-commerce site that connected honest, local farmers who lacked the marketing capacity with consumers looking for top-quality meat from all across the country.

The business, which got off to a good start, enabled him to donate meat products to various organizations in need. Less than two years later, the company grew 50 times and was acquired by a larger food company.

''It may seem random, but for me, that stint in the pork business gave me many invaluable lessons and helped me get a taste of giving back to the community,'' said Choi.

Shortly after selling his business, Choi, who wondered about the secret behind all those Silicon Valley startup success stories, began his master's degree program in business administration at Dartmouth College.

''I had to find out for myself what the big deal is about Silicon Valley,'' he said, ''but of course, that too was nowhere near easy.''

After his first year in business school, Choi applied for more than 200 internships, secured 81 interviews and failed all of them, except one, at eBay.

''I practiced and practiced my job interview so many times that I could get up in the middle of the night and go through my resume in two minutes and three seconds each and every time, not a single second off,'' said Choi, who officially began his first career at eBay's world headquarters in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Less than three years as product manager at the online shopping and auction pioneer, Choi was recruited by Facebook.

''I don't consider or define my current self as successful, but I know that I have tried my ultimate best in every path that I've walked,'' he said.

''I have one piece of advice for aspiring folks seeking guidance.

''Things will probably not turn out the way you want. It's sad but true. 'But if you try not simply hard, but can't-try-any-harder hard, you will eventually build your own story you will be proud of.''

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