Ribodis: The freedom to stand with my body until the very end Why does humanity accept helplessness as its 'fate'? For thousands of years, humanity has built civilization by overcoming countless inconveniences. When hunger arose, we farmed, we invented wheels and airplanes to travel farther, and now, with AI, we're pushing the limits of intelligence. But one thing has been an exception: aging. As we age, our joints wear out, our muscles weaken, and we ultimately find ourselves needing the help of others to move. We have remained silent about this tragic ending, calling it "the law of nature" or "fate." However, CEO Yoon Seong-sik feels an instinctive aversion to this natural order. He describes ending his life in a bed, helpless, as "a blow to my pride" as an engineer. For him, aging is not a fate to be accepted, but rather a problem "sufficiently solvable" through technology. Rebodis, as its name suggests, is a startup that has jumped into solving this age-old challenge by 're-designing the body.' The ultimate goal: a robot that goes beyond wearables and becomes part of the body (Implant). The future envisioned by CEO Yoon isn't simply a company developing assistive devices to help seniors with knee pain. He's considering two far more disruptive options. Of these, the ultimate goal he truly aspires to is "implant robots." "To be honest, I'd love to implant a robot inside my body. Just as artificial joint replacement surgery has a satisfaction rate of over 90%, I'd like to implant artificial muscles or robots into my body to permanently extend my bodily functions." Just as Elon Musk envisions a future where humans can be customized into robots, he envisions a future where humans can be customized into robots. He recognizes the enormous hurdles of ethical hurdles and social consensus. However, he believes this is a path that must be taken, and through his current business, he is building the trust and technological assets necessary to achieve that future. A Real-World Solution: Wearable Robots as Natural as Glasses If implants are the dream of the future, the immediate reality Ribodis is trying to solve as a prelude is "wearable robots." However, their approach is completely different from that of existing competitors. While most robotics companies focus on "how much power can be exerted," Livodis focuses all its capabilities on "how comfortable it is." "For robots to succeed, they need to be like 'glasses.' Glasses are something you wear for life, but they're so comfortable you barely notice they're there. And yet, they're essential, dramatically improving your quality of life."

When will AI truly revolutionize gaming industry? Many expect AI to radically transform the gaming industry. Tech giants and startups from the US to China are attempting to integrate AI into games, and in Korea, a global gaming powerhouse, we're seeing exciting challenges like AI-native NPCs and asset generation every day. But so far, this movement hasn't shown the same level of impact as, say, "vibe coding" has in the broader software industry. There are many reasons, but a core one is this: 80% of a game—the 3D models, textures, and scenes—remains trapped in a black box that AI cannot access. True innovation begins when we build a new system from the ground up, one where AI can natively understand, modify, and place every element within a scene. It means co-creating complex AAA worlds with AI. This is the most technically difficult challenge, but it's also the one with the greatest potential impact. The team we're introducing today, Apollo Studio, has chosen to take on this seemingly impossible challenge. First meeting: 8-figure exit wasn't enough for him Our first meeting with Apollo Studio started with a LinkedIn DM. The profile of its founder, Sungmin Cho—former engineer at Goldman Sachs & Citadel, then founder of a startup which he exited for an 8-figure sum—was concise but impressive. As we'll detail, Sungmin has a massive vision to solve hard technical problems and make a truly global impact. Our first question was obvious: "You know how hard this path is. Why are you, of all people, doing another grueling venture?" An 8-figure exit signifies financial freedom for most. It's a blessing that allows you to finally do what you truly want, to be completely honest with yourself. So why go back, and with an even bigger vision? His answer was clear: the impact he's chasing is at the multi billion dollar level, and while he's grateful for his small success, it's virtually meaningless in the face of that larger goal. At the same time, this is what Sungmin truly wants to do. We learned he's a real game enthusiast who had already built a game studio back in high school. He's a player who genuinely loves games. And now, the members joining him for this massive challenge are the same top-tier developer friends he's been building and playing games with since those early days—a team bound by proven trust in both character and skill. Unyielding ambition, genuine passion for creating a next generation game engine, and a proven team to make it real—I felt we might have found the "crazy dreamer" founder that BASS is always searching for. Vision: The 'Vercel' experience for creators, an endless 'Reels' game feed for players

