“Strike three…”
Yoon Yi-gon, wandering aimlessly, eventually arrived atop Hangang Bridge.
The glittering lights of the buildings in the nightscape stood in stark contrast to the dark, silent waters of the Han River below, gently undulating like the late evening.
The dazzling city lights far away seemed to perfectly represent the distance between myself and them.
‘A whole decade’s worth of effort ended in failure…’
Ten years.
Years spent chasing success as a Startup had witnessed mountains and rivers change once.
From an inexperienced novice to a capable entrepreneur, Yoon Yi-gon had gone through countless hardships.
‘I will become the Entrepreneur King…’
In this world, one might not become the Pirate King, but anyone can be the Entrepreneur King.
Yoon Yi-gon sincerely believed that.
This is the era of successful entrepreneurs.
Watching the founding of Waffle and Waicrosoft, and dreaming of an age of great corporations, he recalled the figures he admired.
Their personalities were so unlike his, yet the Waffle Founder, adopted and starting from rock bottom, established the most creative company of all.
The Waicrosoft Founder, seeing through the tide of the era, created the software that would become indispensable in the new world, then transformed into a philanthropist after amassing immense wealth.
It was these people who drew Yoon Yi-gon into the Startup World.
‘I, Yoon Yi-gon, will become the new legend of Startups.’
Yoon Yi-gon was an orphan with nothing but his two fists, yet he possessed passion and diligence.
His first business. Having received a Business Registration Certificate, Yoon Yi-gon founded a company through a Government Support Program and started the App Platform business.
It was an App that used webtoons for English learning.
Webtoons, rendered in conversational language, had the advantage of telling diverse stories alongside illustrations.
It was, quite literally, a huge hit!
As soon as the Map was launched, the market responded favorably, and he was introduced in various Masscom outlets as the amazing Ann.
Back then, since there were few Apps around, membership numbers grew by thousands each day.
‘But it all went downhill from there.’
It was a great item with positive reactions, but it failed to connect as a proper Business Model.
Like charging forward with nothing but an idea, the business lacked investment, a solid Business Model, and even proper Marketing.
Though free members increased, it never evolved into a satisfying business, and crushed under financial pressure, the Service was eventually terminated.
Afterward, Yoon Yi-gon tried again. The second business item was born out of reflection on the first.
He had thought that just making a product would guarantee success, but realized that operating it was more important than making it.
Curious about successful Startup leaders, he began a business that connected their stories to Offline Lectures.
By inviting famous Startup speakers from overseas or sharing domestic Startup success stories, he learned about their business models and approaches.
Stories of success and failure drew public interest.
It was a business that surged forward, growing bigger in scale by the day.
He secured Seed Investment, then Series S, even Series 8 Investment, and before he knew it, the number of employees surpassed twenty.
‘The goal is a Unicorn Company!’
A company with a valuation of over a billion dollars (1 trillion won) is called a Unicorn Company.
Startups dream of becoming Unicorn Companies.
‘My name is Yoon Yi-gon. My goal is Unicorn.’
Even his name sounded like Unicorn, and it felt like destiny that he would one day create a Unicorn Company.
He put every asset and loan he had into expanding the business.
He rented a large building in Gwanghwamun and carried out a massive facility investment to create a Startup Flex.
But then, something utterly unthinkable happened.
“This is breaking news. The World Health Organization has declared a global Pandemic today. The COVID-19 Virus is highly contagious and spreads through respiratory infection…”
An unprecedented Pandemic swept across the globe.
The entire world ground to a halt, and though enormous funds went into facilities, no one could come.
Everything became isolated. The business was utterly wrecked, and Yoon Yi-gon, crushed under the debt of his second business, became a Credit Delinquent.
“Even now, it doesn’t make sense. It was a world where everything was locked down.
If people in the future make movies about this era… they’ll say it’s ridiculous…”
That’s how absurd it was. Devastated by two failures, Yoon Yi-gon spent every night with alcohol.
The failure of the second business was especially bitter.
He tried to gather his spirit and take on business again, but as a Credit Delinquent, no investors were willing to give him another chance.
In the end, he sought out two Partners as a fallback and pitched his idea.
The two Partners called it a jackpot idea and praised Yoon Yi-gon, putting him at the forefront and starting their third Startup.
He provided all the ideas and infrastructure, played the practical role of leader, but due to the label of Credit Delinquent, he could not take the title of representative, and had to settle for being the Head of Headquarters.
The third business item was a dating App utilizing Matching Technology.
The name of the Map was “Meeting is Good.”
This Service simply provided a Chatting Screen, but through chats, users were matched according to their preferences.
Through daily questions, the preferences of men and women were analyzed, and 1/4 of matches were those with a high potential of developing into couples.
The system worked so that when a matching succeeded, the success was reflected as a weighted value in the next matching.
Unlike the early days, the Service provided an ever-increasing successful matching rate.
