[Life Chapter 3 Business] Senior Personal Assistant Service 'Ddokbi'

Smart Assistant for Seniors 'Ddokbi' CEO Ham Dongsu
Started Startup After Policy Research at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration

Ham Dongsu, CEO of Tokki and Ddukkeobi Co., Ltd., which provides the smart assistant service 'Ddokbi' for seniors. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

In a small building located in an alley of Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, the startup 'Ddokbi' is based. This place serves as a small hub where entrepreneurs with backgrounds in policy research gather. On the 24th, Asia Economy met with Ddokbi's CEO, Ham Dongsu (31).

Ddokbi is a startup that provides digital assistant services to support the daily lives of seniors. Ham, who studied policy at the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University, said, “Beyond research that solves problems from a policy perspective, I wanted to create sustainable change by solving the issues faced by seniors in our society through business.”

Founded in May last year, Ddokbi was established by Ham and members who previously co-founded a senior-related data company. Before Ddokbi, the founding members had established a company called ‘Almond AgeLab’ in 2020. They held a grand vision to become the 'Daehaknaeil' (University Tomorrow) for the senior generation. Ham explained, “Daehaknaeil, a magazine targeting readers in their 20s, analyzes trends among people in their 20s and provides consulting to companies. We aimed to become an organization that analyzes senior trends and offers consulting.”

The problem was data. They repeatedly faced obstacles starting from basic data collection. Even when trying to study seniors' consumption trends, there was very little raw data on their online consumption records. Even assuming analytical capabilities, the research materials themselves were insufficient. These were days filled with daily struggles and meetings. One day, the members realized that all of them were receiving similar requests from their ‘senior’ parents. Parents who had not yet adapted to digital technology asked the members to handle various reservations and searches. Ham said, “The lack of data itself was the real data.”

Subsequently, Ddokbi pivoted its business in October 2021. They began building the current business model. Before starting the business, they also conducted senior tests. They pre-tested a service that acts on behalf of seniors for searches and purchases, and over a month, about 4 million KRW worth of consumption occurred through Ddokbi from around 10 users. The response was positive. The senior users collectively said, “We use it better than expected.” After creating a KakaoTalk Business Channel, they officially started commercializing the service. They are currently expanding their user base through word-of-mouth marketing.

Ham said, “Our main theme is to handle the bothersome tasks that seniors usually ask their children to do,” adding, “Seniors often express various difficulties in the process of repeatedly asking their children.” Therefore, Ddokbi “makes efforts to greet users during commuting hours and communicate with them in a comfortable manner to provide a relaxed feeling,” and “aims to build relationships that not only clearly resolve inquiries but also empathize with seniors’ inconveniences and discuss them.”

- What kind of service is Ddokbi?

▲ Ddokbi is a personal assistant service that helps seniors with their daily lives. It fulfills the everyday requests of seniors aged 50 and above. When users request something via chat or our app, we resolve it for them. The service covers four areas: search, purchase, reservation booking, and recommendations.

- Could you explain the search, purchase, reservation booking, and recommendation services?

▲ Search is exactly what it sounds like ? a search proxy service. Seniors often ask us about their daily interests and questions. Many inquiries relate to administrative procedures or legal information, and we provide information by searching to the extent possible. Purchase services are offered in two types. One is when users tell us the product they want, and we handle the purchase on their behalf. The other is that users can participate in group purchases we organize. For reservations, we usually book travel-related products such as train tickets, flights, and accommodations on behalf of seniors. Additionally, when seniors ask for recommendations for restaurants, cafes, or specific products, we provide recommendations based on our judgment.

- How is the service provided?

▲ The service is provided through two methods: the KakaoTalk channel and our own app. The app was launched in December last year. Initially, we only provided the service via the KakaoTalk channel, but we launched the app in December last year. We found that KakaoTalk alone had many limitations for the service. For example, we greet senior users during morning and evening commutes. It would be ideal if seniors could adjust font size and style for better readability, but KakaoTalk does not allow such uniform adjustments. Also, when sending curated lists of recommended restaurants, font visibility is poor, causing various constraints. To provide a senior-friendly service, we needed our own app. Through our app, we aim to offer services that facilitate smooth communication with ‘Ddokbi,’ such as font size adjustment.

- What is the revenue model?

▲ Most services are provided free of charge. However, when financial transactions occur through Ddokbi, we receive a commission. For example, if seniors request purchase assistance for ‘Acacia honey,’ we search for several internet lowest-price products. If they ask us to purchase the product on their behalf, we do so and receive about a 2.9% commission.

- Do seniors find it difficult to pay the commission?

▲ Most senior users use bank transfer methods, which are not difficult for them. Over 70% of seniors use bank transfers. For those who use card payments, they provide us with their 16-digit card number and expiration date, and we process the payment on their behalf.

- Since Ddokbi holds personal card information, security must be very important.

▲ Yes. We use external servers such as Google Cloud to ensure stability. Internally, we strictly operate security manuals for counseling staff, and during data processing, access is controlled so that only the responsible personnel can access the data.

- How many assistant staff members are there?

▲ Currently, our service operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Most tasks are handled by one person. However, during peak times when user requests surge, additional staff are flexibly deployed to handle seniors’ requests.

- If the main staff member is only one person, wouldn’t the assistant work be delayed?

▲ Our monthly active user count is about 400. However, not all users use Ddokbi daily. The average daily request volume ranges between 50 and 80. This is during months when requests peak. So far, one person can handle this volume. Also, from our experience in the senior business, seniors tend not to prefer overly fast task processing. For example, we have built a database (DB) for restaurant inquiries, and when we respond quickly, some seniors react as if we did it hastily. We inform users of the expected processing time when a request is received and complete it within that timeframe.