Brain vascular surgery is still performed by hand, using extremely precise and risky techniques. Performing vascular interventions involves threading a guidewire through the body's winding blood vessels via the thigh artery, then pushing and turning it until it reaches the precise location to remove a clot or insert a stent. This entire process requires real-time image interpretation, torque control, navigation through complex anatomical structures, and decision-making within seconds. Since even a small mistake can be life-threatening, even for neurosurgeons, " mastery" is a skill achieved only after years of repetitive training . But then, a founder emerged who was determined to fundamentally change this desperate manual process . He was CEO Kim Yun-ho . He graduated from Seoul National University's Department of Mechanical Engineering and earned his doctorate from MIT. He was a researcher who spent his entire student years relentlessly pursuing surgical robotics technology. A founder who started from a problem, not a technology CEO Kim Yun-ho has been fascinated by robotics since middle and high school, and during his undergraduate years, he developed a particular interest in surgical robots. He personally visited Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and Asan Medical Center, interviewing neurosurgeons. Through this process, he discovered that it wasn't simply a field that machines could replace, but rather a field where human error and limitations could be precisely compensated for. EVT (Endovascular Thrombectomy) , in particular , is a highly complex procedure requiring navigation through extremely narrow and tortuous cerebral blood vessels. Our goal is to make it possible for even junior doctors to perform it reliably. This is a more fundamental approach than automation. "Technology that makes people better" is CEO Kim Yun-ho's core technical philosophy. Beyond technology, as one system Magnendo's core technology is a magnetic guidewire . A polymer wire embedded with magnetic particles is remotely controlled by an external permanent magnet robotic arm. This allows for much more precise and faster targeting, even in cerebral blood vessels with complex angles and numerous branching points. What's remarkable is that all of this is accomplished without AI . It's a strategy that avoids regulatory burdens and unpredictability, focusing on engineering perfection and practicality .

For anyone dreaming of starting a business, leadership seems like a fundamental quality. Especially those who have built their careers at large companies, it seems natural that they possess leadership skills, based on the achievements they've achieved through collaboration with many people. But the kind of leadership I value in early-stage entrepreneurs is a bit different from that "traditional" leadership style. In some ways, it's almost the opposite. What is early-stage entrepreneurial leadership? Leadership, generally speaking, is the ability to listen to diverse opinions and make decisions that everyone can agree on. It's the ability to set clear goals, assign responsibilities, and lead an organization in a stable manner. But the kind of leadership I'm talking about is somewhat different. It's the kind of leadership that makes people believe in and want to join in on even the most outrageous ideas. It's the kind of leadership that motivates people to find their own path and take action, even when their goals are unclear. He's not a gentlemanly leader beloved by everyone, but rather a leader who inspires even just one person to join him in achieving his reckless dream. He's a leader who, at times, resembles Don Quixote, creating Sancho Panza, who believes in Don Quixote and runs alongside him. Image: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza We metaphorically call this kind of leadership "religious leadership ." It's leadership that leads through faith, not through words. It's the power to move people's hearts, not their minds. Why is this kind of leadership necessary? We invest in early-stage startups. And early-stage startups are always in a state of uncertainty. The product, the market, and the team's direction are constantly changing.

It's been four years since Facebook changed its name to Meta, and last year, Apple unveiled its Vision Pro, talking about the future of "spatial computing ." While the names vary—"XR," "VR," and "AR"—they all seem to point to a single future. However, for the past 10 years, this market has had an unsolved problem: the chicken-and-egg problem of content and devices. Questions like, "Technological advancement is slow because there's no content to watch," and "Who would jump into content development when devices are inconvenient and expensive?" have been rife. In fact, the biggest weakness of the Vision Pro, released last year, was The lack of a 'killer app' and a lack of content . SketchSoft is the team that is trying to tackle the Achilles' heel of this huge market, the problem of '3D content creation' . "Why is 3D still so difficult and inconvenient?" Sketchsoft's bold question. In an era where generative AI goes beyond text to create images, voices, and even videos, progress is particularly slow in the 3D/spatial field. The primary reason is the critical shortage of high-quality 3D data , and existing 3D creation tools are too difficult and time-consuming . Accumulating a large and effective 3D data base is a key competitive advantage in the AI era, but this has been blocked from the very beginning. Sketchsoft's "Feather" starts right here. It offers an intuitive tool and platform that allows users to quickly and easily draw their three-dimensional thoughts directly in 3D space, not on a 2D screen. It's like sketching on paper, but with the experience of drawing in space. It's like giving a new weapon to countless creators who have been hindered by technological barriers from expressing their ideas. A team that has been with us from the beginning and shares all the contexts In fact, my connection with SketchSoft goes back even before the company was founded. In late 2019, when CEO Yong-Kwan Kim was preparing to launch, we met once a week for business consultations and even helped him establish the company. I still vividly remember the CEO's delight at February 13, 2020, saying, "It's a date that has all three of them." And on February 20, just a week after the company was founded, we made our first investment. I've been with the team since the beginning, starting from a small study room-like office. That belief led to a follow-up investment in October 2021 with SoftBank Ventures and SV Investment. Since then, the team has been diligently working to refine the product and achieve product-market fit. Feather targets a professional audience, and the product's completeness directly impacts its usability and value proposition. Just before the results of such long-term development were about to be unveiled to the world, I met the team again at BASS Ventures and decided to invest. Having witnessed the entire process from the beginning, I was more confident in their tenacity and potential than anyone else.

