[Mini CEOs Rising]② "Don't Be 'Munsong' Anymore"... PO Graduates from Liberal Arts Also on the Rise

Few POs from Liberal Arts Backgrounds... Diverse Majors Including Business Administration and Psychology
7 out of 8 MyRealTrip POs Are from Liberal Arts... All 9 at Pinda
Communication Skills Valued... "Must Understand and Persuade Colleagues"
Strategic Thinking Essential... Data Analysis Skills Like MAU Also Needed
"No Fixed Talent Profile... Major Does Not Matter"

Fintech startup 'Finda' product owners (PO) and marketers are having a meeting.
[Photo by Finda]

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] Among the eight Product Owners (POs) at travel tech startup MyRealTrip, seven majored in liberal arts. Most of the key business division managers, such as lodging, transportation, and user area (UA), are from liberal arts backgrounds. A company official said, "Majors are not important for PO work."

As the competition to recruit POs in startups heats up, liberal arts graduates are gaining attention. In fact, many startups have a strong presence of liberal arts POs. About half of the 15 POs at Masspresso, the operator of the AI learning application 'Qanda,' are liberal arts majors. Their majors vary from business administration, English literature, to psychology. Most have experience as project managers (PMs) or planners at companies like Kakao, NCSoft, and NHN.

Main Mission of POs is Problem-Solving Ability

In the fintech (finance + technology) startup Finda, all nine POs are liberal arts majors. More than half of them come from commercial banks such as Hana Bank and SC First Bank. A Finda official said, "Due to the nature of fintech, we need not only developers but also talents with solid financial knowledge," adding, "There are POs with diverse backgrounds, including those who completed the 'FIFA Master,' a specialized master's program in football administration in the UK."

The situation is similar at Viva Republica, the operator of the financial platform Toss. A Viva Republica official said, "There are many successful cases of non-STEM POs at Toss," and added, "Anyone can challenge to become a PO as long as they have the capability to create business ideas and scale up, even without a major in computer science or related fields."

The main reason liberal arts talents are strong is their 'communication skills.' POs frequently have meetings with internal team members and external stakeholders during the process of conceptualizing and launching products and services, making smooth communication a core competency. An industry insider explained, "One of the most important missions of a PO is 'problem-solving,'" and added, "No matter how important a service a PO thinks it is, launching it requires continuously helping and persuading colleagues around them."

Another reason is the diverse thinking skills required of POs. Strategic thinking is essential. POs must strategically set the team's vision, product/service direction, and revenue goals. They also need logical and analytical skills because they must analyze various data such as Monthly Active Users (MAU) and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and frequently reflect these in the service planning and development process. A startup CEO who recently secured a 10 billion KRW Series A investment said, "When hiring POs, we prioritize quick decision-making ability and data analyst capabilities," adding, "The core competency of a PO is to present the necessity of a service with logical and rational grounds that anyone can understand."

"No Fixed Talent Profile"

The second venture boom also had an impact. As the domestic startup ecosystem grew, startups emerged in various industries beyond IT sectors led by Naver and Kakao. As startup fields such as fashion, finance, and education have expanded compared to the past, talents from diverse fields have become necessary. This explains why the competition for startup talent, which was previously focused on STEM developers, has diversified.

A startup PO said, "There is no fixed talent profile, so major or career is not a big obstacle." Another startup PO stated, "Understanding various fields and experience gained while working as a planner or PM seem much more important than one's major."

There are also expectations that the treatment of liberal arts talents in the industry will improve further. The industry explains that the treatment of liberal arts majors, who used to lag behind developers in salary and stock options, is also being leveled up.

The increase in investment scale from venture capital (VC) firms has also helped startups secure resources for talent recruitment. According to the Korea Venture Capital Association, domestic VC investment in the first half of this year was 3.073 trillion KRW, an 85.6% increase compared to 1.6554 trillion KRW in the same period last year. During the same period, the number of startups receiving VC investment increased by 38.6%, from 841 to 1,166 companies.