Challenge Always Wins by Choi Hyukjae, Mycoon representative Sebasi #873

Summary

This inspiring story follows the journey of an entrepreneur who, after starting a battery-sharing service, faces numerous setbacks, including the failure of his business and the financial strain it caused. Despite these challenges, he continues to push forward, ultimately launching Spoon Radio, an audio streaming service that caters to a younger audience seeking connection and empathy. Through numerous failures and gradual successes, the company experiences exponential growth, securing significant investments and expanding internationally. The entrepreneur’s persistence in overcoming failure and embracing new opportunities underscores the resilience needed for success in the face of adversity.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker, Mycon, started his entrepreneurial journey with a bold and unconventional idea: sharing smartphone batteries in a street-based service.
• 😀 Despite facing immense challenges, including being ridiculed and struggling with finances, Mycon's startup persevered through tough times.
• 😀 Mycon and his team received a major opportunity when they got to showcase their startup at Silicon Valley, a significant milestone in their journey.
• 😀 The startup initially faced a major setback when Samsung released the Galaxy S6 with a non-removable battery, making their service obsolete.
• 😀 After the failure, Mycon took responsibility for the collapse, acknowledging mistakes and learning from the experience to improve in future ventures.
• 😀 Overcoming hardship, Mycon and his team made the difficult decision to reduce their salaries drastically to keep the company afloat and continue their efforts.
• 😀 The team’s focus shifted from battery-sharing to creating a new kind of audio service, Spoon Radio, which would appeal to younger generations who felt disconnected from traditional radio.
• 😀 Despite facing skepticism and criticism from others, Spoon Radio's creators remained dedicated and iterated on their product, learning from each failure to improve.
• 😀 Spoon Radio achieved rapid growth, reaching a 16x increase in revenue and becoming the top audio app on Google Play in South Korea.
• 😀 The company expanded internationally, launching Spoon Radio in Indonesia and Vietnam, and continued innovating despite facing language and cultural barriers.
• 😀 Mycon reflects on the idea that both success and failure are valuable in the long term, emphasizing the importance of resilience and learning from mistakes.

Q & A

What was the initial idea behind the startup?

The initial idea was to provide a battery-sharing service, where people could share smartphone batteries in a similar way to renting a car, which was conceived by the founder as a rather unusual idea five years ago.

What challenges did the founder face at the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey?

The founder faced several challenges, including quitting a stable job, working on the streets of Hongdae with little resources, and dealing with harsh weather conditions, all while trying to establish the battery-sharing service.

How did the founder's experience in Silicon Valley contribute to the startup?

The founder received mentorship and investment while in Silicon Valley, which helped the startup gain recognition and some early-stage funding. The experience also provided valuable lessons about risk-taking and entrepreneurship.

What happened to the startup after gaining investment and recognition?

After gaining investment and securing contracts with major companies, the startup's progress was halted when the Samsung Galaxy S6 introduced an integrated battery, which directly impacted their battery-sharing business model.

How did the founder cope with the failure of the original business model?

The founder initially struggled with self-blame and frustration, feeling overwhelmed by the failure. However, after reflecting on the situation and acknowledging their own shortcomings, they resolved to try again.

What changes did the startup make to adapt to new challenges?

The startup shifted its focus towards creating a new type of content-based business model. Despite lacking content experts, the team leveraged their strengths in app development and created Spoon Radio, a platform centered on communication and empathy.

Why did the Spoon Radio service initially fail?

Spoon Radio initially failed due to various reasons, including market skepticism and competition. However, the team used data-driven decisions to iteratively improve the service, learning from their failures along the way.

How did the Spoon Radio service eventually succeed?

The team’s commitment to not giving up and their focus on user feedback allowed Spoon Radio to grow. After experiencing 52 updates in one year, the service eventually saw significant success, growing its revenue by 16 times.

What was the significance of the first small successes for the startup?

The small successes, despite being minor, provided the startup with momentum and confidence. These successes led to rapid growth, attracting more users and securing additional investment, which helped stabilize the business.

What is the founder's perspective on failure and success in entrepreneurship?

The founder believes that failure is an essential part of entrepreneurship. They view failure as an opportunity to gain wisdom and experience, and they see the eventual success as the result of persistence and learning from past mistakes.