Kakao, Neowiz founders responsible for creating multiple successful startups
By Yoon Sung-won
In the rapidly growing and ever-changing information technology industry, it is difficult to start an enterprise and make it prosper just once. But some people are earning their names for being capable of launching thriving businesses in succession. They are called "serial entrepreneurs."
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, serial entrepreneur refers to "an entrepreneur who starts up or runs multiple successive businesses, especially one who moves on as soon as the challenge or thrill of making a venture profitable is over." The word was added to the dictionary in 2013, reflecting blooming startup entrepreneurship worldwide.
In Korea, Kakao's founder Kim Beom-su, and Chang Byung-gyu, who currently is leading game development company Bluehole, are among the most popular Korean serial entrepreneurs.
Born in 1966, Kim studied industrial engineering at Seoul National University. His trail of serial entrepreneurship started when he left Samsung SDS in 1998 and launched an internet cafe franchise, Mission No. 1.
In 1999, Kim founded a web-based online game portal Hangame Communication. The business thrived on the back of the explosive spread of the high-speed internet in Korea. In 2000, he successfully led the merger of Hangame and Naver. He worked at the merged company, which was renamed NHN in 2001, until 2007 when he left his own company again.
In December 2006, even before Kim left NHN, he founded a startup called IWILAB in the United States. This startup later developed and launched Kakao Talk, which has now become Korea's most-used mobile instant messenger. As the messenger drew over 1 million users, the startup changed its name to Kakao in 2010.
In 2012, Kim established the venture capital firm K Cube Ventures aimed at fostering promising startups in mobile services, games and future technology.
Currently, Kim is the chairman of Kakao and the CEO of Kakao Brain, a subsidiary dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
Chang was born in 1973 and studied computer science at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology for his doctoral degree.
In 1997, Jang established internet service company Neowiz as one of eight co-founders. While he worked as the CTO and internet business head at Neowiz, he contributed to the success of the online chat service Sayclub.
As Neowiz started to turn to the online game portal business, Chang left the company in 2005 and founded the startup First Snow and developed a namesake search engine. Chang and his company sold the search engine technology to NHN for 35 billion won ($31 million) a year later. At that time, Chang distributed 30 percent of his own shares in the company, worth an estimated 10.5 billion won, to about 60 employees.
In 2007, he established game development company Bluehole. The company released an online computer game called Tera in 2011. The game, in which some 40 billion won was invested for development, has been provided both in Korea and in overseas markets.
Like the Kakao founder, Chang also started a venture capital company named Bon Angels in 2012. It mainly seeks for angel investment in startups in their early stages.
Overseas cases
In the U.S., Tesla founder Elon Musk is considered as one of the most popular serial entrepreneurs.
Born in the Republic of South Africa in 1971, Musk founded the software company Global Link Information Network in California in 1995 together with his brother Kimbal. The company changed its named to Zip2 a year later and has provided online city guide software to media companies including The New York Times.
Upon the expansion of the company, Musk sold it to Compaq computers for over $300 million in 1999. He also participated in the founding of online financial service firm X.com and internet payment service PayPal, which was later sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
In 2002, Musk founded the space business company SpaceX and struck a $1.6 billion deal with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2008 to join a program to privatize national space delivery systems. A year later, he famously established electric vehicle maker Tesla.
Musk has not stopped and is working on the Hyperloop high-speed transportation system project, a not-for-profit AI research firm OpenAI and neurotechnology startup Neuralink.
Another example is Marc Lore, who currently heads Walmart's e-commerce business in the U.S. Lore used to work in banking before starting a sports card trading business called the Pit. It was sold to U.S. memorabilia company Topps in 2001.
In 2005, Lore launched an online diaper delivery company called Diapers.com. The company and its affiliates, Soap.com and Wag.com, gained popularity from young parents and was sold to Amazon for $545 million in 2011.
He established e-commerce company Jet in 2014, which was acquired by Walmart two years later for over $3 billion.