Working as a VC, seeing the companies I invested in grow and expand their organizations has been incredibly rewarding, at least for me. Growth inevitably broadens the scope of my work, and it's also a process of increasing the number of people who believe in the company's growth and join in. However, at the same time , I've also witnessed a phenomenon where performance and productivity are increasingly limited compared to the ever-increasing workforce . Simply put, I haven't seen many instances where 20 people can more than double the value of the work done by 10 people (this was particularly evident during the startup investment boom of 2019-2021). As a company grows, it needs a BD to launch new businesses, a PO to lead products, and someone to take care of internal affairs. Each of these people is selected based on need, so it's only natural that they should perform their functions and the overall utility should increase exponentially. Why is it so difficult to achieve this? (Diminishing marginal utility curve across organizational scale) Before answering that question, let's address a more fundamental question: why do we gather together to work? While it seems almost instinctive for companies to hire people and work together, the inefficiencies of bringing so many people together to work are actually more numerous than you might think. The increase in the number of people within an organization inevitably leads to various problems, including communication issues, increased difficulty in aligning interests, and the issue of hiring the right people. Simply put, just because a business organization needs a function performed by humans doesn't mean it can simply hire human hands. Because humans themselves are inevitably involved, countless inefficiencies arise. (That's not my own words; it's Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company.) Back to the question, the reason we come together and work is to create exponential results as a team. Even if a single individual strives to maximize their existing performance, if they can achieve the same level of performance as 1.5 to 2 people, a team can achieve 10 times, or even 100 times that. I believe this is why we create and work within the "organization" known as a company. It's especially essential for startups, which must achieve maximum results with a small team. In fact, the 10-to-20-person organization discussed earlier shouldn't double its performance. Even if the number of employees doubles, the team must generate exponential results by generating 10- or 100-fold performance. Otherwise, there's no point in working together. The 'religion' that the organization believes in Saying that working together is inefficient, yet then insisting that collective work should produce exponential results, sounds contradictory at first. However, there's a clear way to break through this paradox: "believing in the same thing." In other words, it involves establishing a religion or doctrine that all members of the organization share . While we might call this a mission or vision, I'll use the term "religion" (though this might be misleading).

Solomon Labs is an AI startup that aims to automate tax processes. Solomon Labs CEO Lee Ki-kyung's vision to "make every accountant in America use Solomon Labs to file their taxes" sounds a bit bold at first. But after hearing his story firsthand, I quickly realized that his words weren't just aspirations, but a goal driven by action. Solomon Labs isn't your typical B2B SaaS; it's a project born from one man's obsession with redesigning the maze of tax law using AI . Sharp execution built on experience In our first meeting, he explained what he wanted to do with great order and logic and structure, and whenever a question was asked, he gave a clear and unwavering answer. Knowledge graph in action (Source: Medium) The company began in late 2023, initially building a knowledge graph-based tax law research engine. However, after months of market exploration, they realized the opportunity lay in tax filing automation. Their official product launch in late 2024 and their $1M ARR in just five months were no accident. This was the result of daily client meetings, CPA team development, and relentless market research. A carefully designed go-to-market strategy CEO Lee Ki-kyung's most outstanding ability is his ability to accurately grasp the essence of business and act accordingly .

In the previous article, “What is an Entrepreneur’s ‘Ambition’?”, we discussed why BASS became obsessed with the word “ambition” and how ambition is connected to the nature of an entrepreneur . In this article, we will go one step further and discuss why BASS Ventures considers ‘ambition’ as the first investment criterion and what the specific form of ‘ambition’ we invest in looks like . Ambition is not innate No matter how smart you are or how great your abilities are, nothing will happen if you don't take action. Intelligence is innate, but ambition is a mindset you choose. Ambition that begins with the inner belief that “I am a better person”, “I am a greater person” It makes you repeat the loop of [run → fail → learn → overcome] over and over again, and that repetition ultimately leads to success. BASS does not simply invest in founders with good ideas or technologies. We are looking for entrepreneurs who can innovate large markets and create sustainable growth. One of the most important factors at this time is ambition . Everyone wants something. I think that when it goes beyond the personal and instinctive level and becomes a constant pursuit of some social value, it becomes an ambition. “Everyone wants to be rich, eat good food, and live in a nice place, but I think the density of what each person wants is a little different. “Some people really want it like crazy, and some people just seem to want it.” (From the BZCF podcast Luke Lee (CEO))

