Startup seeks O2O leadership in food delivery
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Lim Eun-seon, CEO of food delivery startup Fly & Company, speaks about the company’s online-to-offline (O2O) delivery platform FoodFly, in an interview at its headquarters in southern Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Fly & Company
By Lee Min-hyung
Lim Eun-seon, 33, CEO of food delivery startup Fly & Company, sought to start something “on his own” before quitting his consulting career.
“A consultant helps other’s business prosper, and there was no chance to take actions for myself,” Lim said in an interview, Wednesday. “That is why I shifted my career into running a startup.”
FoodFly, the company’s online-to-offline (O2O) food delivery platform, is gaining traction here, with more than 1,000 restaurants and cafes forming alliances across Seoul. The company has attracted investments of some 6.5 billion won ($5.36 million) since opening for business in 2012.
“The invested capital is used to expand our services across the nation,” he said. “Currently, we are operating in some 12 districts of the nation’s capital city, but with aims to expand it all across the country.”
Under the motto of building a converged O2O platform, the company chief is seeking to diversify revenue streams into untapped overseas markets as well.
In an interview, he expressed optimism for global expansion, pushing for a localization strategy.
“We are seeking to tap into the megacities of Asia,” he said. “Korea is very developed in terms of door-to-door delivery services which many countries can benchmark.”
He said its first global target countries will be in Asia, as countries in Europe or America are not as familiar with food delivery services, compared to Korea.
“But Asian countries are more accepting of the delivery culture,” he said. “About 80 percent of restaurants do not offer delivery services here, which means the market is still very promising. If the market is extended into the global stage, the potential is infinite.”
The company executive studied electronic engineering in his college years, but he has sought unconventional career paths.
“I did not want to learn more about my major, nor did I wish to get a job at a conglomerate like my friends,” he said. “That is what bought me into the startup industry.”