“Start up from Scratch” - Park Joon-hye, CEO of Woot

The seventh lecture of the Lecture Series, organized by Korea University Business School (Dean=Johngseok Bae) and KUBS Startup Station (Director= Hojung Shin), was held on December 1 (Tue). The Lecture Series is a lecture given by startup mentors currently active in the field as a part of the Entrepreneurship Academy hosted by Seung Myung-Ho Center for Entrepreneurship Education - the education institution in the Startup Station.

Under the title of "Start up from Scratch," the special lecture was delivered by Park Joon-hye, a graduate of Korea University's business school and CEO of "Woot," a networking platform based on interest. The lecture was transmitted online in real time due to the COVID-19 situation.

Taking advantage of her experience, CEO Park Joon-hye listed what one should know when starting a business as a student. To start a business, △experience △technology △capital are needed, but most university students cannot gain all three of these. Then how can one overcome the absence of these factors? Park proposed three ways. △If you don't have experience, don't try to gain experience in advance, but rather jump into the business and go through trial and error △test the technology in a way that minimizes costs and use the same technology when converting business items, △apply for various funding sourcesfrom various institutions such as the KUBS Startup Station.

Based on this information, Park also offered practical tips and psychological advice to university student founders. In particular, he emphasized the spirit of challenge, saying that they should start their business in the field where there are no competitors rather than a business model with a good marketability. He also concluded his lecture by stressing that one should reflect on “why” he or she wants to start a business.