For some teams, even the term “persistent execution” can feel like a dull rhetoric. Today, I’m going to talk about Doit and its CEO, Lee Yoon-seok, the only startup that came into the base and invested in through persuasion rather than pressure. First meeting, January 2023 In January 2023, I first met CEO Lee Yoon-seok through an acquaintance’s introduction. At the time, the Doit team was working on a ‘delivery app without delivery fees’ centered around Gwanak-gu. I was curious whether this was a viable business model in the delivery app market monopolized by large corporations, so I asked him a lot of questions from the first meeting. I could sense the depth of the CEO's concerns and strong passion as he answered, but I don't think I could really understand the current business plan at the time. More than anything, I thought that it would be really painful and difficult to execute it well. But in fact, all problems that startups solve are like that. After talking with the CEO, I went home, but I don't know why, but I think I had a thought, 'If it's a team led by this person, it seems like they can do it.' It means that a happy day is not something that just happens, but something that each person actively creates. At that time, I was invited to Doit's weekly meeting and Slack(!) held every Sunday. I was quite surprised that they would disclose the key indicators that the company considered important and the communication and execution results of each squad without any filtering. It was a very impressive moment to this day because it made me realize how serious they were about recruiting talent and how confident they were in their work methods. Doit's weekly meeting started with CEO Lee Yoon-seok sharing his vision and mission, and proceeded by sharing the OKRs and progress of the week for each squad. Even though it was still an early stage team, it was very performance-oriented and data-driven, and the reflection on actions and results was easy to understand and clear even for outsiders, which was impressive. But more than anything, the boiling enthusiasm and immersion of all members was particularly memorable. Doit, we meet again, August 2024 Spring 2024, Baemin and Coupang Eats Declare Free Delivery

Medical AI is a medtech startup that uses deep learning technology to solve medical diagnosis problems. Compared to Lunit, a well-known domestic AI medtech leader, there are differences in the data handled and target diseases. While Lunit pursues early diagnosis and conquest of cancer by analyzing imaging medical images through AI, Medical AI aims to early diagnosis and management of various heart diseases, including heart failure, based on electrocardiogram data. A bold and grand dream Before I met Medical AI, I had some skepticism about electrocardiogram-based AI diagnostic solutions. This is because domestic and foreign companies, including Anumana, have attempted to commercialize similar technologies, but have not achieved any significant results. However, as soon as I met CEO Kwon Jun-myung, this sense of skepticism turned into anticipation. When you work in startup investment, you often say that you are ultimately investing in 'people', and I felt that CEO Kwon Jun-myung was a representative example of someone I "want to invest in . " Medical AI CEO Kwon Jun-myeong (Image: Medipo News) “If 1 trillion won doesn’t work, you can create a 10 trillion won or 50 trillion won company.” When I first met CEO Kwon Jun-myeong, he explained his business in a soft and calm tone, but I could immediately tell that there was tremendous conviction and confidence underneath. He was a typical person who was soft on the outside but strong on the inside. Usually, when founders talk about their goals, they feel awkward about presenting big goals or they often use somewhat exaggerated expressions. However, CEO Kwon Jun-myeong was different. When we pointed out that the company is old and has a complex share structure, even if it becomes a unicorn in the future, it may not be able to guarantee satisfactory results for the founding team members, his expression did not change at all and he immediately replied, "Really? If it doesn't work out at 1 trillion, then you can make a company worth 10 trillion or 50 trillion." I could feel his well-founded confidence from this. What makes his story so powerful is that he doesn’t just present the direction of the company, but also implements specific goals and action plans . CEO Kwon Jun-myeong boldly and confidently conveyed his vision of making 5% of the world’s population able to experience Medical AI’s diagnostic solutions by the end of next year . Medical AI's Vision (Source: Medical AI)

“Insatiable ambition” It's a word that's displayed in large letters on the website of BASS Ventures, but it's a really difficult and ambiguous word. We have thought deeply and discussed internally about the question that founders always ask, "What kind of founders does BASS Ventures invest in?" There are so many good things and good words in the world that it was harder to decide what the absolute essential elements were, and this is the word that remained after a long conversation. “Ambition” It sounds really good, but it's an abstract word. Let me tell you what it is and how it connects with the entrepreneurs Bass is looking for. The Paradox of Diminishing Marginal Utility Created by Small Successes Just a pleasant imagination: Let's assume that the company I created is generating billions of dollars in revenue per year, and that I can sell it for hundreds of billions of won if I want to and cash it out. In such a situation, anyone can predict to some extent the economic rewards that will be given to me. In such a situation, the question, 'Can I be more destructive and persistent in wanting growth?' will be a concern for us. (If you have no worries at all even after imagining this, you should come to BASS Ventures right now!) This kind of worry is not strange or bad. Rather, it is extremely normal. Because the amount of money needed for humans to lead a rich life cannot help but converge to the law of diminishing returns . To put it simply, no matter how much money you have, you can't wear five pairs of shoes at once or go to a Michelin restaurant six times a day. The more accumulated performance, the smaller the increase in utility.

