[Startup+] Boring 'Home Training' Is Out... 'Yonggamhan Company' Listening to Live Online Lectures

Leveraging Digital Education Market Experience
Expanding Business into Digital Healthcare
Achieved Daily Sales of 100 Million KRW in 2 Years
Strengthening Lecture Expertise with 'IPaMaster'
Launching 'ModuuiBike' Service Next Year

Yang Seung-yoon, CEO of Yonggamhan Company, who has established a presence in the online education market with the Modu's Public Official series and Epa Master, is expanding services by newly launching Modu's Daechidong and Modu's Fitness.

Many people have probably experienced buying exercise equipment like indoor bicycles, using them a few times, and then giving up out of boredom. These days, with the COVID-19 spread showing little sign of easing, many are reluctant to visit gyms where large groups gather. Brave Company, a digital education and healthcare specialist, has identified this consumer need and launched 'Modu-ui Fitness (Picklive),' a service that allows users to receive professional fitness instructor training at home. Next year, they plan to introduce 'Modu-ui Bike,' an indoor bicycle service that can be enjoyed like a game.

◆ Expanding Business from Digital Education to Healthcare = Yang Seung-yoon, CEO of Brave Company, naturally developed an interest in digital education while working as an early member of Etoos and founded Brave Company in 2012. However, facing the capital strength of large education companies like Yanadoo and Megastudy, he decided to pivot the business direction in 2019. Leveraging the experience and capabilities accumulated in the digital education market for civil service exams, certifications, and college entrance exams, the company ventured into the digital healthcare sector, including Pilates and fitness. Now established, the flagship brands such as the Modu-ui Civil Servant series and Ipamaster are leading the way, while new services like Modu-ui Daechidong and Modu-ui Fitness are being launched to expand offerings.

Ipamaster is an online education program that enhances the professionalism and competitiveness of fitness instructors. It consists of various programs ranging from theoretical lectures by experts in fields such as doctors and physical therapists to practical know-how shared by active trainers. CEO Yang explained, "We ensured substantial and professional education through collaborations with university professor networks and research institutions." Modu-ui Fitness offers live group classes in various exercises such as Pilates and yoga. The interactive communication enables high satisfaction for both instructors and participants. Modu-ui Bike, currently under development with a planned release next year, is a service where sensors attached to an indoor bicycle recognize the user's movements, allowing them to enjoy cycling indoors like playing a game while watching their smartphone. Although similar to Yanadoo’s 'Yafit Cycle,' which features actor Song Joong-ki as a model, it plans to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create a more vivid experience and reduce consumer costs.

Studying and exercising are core aspects of self-development pursued by modern people and are typical New Year’s resolutions. With increasing demand for self-improvement at the start of the year, the company achieved daily sales of 100 million KRW just two years after entering the digital healthcare market on the 3rd of this month. Combined with the digital education business, it recorded an all-time high daily sales exceeding 200 million KRW.

◆ "Digital Transformation Will Continue Even After COVID Ends" = In November last year, the company launched 'Modu-ui Daechidong,' a service that allows students to receive classes and learning management systems from prestigious Daechidong academies remotely. Through collaboration with renowned academies in Daechidong, the goal is to enable students nationwide to access high-quality lectures regardless of their place of residence. Since the launch of Modu-ui Daechidong, the company has raised a total cumulative investment of 9.3 billion KRW through a 5 billion KRW bridge investment involving Lotte Home Shopping, Union Partners, and others.

CEO Yang stated, "It is true that COVID-19 increased the number of users of digital education and healthcare," but he also predicted, "Digital transformation is an irreversible phenomenon even in the with-COVID era, so market development will continue." Brave Company, which achieved sales of 13 billion KRW last year, aims for 16 billion KRW this year and 24 billion KRW next year.

The value he prioritizes most in business operations is 'teamwork.' He said, "It is essential to form respectful interpersonal relationships and enable collaboration among workers," adding, "Since we have employees ranging from their 20s to 40s, we want to capture freshness and creativity as well as experience and stability simultaneously." Brave Company actively utilized the Youth Digital Job Project promoted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Through this project, 39 young employees were hired starting from September 2020, and currently, 36 of them are working as full-time employees. Last year, the company was selected as a 'Talent Development Small and Medium Enterprise' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in recognition of its commitment to talent development, educational training infrastructure, and work-life balance systems.

CEO Yang expressed confidence, saying, "We possess the technology, organizational strength, and instructor expertise accumulated over 10 years," and "We will play a leading role in the digital education and healthcare market in the future."