A Coffee Chat in Cheongdam

Yesterday I had a coffee chat with the two co-founders of a blockchain infrastructure startup about a "Founder's Associate" role that would focus on their expansion into the Korean market. This post isn't about the interview questions. It's about what went through my head before, during, and after.

Doubts going in

Looking at how this job application-to-interview process went, I had my doubts and skepticism about this role and company. When the reason you want to escape from a startup is their uncertainty, knowing you could literally lose your job because the startup failed to deliver on its promises, you start to question whether startups are really sustainable. I, for one, had this thought, and it's the sole reason I want to transition my career to a larger, corporate company.

For one thing, the company I'm currently at has two co-founders just like this startup, and the structure is literally identical: one co-founder heavily specialized in business & marketing, the other in technology and development. I don't know if this counts as trauma, but for some reason, I wanted to avoid that setup.

The chat itself

However, when I had the chance to talk about the role and the company's current situation and goals here in Korea, I saw a spark in it. It wasn't the typical interview I had prepared for. It felt more like a free-flowing coffee chat with clients from my B2B sales days. Although it started with a self-introduction covering my career, interests, and reason for approaching this company, I never felt nervous or uncomfortable answering and asking questions freely.

Despite both co-founders sitting across from me, they put me at ease. The coffee chat took place in a high-end coffee shop that was part of a perfume store on one of the luxury shopping streets in Cheongdam, Gangnam.

One co-founder definitely looked like he'd spent most of his life in studies, thinking about new innovations, while the other looked like he handled the business side and did most of the talking in meetings. The latter, who asked more of the questions, was generally quite chill and gentle. I could tell he had the ambition to succeed here. He had goals and plans for how to get it done, but the language and cultural barrier seemed to be something even he couldn't get a hold of.

Based on his careful explanation, the company is a blockchain infrastructure development and servicing startup with a little more than a year of experience. They mainly build their products on the Canton blockchain, a heavily privacy-focused blockchain specific to financial institutions. Their goal is to build their first use-case with a Korean financial institution for a possible shot at Series A funding. It doesn't seem like a far-fetched dream.

Why Korea?

I was curious why they chose Korea to begin with. I'm sure they were aware of how strict and difficult it is to get a hold of Korean financial institutions without direct connections to high-level executives here. The way conservative, old-fashioned institutions work is pretty much the same everywhere. He replied that with the current trend of Korean financial institutions moving toward more optimistic approaches to digital assets, this could be an opportunity to prove their existence to the world, to show they managed to get past the infamously rigorous criteria and tests of the very conservative Korean corporate culture. There is so much money to be moved within this country despite its size, population, and short history, he added.

It was interesting to see someone who has never experienced Korean work culture be so optimistic and enthusiastic about such visions, because deep down I know it's not that easy. Perhaps it's even more challenging for a startup with no proven track record behind such promises. But regardless, the idea that I could be part of a growing company from the beginning gave me hope about my own career growth and the impact it could have on my future.

The role

When I asked about the role and its scope, he described it as I had expected: despite being called "Founder's Associate," the role isn't limited to participating in meetings with Korean institutions for translation, meeting coordination, and being an intermediary between both sides. He added that I would only be limited by my own ambition and goals for what I want to achieve at this company. Based on our conversation, I would have full autonomous control over the business development strategy and operations of the company's expansion into Korea, and eventually Japan and the whole of APAC.

Looking at what the role can become and what the founders expect from the candidate, it sounds almost too promising to be true. Depending on how I do, I could become their Korea/APAC region head of BD & partnerships. That is something I've had in mind. But it also sounds like a heavy burden for someone like me who doesn't have deep BD experience, especially with giant Korean financial institutions, nor the network, capability, and motivation to match. Maybe if I look back through all the business cards I've received there could be more contacts than I think, but I do have my worries.

Could someone like me actually do this job? Am I capable? Can I deliver what they want? I have my doubts, but I also want to have confidence in myself. As for the employment type, both full-time and part-time could work, but he mentioned that starting part-time and transitioning to full-time might be better, in case this turns out to be something I don't want. I'm not entirely sure what that really means. Is he worried the role is beyond my expectations and capabilities, or is he genuinely saying it could be too overwhelming to grasp at first?

Depending on how my job hunt goes, I might actually try the part-time role and participate in a few meetings with them to experience first-hand what it's actually like. Either way, I'm open to this role, just hoping that even the part-time pay is something in my interest.

Closing thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed this coffee chat, especially being able to talk freely with two foreigners without boundaries or formalities. Maybe I just missed this kind of conversation, or maybe I wanted to find somewhere to escape to, but this opportunity has some real points of interest. Despite looking for a place that is not a startup, I seem to keep coming back to startups. I don't know why. Still, I think I'm leaning toward thinking positively about this job and company. Let's just see what final conditions they offer.