"The more prosperous, the more difficult the road"... The reason I quit a journalist and started a business [that person]

1. I still haven't told my kids I'm retired

It was difficult to enter the company, but it was easy to leave.

After document screening, written test, camera test, and interview with an executive for 2 days 1 night, I entered the media company, but when I left, I took a stamp and it was over.

By 2020, when he joined the company in 2001 and left the company, he has received more than 30 awards.

In 2018, he swept the Korea Journalist Award and the Korea Broadcasting Correspondent Award, the most prestigious awards in the media industry.

As a runner, he was a mid-long-distance runner rather than a sprinter, and it was a style that received strength from the first half to the second half.

I wasn't the only one who considered this person to be the last person to protect the press.

After attending training in the United States in 2016, he moved between eight departments, including the secretary's office, investigative news department, and the presidential election planning team for three years.

That's why he had so many places to look for this guy, and wherever he went he did more than he did.

His retirement was the pinnacle of his journalistic career.

He quit journalist at the very point when it seemed that only the flower road remained.

There were not one or two people who were surprised and saddened.

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"I don't just say 'goodbye' when I say goodbye. (Laughter)"

“It took more words from the juniors than the seniors. For example, ‘If you go out, who do you talk to now?’

When I heard this, the only thing I did was listen to, but I thought that my juniors really liked me. The day after I quit the company, my juniors sent me a lot of Kakao Talk, and I think I cried while watching it. The juniors thought of me like this I wanted to. I showed the Kakao Talk to my wife, and she cried too."

When she said she was going to quit the company, she said several times that her wife didn't mind what she had been doing.

She said, "It was so much fun and well done in that organization, isn't it worth it, think about the children and think again, isn't it worth it? Her wife said that. She said that she cried because she was sad..."

Her wife put her children first.

I thought that one day I would be someone who would do my job, but I wondered why now.

“One evening, they asked to have dinner outside. When I heard that they were quitting, I cried so much that I couldn’t even eat. The time I left the company was when I was in high school, my oldest child, and my youngest child. As a wife, my husband had a stable job. It's best to give."

Seo Eun-hee / Lee Byung-hee, wife of Windpoly CEO

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My husband made a habit of saying that one day he would do his job.

He was relieved to think that that time had come a little earlier.

Looking at what he has done as a human being, not just as his husband, he also believed that he could do anything.

However, he still hadn't told the two children that their father had quit the broadcasting company.

It is because of the concern that the father's job change will not have a good effect on the children during the sensitive period of preparing for college.

"No, it doesn't seem to matter. The children already knew. I asked the eldest how did I get to know him. 'Dad talks about startups all the time, how can they not know, but it's plausible that Dad doesn't tell them. They think there's a reason, so they'll just pretend they don't know until Dad tells them.' I told my husband about it a while ago."

Seo Eun-hee/Lee Byung-hee's wife

Since 2017, she has worked in the same department twice.

When leaving the company, she gave relatively small reasons for leaving the company.

She shook her head as she listened to the story, but her doubts were not completely resolved.

Now that only the flower path is left, I wondered why I was leaving, but I thought that if this person made the same decision as when we were working together, then that decision would be right.

What I was going to do didn't come to my ears.

Every time I heard it, it sounded the same.

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2. Falling once and getting up again

In August 2020, he founded the start-up ‘Wind Poly’.

Listening to the story, it is a continuation of a bad battle.

The service, which was first launched after the establishment, was discontinued in November last year because it was 'not selected by the market'.

It was a customized experience content service that helps fathers and children spend precious time together, but it was hit directly by the COVID-19 outbreak that started with the founding.

It was a service that did not fit in an era when it was a virtue and common sense to not meet and not to talk.

I didn't blame the people or the people around me.

I could have said that I was unlucky, but I cherished that word.

“It’s the CEO’s fault even if it rains, and the CEO’s fault even if it snows,” he said.

"When an investor puts 100 here, I couldn't answer the question of whether the result would be more than 100. There were a lot of favorable responses, but no matter how much I tapped the calculator, I thought that it would be difficult to become a sustainable, nationwide platform. I did."

