I studied Business Administration, yet explored many subjects unrelated to business. Throughout the college years, I learned one key lesson: I don’t have to choose between business or design; I can pursue both. In fact, this combination is exactly what I’m doing in my career.

My friend and I started Claypot, a publishing company founded to produce art-books that would appeal to young professionals.

After running Claypot for four years, I realized that grinding without a clear path to success wasn’t helping me learn or grow as an entrepreneur. That’s when I decided to take a leap of faith and move to New York for my MBA (Master of Business Administration).

People often say that an MBA allows you to change only one of the following three aspects of your career: location, industry, or job title. For me, I was changing all three—moving from Korea to the U.S., shifting from publishing to tech startups, and transitioning from founder to intern.

During my MBA, I learned the value of understanding macroeconomic markets, how Wall Street and the finance industry operate, and, most importantly, how New York became a hub for tech startups.

Quesnay was a boutique consultancy based in New York that helped Fortune 500 companies accelerate innovation through competitions, startup partnerships, and accelerator programs.

When I joined the New York team, we were a small group of three. I became the go-to person for executing innovation programs, which included developing all marketing collateral, crafting communication strategies, and managing event production. Fun fact — they still use the website I designed and developed.

With the CEO's strong business acumen and sales skills, our client roster for such a small consultancy was impressive. Fortune 500 companies sought ways to tap into the booming tech scene by bringing in fresh ideas from the market or collaborating with the brilliant minds in the startup ecosystem.

After working at an innovation consultancy for two years, I wanted to understand what it meant to run a business with its own brand. As an architecture aficionado, Schumacher was a logical next step for many reasons.

Schumacher is a 130-year-old interior design company that sells textiles, wall coverings, and trims to B2B customers. While it may seem like just another textiles company, it recently underwent a transformative change by hiring a dynamic new CEO who was determined to innovate the company’s operations. As a result, Schumacher operated more like a startup than a legacy company, and they urgently needed talent who could act quickly, get things done, and build the future.

I joined as Director of Sales Development and Operations, initially managing a team of five. This role soon expanded to Director of Customer Experience, where I oversaw five teams with 20 people, handling all back-end operations.

ROOM embodied everything I love about startups. It was design-centered, tech-enabled, and growing rapidly. Plus, the HQ in SoHo was an added bonus.

The products were just perfect. Inspired by Scandinavian design, they were elegant and minimal. They were affordable (though not the cheapest), suited any built environment, easy to install, and environmentally friendly.

What set ROOM apart was its exceptionally high talent density—great people recruited from outstanding companies. I worked directly with the CEO to lead crucial initiatives until the company was sold in 2023.

Here I am, a solo entrepreneur running a fractional CXO services company, offering my expertise to startups in New York and Seoul.

YOO represents my way of supporting startup founders with whom I've closely worked over the past 14 years. Some of these founders have been wildly successful, some have failed, and others have managed to stay in business. However, where they are now isn’t the final outcome. It took me a decade to realize this: everyone is a work in progress, and where they will be next year remains uncertain. This uncertainty doesn’t scare me; it offers a glimpse of hope that things can improve significantly.

I’ve learned that great entrepreneurs never stop learning, constantly try new things, and forge their paths to success regardless of the challenges. This entrepreneurial spirit inspires, motivates, and drives me.

Meeting and working with people whose eyes sparkle with their vision every day is the primary reason I started this business. I believe this will be my lifelong calling. As of August 2024, I have helped four startup founders bring their visions to life.