The moment when I feel the greatest joy while making an early investment is when the founder I invested in grows at an insanely fast pace . Earlier this year, Pickle, which is comprised of peers in their mid-20s and attracted investment from leading ultra-early funds such as YC and NfX in the US, is expected to have some great history or experience, but in fact, it does not. So how did they create an attractive AI service and receive investment from top US VCs? That's because CEO, Daniel Park and co-founders of Pickle have built lessons based on the highest level of ambition and very fast execution , and at least among the startup teams I've seen recently, they've grown the fastest within a unit period . It's a truly overwhelming slope. Team entry, first meeting Pickle's pre-incorporation code name was Team Entry, and I first got to know them on March 22, 2024. Heejin Kim, a senior manager at Korea Investment Partners, shared the Team Entry introduction page with me, saying , "I've found a team that hasn't even been incorporated yet, but I think you'll like it." It felt a lot like Team Runners or Unboxers, which I had invested in before. The team name, which was explained as (n * try = entry) because they constantly try, was aiming for a global business that could grow to a scale of over 1,000 trillion won , and the co-founders had an agreement between shareholders in the form of a 15-year cliff lockup. “Daniel Park, Kim Ki-hyun, Yoo Ho-jin, Jeong Sang-yeop, and Kang Ye-gang gathered together with the goal of creating a big impact (1 billion DAU, 1000 trillion won company). Based on the infinite runway based on a lifestyle that matches one’s passion and job and the confidence that one can draw a fast learning curve in all domains, we have built Lesson Run while maintaining the following perspectives on the vague keywords of AI, Consumer, and Social.” (Team introduction page shared with excitement) Team Entry's Daniel Park, whom I met for the first time, had just established a corporation a week ago. He had gone to Kyunghee University School of Medicine, but he had a greater desire to make a big impact by changing the world, so he took a leave of absence, and he was living at Seoul National University Station with co-founders born in the 2000s and creating various services. But honestly, after meeting them for the first time, my expectations were a little lower. At the time, Team Entry was developing a service that would connect doctors and mothers one-on-one because the pediatric crisis was a big social issue, but I wasn’t sure if it would do well from a market perspective, and since they had little experience in product development/hypothesis verification overall, I thought they would have a hard time going forward. But there were some memorable things. First of all, his eyes were a bit crazy, and he had a crazy yet kind feeling, and after the meeting, he created a team entry-base group chat room and asked me and Luke Lee (CEO) to frequently ask questions and get feedback . This was a typical attitude of an entrepreneur who is full of desire to succeed while leaving shyness behind , and from our point of view, there is no better way to review investments than to spend a long time and understand how the team works, so we were very excited and agreed. (Team Entry's appearance, sharing many transparent processes and concerns) Pivots and Lesson Learns I was fortunate enough to watch the early execution history of Team Entry for about 4 months. They quickly pivoted from the doctor-parenting mom service and continued to try new things in the global social/dopamine category. In fact, this is a field that I actively reviewed and invested in, but even very smart and capable teams were struggling more than expected, and I was worried because I had seen many cases where 0 to 1 product/metric success did not lead to 1 to 10 business growth. I also thought that the items they had selected were too short-term trends or had a narrow user base. They were things like walkie-talkies between close friends or plotting contests between peers. I kept talking to the team through chat and visited their office and dormitory, but it didn't seem like it would become a sustainable, large-scale business. However, what was very impressive during the process was that co-founder Jeong Sang-yeop gathered 310,000 Instagram followers in just one month, and he used that account as a basis for selecting new services or as a channel to promote new services. Account that gained over 300,000 followers in one month: @blick.day1

"Making crazy dreams great" This is the slogan of BASS Ventures. It embodies our philosophy of "focusing solely on helping the most brilliant and crazy founders create great companies." So how does __T15467_____ contribute to creating great companies? BASS Ventures's Growth Team BASS Ventures operates not only an Investment Team that discovers crazy entrepreneurs, but also a Growth Team that plays a direct role in the growth of startups. This is because our goal is to ' go beyond simply investing in excellent entrepreneurs and help them achieve the world they dream of more quickly.' The growth team, led by __T15470_____ Luke Lee (CEO), co-founder of Toss, is comprised of the following people: EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) program consisting of unicorn entrepreneurs from various domains such as fintech, platform, AI, and deep tech Global Growth Partner, providing assistance to startup teams wishing to expand into the global market, including the US Talent Acquisition Specialist who helps startups with recruitment and organizational management Each member of the Growth Team takes the lead and provides 1:1 coaching and support tailored to each founder's stage, as well as practical assistance in strategic judgment and important execution moments for founders through various activities such as seminars, open sessions, and networking events. BASS Ventures Open Session where band leaders share their concerns and experiences (Photo: B2B sales session hosted by Dan Shin (Partner))

Leaflyze, the future of sewing changed by a crazy entrepreneur “No, you still make dolls by hand?” When you invest, you sometimes come across scenes that are hard to believe. We live in an era where AI makes movies and robots serve customers at restaurants. In garment factories, many people still sew all day long. Seriously, by hand. Among the 'food, clothing, and shelter', 'clothes' are distributed, resold, and washed, etc. This is a field where startups and unicorns are constantly emerging. But how clothes are actually made remains the same as before. Design → Pattern making → Cutting → Sewing. These four steps are still done manually, one by one. Create a pattern with a designer's intuition, cut the fabric with scissors, and sew it with a sewing machine. The results of that creation are the clothes we wear every day, the dolls we hug, and the bags we carry around. Dolls made by Leaflyze “Can’t we automate this?” The question was simple, but the beginning was difficult. The sewing industry has been a blind spot for automation. Fabrics are crumpled, folded, stretched, and even dried. The physical properties of each material are different, and the tension is different when pulled horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. For a machine to handle this, a truly enormous amount of data is needed. Leaflyze sees that distant future and is accumulating data one by one from now on.