Last winter, I did not know whether the cold was coming or not, so I analyzed why it failed and focused on finding new business items.

Giving up the old business and looking for a new one is called pivoting in startup industry terminology.

This process is as difficult and painful as starting a business.

First, you need to convince investors and shareholders.

You have been doing this business with the money you invested, and the results so far and the future outlook are like this. It is difficult to take this business further.

I'm sorry, but I have to say that this business has to end here.

It's hard to raise your face with people who trusted you and gave you money.

This is not the end.

It is not easy to explain to the employees who developed the service and ask for their understanding.

"This doesn't mean 'Let's change this from tomorrow.' do."

“There must be sunk costs that have been poured out. I guess time and labor costs are all sunk. When I went to the investor, of course, I was worried at first. I think we have learned and grown a lot.”

When this person said that he was leaving the company, he did not actively hold on to it.

He thought that a valuable talent would leave, but he believed that wherever he went, he would do his part.

However, no clear results have been achieved so far.

"I don't think that just because I've done well in a certain field, I don't think that I'm going to win people's hearts right away and work in this business. When I left the company, I didn't come out with the thought that I would catch this part, but when I came out, there were variables that I hadn't thought of, and there were a lot of variables in the book. There are so many things that you can't understand just by seeing and learning, and there are so many things that you can't understand unless you see them in person.

After nearly ten months of labor, the new service started last month.

It is a service that provides one-on-one coaching service to college students.

The goal is to receive an investment at the end of this year.

The outlook is not bad, but the outcome remains to be seen.

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3. I still want to praise me for 'You took courage'

He was proud of his billion-dollar salary, a stable job, and a rosy future, but it was also a chain of restraint for this person.

When I was asked to picture myself 30 years later when I joined the company, I said that the last place I would retire would not be a media company.

I have dreamed of starting a business since I was a student at Yonsei University, and I have 4 patents in the hope that it will be helpful if I start a business.

Even when I was immersed in my work as a journalist, I always wondered when to leave, and I sat down several times before making a decision.

There were not many things that I enjoyed as a reporter for a broadcasting company, and it was not easy to let go of it.

20 years before I joined the company, I thought that I could not delay it any longer.

.

With that dream, he broke the chains that bound him.

It would have been better if it had come out earlier, but I think it's fortunate that it came out even then.

When I turned seventy and eighty, looking back, I said that if I hadn't made the decision then, I would have regretted it.

"There are times when I think that something like this would have been great if I had stayed at the company, but when I turned 45, I want to pat myself on the back, who made that decision at that time, and say, 'You really did have the courage.' It is true that it is less difficult for me to have this, but I want to sincerely compliment myself at that time.”

I want to do something that makes the world happy and relieves them of their hard work, and I want to make money in return.

This person is not alone in dreaming such a dream.

There are over 34,000 officially registered startups.

They are all competitors.

So, every day is a competition for survival, and I think it's difficult to get past each day, and it's not strange if it goes bankrupt at any time.

When the startup industry said that it was a jungle, they said it was

.

No allies, no enemies, no minimal supply pipes, no emergency transfusion devices.

The only thing you can trust is yourself.

If this seems to be filled, there is a hole, and after filling that, another gap is found.

There is always a hole somewhere and an empty corner.

Whenever that happens, I go out on my own.

Accounting, general affairs, public relations, and sometimes development.

He may regret it, but he does not regret his decision to change jobs in 2020.

When I was in the media, the words 'I'm SBS reporter Lee Byung-hee' were enough.

He didn't need to explain himself anymore.

Now, every time he has to tell who he is and what he calls and visits.

“From the moment I left the press, I had to explain myself. ‘Who are you?’

Then, if we talk like this with our corporate name and service name, 'Where?'

After that, we have to explain for a while before the words 'Is that so?' There's no such thing as a bye, if we don't prove ourselves, 'Who are you? Why should we invest in you?'

That's how it happens."

When I asked if anything had changed since I started my second life, I said one thing.

He said that he used to be a perfectionist and looked at things until he was convinced, but now he skips over things and gives up on things that he gives up.

It's about not holding on to things that shouldn't be done anyway and worrying about them.

