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Among the CEOs are young and talented individuals who ventured taking the challenge. And they might not realize their fledgling careers can inspire those wondering what the entrepreneurs are like outside workplaces, what they usually think off-duty, and how their businesses will shape their lives.
Because we understand such a personal realm can mean a meaningful impact for many, The Korea Times has come to begin this relay interview series for those aspiring figures. The following interviewees are selected by their antecedents. Think of this as the "ice bucket challenge" without ice buckets. ― ED.
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| At co-working space Cow&Dog in the Seongsu area of Seoul's Seongdong District last February, ITS Factory CEO Jang Deok-ki lectures on the power of the online wholesale fashion industry. He said Dongdaemun Market, one of Seoul's largest traditional street market areas, attracts wholesale transactions worth 3 trillion won ($25 billion) and the rising industry can revolutionize the market. Courtesy of ITS Factory |
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We run Zikdomae, Korea's No.1 online wholesale platform for fashion. Not involving the complicated and repetitive distribution channels that have been typical in the country's clothing industry, we directly connect sewing factories to on- and offline retailers
2. WHAT I DO OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
Pilates, reading
3. MEMORABLE MOVIES OR BOOKS
Movie: "Moneyball." It showed me analyzing baseball in mathematical perspectives to generate the best efficiency and bring it into effect through performance, which was revolutionary in the Major League's team building. This got me to think, 'that could happen in business as well!' It was like watching one fantastic startup team with innovative ideas, those having faith in those ideas and their execution.
4. WHAT GOT ME INTO STARTUP
When I was a freshman in university, the nation was going through the International Monetary Fund financial crisis (in 1997). I knew many school seniors who were preparing for jobs but kept hitting walls or getting sacked. That's when I decided to start my own business. As I searched for a potentially prospective industry, I eventually decided to challenge online commerce markets.
5. PROSPECT FOR MY INDUSTRY
The domestic and global fashion industries' market size as a whole has been steadily on the rise but its growth rate is down. Despite the indicator, fashion firms in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia keep growing by expanding to other countries. In other words, the world is shaping as one big fashion market. I think the fashion wholesale industry too must be globalized over local or national markets. I believe the online platform for global fashion wholesale will be important.
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| Inside the ITS Factory office in Seoul's Jung-gu District, the company displays 'magic numbers' that employees are encouraged to reach ― secure 50 designers and 50 sellers active in fields and update the homepage with 300 new items a month. Courtesy of ITS Factory |
6. UPSET AT WORK RECENTLY?
I haven't encountered anything such because so far my job has been blessed with excitement.
7. I WARN MYSELF MOST FROM...
Thinking without discretion and putting it into action.
8. HARDEST MEMORY AS CEO
In hard times, I try to view from a distance with long-term goals before making moves. I believe in heading into the right direction, not heading fast.
9. IF MY COMPANY WENT BANKRUPT
I would take a brief vacation, see why my business had failed, then I would start another business.
10. MY EPITAPH
Gone, not wasting but enjoying every single day.
11. Park Byung-jong asked…YOU STARTED MANY BUSINESSES. WHERE DO THE MOTIVATIONS COME FROM?
I think it's a curiosity that I was born with. I have this habit that, whenever I experience something new or unique although it may seem insignificant, I link it with my business. With hints from light bulb moments or ordinary routines I daily see or do, I transform them into actions for my business.
Jang Deok-ki was designated by Callbus Lab CEO Park Byung-jong
