After the dot-com bubble, the startup ecosystem completely crumbled.
Companies avoided risk-taking, and investors only put money into stable places. The situation began to change after the financial crisis.
Startups emerged mainly in Silicon Valley and ventured into new markets despite the risks.
Usually, people would think that there would be excitement when a new industry emerges, but in reality, the opposite is often true.
If you compare cars and horse-drawn carriages, cars excel in every aspect. However, this wasn't the case when cars were first introduced.
Early cars were slower than carriages, prone to breakdowns, and much more expensive. Moreover, unlike feeding hay to a horse-drawn carriage, cars required a new element called gasoline, which was hard to find at times.
People left their comfortable and reliable carriages behind, mocking who would ride such a contraption.
The same goes for digital cameras.
Early digital cameras had nothing better to offer compared to film cameras. They had short battery life, lower image quality, and were pricier.
The pioneer in making digital cameras was none other than Kodak, a leader in the film camera industry. Kodak believed that digital cameras wouldn't replace film cameras and focused only on their existing industry.
However, as time went on, digital cameras improved gradually and eventually completely replaced film cameras. Kodak went bankrupt.
Falling behind in change comes at a harsh cost.
The startup fever was not limited to developed countries alone. Emerging economies like China and India also saw numerous startups emerging.
These countries strategically nurtured related industries as a means to overcome inadequate infrastructure.
For instance, due to a lack of internal combustion engine technology, they shifted to electric cars directly, or due to insufficient card payment infrastructure, they moved straight to mobile payments.
Industries like electric vehicles, easy payment systems, drones, and the sharing economy have already surpassed South Korea in China.
Most startups are bound to fail. Yet, countries strive to foster the ecosystem because one surviving startup can more than makeup for others' losses.
Additionally, failure is a valuable asset. Failing means gaining diverse experiences in the process. There are numerous cases where entrepreneurs who failed multiple times eventually succeeded after a new attempt.
In Israel, the government lends money to startups, and if they succeed, they repay triple the amount borrowed; if they fail, no blame is imposed.
However, in Korea, if you fail, that's the end. A person who fails is stamped as a loser, unable to receive startup support again, and in severe cases, may end up taking on joint debts and becoming a defaulter.
Furthermore, existing industries are monopolized by large corporations, and various regulations hold back progress.
Therefore, there is talk that Korea is a graveyard for startups.
Nevertheless, many entrepreneurs armed with ideas and passion still jump into the market.
Although the Korean startup ecosystem may be chaotic, it is currently the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To put it metaphorically, even though the soil is barren, the weather is favorable.
If you look among Korean startups, you may find some good companies. It should be relatively easy for us to connect with entrepreneurs as we are here in Korea.
Unfortunately, we do not have any proposals from Korea among the materials we have received. This is in stark contrast to the overflowing number of proposals from Chinese startups.
The reason behind this is the absence of a Golden Gate branch in Korea. There are only small branches handling securities and banking operations in Korea, with major operations overseen by the Asia branch in Hong Kong.
However, being a global investment bank, Golden Gate is interconnected with domestic investment firms. Perhaps through this network, we can obtain the necessary information.
***
Just then, another email containing data arrived.
"Are things going well?"
I replied to Hyunjoo. "I also need information from domestic sources. Please send it as you find it."
***
Taekgyu sorted out the proposals by industry first.
Sharing economy, O2O services, SNS services, e-commerce, big data, artificial intelligence, IoT, mobile payments, robotics, and more.
I went through each proposal and classified them into three categories: feasible, not feasible, and uncertain.
Taekgyu handed me the requested coffee and asked, "What are your classification criteria?"
It's just my intuition. There are things that I feel.
Unlike the clear visions that come to mind, this intuition is a bit subtle. It can be distinguished from the five senses, but I can't quite explain it.
I put down my materials for a moment, sipping coffee as I pondered.
Initially, random visions kept popping up in front of me repeatedly. The first time I felt something different was during the L6 case. When I focused all my energy, I could even predict the timing.
Does gathering information and focusing allow you to see more?
Taekgyu, who heard my story, said, "That's a plausible thought. The more you write, the more you feel. There's also the phenomenon of using 'rumination theory.'"
"······."
Wasn't that theory proven wrong?
What is gained through acquired effort isn't passed down to future generations. Therefore, it doesn't hold much meaning for the evolution of species.
Nevertheless, from an individual's perspective, it holds significance. After all, it is a fact that studying improves the mind, and exercising improves the body.
So, perhaps one day one could control their precognitive abilities as they wish?
***
It's been ten days since the New Year began.
During this time, I haven't set foot outside my house at all. I've ignored all incoming calls, pouring all my time into reading project proposals.
Even eating, cleaning, and sleeping seemed like a waste of time.
Taekgyu took care of everything else. He made coffee regularly and cooked meals when needed. (Though they were all ordered.)
I scratched my head, muttering to myself.
"It seems like it will come into view soon if we wait a little longer."
Why can't you see any precognition among all these companies?
Taekgyu said to me.
"It's only been a few days since I started that. It's not something urgent, why rush it like that?"