On the diverse rise and fall of companies The rise and fall of companies is always an interesting story, not just when it comes to startups. There are so many cases — like the once-mighty film camera company that collapsed with the advent of digital cameras; a firm started by a founder with a legendary backstory, expected to struggle after his death, only to continue thriving for over a decade; or a company that created the revolutionary GUI but failed to capitalize on it, watching as another company succeeded instead. There’s a whole world of stories out there. Source: The CDO TIMES, WallpapersOK, Xataka There are so many different cases that it’s hard to generalize about why companies rise and fall. Especially when it comes to the market, the macro environment, or, to use a less technical term, plain old “luck”—these all play a big part too. But I think things get a bit clearer if we focus on two key traits of startups we VCs usually encounter. First, we invest mainly in “compact organizations”—in other words, pretty much all the companies VCs back are likely to be small and early-stage. Second, we take a “long-term view” when investing. Since we focus on unlisted, early-stage companies, we’re pretty much bound to hold our positions for at least 4 to 5 years. Put it together, and this is really a story about the mid- to long-term rise and fall of relatively small, early-stage companies. A graph BASS Ventures believes in Given this standard of “mid- to long-term rise and fall of relatively small, early-stage companies,” To cut straight to the chase, I believe in the graph below. To explain, the red line might represent the ever-changing company valuation (which naturally goes up and down for early startups), or quantitative lagging indicators the company produces (like revenue top line, service metrics, and the like). Of course, you’d wish this was always a lovely upward—straight or even exponential—line. But having it actually play out that cleanly is like wishing a drama plot would unfold in real life. At least for me, I don’t make investments imagining such a scenario. A ton of internal and external factors play into those fluctuations.

This article was contributed to the 'That Time Investing (I Decided to Invest Then)' column by the Chosun Ilbo reporters who know a bit. [Yongjae Kim of Nori and the Logistics Startup] At the end of 2021, I joined Base Investment as an investment reviewer. After working at LINE and Google and moving into VC, the types of companies I most wanted to invest in could be summed up as B2C, global, and software. Those were the fields I had observed, learned, and thought about, and I didn’t have much interest or confidence in businesses that require high fixed costs or need economics managed and forecasted in great detail. Especially after six months into the job, the overall investment market rapidly cooled, and seeing existing logistics startups both large and small struggle, the idea that I would invest in a logistics startup never even crossed my mind. At least, not until I met CEO Yongjae Kim. In September 2022, Partner Junyeol Kang at Base posted a message on Slack with a deck. “This is a new company founded again by Yongjae Kim, who started Nori. Anyone interested?” Base, by structure, is actually the opposite of other VCs: even the CEO or a partner can’t proceed with a deal directly without a reviewer. If no one replies to that message within a week, it is considered internally dropped. I already knew the education startup Nori, and I was drawn in by the fact that the founder was a serial entrepreneur, so I opened the deck. But it turned out to be a logistics business. 'Why?' I was honestly quite surprised by Deliverus at first, because I couldn't imagine that a founder who had sold his education software company to Daekyo would, in such tough times, start again with a logistics business that requires so much capital. [Making All Parcels Fast Delivery] But the problem they set out to solve was intriguing. The Korean parcel market grows by double digits every year, reaching 8 trillion won in sales and 4.9 billion shipments—a massive market. Of this, Coupang's fast delivery only covers about 20% by volume; the remaining 80% use regular couriers. The idea was to offer rocket/same-day delivery solutions to this remaining 80%. Making all parcels as fast as Coupang? Of course that would be great. But does it make sense? If it were as easy as it sounds, why don’t the existing couriers do it? I met CEO Yongjae Kim with these questions in mind. The typical process for collecting and delivering parcels involves a combination of various agencies and terminals. There are all sorts of interests involved in this process, and since it took a very long time and a lot of money to build this system, for existing courier companies, it’s not that easy to just change things. That’s also why there’s a recurring meme about parcels getting stuck at Okcheon Hub (it’s worth a Google—lots of funny stuff comes up). But the gist was, by handling only small parcels (clothes, cosmetics, books, etc.)—which make up 80% of total volume—filling up trucks to the max, using highly efficient sorters and spaces optimized for small goods, then applying an AI-based route optimization algorithm (AI deep learning dynamic clustering) every day based on client shipping info and local data, and executing efficient last mile delivery—that would work. With this, there'd be no need for huge, complex facilities, equipment, trucks, or processes, and both fixed and variable costs would be low enough to match current courier prices but still offer same-day delivery, even with room for profit. But the CEO explained all this so clearly and gently during our first meeting that, honestly, I wasn’t that convinced. I kept thinking there had to be a flaw somewhere and it couldn’t possibly be so easy. That’s how things stood for a few days. Deliverus' Gwangju Logistics Hub

