[Startup Struggles①-2] 2020 Startups Are a Collective of 'Upgle Ingan'

Startup Talents Prioritize Growth Over Success
Managing Entire Career Beyond Specs
Trust in Completing Tasks on Time
Flexible Working Hours and Remote Work Enabled

Employees of the startup Welt, which is developing a smart belt, are holding a meeting to prepare for the final stages of CES2020.

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] "These were experiences that my peers at large corporations in their fourth year as new employees could not have had. As I work at a startup, I feel I have grown a few inches this New Year."

On the 2nd, at DreamPlus, a shared office on Gangnam-daero in Seoul, I met Jung Hwayoung, Manager at Welt (31), who is in her fourth year at a startup this year. She started her business in 2016 with a 'Smart Belt' that measures obesity levels. Manager Jung was busy preparing for the final stages of CES 2020, the world's largest ICT exhibition opening on the 8th. Welt plans to newly introduce the 'Smart Belt Pro' to prevent falls and digital therapeutics this year.

Jung, who majored in biomedical engineering at university, is a key member of the CES task force (TF) team. Last year, she attended Medica, a German medical device exhibition, and gained experience presenting in English alone to business partners. She expressed satisfaction, saying, "The larger the organization grows, the more passive individuals inevitably become. Startups have smaller organizations, so responsibilities increase, but autonomy also rises."

Hwang Donghoon, Senior Staff (30), who moved from a mid-sized company to Welt and has been there for three months, also cited autonomy as the charm of startups. Hwang said, "I was tired of a system where work orders were given vertically. I wanted to experience dynamic and comprehensive work rather than routine tasks."

'Upglers'?a term referring to self-development-oriented people who pursue growth rather than success, like Manager Jung and Senior Staff Hwang. In 2020, South Korea's startups are a collective of upglers. Startups are places where people who value 'a better me than yesterday' by managing their entire life career, not just simple specs to win competition with others, gather. Upglers are also one of the trend keywords for this year identified in Professor Kim Nando's book, "Trend Korea 2020."

On December 17 last year, about 30 startup workers are attending a direct lecture by the author of 'Trend Korea 2020' at Fast Five, a shared office in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul.

◆ Upglers who value growth over success = On December 17th last year, about ten days before the New Year, at Fast Five, a shared office in Euljiro, Seoul. Even at 7:30 p.m., well past quitting time, the seminar room on the 5th floor was bustling with about 30 startup workers. They gathered voluntarily to listen to a direct lecture by the author of Trend Korea 2020. These upglers came together to broaden the scope of their ideas. The trend keywords for this year were 'MIGHTY MICE': Multi Persona (M), Last-fit Economy (I), Fair Player (G), Streaming Life (H), Hyper-personalization Technology (T), Fansumer (Y), Specialized Survival (M), Opal Generation (I), Convenience Premium (C), and Upglers (E).

A man in his 30s, A, who is in charge of planning at the travel startup Red Pants, said, "I came to attend the lecture to plan new tours for 2020." The most impressive keyword for him was the Opal Generation. The Opal Generation refers to the 50s and 60s middle-aged group who enjoy autonomy and active leisure activities. A said, "I will plan tours for the middle-aged generation who want to travel freely without a guide, even if they cannot speak foreign languages."

◆ Attracting upglers by upglers = Competition among startups to attract upglers who desire growth over success is fierce. In startups, which are composed of a small number of people, the quality of talent directly affects the quality of the company. Lee Donggeon, CEO of MyRealTrip, considered a prospective unicorn, said, "Talented people do not move just by conditions or compensation. A plus alpha that makes working at the company enjoyable is necessary." And that plus alpha, according to Lee, is good people to work with. Recently, they made great efforts to recruit Jung Jaehun, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from Naver and Coupang, in this context. Lee emphasized, "Having good people in the organization is the foundation of talent attraction."

In other words, startups are groups of upglers working with better upglers. This is the background that allows startups to implement radical systems such as flexible working hours and telecommuting. Lee said, "The organization is a group of professionals. Because there is trust that assigned tasks will be completed on time, flexible work systems are possible."