Bakatio: BASS Ventures Focus Check Review
Category
- Band stories
Written by
Son Yang (Director)
Date
Jul 11, 2025
"Making crazy dreams great"
This is the slogan of BASS Ventures.
It embodies our philosophy of "focusing solely on helping the most brilliant and crazy founders create great companies." So how does __T15467_____ contribute to creating great companies?
BASS Ventures's Growth Team
BASS Ventures operates not only an Investment Team that discovers crazy entrepreneurs, but also a Growth Team that plays a direct role in the growth of startups. This is because our goal is to ' go beyond simply investing in excellent entrepreneurs and help them achieve the world they dream of more quickly.'
The growth team, led by __T15470_____ Luke Lee (CEO), co-founder of Toss, is comprised of the following people:
•
EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) program consisting of unicorn entrepreneurs from various domains such as fintech, platform, AI, and deep tech
•
Global Growth Partner, providing assistance to startup teams wishing to expand into the global market, including the US
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Talent Acquisition Specialist who helps startups with recruitment and organizational management
Each member of the Growth Team takes the lead and provides 1:1 coaching and support tailored to each founder's stage, as well as practical assistance in strategic judgment and important execution moments for founders through various activities such as seminars, open sessions, and networking events.
BASS Ventures Open Session where band leaders share their concerns and experiences
(Photo: B2B sales session hosted by Dan Shin (Partner))
(Photo: B2B sales session hosted by Dan Shin (Partner))
Today, we will introduce the Focus Check* session, one of the main activities of the BASS Ventures Growth Team, and share with you a vivid review of the session by the CEO of BASS Ventures, Hyunjun Bacatio, who is actually a member of the band (portfolio) company.
* Focus Check Session: This is a 1:1 interview session conducted with the founder/founding team and Luke Lee (CEO) over 2-3 times. It is a process focused on defining key tasks and clearly setting priorities for execution through interviews with the representative and leadership so that our team can focus on the most important issues.
Before that, bakatio?
Bakatio is a startup that operates 'Finehost', an all-in-one D2C solution for accommodation providers. CEO Ji Hyun-jun is a founder who never hesitates to talk about his crazy dream of creating a global travel company bigger than Airbnb.
In July 2024, when BASS Ventures's Luke Lee (CEO) and Son Yang (Director) visited the Madman Hall,
As soon as CEO Hyun-Jun Bacatio, whom I met for the first time, arrived, he stood for 20 minutes and explained his crazy dream.
It was a Friday night drinking party, and then he went right back to work.
As soon as CEO Hyun-Jun Bacatio, whom I met for the first time, arrived, he stood for 20 minutes and explained his crazy dream.
It was a Friday night drinking party, and then he went right back to work.
❤️❤️❤️
Bakatio Focus Check: Conversations with BASS Ventures Luke Lee (CEO)
"BASS VENTURES, an investment firm that helps crazy dreams become great."
When I first heard this, the following thoughts came to my mind:
•
"Can we expect investors to play a role other than FI?"
•
"Even if he was a co-founder of Toss... If Toss was a sport called soccer, we are in a completely different business like basketball, so just like Messi cannot be the best basketball player, would it really be of much help to the company's operations?"
In the end, I met Base with half doubt and half curiosity, wondering, "Will it really help?" (I guess that's the case for most entrepreneurs?)
After 6 months my conclusion is "It's true, it's crazy . "
Now, let's unpack this seemingly hopeless conclusion one by one.
Now, let's unpack this seemingly hopeless conclusion one by one.
__
What is the most important thing for an entrepreneur?
There may be many answers, but I think it's "colleagues." After all, a company is a group of people who have gathered for a common goal, and it also comes from the value that people are the most important.
I think that colleagues are the most important people in life, similar to family, in terms of the type of people we spend time with .
Ultimately, if we think about the fact that human relationships are formed when we share common interests and common time zones, our colleagues are the ones with whom we spend most of the day sharing our perspectives on the work we do and our views on life.
Ultimately, if we think about the fact that human relationships are formed when we share common interests and common time zones, our colleagues are the ones with whom we spend most of the day sharing our perspectives on the work we do and our views on life.
From that perspective, I think Bass is an investor who wants to become a colleague.
Although I received a lot of help after investing, it was the Focus Check with Luke Lee (CEO) that helped me complete this idea.
This is also something that Son Yang (Director) thankfully made room for first. (Personally, the reason I think he is a colleague with excellent bass is because he suggests what is needed first, not in a push-oriented manner, but in a pull-oriented manner.)
This is also something that Son Yang (Director) thankfully made room for first. (Personally, the reason I think he is a colleague with excellent bass is because he suggests what is needed first, not in a push-oriented manner, but in a pull-oriented manner.)