It must have been to adapt to the start-up industry where time and speed are vital, but it seemed as if he was trying not to leave any regrets about something that had been knocked down.

4. Money is plentiful and opportunities to make money

Journalists are people who tell other people's stories rather than their own.

Even in private, I talk more about other people.

He rarely talks about himself.

I thought I knew this person well, but when I tried to write it, I didn't know much.

There wasn't much to reference.

Knowing as a colleague when working and seeing as an interviewee are very different.

He struggled with how to tell the story.

I was curious about the size of the dream of this person who gave up not a small salary, social reputation, and a stable future.

I wonder how big my dream was, so I threw out things that everyone would envy.

“To be honest, my dream is very simple. If I explain myself like this, investors hate it, but if 20 years as a journalist was a life of a good observer, I want to live as a player for the next 20 years…. I want to live…. I want to own my brand even in a small hole-in-the-wall shop. I want to be remembered as a brand created by Lee Byung-hee. Even if it is small, if I have meaningful memories, I am really satisfied."

I've heard people say that they want to invest in someone who talks so simple, but it doesn't have to be a big dream to have big words.

I have never thought of a unicorn company with sales exceeding 1 trillion won, but I believe that once they have their own brand, they will exert great power in a hyper-connected society.

.

Drawing and writing with them will also be on your bucket list.

The size of such a dream seemed several times larger than that of creating a unicorn company.

Most of the people this man's wife has dealt with in <That Person> so far are famous and powerful people, but when she asked if she could deal with someone like her husband, she did not hesitate and said, "No one has a bigger dream than CEO Lee Byung-hee." That's the reason I answered.

"I don't think all startup leaders say it's because of money, but I don't think there is one that isn't money. I think money is the best tool to do good things while giving you financial freedom. I believe that a successful startup must provide a service that can be earned. I also want to earn money, and I want to use it not only for myself and my family but also for the necessary places. It must be something that can flow.”

“Money is common. I read in a book that money is like krill in the sea. Money just overflows somewhere, and smart people get it, not without money. It’s about retrieving them in a timely manner with equipment, and there are actually a lot of talented startups making a lot of money right now. That’s why I think there are definitely opportunities. But the problem is that few people enjoy it.”

5. The more successful people are, the more difficult they have to come out.

I go to work at 7 in the morning and leave at 10 and 11 at night.

'In order not to die', I take a day off on the weekend.

I haven't been able to take a single penny home for six months since I started the business.

Since the beginning of last year, they will take a monthly salary that is at the level of the minimum cost of living.

I live on the money my wife has saved up by working, but the size of my household has been greatly reduced.

I can't do what I could do to my 3rd high school son and 1st high school daughter now.

Still, I have never regretted leaving the media company to start a business.

He has no achievements to be proud of, no clear prospects, and a person who feels the crisis of survival every day.

Why did this prudent and non-verbal person respond to an interview request?

He must have had something to say.

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-Why did you respond to the interview request?

“I wanted to say that there are more people than I thought about their talents and potential, and I think it’s okay to be a little less suspicious. ‘I’m good enough for this place, I’ll stay here until I’m taken out of this place’. I have seen a lot of people. I think there are many cases where people doubt their talents and try to turn them away.... I just graduated from this university, so I have to go all the way here. Since I joined this company, I am satisfied with what kind of man I am called and go there. I think it's a pity to be stuck with it."

People admiring the vast nature, but not admiring the talents within them, said that no matter how busy they are,

they need

"I don't think I'm asking myself what kind of talent I have or what kind of person I am. I'm indifferent to myself. I think there are parts of me that don't discover all of my talents while immersing myself in hoguchi, and just live life as others.... I see it as a waste of life and a waste of talent. Our company's catchphrase is

."

From 2015, I studied for a master's degree at USC in the United States for one year.

It was a time when I studied harder than when I was in high school.

The main content of the master's thesis is that by leveraging IT technology, people can maximize their individual capabilities in a hyper-connected society without having to belong to a large organization.

As I was writing my thesis, I was convinced that there are many ways to live a good life as the future of work and the working environment change.