"The success of serial entrepreneurs is based on their bold spirit for challenge and sheer pursuit of innovation, not profit," an industry source said. "To keep the IT industry active and innovative, we need more serial entrepreneurs who don't settle for easy gains at hand."
By Yoon Sung-won
 |
| Kim Beom-su |
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, serial entrepreneur refers to "an entrepreneur who starts up or runs multiple successive businesses, especially one who moves on as soon as the challenge or thrill of making a venture profitable is over." The word was added to the dictionary in 2013, reflecting blooming startup entrepreneurship worldwide.
In Korea, Kakao's founder Kim Beom-su, and Chang Byung-gyu, who currently is leading game development company Bluehole, are among the most popular Korean serial entrepreneurs.
Born in 1966, Kim studied industrial engineering at Seoul National University. His trail of serial entrepreneurship started when he left Samsung SDS in 1998 and launched an internet cafe franchise, Mission No. 1.
In 1999, Kim founded a web-based online game portal Hangame Communication. The business thrived on the back of the explosive spread of the high-speed internet in Korea. In 2000, he successfully led the merger of Hangame and Naver. He worked at the merged company, which was renamed NHN in 2001, until 2007 when he left his own company again.
In December 2006, even before Kim left NHN, he founded a startup called IWILAB in the United States. This startup later developed and launched Kakao Talk, which has now become Korea's most-used mobile instant messenger. As the messenger drew over 1 million users, the startup changed its name to Kakao in 2010.
In 2012, Kim established the venture capital firm K Cube Ventures aimed at fostering promising startups in mobile services, games and future technology.
Currently, Kim is the chairman of Kakao and the CEO of Kakao Brain, a subsidiary dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
 |
| Chang Byung-gyu |
In 1997, Jang established internet service company Neowiz as one of eight co-founders. While he worked as the CTO and internet business head at Neowiz, he contributed to the success of the online chat service Sayclub.
As Neowiz started to turn to the online game portal business, Chang left the company in 2005 and founded the startup First Snow and developed a namesake search engine. Chang and his company sold the search engine technology to NHN for 35 billion won ($31 million) a year later. At that time, Chang distributed 30 percent of his own shares in the company, worth an estimated 10.5 billion won, to about 60 employees.
In 2007, he established game development company Bluehole. The company released an online computer game called Tera in 2011. The game, in which some 40 billion won was invested for development, has been provided both in Korea and in overseas markets.
Like the Kakao founder, Chang also started a venture capital company named Bon Angels in 2012. It mainly seeks for angel investment in startups in their early stages.
Overseas cases
In the U.S., Tesla founder Elon Musk is considered as one of the most popular serial entrepreneurs.
Born in the Republic of South Africa in 1971, Musk founded the software company Global Link Information Network in California in 1995 together with his brother Kimbal. The company changed its named to Zip2 a year later and has provided online city guide software to media companies including The New York Times.
Upon the expansion of the company, Musk sold it to Compaq computers for over $300 million in 1999. He also participated in the founding of online financial service firm X.com and internet payment service PayPal, which was later sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
In 2002, Musk founded the space business company SpaceX and struck a $1.6 billion deal with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2008 to join a program to privatize national space delivery systems. A year later, he famously established electric vehicle maker Tesla.
Musk has not stopped and is working on the Hyperloop high-speed transportation system project, a not-for-profit AI research firm OpenAI and neurotechnology startup Neuralink.
Another example is Marc Lore, who currently heads Walmart's e-commerce business in the U.S. Lore used to work in banking before starting a sports card trading business called the Pit. It was sold to U.S. memorabilia company Topps in 2001.
In 2005, Lore launched an online diaper delivery company called Diapers.com. The company and its affiliates, Soap.com and Wag.com, gained popularity from young parents and was sold to Amazon for $545 million in 2011.
He established e-commerce company Jet in 2014, which was acquired by Walmart two years later for over $3 billion.
"The success of serial entrepreneurs is based on their bold spirit for challenge and sheer pursuit of innovation, not profit," an industry source said. "To keep the IT industry active and innovative, we need more serial entrepreneurs who don't settle for easy gains at hand."