This Matching Technology surpassed all expectations and became a blockbuster idea, overwhelmingly surpassing existing Couple Maps in function and greatly increasing user satisfaction.
“<Meeting is Good> really is amazing! It feels like it recommends my Female Ideal Type. This App finds you a love like destiny!”
Within three years of launch, users exceeded a million and it became the leading Data Map in the domestic dating market with a valuation of 200 billion won.
‘It was like a dream come true…’
But Yoon Yi-gon’s challenge didn’t end in a happy ending. He was a Credit Delinquent, and though he oversaw planning, development, and operation, he was nothing but Head of Headquarters.
He couldn’t even have his name listed as a shareholder in the corporate registry.
They argued that with three Co-Founders, investment would be difficult, so he was made Head of Headquarters, but later, after securing investment, they promised to split shares equally.
But a verbal promise is just words.
Looking back, it was a naive and foolish choice…
After a massive investment of 500 billion won was secured, Yoon Yi-gon’s desk was moved out into the hallway.
For months he had been sidelined from many roles, with the excuse of increasing professionalism in each field.
In the end, under the ridiculous pretense of lacking ability, he was relocated to the hallway and pressured to resign.
It was “recommended resignation” in name, but in reality, he was being kicked out. The company where he had overseen everything, the item, the process, even the greatest share of success, all were his achievements…
With no secret contract, no shares, Yoon Yi-gon was nothing more than Head of Headquarters.
For a month, he pleaded his case, even made a scene at the company like a madman, but in the end, he had to accept that his relationship with the company ended there.
Just before the birth of a Unicorn Startup.
It was unbearable.
Compared to the billions in investment, all he got was the severance pay for years of work.
“It’s just the end of one inning…”
With three attempts, he’d built a Startup worth over 200 billion won; all he had to do was try again. Yoon Yi-gon shouted out to the Han River.
“Strike three? Bullshit. You bastards, baseball doesn’t end with a strikeout. There are nine innings!
Today’s failure will be tomorrow’s success. I’ll definitely create an incredible Unicorn Company.”
Yoon Yi-gon didn’t give up. Suddenly, a wave of drunkenness surged up.
It was something he’d never have done when sober, but for some reason, courage welled up inside him.
He staggered and climbed the railing of the Han River. The railing wasn’t high, so he managed to stand atop it.
He spread his arms wide and looked past the dark waters of the Han River to the splendid buildings beyond. Then he shouted.
“App… King of the world!”
Whooooosh—!
Suddenly, a gust of wind came from somewhere. Yoon Yi-gon tried to steady himself, but whether it was the drunkenness or something pulling at him, he couldn’t hold his balance.
“Whoa—ah, damn it—!”
Splash!
Yoon Yi-gon plunged straight into the Han River, sucked beneath the dark surface like the protagonist of Titanic.
Beeeeeep—!
And then, deep darkness found him.
***
Beeeeeep—!
Yuras Continent…
Yuras Continental Calendar, Year 1515, the invasion of the Demon race. The start of the Heroic Era.
Yuras Continental Calendar, Year 1524, the birth of Pizza. His name is Pizza?
Yuras Continental Calendar, Year 1525, all of humanity triumphs over the Demon race.
But my parents died then…
Yuras Continental Calendar, Year 1527, after repelling the Demon race, a war begins among humans for supremacy.
Yuras Continental Calendar, Year 1537, the end of the Great Human War. Villages, devastated and impoverished.
I am earthling Yoon Yi-gon… No, I’m Pizza. I’ve already lived seventeen years like this!
I shot up from bed. Thank goodness, it was a dream. To think I almost drowned in the Han River…
Yet the feeling of being sucked into the Han River still lingered vividly in my hands.
Relieved that it was a dream, suddenly my head began to throb as if splitting apart.
“Aaagh!”
Clutching my head, I could do nothing but roll on the bed for a while.
It felt like data—tens of terabytes—were being downloaded into my brain at ultra-high speed.
After what seemed like dozens of minutes, the struggle stopped.
‘I…’
And then, I realized. This place was not Earth. I had lived seventeen years on this Yuras Continent.
And at the same time, I could recall, vividly, all my memories as Yoon Yi-gon in the Republic of Korea.
Being an orphan. Studying harder than anyone to graduate from a Prestigious University. Doing every kind of part-time job in pursuit of Startup.
Succeeding in my first Government Support Program. Interviewing many Startup leaders and making Content about success and failure.
The success and betrayal of my last Startup. I remembered it all.
In that moment, I bounced up from the bed and hurried to find a mirror.
And the reflection I saw was not the plain-faced Yoon Yi-gon in his early thirties, but the handsome face of the seventeen-year-old boy Pizza.
“What the—damn it.”
Looking around, I saw an exotic landscape.
This was not Earth. This was Yuras Continent, a place where magic and mystery coexist—in other words, another world.