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Topclass Interview with UD Impact CEO Kim Jeong-heon (Part 2)

2026-01-29

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Top Class

An act-preneur is someone who creates change through action. Without taking action, change does not occur. Whether you're an entrepreneur, an organizational member, or someone achieving personal growth in your own life—it's all the same. Any form of action that creates change, regardless of the type, brings tremendous positive power to your life. Ultimately, the way of execution means not dwelling on what has already happened with regret, but moving forward with the question "So what should we do now?" and taking the next steps quickly. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds. It's not easy. But when you repeat it, a learning effect emerges. Whenever an issue arises, we always look at two things. One is reflection. Why did this happen, and what needs to change so it doesn't happen again? The other is resolution. We reflect while also resolving. We use our thoughts and resources first on "what needs to be done now." As this accumulates, at some point it becomes solidified as our own way—or rather, an internal manual for getting through crises. I've promoted act-preneurship with the belief that execution determines success, and I've captured that experience in the book "Act-Preneur." In the book, I mentioned "execute quickly, fail quickly, and improve quickly" as the three stages of execution. Are there any criteria or principles that distinguish success from failure? Many people try to prepare perfectly to avoid failure. While it's a problem if failure becomes a habit, I believe we need to develop an attitude of accepting failure itself as natural. What's important is the milestone. You need to set a standard for yourself before you attempt something. For example, don't just say "let's try something with AI"—clearly determine how far you'll go with AI before moving to the next stage. That could be revenue, number of users, or the timing of receiving follow-up investment. What problems arise when there's no standard? It becomes difficult to define failure. You end up in a state that's neither failure nor success. If it were a failure, you could wrap it up quickly and move on, but the longer that ambiguous time stretches, the more you continue to lose the most valuable resource—"time." The time, effort, and resources you've invested so far make it even harder to acknowledge the failure. And if debt is added on top of that, the situation becomes even more complicated. So ultimately, the standard for failure must be set by yourself, not by others. From a state where your personally set goals and milestones are clear, you try, adjust if needed, and execute again. The cycle of "execution → failure → improvement" must continue turning. Turning that cycle quickly isn't easy, as the words suggest. You might succeed on the first try due to luck, or on the twentieth or hundredth try. Nobody knows. That's why successful entrepreneurs commonly say something. Nobody succeeded on the first try. So ultimately, the attitude of quickly defining and accepting your own failure is part of the preparation. When you accept failure without postponing it, you can move forward again through execution. I've met countless entrepreneurs over the past 10 years. Is there a common attitude I notice in people who "really go the distance"? They have very high resilience in common. It's different from having high self-esteem. When they fail or results turn out differently than expected, they don't dwell on it for long. They quickly think "Oh, that wasn't it" and recover, immediately moving in the next direction. These people have clear failure criteria. So they can quickly turn the cycle of executing, failing, and improving. As a result, people like that go farther and faster. On the other hand, there were probably people with sufficient ideas and capabilities but who got stuck at the execution stage. Is there a common pattern you noticed in them? They tend to interpret situations overly positively or are too generous in their self-evaluation of their plans. They're people with strong conviction like "this is well prepared" or "this will work as is." Self-conviction is important, but conviction without objectivity is dangerous. There's something we always say. When preparing for a startup, think from the customer's perspective, not the supplier's. But among those stuck in a supplier's perspective, when you ask "Boss, would you pay this much for this service?" they sometimes answer "No" themselves. As I listen to this story, I think the standards for execution and failure apply not just to startups but to life in general. Understanding how much you consider something a failure and what criteria you use to judge determines whether you can move to the next stage. If your self-evaluation standards aren't clear, you keep circling in the same place. When you set your own criteria and approach life with them, your judgment becomes faster and decisions much easier. Even people with an execution mindset experience moments of wavering and frustration. At those times, is there a question you ask yourself or a phrase you hold onto? It's important not to compromise the principles and standards you set for yourself. You also need to think about how to maintain your philosophy and beliefs rather than swaying with results and circumstances. What standards has Underdogs and you maintained? Our mission is clear. "To change the world through act-preneurship." In that process, we haven't gone against common sense, and rather than gaining profits by taking from others, we've aimed to create added value for society and share that value. And ultimately, the reason was to share more with the colleagues going through the process together. If I were to explain "act-preneur" in one sentence: An act-preneur is someone who creates change through action. It seems like an obvious statement, but change doesn't happen without execution. You could be an entrepreneur, an organizational member, or someone achieving personal growth in your own life. Any form of execution that creates change brings positive power to your life. Finally, if there's something you'd like to recommend to those hesitating about execution—"at least try this before judging": Whatever it is, just try one thing. The scale of execution doesn't matter. This is training. One day...

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CEO : Jungheon Kim