“If not for technological backwardness, my life would have been a mistake.” That’s how billionaire Kim Beom-su 김범수, South Korea’s most successful entrepreneur,

—at age 52—summed up his life in a few simple words after joining Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people.

Born to parents who did not complete advanced levels of formal education, he went on to become a legend in business and finance, with a fortune of more than $2.5 billion,

thanks to his achievements in the internet industry, a space dominated by a handful of huge conglomerates run by the “chaebol” 재벌 families.

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The beginning

Kim Beom-su grew up in abject poverty. His family of eight shared a single bedroom in a poor neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea’s capital.

His parents moved from job to job to make ends meet. In the process, he achieved a family milestone by becoming the first to attend college; he was

He tutored to earn money to help him continue his studies, graduating from the College of Industrial Engineering in 1990.

Beom-su says of his childhood: “We had to find our own way because my parents didn’t have time to take care of us, so we had a great deal of independence,

which taught me the importance of responsibility.”

The hardships Kim Beom-soo faced growing up fueled his drive to invest more in his creative potential, while remaining humble.

He has a modest office in southern Seoul.

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Kim Beom-soo began his career developing online communications services with the IT services division of global company Samsung,

but his constant desire to do better led him to leave after just five years, open an internet café, and start developing online social casino games.

Although he avoided computer games as a child, he was drawn to them as a young adult. He says, “The technological lag I experienced in my childhood helped me

develop a different personality that enabled me to figure out solutions for myself. Those games help people learn problem-solving skills by developing creative strategies,

and working with others to protect your castles, for example.”

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The first Korean gaming website

In 1998, Hangame—the first online gaming site in South Korea—attracted a large number of visitors. It was later merged with the search engine

Naver to become NHN, the dominant web portal.

Kim Beom-su worked day and night as an entrepreneur and programmer, torn between pride in his present and fear of a future fraught with the risk of failure,

and being unable to pay his employees’ salaries.

Kim—who had become president of the Korea Association of Game Industry—moved to Silicon Valley in 2005 to build his company in the United States, but discovered

It was stricter than expected, so he resigned in 2007.

As his creativity was drawing its last breath in California, he returned to South Korea with some colleagues, coinciding with the launch of the iPhone, which captured

his attention and planted the seed of hope for a new venture.

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كاكاو 

In 2010, Kim Beom-su launched KakaoTalk 카카오톡, a chat and messaging app now used by three-quarters of South Korea’s

50 million people.

In 2014, Kakao merged with Daum Communications, a competitor to Naver. The merger provided a broader budget for expanding into new business areas, including

Mobile banking and taxi services.

After launching KakaoTalk, Kim continued to devote time to his personal ambition of building 100 technology startups. Through his two venture capital firms, he had already invested in more than 70

startups.

KakaoTalk struggled to grow its user base beyond its home market and saw limited success overseas—until it gained traction in Southeast Asia.

Despite its success, the app came under scrutiny from the South Korean government, sparking considerable controversy over the monitoring of digital communications;

in 2015, it complied with South Korean authorities’ orders to monitor the messages of suspects.

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Challenges facing entrepreneurs

Kim Beom-su was keen to offer advice to young entrepreneurs, saying, “Failed experiments at small companies often lead to better outcomes in

both business and life. Entrepreneurs should therefore risk everything for what they believe in, increasing their chances of excelling through experiences that

create the right conditions for success. He also emphasized that education systems around the world constrain what he called the “creative economy.”

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جوائز

Kim Beom-su has received numerous awards throughout his career, including:

The 6th Bonnie Jeon Creativity Award in 2012.

The 22nd Daesang Award in 2013.

- Dongtan Industrial ICT Medal in 2015.

- Ranked among the world’s richest technology leaders in 2016.

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Lessons learned

1 – Failure Opens the Door to Success

Kim Beom-su says, “Failed experiences are the first seeds in the garden of your future successes. Failure is something you can learn from and use to strengthen your experience in handling challenges.”

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2 – Think Outside the Box

The economy opens up new opportunities for businesses. Entrepreneurs should turn to the creative economy, which is driven by their own ambitions and out-of-the-box thinking.

What enables them to achieve the excellence and success they deserve.

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3 – Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

Risk-taking is one of the most important qualities of entrepreneurs. It increases the chances of finding the right solutions to every problem and developing new skills that can help move your projects forward.

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