The so-called venture company expo wasn’t just something that Lee Hyun-woo thought about.
Today, while seeing numerous domestic and international investors, Professor Geum Sang-jun’s dreams were expanding.
‘If it’s like this, it’s much more successful than expected. Next time, we might be able to invite foreign venture companies and make it bigger.’
There were similar concept expos.
The International Consumer Electronics Show hosted by the Consumer Technology Association in the U.S.
The Berlin Radio Show, the world’s oldest industrial expo.
However, today was a bit distant from home appliances.
Of course, there were some products from Guseong Electronics and Alpha Cast near the entrance booths, but today’s expo was essentially related to information and communication.
‘That’s what makes it more special.’
Geum Sang-jun immediately looked for Lee Hyun-woo.
Having met so many people, he was here and there.
“Hyun-woo!”
Luckily, he spotted him walking with Joe Murphy and quickly called out.
“Ah, Professor.”
“If you’re not busy, just for a moment.”
“Sure.”
Lee Hyun-woo excused himself from Joe Murphy and came to Professor Geum Sang-jun.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Oh, seeing today, it seems really successful, so first, as the Dean of Science and Technology, I need to thank CEO Lee, who also serves as an advisor for the 21st Century Venture Business Association.”
“Oh, come on. The government stepped in, so the promotion went smoothly.”
“No, your contribution is really big.”
Continuing to defer the credit was a waste of time.
Geum Sang-jun quickly spoke about the future.
“But if this expo is a one-time thing, it’s a bit unfortunate, right?”
“It would be nice if it’s held regularly. And next time, we should also invite promising foreign venture companies.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
Like teacher, like student?
No, perhaps the phrase ‘surpassing the master’ fits better.
“To expand the scale, we shouldn’t limit participation to just venture companies.”
“Then mid-sized companies too?”
“We should allow large companies as well. But considering fairness, we should clearly divide the space. For example, on the first floor, venture companies looking for investors, on the second floor, mid-sized companies that have grown after receiving investments and are now launching products, and on the third floor, large companies that will lead the market. Like this.”
The floors were just an example.
If the scale grows bigger, each floor could be occupied by different companies.
Geum Sang-jun, understanding this, quickly nodded.
“It’s a good idea. As soon as today’s expo ends, we should make a plan.”
“How about aiming for the end of the year?”
“Alright, I’ll try.”
The end of 1997 was gloomy due to the IMF crisis.
It was a story from a past life.
But Lee Hyun-woo hoped that this year’s end would be different.
‘May it be filled with messages of hope for a brighter tomorrow.’
Judging by today’s atmosphere, it didn’t seem impossible.
Earlier, he noticed domestic and international investors forming partnerships with quality venture companies.
Of course, since they’re investing based on potential, the initial costs won’t be high, but depending on how things change at each stage, further investments seemed likely.
Already, Alpha Cast was planning to build a large factory to mass-produce the new MP3 player they exhibited today.
Especially, foreign investors were interested, and later, they even asked about the possibility of going public.
“We’re planning on it. We might announce it soon.”
Jung Sung-woo answered with a beaming smile.
‘Alpha Cast will be completely different from the past life.’
Personally, Lee Hyun-woo hoped it would grow as big as Sonic, which dominated the music player market.
Since it seemed to be growing to a mid-sized company level, it wasn’t impossible.
On the other hand, Guseong Electronics showcased a product that couldn’t help but capture the world’s attention: the MP3 phone.
Combining a mobile phone and a music player naturally attracted interest.
Kim Tae-hyun, feeling on top of the world as an investor and a businessman exhibiting a new product at the expo, approached Lee Hyun-woo.
“Keep your schedule open for next week.”
“Next week? Why?”
“I have something to give you.”
“What is it?”
“What you mentioned last time.”
“What I mentioned last time… Ah, the color LCD mobile phone?”
“Yes, that. But I can’t guarantee its quality. So just consider it a gift from me, and if it breaks, I’ll try to fix it.”
“Is it difficult to mass-produce?”
“Considering the production costs, very few people will be able to buy it.”
“Think differently. Make it expensive and sell it only to the wealthy worldwide.”
“Huh?”
“Why do people buy luxury items? There’s an answer in that.”
Kim Tae-hyun was momentarily stunned.
Because Lee Hyun-woo’s words were true.
If there’s a rare product that only a few can own?
‘No matter how much it costs, there will be people who want it.’
Of course, home appliances should focus on mass production.
But there’s no law saying you can’t produce limited editions like the color MP3 phone.
“I’ll use it first and see how long it takes to break.”
“Even better, testing it in a lab would be good.”
“That’s true. By experimenting with various uses, we can estimate when and where it might break. But does that mean… you plan to commercialize the color LCD MP3 phone?”