On February 7, 2022, not long after I linked the inbound investment review to Slack, we received a review request from a company called 'LLHR Co., Ltd.' Pushing aside the odd corporate name, I read on to see a very young team—including three graduates of Minjok Leadership Academy—with the ambition to revolutionize the secondary luxury goods market, starting with luxury goods repair. That is how my first connection with the Pappys team began. Despite the small scale of luxury repair, the team's near-zero experience, and sometimes clumsy communication, the CEO's big dream, audacity (or forearm muscle), and their constant growth during the review process made me think, 'I want to be with this team in five years.' After investment review, there was a bit of drama during closing, with the CEO considering funding from others besides Bass, but fortunately, believing us when we said 'We'll be the most helpful shareholders for Pappys' growth,' we've now been together for about a year and a half. But things didn’t go as smoothly as expected. We focused on branding before the product was fully developed, and with no real experience in building a product, our pace of improvement was slow, some co-founders left, and growth stalled. Honestly, in cases like this, most VCs start lowering their expectations, because with limited resources, it’s more effective to focus on portfolio companies with greater potential, both in sourcing and managing after investment. And to be frank, even if you try to care and help, it easily turns into mere nagging. That was Pappys. When I had my New Balance product repaired two weeks ago, I was genuinely delighted to see how much the product experience had improved since my initial investment. The team quickly crafted a revenue model in just a few weeks and hit break-even point, while countless competitors dropped out of the market. Little by little, the team’s sense of inferiority faded and was replaced by confidence, as they get ready to take on what lies beyond repairs. So, what changed? When the growth of our investee team stalled, what set BASS apart was its roster: including Growth Partner Lee Tae-yang, HR Manager __T82985_____, leading growth advisors from unicorn startups, and management who have run startups firsthand—in other words, bassists. In this post by Papiss CEO Kim Jeongmin, we share how these 'bassists' have been playing in harmony for our VIP 'vocalists.' Before we begin—The mysterious name 'LLHR Co., Ltd.' stands for 'Low Risk High Return.' I am sure the team will make it happen. [The story of Pappys, who turned profitable after meeting a VC who matched words with action] Everyone can talk big and sound flashy. But at the end of the day, what matters is whether your words and actions truly match. Being consistent between words and actions is even more crucial for startups and VCs. Just as startups must gradually turn their vision into reality, I believe VCs, too, need to prove their investment beliefs and vision through real decisions and post-investment management. "If startups are the vocalists, then we are the bassists. We aim to be the partner who provides vocalists with the very best rhythm and groove."

This article was written by our intern, Chanwoong Park, who has worked with us for the past six months. Chanwoong led the college student support project with genuine passion for entrepreneurship, and his thoughtful research always impressed not only us, but also the startup teams working with us. We sincerely thank Chanwoong Park for the tremendous help he gave us. Does that make sense? Can you really do it? This is what someone once said to me, when I was dreaming of starting my own business. I’ve had ambitions and goals for entrepreneurship since high school. During my military service, I formed a team with five fellow KAIST students and spent a year and a half taking on a startup challenge. I used every bit of free time—personal breaks, holidays, going out, overnight leaves—to develop a construction equipment sharing platform and technology, and even tested it in the real market. But the things people said to me during that process cut deep. As I kept wondering, 'Am I really able to do this right now?', my confidence gradually faded. But what I heard at Base was different. More important than a startup item is who does it and how. More important than your current ability is how big a dream you have, and how relentlessly you chase after it. The words of CEO Yunho Shin from Base struck a deep chord with me. Working with an organization like Base convinced me that I could really grow, so I applied for an internship. Thankfully, I joined the investment team as an intern right after completing my military service. What meant the most to me over the past six months was having the initiative and leading the <University Student Entrepreneur Support Project>. What we believe Base believes that even greater college student entrepreneurs will emerge from Korea going forward. College entrepreneurs might lack hands-on experience, organizational background, and social capital. It's an inherent disadvantage. But what they have in abundance is passion and energy. They pursue challenges outside conventional wisdom. They're instinctively attuned to new trends. Most of all, they dare to have big dreams, dreams that may seem unrealistic to others. And they can immerse themselves with persistence to achieve those ambitious goals. From the perspective of ‘who does it and how’, Base believes that college entrepreneurs have the potential for tremendous growth. Base wants to be there from the very first step with college entrepreneurs, and grow alongside them. Just as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had Sheryl Sandberg (a working mom of two who introduced the ad business model to Facebook when it had no revenue model, and turned it into a profitable company), and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had Eric Schmidt (the guiding adult who helped transform Google from a small startup into the world’s top mobile firm), we want to become a social asset and a strong supporter to college entrepreneurs, helping where they're lacking.

