Jang Ha-il 'Changupin' CEO Interview
Supporting Startup Data and Franchise Matching through AI-Based Commercial Area Analysis
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Jang Ha-il, founder and CEO (photo), said, "More successful brands tend to fail more often," adding, "It is not too late to first start a business using data to accurately analyze commercial districts before actually launching a store."
Changupin is a platform that provides startup data through AI-based commercial district analysis and supports franchise and startup matching. It offers prospective entrepreneurs information analyzed by AI on surrounding commercial districts, floating population (gender, age group, day of the week, time), sales of major stores, competing stores, industry trends, and also supports matching with franchise partners.
Founded in March 2020, Changupin has surpassed 20,000 cumulative users as of this month, less than two years later, with more than 2,000 new users added monthly. About 800 related franchise companies conduct over 20 consultations daily with prospective entrepreneurs. CEO Jang explained, "More than half of the 10 stores that open each year close down, and providing free commercial district analysis services to prospective entrepreneurs is part of our effort to reduce the number of store closures."
Recently, the most preferred startup item among prospective entrepreneurs is low-cost coffee franchises. Changupin's analysis shows there are also many inquiries about unmanned stores such as unmanned cafes or unmanned meal kit vending stores that can be started with low costs.
CEO Jang said, "We receive more than 10 inquiries daily asking, 'What brands are popular these days?' or 'If a cafe opens in this alley, it will definitely succeed; please recommend a brand.' We recommend safe commercial districts and brands through more detailed commercial district analysis."
CEO Jang is preparing an advanced information service that integrates floating population data from telecom companies, marketing data from franchise headquarters, consumption data from card companies, and nationwide real estate information.
Jang started a marketing company while attending university and founded the salad sales company 'American Tray' to test his marketing capabilities, growing it into a franchise company with 30 franchise stores. At 30 years old this year, he is a young entrepreneur managing three companies: Changupin, Ha-il Marketing, and American Tray.
CEO Jang said, "We have raised a total of 1.5 billion KRW in seed investments and are planning a 5 billion KRW Series A investment in the second half of the year," adding, "Once the Changupin service is advanced and fully launched, I want to challenge other businesses as well." He said, "I have several business ideas that I have not yet developed," and added, "The process of building the 'Jang Ha-il' brand is very enjoyable."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
