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Personally, as a VC reviewer, the words I least want to hear are 'community' and 'SNS'. This is especially the case when the answer to how this service will evolve is one of those two. Above all, it's because there are hardly any success stories. And the reasons for countless failures seem pretty clear.
There are already established communities like Daum and Naver Cafes, and users still find value in those spaces. While there may be some minor inconveniences, unless a new service creates overwhelming value that changes these entrenched usage habits, users have no reason to bear the 'switching cost.'
It's also extremely difficult. Even though Google isn't #1 in Korea, the SNS space is firmly held by global big tech companies like Meta.
You need a value proposition that can surpass the massive network effects they've already built, and you'll need enormous capital as well.
And, if the service itself offers enough value, the business model wouldn't need to depend on the community either.
You need a value proposition that can surpass the massive network effects they've already built, and you'll need enormous capital as well.
And, if the service itself offers enough value, the business model wouldn't need to depend on the community either.
All things considered, saying 'community' or 'SNS' sounds like a naive excuse that comes up when the service itself isn't compelling enough.
Paradigm Shift had just launched a community service called 'Heroines' themed around 'Moms' Health and Exercise,' and that's about when I learned about the service and the CEO. But when I first heard about Paradigm Shift, what intrigued me far more than thinking 'another community?' was CEO Nam Yoon-sun herself. That's because, during her time at Remember, she was a PO who clearly contributed to dramatically boosting company value by creating and activating the Remember community.
Having used Remember for a long time, I saw firsthand how the community feature integrated into the existing product, and I found that both remarkable and impressive.
Having used Remember for a long time, I saw firsthand how the community feature integrated into the existing product, and I found that both remarkable and impressive.
Knowing just how hard it is to build a real community from scratch and turn it into a viable business—and how many founders and teams have been discouraged by that challenge—only made me more curious. At our first meeting, the CEO wasn’t considering investment, but just that brief conversation made it clear how seriously she and the team were committed to the business.
Even the other key members were people who had worked together on the community service at Remember.
They were clearly launching a sort of serial startup, leaving behind the comfort of a successful venture and relying on the know-how they'd built up during that success. Confident that we wouldn’t waste time on 'community discourse,' I suggested that we work together to fill in the current gaps, and the CEO gladly welcomed BASS as a partner.
They were clearly launching a sort of serial startup, leaving behind the comfort of a successful venture and relying on the know-how they'd built up during that success. Confident that we wouldn’t waste time on 'community discourse,' I suggested that we work together to fill in the current gaps, and the CEO gladly welcomed BASS as a partner.
It's still at a very early stage, but I'm energized by seeing the team's ambitious efforts to test out different hypotheses and find the best way forward from a user's perspective. I believe Heroines' journey to becoming 'The Community' has only just begun. It's a tough mission, but I'm confident that this team will find the right answer, so I'll be cheering them on every step of the way!
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