A happy CEO when team members feel rewarded
This is an interview conducted to promote the work that the Corca Team does.
Ryu Ga-hyung (Product Manager) and Kim Joo-eon (Product Manager) asked questions, and Jeong Young-hyun (CEO) answered.
- What is the atmosphere and culture of the Corca Team?
- What does Corca’s CEO do and what concerns he has?
- What does the CEO dream of for Corca?
Q. Please introduce yourself!
Hello, this is Corca CEO Jeong Young-hyeon.My goal is to love art and sports and live a long life.It is.
I was thinking of talking about it longer, but my life is so complicated that if I told it all, it would be infinitely long, so I'll just introduce it briefly like this!
Q. What is the reason and background that led Younghyun to found Corca?
In the past, programs were created to help disabled people who had difficulty moving their bodies draw.For those who are excluded from the benefits of technological advancementI've been doing it. The world is changing with increasingly advanced technology,It is unfortunate that companies and society are not able to keep up with the pace of developing technology and are not making good use of it.There was this. So, let’s provide a solution that can solve this problem! What I was thinking became the trigger.
Q. Please tell us about what you do at Corca!
I am doing the most important things that need to be done at that time.Because my time is limited! Recently, we focused on funding in January and February, and in March, we focused on recruitment branding and actual recruitment.
Many parts are outsourced or delegated to team members,Final decision and responsibility for all matters for Corca to grow and achieve resultsis losing. Recruitment, human resources, accounting, tax, labor, investment, finance, IR, legal, R&D, sales, strategy, team member 1on1, compensation, … . In the future, I would like to hire good team members who can save my time and energy 🙂
Q. Please briefly introduce the Korca team’s culture and way of working!
An impressive statement from a seminar conducted by an HR expert in the past was, ‘Up to 100 people, the CEO’s life values that he has lived naturally become the team’s culture.‘He said. We are creating the ideal team culture that I have been thinking about. Of course, what I think may not be the best, so I regularly receive feedback from my team members to improve.
Regarding work culture, Korkaautonomy and responsibilityWe consider this to be the most important. It may be a cliché, but I think it is the keyword that can best introduce the Korca team.
Q. What mindset do you have in order to do your job well as CEO at Corca?
I always keep in mind that my judgment and decisions are very important and act responsibly. So we are doing our best to make the best decision.
Meet other startup CEOs and give them adviceFind and listen to related seminars,books and youtubeSee also,Team members’ feedback about meI also focus on listening, learning as much as I can, applying it, and reflecting on it.
Younghyun shares insights and various content he wants to share with his team members on the Slack channel. When I look at the things you post about things like what you felt after attending a meeting or seminar, knowledge gained from articles or YouTube, and interviews and articles from other startup representatives, I can see that you are referring to a wide range of things!
Q. When do you feel the fun and reward of work?
I don't think there's any reward or happiness in doing it alone.When team members feel a sense of accomplishment at work or are happy that something good has happened outside of workI feel fun and rewarded. ☺️
Lately, even without my special request,When team members voluntarily plan and execute tasks wellI think I felt the greatest reward.
Not long ago, the PM team completed and shared our first wireframe work using Figma. Is there really a need to post it on the channel? I thought about it, but since Younghyun said he feels rewarded when his team members feel a sense of accomplishment, I think it was a good idea to share it!
(Laughs) Yes~ If something makes you happy, please express it a lot~
Q. Then, when is work difficult or difficult? How does Younghyun relieve stress?
There is no right answer, there are pros and cons, information is limited, and yet a decision must be made in a short period of time.This is the most difficult and difficult, but things like this are not uncommon. But now I'm used to this, and I'm not particularly stressed because there will be a lot more difficult and difficult things to do in the future.
Ways to relieve stress include exercising while watching the sunrise in the morning, taking a walk around the neighborhood, or trying to get enough sleep!
Q. Younghyun also likes to travel, but I think you haven’t had much opportunity recently because you’ve been busy. Do you have any travel plans this year, Younghyun?
I really like killer whales,Orca to Killer Whale in CorcaIt is also! They say you can only see killer whales in Hokkaido for about 4 months a year. I am thinking of planning to go to Hokkaido, Japan at the end of May and go on a killer whale tour.
Younghyun wanted to go see the Qatar World Cup last year, but he couldn't go because of his busy schedule. 🥲 So I was very disappointed, but I hope Younghyun has a happy trip this year!
Q. What topic does the Korca team talk about most often these days?
We completed the Pre-A round investment in March of this year and shared Corca Season 2 with our team members. I'm a person who doesn't like talking about empty dreams, so for the past two years, I haven't mentioned the word innovation, which startups often talk about, at all. But at this point, ‘This is a stage where Corca can talk about innovation in the future.’ I think. I think the time has come to talk about being the best, the first, and innovative in the world, and we are within sight.
Q. When do you feel that the Corca team has grown the most?
As I mentioned above when I felt rewarded,When team members voluntarily plan and carry out work and produce resultsI felt like I had grown. In the most recent episode, we had to revamp Corca's recruitment page, but since we had not hired an HR representative, we took a lecture on recruitment branding and briefly shared it with our team members. There was no specific direction to do this, but the PM team took the lead in revamping the recruitment page, and the results were excellent, and external evaluations were also good. This was the moment when I felt the Corca team had really grown!
Q. Then, what do you feel Younghyun has personally grown the most at Corca?
for 2 yearsStartup CEO’s MindsetIt looks like this. Although I am still a young chick, I feel that my mindset as a startup CEO is well established.