"I didn't get a degree and throw this thesis away, I thought that I would like to live like this. This thesis and every word I use here will be directly related to my life in the future. It would be okay if I lived like this myself, here I had my own method and confidence, so I thought it would be good to live this way.”

He explained the characteristics of a hyper-connected society by taking an example of Uber that connects passengers and vehicles.

“If a car is parked in a parking lot, the economic value is 0 won, but when it is connected and moved, value is created and benefits to others. I become a man of some sort, and my shiny talents and experiences are just parked and neglected... ."

So far, about 6 billion won has been invested.

Money invested by investors in this person's ideas and passions.

Except for the initial incorporation funds, he did not bring his own money.

He said that opportunities are open to those who take on challenges, especially those who excel in our society should challenge themselves.

Before and after starting the business, I have been offered positions in several places.

There were proposals for public office, and there were proposals from public relations companies and media outlets, but they did not pay any attention.

Because it was clear what he wanted to do.

“Among the things I heard when I left the company, one of the saddest things I heard was, ‘Why did you leave the company after doing so well? I think that the more people who go out, the more difficult they should come out. People who graduated from good universities are taken care of by our society. This is because they are the people who will shape the future of our society. I think it's a waste of society for such people to just go for stability.... Now that it's a hyper-connected society, the opportunity is bigger. It's not just in Korea. In our society, these people are well educated and smart, and these people are going global. If I do, I wonder if I will be able to create a much bigger opportunity, and I think I will be able to live in this small space without having to worry about it.”

When I passed SBS, a congratulatory placard was hung in my hometown of Cheongju.

It was the pride of his father, the glory of his family, and the honor of the town.

The father, who was a delightful optimist, enjoyed joking around and talking to his second son, and this man also admired and loved his father.

When I was in elementary school, the person who appeared the most in my diary was my father.

He choked as he told the story of his painting of his father lying unconscious in the hospital.

His father, who was a carpenter, would make whatever his son wanted at a snap.

He made tops, floats, and even made bookshelves on the desk.

When he went to middle school, he heard that he needed a study room, and in two days he repaired a cattle barn and made a study room.

The father was really proud of his son going to the radio station, but he didn't want to be tied up there.

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"'Do whatever you want to do. Don't be afraid of anything. My dad used this skill to feed and teach you, but you went to college, but what are you afraid of? There are a lot of things you can do.' He always said that. I think it had an impact."

His father passed away in 2018 after not seeing this man start a business.

He believes that he will support his beloved second child even in heaven.

When I'm having a hard time, thinking of such a father gives me strength.

6. I regret that I attacked so harshly on such a small evil.

It is the era of great change.

The media industry is also not free from the fever of job change.

I thought it was a breeze, but now it is a gust of wind.

They go into politics, companies, and even academia, but it is rare to start a business.

For SBS, this was the first reporter to leave the press to run my own business, and it is rare for other media outlets as well.

When asked about his opinion about the job change of a journalist, he said that there are too many talented people in the media.

"It's not good for the media to hold people down. The media also needs to have an outlet. That way, new friends can come in and the organization can be revitalized so that those who have left can spread their experiences in the media outside. Like the United States In the case of journalists, there are many bestselling writers, professors, and entrepreneurs.

When I asked him if he had any regrets about any of the reports he made while working in the media, he said he regretted hitting only the weak so harshly in his early days as a reporter.

In order to be recognized by the organization and to be told that he is good to his seniors, he said, 'It seems that he treats too little evil too harshly.'

Small business owners and the self-employed were cited as examples of attacks that were too harsh.

"It's true that I pointed out the wrong thing, but now that I think about it, I pushed too small and weak people to the limit, even though there were bigger problems and things I had to deal with more in-depth as a journalist. It's not, but I think reporters need to point out a bigger problem, and it's not enough to do just that."

As a member of the SBS investigative report <Sold to the End> team, in 2018, Samsung Everland intensively explored issues such as the issue of public notice and military hospital treatment, and it was a reflection if it was a reflection on dealing with small problems that are easy to see while ignoring the real big problems.

Two years after leaving the press, journalists must have run out of water, but when the media talk came out, he looked excited.

