Press

"What I overlooked in the early stages of starting my business was that I created the service I wanted, rather than solving customers' problems." (Park Min-jin, CEO of Pierro Company) "For revenue growth, it's important not to waver in understanding what customers want and what needs to be resolved in the industry structure." (Lee Won-seok, CEO of Delivery Lab) Four startup CEOs who studied at KAIST Impact MBA participated in the 'C Forum 2025' on the 3rd and emphasized this. They shared opinions on the theme of 'Scale-up Based on Social Impact.' C Forum is an event hosted by CNTech, a leading domestic accelerator, and Chosun Biz to help startups and various ecosystem stakeholders Connect, Collaborate, and Create new value. This year marks the third edition following last year. This year, KAIST Impact MBA also participated. KAIST Impact MBA is a program that has been cultivating entrepreneurs who have a positive impact on society since 2013. Kim Jung-heon, CEO of UD Impact (UD Impact), who went through this program, said, "I want to say that you can start a business even if the business model is difficult to attract investment," and added, "Starting with a business model of providing free education to social entrepreneurs, we grew slowly but solidly to be recognized for our value in the capital market." UD Impact is a social enterprise that provides solutions for job creation, small business growth, and regional revitalization. CEO Kim, who is preparing for a listing next year as a goal, said, "'What is a meaningful social enterprise from an economic perspective or from the perspective of the nation?' The answer to that question was going public," and added, "Ultimately, a company must be able to generate revenue and profit, and we persuaded that social enterprises can create social values that change the world better than for-profit companies." Kim Han-guk, CEO of DFARN, said, "We are a place that creates sustainable future materials from discarded clothes," and added, "I want to create a world where people can wear and discard clothing as much as they want." Park Min-jin, CEO of Pierro Company, which operates 'Phongo,' a subscription and installment payment service for electronic devices, shared an experience that customers' needs must be satisfied even in meaningful businesses. He said, "I started the business with the intention of solving problems in the electronic device industry and provided a service to help consumer transactions in the early stages," and added, "Through the demand verification process, we eventually arrived at subscription services." He emphasized, "You must create the service customers want, and to have them pay for it, a high level of hypothesis verification is necessary." He then added, "Ultimately, customers judge good service," and said, "The standards will be indicators of whether customers pay for and use this service, and whether you can secure customers enough for rapid growth." Lee Won-seok, CEO of Delivery Lab, also advised that startups must not waver in their target customers and problem awareness to drive revenue. He started restaurants and felt problems in the distribution structure, so he founded Delivery Lab, which operates 'Order Hero,' a food material distribution platform for food service businesses. CEO Lee said, "When I started my business, I thought customers wanted a service that combined not just price but also delivery stability," and added, "After that, to change the logistics operation structure, we built regional logistics centers," explaining, "Having a clear focus on why we do this business and what we do for customers seems to be the most important thing in starting a business." Source: Chosun Biz (www.biz.chosun.com)