The Importance of 'Strategy' Highlighted in the Startup Industry
Advancement of Former Consultants from Global Consulting Firms
Kim Beom-seok, Chairman of Coupang, and Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Kurly, share one more thing in common besides being founders who nurtured unicorns and competitors in the domestic dawn delivery market. Both worked as consultants at global consulting firms before starting their businesses. Chairman Kim was at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and CEO Kim worked at McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company. Their success stories suggest that strategy is as important as innovative technology for startup growth. This is also why consultant-background professionals are increasingly joining the startup industry, which now requires different growth methods due to the recent contraction in the investment market.
According to industry sources on the 9th, as the management environment surrounding startups rapidly changes, cases of hiring consultants are increasing. While talent acquisition in startups has often focused on technical skills, the freezing of the investment market and the need to establish sustainable future strategies have elevated the role of experts with consulting backgrounds.
At MyRealTrip, three personnel from consulting firms have joined within the past year alone. Team Leader Lee Na-young of the Long Stay Planning Team is a McKinsey alumnus, and CFO Heo Pil-jung is a certified public accountant who previously worked as a consultant at Bain & Company. Besides Team Leader Lee and CFO Heo, another member from Bain & Company joined MyRealTrip as part of the Strategy Planning Team. Their move from external 'advisors' to directly entering the industry is primarily to gain firsthand business experience and lead change and growth. In MyRealTrip's case, the travel market rapidly changed due to COVID-19, requiring a reestablishment of strategy, discovery of new business models, and business expansion.
Kmong is another startup where consultants have played a prominent role. Vice President Kim Tae-heon, formerly of BCG, joined as a strategy executive but has since expanded his role to oversee the entire Kmong business. He led the process of redefining Kmong’s business model from a 'talent market' to a 'freelancer market' and expanding related business models. Business Director Kim Shin-yeop, who joined last year after working at Bain & Company and Kearney, leads category development and the entire enterprise business. He is credited with doubling the annual growth of Kmong’s enterprise business by managing everything from business planning to customer management.
There are also those who started their own businesses after working at consulting firms. Kim Dae-yoon, CEO of PeopleFund, is a former Bain & Company consultant who founded a fintech startup and grew it into the largest online investment-linked finance company. Kang Kyung-yoon, CEO of Wonderwicks Company, which operates the parenting information app 'MamMam,' also comes from Bain & Company. Lee In-seop, CEO of MarkVision, majored in economics at Harvard University and worked in McKinsey’s risk management division, where he developed an interest in e-commerce fraud issues before deciding to start his own company.
An industry insider said, "Startups require completely different growth strategies at the scale-up stage compared to the early startup phase. With the addition of consultants, cases of reestablishing strategies and discovering new business models to lay the foundation for sustainable growth will continue."
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