[VC Now]⑪ AUM Ventures "Women, Liberal Arts, Overseas Graduates... How We Overcame the Wall of Non-Mainstream"

25 Meetings a Week, Met Over 1000 Founders
'GoPizza', 'Peaches', 'Shiftee' and Other 'Seed Investment Experts'
"Don't Be Disappointed If You Don't Shine Immediately"

Editor's NoteVenture capitalists (VCs) nurture early-stage companies that will become the pillars of future industries at the forefront of the capital market. Although the VC industry is experiencing a downturn due to the global economic recession and high interest rates, efforts to identify and grow promising companies continue unabated. Asia Economy meets a variety of investment firms, from large-scale VCs with accumulated experience and know-how to emerging VCs, to hear about their investment strategies and stories.

"You're not from SKY (Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University), not from an engineering school, and not even a man, yet you want to work in venture capital (VC)?"

Ahn Se-yeon, CEO of AUM Ventures, is being interviewed on the 27th at SparkPlus, a shared office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

This was a question Um Se-yeon (37), CEO of AUM Ventures, was asked during an interview at a VC firm in the past. At the time, Um, who already had several years of experience as a VC analyst, found the question shocking. It was a question that could cause humiliation upon first meeting. Um said, "Looking back now, I don't think there was any bad intention; I think they were just curious and asked that question."

This illustrates how male-dominated the VC industry is. Um described it as "probably the place with the most intense 'hyung-nim culture' (senior-junior hierarchy) in Korea." Due to the industry's closed nature, networks summarized as 'hyung-nim' (older brother) and 'dongsaeng' (younger brother) are extremely important. According to the Korea Venture Capital Association, out of 224 member firms, only 7 currently have female CEOs (including co-CEOs), representing just 3.1%. A prominent female VC figure is Jung Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao (formerly CEO of Kakao Ventures). According to Um, the majority of male CEOs come from the engineering schools of Korea’s top five universities, including SKY, KAIST, and POSTECH. In contrast, Um’s background is a 'minority within a minority'?female, liberal arts (economics), and overseas-educated (University of Michigan, USA), all non-mainstream elements.

The Secret to Breaking the 3% Barrier... 25 Meetings a Week

Um first connected with the VC industry after working as an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities and then as an analyst at SparkLabs. She later worked at Big Basin Capital and Aloys Ventures before being recruited two years ago as co-CEO of AUM Ventures. AUM Ventures is the first VC established by Choi & Lee Law Firm, the first domestic law firm to set up a VC. Currently, co-CEO Choi Cheol-min oversees management, while Um is in charge of investments. Since Um is the only qualified analyst on the team, she effectively handles all investment duties. Despite the recent difficult investment environment causing challenges for emerging VCs, AUM Ventures is attracting industry attention by managing two project funds and one blind fund (a fund that raises capital without predetermined investment targets). This is due to trust in Um’s experience and reputation.

Um has 10 years of experience as an analyst this year. She has overcome countless prejudices, stereotypes, ridicule, and disregard to become one of the industry’s 3% female VC CEOs. The VC industry is a place of 'infinite competition' where better performance is demanded, and jealousy and envy run high regardless of gender. Without connections and as a non-mainstream background, Um had no choice but to differentiate herself through skill alone. "I met with founders almost every day, holding more than 5 meetings daily, over 25 meetings a week," she said. Except for meal times, it was almost all meeting time. This was to discover as many good companies as possible.

What hurt her the most while working was not disregard or prejudice but something else. Um said, "The most upsetting thing is hearing that a company I haven't met has received investment from somewhere else." This made her feel she hadn’t worked hard enough because another firm discovered and invested in the company first. She met with many founders. "I’ve never counted, but I think I’ve met over 1,000 founders so far," she said. She has never tried golf, a sport often associated with VCs. She calculated that saving that time to meet more founders was better than spending all day with a small group.

Seed Investment Is Like Marriage... The Founder Matters More Than the Industry

Her main area of interest and specialty is seed investment, which refers to investing in the early stages of ventures or startups. This is the phase called the 'valley of death,' where the business has started but is not yet profitable. Um said, "I have done later-stage investments before, but seed investing is much more fun," adding, "There is an attraction in building a close relationship with the founder and growing together, and it’s very rewarding when the company’s value rises because the business followed the advice given." Seed investors and founders have a very close bond, sometimes even communicating more than with family. The content varies. Sometimes she receives KakaoTalk messages like, "I had a great idea while drinking; what do you think?"

Um likened seed investment to "a marriage destined for divorce." Just as one carefully chooses a spouse when marrying, the top priority in investment is the founder, and the relationship ends when the investment is exited. "The most important thing is whether the founder’s temperament matches mine, and next, I do a lot of reference checks," she said. She starts by checking reputations beginning with school alumni. Due to Korea’s sensitivity to morality, personal life is also an important checkpoint, as it can be a factor that causes a sudden downfall. Networks are also important. As her VC career progressed, she gained more channels to check reputations, making the process easier.

If the founder is good, she does not discriminate by industry. Food tech startup GoPizza is a representative example. Um discovered this startup at an early stage. She was the first institutional investor in GoPizza. Um said, "There was strong opposition from my previous company at the time, and food and beverage franchises are generally not industries VCs invest in," calling it "a case that opened the door to food tech investment." GoPizza’s valuation before investment was 5 billion KRW, and its current valuation is 160 billion KRW. Starting as a food truck, GoPizza expanded overseas to India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. It was truly a 'big hit.' The internal rate of return (IRR) reached 101%.

Besides GoPizza, Shiftee and Peaches were also companies Um identified and invested in early. Their IRRs were 188% and 64%, respectively. Shiftee provides integrated workforce management solutions. Peaches, founded in LA and Seoul, is a lifestyle brand representing and leading car culture. The investment in Peaches had many twists and turns. "I explained that Supreme was their role model, but it was difficult to explain to people who didn’t even know what Supreme was," she said. Before becoming a VC CEO, there were many good companies she discovered but ultimately did not invest in because higher-ups did not approve the investment decision.

"If You Work Hard, Someone Will Recognize You... I Hope You Endure"

Um said, "There were so many companies I lost money on," adding, "Because I shared a lot of good company information with others, my nickname was 'broker'." At the seed investment stage, companies are truly unknown, so the information was valuable, but she shared it because she couldn’t invest directly. However, the effort was not entirely in vain. "Those who took the information spoke well of me to others," she said, "They said I was a really hardworking person who was good at discovering companies but unfortunately couldn’t invest myself." She received contacts after hearing good reputations and built quite a network. Choi & Lee Law Firm, which recruited her as investment head at AUM Ventures, was one of them.

When asked what advice she would give to female VC juniors, her answer was "Endure." "You may experience unimaginable situations or meet absurd people. But if your performance is good and you are recognized for your skills, someone will surely acknowledge you someday. If I had left every time I was hurt, I wouldn’t be here now. I want to tell them not to be discouraged just because they don’t shine immediately."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.