What struck me while watching Younghyun’s lesson run was that he ‘doesn’t have much empathy.’ I have never felt that way while talking to Younghyun. Do you think your empathy skills have also grown while serving as CEO?
When I was working on a project related to the disabled, I met a lot of people with physical disabilities, and as I continued to study related fields, there were times when I felt that the worries and concerns of ordinary people were trivial. I felt that since there were no physical limitations, I just had to have the will, or that I was worried about not having enough when there were many people who were having a harder time, but the pain and stress that each person feels is subjective. As I became the CEO of a startup and became close to my team members and talked to them a lot, I began to empathize well with other people's pain and concerns.Expressing well that I sympathizeI think I'm starting to do it.
Q. What was the most impressive scene or episode while working at Corca?
We made our first sale under the name of Korka and held a dinner party on the evening when the client's money was supposed to arrive, but the money did not arrive during banking hours. At that time, it was the first day we had a group dinner since COVID-19 allowed gatherings of 4 or more people. Haha, I still remember the time when I checked the deposit through mobile banking around 7 o'clock after the company dinner started, announced it right away, and applauded happily with my team members!
Q. What do you think are the strengths of the current Corca team?
Having good people and the ability to aim to be the first/best in the world and achieve itI think that this is Corca’s advantage.
There are people who left Corca for various reasons, such as going to graduate school, over a two-year period, and during exit interviews, many people said that they really liked the people they worked with. And even when having 1-on-1 meetings with team members, they always say that they are highly satisfied with their relationships with other team members. Every time that happens, I feel like there are a lot of good people in Corca.
In terms of the goal of becoming the world's first/best and the ability to achieve it, I can feel that the goal of becoming the world's first/best is within sight through EVAL, which was recently posted on the blog. I think the advantage of doing something new is that you can challenge yourself without fear and actually accomplish it.
Q. Does Younghyun have any tips or know-how for a 1 on 1 meeting?
I'm using ORS, SRS methodology, and things I've learned from various other places. We are doing a 1 on 1 interview, starting with how things have been so far and looking back on this session. Numerical scores are also used, but there are pros and cons to numerical scores.A good methodology to help myself and my team members go in the desired direction.I think it's one of them.
During a 1 on 1 meetingFocus on bringing out as many thoughts and concerns as possible from each person.I'm adjusting. I don’t have my own special method or formula,Focus on keeping team members happy at work and in everyday lifeis adjusting.
Every time I have a meeting with Younghyun, I feel like he respects me as a person, and he truly sympathizes with me and shares my concerns. Although I feel a little nervous when I go for a 1 on 1 meeting with Younghyun, my heart feels warm when I return to my seat after the meeting! I am grateful to Younghyun, who is always sincere towards his team members! ☺️
Q. Younghyun, what does Corca look like a year from now?
Corcayo maintains its strengths, improves its weaknesses, and reflects team members’ suggestions!
I think we've had two years of sailing in a good direction! Now I don't go on my own,I am going based on the opinions of my team members.. I don’t think there will be any problems if you follow the advice given by good people.
Since the AI upheaval occurred in March of this year, we have held a huge AI weekly seminar since April of last year, explored things at the forefront of AI, and are now at the stage of applying them. I think after a year we will have several visible results.
Q. What kind of influence do you want to have at Corca in the future?
This is someone you don’t need! I hope Corca becomes a team that runs well even without me.
Q. Younghyun, do you have a picture of a desirable leader?
When I thought about what kind of person I wanted to become, as I mentioned in passing, I thought that I wanted to become a leader that my team members could respect. It's not that I want to become a great person, but when I talk to my team members, I hear examples of companies with high goals and great companies.A leader who meets the expectations of team members, a leader with whom team members are satisfied, and a leader whom team members consider ideal.I want to become.
This is a vague measure, and although team members may pursue different careers, I hope that when they look back on their lives in 10 or 20 years, they will think, ‘Joining Corca at this time was among the top 3 decisions in my life.’ To do that, in thisTeam members grow happily and achieve results while doing challenging work.That should be it. My goal is to create a company that can achieve such things, and I want to become the person who creates such things!
Q. Who do you expect to join the Corca Team as a colleague?
Anyone who knows what a startup is likeHey! If you don't know much about startups, it may not be what you expected, or you may have vague fantasies about startups. I think people who are familiar with the startup ecosystem will be better suited to FIT and have an easier time adapting to it.
Also,A person who knows autonomy and responsibilityHey! I don't think it will be a good fit for someone who only does what they are given because the work is extremely structured or the manager is so tight-lipped that they don't tell you anything.
Lastly, I don't really like cigarettes and tobacco culture, so it would be good if you are a non-smoker. When there is a smoking culture, non-smoking team members are sometimes excluded from the decision-making process. I want to create a team culture where all team members can participate in decision-making.
Q. Is there anything you would like to say to prospective applicants to Corca?
I am a representative who is serious about recruiting talent, and I clearly recognize its importance and give strength to HR. Corca provides generous support so that team members can work more happily and grow, so we are waiting for great people with an open heart!I believe that this is the most suitable time and a good opportunity for applicants to join a growing Corca with many good people..
Younghyun, you must be really busy, but thank you so much for actively participating in the interview! My team members were very worried because it seemed like you had too much work to do recently. Since you are like Corka’s strong support, I hope you are healthier and happier! I think my time at Corca is so happy and rewarding because Younghyun always thinks of his team members in many ways! I will work harder so that my choice with Corca will be among the top 3 choices I have made in my life.
Updated 2023.04.14