On May 9, Startup KAIST invited former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Vice President Youngil Lee of Com2uS Corporation to give his lecture “Frustration and Retake” to explain what frustration and retake is, and provide tips on founding a business. This lecture is a part of the “Entrepreneurship Lunch Talk” series, which is a program organized by Startup KAIST inviting experienced lecturers to give talks on his or her experiences and guide students who are interested in starting their own business.

Lee started the lecture with an introduction of himself. He left the company last year, but before that, he was the founder, largest shareholder, and senior developer of Com2uS Corporation. He explained that when he was in high school, he used to play games all night. He studied at Korea University with a four-year scholarship, but he spent most of his time on gaming and dating, and after his first year, he was unable to receive any scholarship.

Later on, he decided to finish his military service as an industrial technical personnel. After his service, he developed a game controller and got 250 million Korean Won funding from Korea Credit Guarantee Fund. However, the factory responsible for the production of his products exploited him, and he was left with a huge amount of debt. Afterwards, Lee decided to develop games for mobile phones, as they were gaining popularity. Luckily, the company owner Lee did his military service at decided to invest 300 million Korean Won, and he was able to successfully develop several more mobile phone games. After multiple hardships, the company grew in size and is now one of the most successful companies in the Korean gaming industry.

Lee said that founding a business is a very difficult process, and it is normal for founders to fail on their first try. They must realize that the business item must satisfy the “value times mass” equation, where one or both of the terms should be maximized. Also, he emphasized the three F’s - family, fitness (being healthy), and freedom (choosing something that makes you happy). Lee also stressed that even though a business might fail, it is important to not blame the failure entirely on oneself. Founders work very hard to maintain the business, but most of the time, the failure comes from outside factors, such as luck. Lee concluded his lecture by saying that he is looking for companies or ideas worth investing in, and hopes for KAIST startups to be his target.