"Well, that's true······."
I worry that if I let go of it now, even the current feeling will disappear.
"Do it while taking a break. Sometimes rest is necessary too."
"······."
It's a valid point, but coming from someone who always takes breaks, it lacks persuasiveness.
Anyway, just working hard doesn't guarantee success.
"I should wash up first."
I put down the materials I was holding and got up.
Entering the bathroom, I saw a disheveled man in the mirror. Eyes droopy, hair messy, beard untamed.
Who would think I'm in my twenties looking like this?
I turned on the shower.
Whoosh!
Feeling the hot water, my tension eased, and drowsiness crept in. I can't fall asleep here, though······.
At that moment.
A hologram appeared before my eyes.
"Huh?"
Surprisingly, it didn't end there. More holograms appeared one after another.
.
.
I stared at dozens of holograms in front of me while the shower water continued to pour.
Finally found the horned horses (unicorns).
***
When I opened my eyes, the sun was still up.
I thought I had slept for quite a while, how many hours did I sleep?
"Ugh."
My mouth felt dry.
I went to the living room to drink some water. Taekgyu was sitting in the living room.
"I need some water."
"Here you go."
Taekgyu handed me a bottle of water. I gulped it down quickly.
"Are you okay?"
After finishing a 500ml bottle of water, I asked.
"How long did I sleep? Two or three hours?"
"You probably slept for about 20 hours."
"What?"
Taekgyu pointed at the clock with his finger. The clock's hands were pointing at 10 in the morning.
To sleep without waking up at all for 20 hours. I must have been really exhausted.
I tried to recall the situation before falling asleep.
I saw a vision during the shower······ and then I remember rushing out of the shower room shouting random company names.
This isn't some Archimedes (also known as Eureka Grandpa) moment.
I tried to remember the names of the companies but I couldn't recall anything. My mind was blank as if it were a blank sheet of paper.
"Uh, uh?"
Did the visions just vanish?
Lost in contemplation, I didn't know what to do, Taekgyu asked me in surprise.
"Hey, what's wrong all of a sudden?"
"Something's wrong. I can't remember what I thought of."
Taekgyu, looking puzzled, showed the paper.
"What's this? You've already written everything down," he said.
"Oh, really?"
I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked at dozens of company names scribbled on A4 paper as if it were crumpled.
I can't even remember writing them down. It seems like I wasn't in my right mind.
"I've categorized the things you mentioned separately."
The cluttered surroundings filled with documents were tidied up neatly, with only a pile of papers left on the table.
"Could you make some coffee?"
"Sure."
I skimmed through those proposals again.
Is this what they mean by foresight?
Just having foresight doesn't finish the job. On the contrary, having foresight means starting work now.
Unlike buying stocks of listed companies on the exchange, acquiring stakes in unlisted companies is not straightforward.
You have to contact founders and go through negotiation processes.
The problem is that we currently lack the organization for that. I'm no negotiation genius either.
"Shouldn't we build the organization first before investing?"
I shook my head.
"We don't have the time for that."
It will take at least a few months to establish an investment firm and gather the necessary talent.
"Think about it. We picked these companies from the proposals rejected by Golden Gate. Do you think they'd just sit back sulking and stay stuck in this place because they were rejected?"
"So?"
"They're probably spamming the proposals to find other investors. If we wait too long, they'll probably get funding elsewhere."
Moving urgently is not necessary, but it's best to hurry as much as possible.
"So what should we do?"
If we can't do it on our own, we need to seek help.
I said to Taekgyu, "Let's also contact Hyunjoo noona."
—
The world's largest investment bank, Golden Gate, has branches all over the world as befitting a global IB.
Among these branches in Asia, there are a total of three. One each in the world's second and third largest economies, China and Japan, and one in Hong Kong.
There were talks of establishing a branch in Korea at one point, but it fell through after the 2008 financial crisis. As a result, Korea still operates under the Asia branch, alongside the ASEAN region.
At the Golden Gate Building in Central Hong Kong, financial professionals of various nationalities and races worked.
Among them was Oh Hyunjoo. She joined Golden Gate right after finishing her MBA and was transferred to the Asian branch from the New York headquarters three years ago.
As a Korean, she mainly handled tasks related to the Korean market, making her frequent trips to Korea.
Returning late from work, instead of going to her apartment, Hyunjoo sat on the terrace of a coffee shop overlooking Victoria Harbor, opened her laptop, and saw an email from her younger brother's friend with a PDF file attached containing dozens of startup listings.
After meticulously reviewing the proposals for hours, she closed her laptop, lit a cigarette, and immersed herself in thought.
Investing in startups can yield significantly higher profits than investing in established companies once successful, but the risk of failure is considerable.
She wanted to advise investing in safer options but…
They earned 670 billion from an initial investment of 13 billion. Can this be considered just luck?
"Maybe they have exceptional talent…"
After finishing her thoughts, Hyunjoo made a phone call to Korea.
"I checked my email. How are the plans going?"
The person on the other end responded as if they had been waiting for her question.
"I will officially request investment intermediation and personnel dispatch to Golden Gate. Please come to Korea, Noona."