Serial entrepreneur runs fifth startup

By Park Hyong-ki

Roh Jung-seok, or better known as Chester in the Korean startup world, is one of the very few tech-savvy people in the country who has gained the right to be called a serial entrepreneur.

Not only has he successfully started and sold a company once but several times, with a track record that also includes launching an initial public offering of his startup in his early entrepreneurial years.

A former hacker, who was caught breaking into a school system during his college years at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Roh is now operating his fifth startup named Reality Reflection, a virtual reality (VR) content developer, as its chief strategy officer (CSO). He was locked up in prison for 40 days for the hacking.

He told a local news that the unforeseen possibility of VR got him to “take the risk again” after selling his fourth startup.

Before venturing into this unknown VR world, which is considered one of the hottest technologies along with artificial intelligence and data forecasting global venture investors are looking into, Roh was a former co-founder and CSO of 5Rocks, a startup that analyzes consumer data such as online purchase patterns for mobile game developers.

5Rocks, Roh’s fourth startup with his partner Lee Chang-su, the chief executive of 5Rocks, was sold to Tapjoy, a US-based data analyzer.

His first startup Inzen, a security solutions company, went public on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ in 2002. His second startup was a “total failure,” he said.

But his third software startup ― Tatter and Company ― was sold to Google in 2008.