🗿 “The belief that the end is success”

Q. Hello, Kevin. Could you introduce yourself?

Hello. I am Injae Seo, Kevin — someone enjoying the process with the belief that in the end it will be a success.

Q. Please tell us about the work you do as well.

I mainly do development, and I also handle various other things the company needs — sales, customer support, and so on.

Q. Kevin, you are a developer, but you take on a lot of other work too.

That’s right. I never intended to do sales, so when the work landed on me I felt completely lost. I was afraid, thinking, “I have only ever stared at a screen — how am I supposed to deal with people?”

But as they say, the scariest moment is before you start. Once I began, mostly what I felt was, “this is not such a big deal.”

Of course I still need to build my sales skills, but realizing “at least I can handle the basics reasonably well” actually became an opportunity for me to grow.

Q. I’m curious about what led you to join the team.

I always had big dreams, and grandly speaking, I used to say I wanted to walk the road that only a few people walk. But I did not really know what that road was, or what exactly my dream was.

Then I found someone whose dream was far bigger than mine and who pictured it just as concretely — that was Zeon. The moment I met Zeon I thought I had to do this with him, and that is how I joined this team.

Q. So you joined because of Zeon. Then what kind of person is Zeon in your eyes?

Zeon? There is so much that I am struggling to choose. First of all, he aligns people really well.

When there is a goal, he gets every teammate looking at that goal together and pulls them into one. I think that is Zeon’s strength.

At the same time, he has a gentle charisma. He can enjoy himself when it is time to enjoy, and since this is a business after all, when it is time to work he judges coolly and executes decisively. I think he balances that well.

Q. Then I’m also curious what made you decide to stay for the long run.

In the end I think it comes down to the dream again. The belief that the end of the journey toward that dream will be success, and finally, the teammates.

First, the dream is so big that there is no choice but to be in it for a long time. As for belief — I believe we will succeed anyway, so there is no reason not to stay long. And teammates prove their worth in the hard moments. Knowing these are the people beside me when things get tough gave me the confidence that we can get through it.

Q. I think delivering on what you believe is a real strength of yours. What do you think your strengths are?

I am persistent, I do not lose faith, and at the same time I can commit.

Committing is not so much about sacrifice as it is about trusting and following the person who carries more responsibility. Of course I voice my opinion too, but I share it in a way that avoids unnecessary debate, and then I commit.

As for persistence — I do not think I have ever been outstanding anywhere I went. But I always stuck with things for a long time. And in the end, the one who stays long seems to become the winner. I stayed on this team a long time, which lets me dream even bigger. With this persistence and this belief, I think we will get there someday.

Q. I’m also curious what you see as our team’s strength.

I would pick “the drive to just do it.” Our team has done an enormous amount so far. There were failures, and there were moments we could have given up, but we keep pushing forward — that is our team’s strength. We went on the Jeju work retreat, we did 10 to 10. The mindset of steadfastly doing it when it has to be done. And the fact that it made the team even tighter.

Q. That makes me proud too. Tell us what kind of teammate you would like to work with going forward!

I hope the teammates who join next are people who try to find a way no matter what. Taking developers as an example, I would like someone who can steer the conversation toward how it can be done rather than saying it cannot.

I also hope for someone who adapts well to their environment. On our team a developer might end up doing sales, so I want to work with people who adapt well in a flexible environment.

Q. Something just came to mind. You were developing alone before Cheese joined. Has anything changed?

I pay much more attention to importance, to writing things down, and to talking constantly.

When two people do one person’s work, it can actually cost more resources, because you may end up doing unnecessary things. So I think about priorities far more. When I ask Cheese for something, I ask him not to simply do it but to consider whether the task really feels important.

And since there is one more person now, there is someone to share with, which made documentation important.

Lastly, I came to think that aligning our thinking through conversation matters a lot.

Q. What stands out most from your work so far?

The day we integrated with Naver. It was a full emergency and I stayed in the office for three days and two nights straight. Back then I was anxious that the worst-case scenario would happen.

But that time was exactly what I needed, because through it I learned that the worst case does not come as often as you fear. So now, when small problems blow up, I do not get nearly as anxious.

Q. So that is how the calm Kevin was born. What are you thinking about these days?

As the company grows, personal growth has to keep pace, so I think about what I can do not to fall behind. My biggest question is how to accomplish the things I could not do with the excellent developers who will join us.

Q. Is the direction you want to grow in similar?

Thinking as a developer — someone teammates can trust and turn to. Because I will always look for a way to make things work, I want to keep reflecting my teammates’ ideas, our customers’ ideas and pain points, and contribute enormously to us becoming a great company five years from now.

Q. What would our team look like once it becomes a great company?

I think, “if we go global, it’s game over.” I dream of a team and a future that keeps expanding globally. I hope that overseas too, everyone in the travel domain is using our service.

Q. Let’s talk about the recent trip to Jeju. How did you feel when the Jeju retreat was decided?

Two weeks? That’s nothing. It was comfortable because it was shorter than the last retreat — our first one was 100 days.

Of course there was some tension. I had been on a retreat before and had gone to host meetings, but back then it was simply about listening to their concerns, whereas this time every meeting involved sales. I worried about how to listen well to the owners and draw out what each side wanted, so I was nervous.

But I was excited too. I thought, “I’m a developer and I do sales as well? That’s impressive.”

And, “all of our teammates together? That’s impressive.” A retreat is not an easy thing. It was decided just three or four days in advance, everyone had their own schedules and circumstances, and yet we all went. Everyone worked and held meetings from early morning until late at night.

I expected a lot of good things from living together. That we would grow closer.

Q. How do you feel after the retreat?

My takeaway is that the team is really solid right now. And that I need to work even harder.

We have had hard times, but things have gone more smoothly than I expected. When the environment is well set up, we should not settle — we should work even harder. And I hope we keep building an environment where we can work even harder.

Q. That’s the end of my questions — any final words?

If you share my belief in success, and if your dream is big, join us soon.