[Startup Lecture Series] “The Importance of Continuous Learning”
Tony Swun Woo Park, Managing Partner at LB Investment
On April 17, KUBS Startup Institute invited the second guest lecturer for ‘2018 Spring KUBS Startup Lecture Series’ at 6:30 pm, Startup Station. The guest lecturer was Mr. Tony Swun Woo Park, a managing partner at LB Investment. On his lecture, Mr. Park focused on ‘China’s Top Dating Mobile App, TanTan’. Mr. Tony Swun Woo Park is one of proud KUBS alumni (Business ‘92) who founded Future Entrepreneur’s Society (FES) at the School. Mr. Park worked for HanbitSoft, before he moved to China to work at The Nine and Alibaba. While developing his professional career abroad, he built strong knowledge about business practice in China. Mr. Tony Swun Woo Park is currently a managing partner at LB Investment’s Shanghai Office.
Mr. Park started his lecture by saying ‘the most important thing to keep in mind in the determination of an investment is knowing who the founder is’. He presented an example of TanTan of which founders are a couple married for 10 years. In fact, the founders were quite familiar with running a business. For 8 years they ran an exclusive service for the social elite, by which the owners practically built up the client basis for their next business. Mr. Park added, “there are risks running a family business. But at the same time, it is a safe and reliable way to go. It is important that you need to take into account whether a founder is reliable when making investment decisions”. Mr. Tony Park then shared his experience with TanTan. In fact, the funding for TanTan was completed when he reached them. Nevertheless, he did not give up. “I kept contacting them until I was able to have a breakfast with them discussing the funding” he added. “That was when I felt years of my study on business finally paid off. I was actually able to take the lead in the next investment.” His decision has proved to be right – 2 years later $45million dollars’ worth investment has grown to $800million dollars.
Tony Park also pointed out the importance of looking into the size of users. Mr. Park argues that DAU, WAU, and MAU all have to be taken into account. That is, you must see the difference between DAU (Daily Active Users) and WAU/MAU because the less gap they have, the more frequent the customers use the service. He explained, “the users’ frequent use indicates that the business has a great market condition to expect a positive investment outcome. Comparing DAU, WAU, and MAU gives you a fundamental understanding of user retention. If a business has a large gap between those, it must not be overlooked. The business needs to come up with resolutions.” Mr. Park concluded his lecture by emphasizing the importance of continuous learning. “One of the worst scenarios is that a business is quite a success, and yet the founder cannot catch up with the growth of his/her business after all. So I agree with the statement that the pursuit of knowledge is ongoing. I want you to keep in mind the concept of lifelong learning”, he advised.
The lecture was followed by a Q&A session where an audience asked Mr. Park ‘what are the things I need to be careful when I receive funds for my business?’ Mr. Tony Park replied, “If possible, it is a very good idea to receive investments from people who know you well. It could be your boss, CEO of the company you worked for or could be someone you worked together for a long time”.
KUBS Startup Institute opens practice-based lecture series ‘Lecture on Demand’ about startups and business venture. Anyone interested is more than welcome to participate in the lectures. For further inquiries, please contact KUBS Startup Institute at 02-3290-2551.