“You just gave me a hint, right? There’s no reason not to.”
“You made a wise decision. How many rich people are there in the world? Even in poor countries, dictators might want it, and newly rich oil and real estate tycoons would want to carry it. Selling it for ten thousand dollars to them wouldn’t be bad.”
Ten thousand dollars is almost ten million won with the recent exchange rate rise.
No matter how high-end a mobile phone is, ten million won is astonishing.
But it would be worth it.
“Securing such a customer base and continuously advertising new products to them wouldn’t be bad either. We’re already making PDAs.”
“Right.”
Talking with him, it was clear that Lee Hyun-woo had exceptional qualities.
The most outstanding entrepreneur was said to be one with imagination, and no one could visualize the concrete picture that Lee Hyun-woo presented.
Although Lee Hyun-woo was outstanding, it was his past life experiences that allowed him to offer such advice.
Just a while ago, Geum Sang-jun, and now Kim Tae-hyun, as he casually dropped hints, it seemed like events from his past life would unfold sooner.
Lee Hyun-woo thought.
‘Should I just reveal everything?’
To inform everyone about the conveniences of 21st-century civilization.
This wasn’t difficult either.
Because he had the famous influencer persona, Nostradamus.
Suddenly, he thought of X-Cycle, a company that conceptualized 3D printers and participated today.
In fact, Lee Hyun-woo named this printer.
After creating the 21st Century Venture Business Association, the company’s president called him,
- Is it only for information and communication sectors?
Lee Hyun-woo hesitated to answer affirmatively.
And he asked what the president was doing.
He said it was molding.
Why did he think of 3D printers at that moment?
He met with the president immediately and conveyed the concept of 3D printing technology he knew.
At that time, the president of X-Cycle said it wasn’t much different from the concept of molding.
Naturally, he recommended a 3D printer to him and promised to invest if he was interested.
The result came before this expo.
It wasn’t exactly a commercial product yet, but if they made it, it could apply cost-effective 3D printing technology to industrial mold processing.
If it evolved further, they could create affordable 3D printers for the general public.
So today, X-Cycle brought industrial molds with 3D printing technology and commercial 3D printers for the general public.
‘It will take a few more years, but it was enough to spark interest.’
Even Kim Tae-hyun, who he had just spoken with, listened to the company’s representative’s explanation with curious eyes.
By spreading the conveniences of 21st-century civilization, it was possible to see how it would evolve in any form.
‘Alright, let’s title the next column “Conveniences of Civilization That Will Delight Our Lives in the 21st Century.”’
The draft of the article was already forming in his mind.
As soon as he got home, he took out his cherished notebook and started writing various things.
Currently, it’s the period of the third industrial revolution.
Even during this period, amazing conveniences of civilization were sure to emerge, but Lee Hyun-woo went beyond time and brought out inventions of the fourth industrial revolution from his mind.
Artificial intelligence, robots, drones, autonomous driving, virtual reality, the Internet of Things, fintech, blockchain, electric vehicles, and so on.
Among these, there were many challenges for the developers of Jungle.
Especially in the case of artificial intelligence, it was related to the game his brother Lee Jung-woo was developing, so he stopped writing and went to his brother’s room.
“Jung-woo, are you busy?”
“No, it’s fine. Why?”
Originally, he was busy making games, but today, he attended the 21st Century Venture Business Expo, so Lee Jung-woo came home together.
“The game will have artificial intelligence, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“What exactly is artificial intelligence? I can’t grasp the concept.”
“Oh, that? Simply put, it’s the computer learning.”
His kind brother explained the core of artificial intelligence in detail to Lee Hyun-woo.
Of course, he avoided difficult parts and explained in an understandable way, for a simple reason.
‘It seems like my brother is up to something again.’
Indeed, after listening, Lee Hyun-woo said something interesting.
“Oh, that’s amazing. So it can learn not just text but also voice and images.”
“Of course… it can do that.”
“Then can it take voice commands?”
“Certainly. There might be places applying it already. Maybe in scientific research labs in the U.S. or Russia…”
“Right? Then there’s no law saying we can’t do it too, right?”
“By ‘we,’ you mean Jungle, right?”
“Yes, but instead of doing it alone, it’d be better to collaborate with a university.”
Suddenly, the AI assistant from a previous telecom company came to mind.
Space? What’s the weather like today?
Today’s weather will be rainy from morning due to the monsoon front…
He returned to his room and wrote Nostradamus’s column.
This column seemed like it would continue as a series.
Naturally, the first one was artificial intelligence, which he had just learned from his brother.
And he adapted the AI assistant he experienced in his past life into the column.
Perhaps those who read this column would think:
‘Isn’t this too far-fetched?’
But it would be different if Lee Hyun-woo did it.
He would somehow find a shortcut and bring it forward quickly.