__
So, at 10 AM on March 21, 2025, I greeted __T15486_____ of Base at the PMK building where Base is located. While going up the elevator, I thought for a moment, "What would the co-founder of Toss be like? Would he be a monster?" Then, he smiled so kindly and said a word.
"Welcome"
From that conversation, we started talking about the company.
The story was a way of answering questions prepared by Taeyang. But most Q&As feel like boxing, but Q&As with Taeyang felt like dancing together . Sharing each other's thoughts, and the process of exchanging those thoughts itself created harmony, so I didn't realize how much time had passed. Personally, I think the most enjoyable conversations are the ones where I learn while talking, and that was the case throughout the time.
The story was a way of answering questions prepared by Taeyang. But most Q&As feel like boxing, but Q&As with Taeyang felt like dancing together . Sharing each other's thoughts, and the process of exchanging those thoughts itself created harmony, so I didn't realize how much time had passed. Personally, I think the most enjoyable conversations are the ones where I learn while talking, and that was the case throughout the time.
I think the best way to educate is to 'make them realize it themselves'.
If the purpose of education is to find the optimal value of Output, I think the best way to achieve good education is not to force Input, but to create a function between Input and Output, that is, to make students realize it on their own.
If the purpose of education is to find the optimal value of Output, I think the best way to achieve good education is not to force Input, but to create a function between Input and Output, that is, to make students realize it on their own.
So, I think that good education is about providing input through questions, going through the process of finding the answer on your own, and finding the ‘real answer’ as the output.
Mr. Taeyang asked questions that I could think about on my own, and those questions were mainly about the company's goals and focus. Personally, this time was more of a process of finding answers on my own rather than listening to answers, and like a good mentor, Mr. Taeyang presented stepping stones in the form of questions to get to better answers .
__
In that sense, Focus Check was an excellent education for entrepreneurs.
The first round was mainly a process of helping the founder find answers through questions, while the second round was a process of asking the same questions again to see if there were any changes in their thoughts after a week and making a final conclusion. After the first round of conversation, Taeyang shared the answers he had written around the end of the second round, and they were very similar to what I, the founder, had written.
That's right because he has deep insight and sees through the essence well, but I think the most important factor is that he is a mentor who is a founder and can see things from the perspective of a founder. And it's a great honor and a great thing to be thankful for that a master like Taeyang can look at our business from the perspective of a founder.
I'm lucky to be able to have deep conversations with people I respect about the things I love most.
Honestly, I felt the same. Since I can't share the core content of the company, I asked GPT to analyze the similarity and replaced it with a capture, and I can see the surprising result of 76%, which is only talking about the difference in terms. The result is the result, and I am very lucky to be able to talk about the topic I love the most with the person I respect .
Similarity between Sun and my answers
I felt like we were real colleagues, and I still feel that way.
The similar answer means that Mr. Taeyang really thought from the perspective of the founder and the company. Aren't they real colleagues?
I think this is a surprising result, considering that most advice given to entrepreneurs usually forces a specific answer.
Do it.
I think these processes are what make BASS special.
Because they are already positioned as colleagues in my mind. (Isn't the positioning that BASS takes 'as a fellow investor'?)
The similar answer means that Mr. Taeyang really thought from the perspective of the founder and the company. Aren't they real colleagues?
I think this is a surprising result, considering that most advice given to entrepreneurs usually forces a specific answer.
Do it.
I think these processes are what make BASS special.
Because they are already positioned as colleagues in my mind. (Isn't the positioning that BASS takes 'as a fellow investor'?)
It's really fortunate to have such a solid colleague.
__
Are you curious about our fellow BASS?
Then, let's knock on BASS's door.
It's okay to have doubts. I've had them too.
It's my job to clear up those doubts, so you just knock on the door.
With the help of Taeyang and Base, our company will do really well and we will be able to eliminate the people who doubt Base.
But if I think about it again, regardless of doubts or anything, the important ability of a CEO is to gather good inputs related to the company.
It's about processing and creating the best output, but why don't people who are better than me talk to me about the thing I love the most from the same perspective?
If you're a CEO, you can't do that. If you're a founder, you can't do that.
BASS Ventures Growth Team's Mission
We maximize the potential of our founders,
We are a partner that promotes strategic and operational growth to help startups advance to the next level.
We are a partner that promotes strategic and operational growth to help startups advance to the next level.
Once again, BASS Ventures is truly committed to helping you grow to greatness based on your crazy dreams, and we believe that is why we exist.
And that is why it is an investment company and its representative is someone who does not invest.
That's why we have a separate growth team that focuses solely on the band's growth.
That's why we have a separate growth team that focuses solely on the band's growth.
In the future, I want to help more and more startup teams make their crazy dreams great.
"Making Crazy Dreams Great" BASS Ventures is with you!
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