“Fast-Tracking to Catch Up with Corporate Giants”: Special Lecture by Kim Soo-yong, CEO of Life Oasis 

On March 19, the Entrepreneurship Academy special lecture, hosted by the Startup Research Institute (Director=Jungbien Moon) at KUBS (Dean= Sang Yong Kim), took place on the KUBS Main building The Stage, located on the 2nd floor. The lecture was delivered by Soo-yong Kim, CEO of Life Oasis. 

As part of the Entrepreneurship Academy lecture series, Kim, the Life Oasis CEO, took the stage. Kim focused on the topic of “Early-stage Strategies for Surviving in the Red Ocean” during his lecture. Life Oasis operates the language exchange app “Heart” and the dating app “Will You.” Kim, a growth hacker, previously worked with the English conversation app “Tutoring” and served as a growth consultant for numerous domestic unicorn companies. 

Kim explained the concept of being a “first mover,” pioneering paths that no one has taken before, and the “fast follower,” mimicking and catching up with market leaders. He discussed strategies for competing against established services offered by large companies. Kim emphasized the importance of finding “uncomfortable” competitors in lucrative markets and suggested creating a business model canvas based on competitors’ reviews. Additionally, he highlighted the power of storytelling, as well as the significance of value sharing and collaboration among team members. The lecture concluded with a Q&A session. 

Young-woo Choi (Economics ’19), a student who attended the lecture, stated, “In this era of rapidly changing trends and fierce competition, I was curious about the survival strategies adopted by startup companies.” He added, “Especially, the lecture was more convincing as the CEO shared his real-life experiences.” He further expressed, “It was great to gain insights as both a startup founder and an investor.”