“When I was at the media company from 2017 to 2019, I heard a lot of words that it is now the era of platforms. In the early 2000s, when I joined the company, the atmosphere was completely different from that of content being king, but after 2010, as Naver and Kakao grew We used to say that we were just subcontractors that supply them, but I still think the power of content will grow even more. I think the era of platforms begging for content and the era of content becoming precious is coming."

He said that media companies have good talent, resources, and infrastructure, so if we create an environment where talented people can work properly, each journalist will be able to work and produce results as if they were an independent corporation.

I don't think the media is a dead industry.

When I went out, I could see the power of the media and the strength of the media that I didn't know when I was inside.

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7. Why you want this person's dream to come true

The economy is tough and interest rates are rising.

The investment climate is not good.

Not long ago, a mid-sized company that you could know just by name in the start-up industry recommended resignation to all employees.

That's not good news for this guy who's going to need an extra investment at the end of the year.

"It's true that I wonder why the timing is like this. There was a newspaper article titled 'The Startup Party is over', but when I saw that, I thought that I hadn't even started yet. It's frozen and everyone is watching now. Even when we get a loan, the bank is reviewing it. How strict can we invest in investing? It's not money back... If we don't really present a vision and a solid profit model, it's only 500. I think it will be difficult to get even a 10,000 won investment.”

Occasionally there was a spark in my eyes.

When I said that every day is a crisis of survival, I was like that when I said that startups only need a heart and a head.

When asked what kind of employee he would like to work with, he answered without hesitation that he was a good person.

A kind, good communicator, and serious person are also good, but they are not the same as being a full-time job.

When I heard this, I thought that I was the representative of a startup.

"It's a fight over who takes the same customer's time and money, but if it's not urgent, it's right to be pushed out. I sometimes ask my juniors. Are we working desperately right now? I ask if it is."

When I asked this man's wife what had improved since the founding, she said that it was lowering herself in front of the gods more often and kneeling more often.

The fact that there are more cases to appeal to the Absolute means that there are many difficult cases as well.

We are 48 years old and belong to the oldest in the start-up industry, where the 20-30 generation is the main axis.

Sometimes I wish I was a little younger, but I believe that older people also have an advantage.

If you have achieved achievements like tens of billions of dollars in annual sales, there is no reason to meet this person.

There are many people who have succeeded like that, and there is no reason to hear from this person if it is a success story like that.

Only God knows whether he will be able to achieve his dream of wearing good shoes for children in need, or if he will lose even the little things he holds in his hands, but what is clear is that the process is just as important to this person as the result.

I wanted to hear again why a person who could go on a flat road would crawle through a dark, long tunnel with his whole body.

It was a meeting that felt the power of public dialogue.

If it was a private conversation, the listener would have guessed it and passed it on, and the speaker would have skipped over it.

Some questions would not have been comfortable for this person.

In 2017, this person went to work and left the hospital to take care of his father-in-law.

He was in the same department, but had no idea about it.

In 2018, he went to and from the hospital to take care of his father.

He didn't even know about it.

If it hadn't been for the three-hour interview in front of the camera, it would have been difficult to hear this person's inner feelings even this much.

He probably didn't say everything he wanted to say, but there must be some words he wants to pick up and put back.

There was a hint of hesitation as to whether it was okay to say something like this even though he had not yet accomplished it, and there was a passage that seemed to swallow the words he wanted to say.

Before starting the interview, I was going to say that what I was wondering about is a person named Byung-hee Lee, not a business Lee Byung-hee runs.

He hesitated for a moment about how to say that, but he explained briefly, saying that it would be good to know his current business as a reference.

He made up his mind so that he wouldn't ask about his business in the middle of the interview.

I gained a little weight without seeing him, and now he looks like a mature middle-aged man, but he still has a heart to put others first, and the size of his dream seems to have gotten bigger.

I wish this man's dream come true.

It is because we want our society to have more children who wear good sneakers, and it is because we applaud the courage to deliberately choose a difficult road.

I hope that this person's dream will come true in order to hear more stories that are in this person's heart, but not this time.