If you were to pick the hottest theme in the global stock market recently, you couldn't leave out 'robots'. As labor shortages and rising labor costs worsen worldwide, demand for robots, a representative form of automated equipment, has begun to explode. Advances in element technologies such as AI and sensors, as well as the continued decline in robot prices, are also driving solid demand. Now, we can say that 'the era has arrived where companies must use robots to survive.' Contoro Robotics (hereinafter referred to as 'Contoro'), located in Austin, Texas, USA, is an early-stage startup that is following this trend. It solves the labor shortage in labor-intensive industries such as logistics, agriculture, and service industries by utilizing artificial intelligence robot arms and teleoperation technology. So, what do you mean by why you shouldn't invest? Here are five reasons why you shouldn't invest in Contoro. And there are also reasons why you should invest in it anyway. 5 Reasons Why You Should Not Invest High difficulty domain There is a saying that 'If you want to invest well, you should invest in a field that you know well'. The first domain that Contoro chose was the US logistics industry. US (physically distant) + logistics industry (especially container/truck unloading) + robotics (plus AI and teleoperation combined) = How many people in Korea know these three things well? I can confidently say that it is a very small minority. (First of all, it wasn't me ㅠㅠ) A strong competitor As the market is large, fierce competition is expected. There are companies such as Boston Dynamics, a robotics company with a long history, and Pickle Robot, an MIT spin-off startup. They have been developing an unloading robot for 2-3 years and are finally on the verge of commercialization. Underdog Compared to its strong competitors, Contoro is a clear underdog. First of all, it is a startup led by a Korean founder. It would be difficult to say that it is 'advantageous' in the US (especially in fundraising). Today, many Korean founders are making meaningful achievements in Silicon Valley and other places, but there are still not many Korean companies listed on NASDAQ. Solutions not yet proven The team must validate the hypothesis through PoC and commercialize it. The robots will perform tasks in the irregular environment of the distribution center, and sometimes the operator will have to control multiple robots remotely. It is very likely that unexpected problems will be encountered during this user journey. It will not be an easy journey. The stock market is too hot(?)

For years, SpaceX has been the startup boasting the highest corporate value worldwide. Its standing remains firm despite fluctuations in the market. A company led by the remarkable founder and manager Musk, setting groundbreaking and rapid milestones in the cutting-edge field of rocket technology. Although SpaceX is in the lead, no one can say for sure if they'll be the ultimate winner in the space industry. Achieving stability and reasonable costs will require immense technological advancement. Real commercialization only starts from there, so right now, this is more of a preparatory phase for a major business. I think that's why even contemporary giants like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have dedicated their remaining years to the field of space—they've spotted limitless business opportunities in this very context. Here in Korea, we've decided to dip our toes into the space industry by investing in early-stage startups. At first glance, it might seem like a reckless attempt, but that's actually far from the truth. If a good investment is a combination of high probability and big impact, I'm convinced this one ticks many boxes for being a truly great investment. First, it's due to the unique historical context of manufacturing and the distinctiveness of Korea itself; second, I'm confident that CEO Jaehong Park is an exceptional founder capable of carrying this vision. From the Industrial Revolution through the era of Fordism, mass production through large-scale capital and engineering efficiency has become a mainstream paradigm across most industries. Naturally, the companies leading this paradigm topped corporate value in their day—Rockefeller's Standard Oil, Carnegie’s US Steel, Ford, Edison’s GE—but scarcely any have kept that throne a century on. Change in technology, management, and new markets has flung open the window of opportunity to latecomers, and founders overflowing with skill and determination have seized it. The rise of China since the 2000s, especially, demonstrates just how much manufacturing hegemony still matters even in the Internet age. But calling Korea and its companies just bystanders in all this really doesn’t do them justice. In most manufacturing industries, Korean firms are still among the global top tier, excelling at catching up fastest even in environments where capital and technology were nearly absent. In short, the growth of modern industry can be seen as the West’s success blossoming in the East, and Korea is now confidently center stage in this ‘economics of catching up’. Today, the space industry is one of the hottest fields in the West, and I believe the same catch-up dynamics could play out here. The reason for this is people. Above all, it’s people who turned the catch-up myth into reality—entrepreneurs of exceptional vision and outstanding talent who’ve made impossible missions come true. Stories like Chung Ju-yung winning a major shipbuilding contract with just a turtle ship-printed banknote as leverage when there wasn’t even a proper shipyard, and building and delivering the ship entirely with borrowed funds, or Lee Byung-chul who bridged a 30-year tech gap in semiconductors—an industry where the gap doubles every two years—using only talent, are all familiar to us. But to outsiders, wouldn’t these sound like hallucinations?