As an increasing number of start-ups lead to an endless flow of success stories about young CEOs, many people in their 20s become torn between following their dreams and the risks that follow it. A student from Ewha addresses this predicament prevalent among young adults in a success story of her own.

Introducing CEO Lee Seo-jin

Instilling hope and courage to the many students hesitant of pursuing a career in music, Lee Seo-jin wrote her bestselling book From Me to You, Both in Our Twenties based on her personal experience of worrying about her career after music college. Deciding that more needed to be done, Lee founded LSJ company as a solution to what she recognized as a severe issue in society. Lee started to receive spotlight in from last September as a female university student who earned a net income of 20 million won.

LSJ company and its various projects

The LSJ company, which consists of 10 members with CEO Lee in lead, is a start-up that provides professional education for those in their 20s who are concerned about employment and starting their own business. Their motto is ‘The company that makes your dreams come true.” Although LSJ started out as a concert production company, it developed into an entertainment industry that contributes to the creation of jobs in the field of arts. The company is further reaching out to industries in education, personal branding, VR content creation, and publication. For the first half of 2018, the company plans to focus on its education and entertainment business.

 

Interview with Lee

What made you start the LSJ company? Everyone has a dream. However, that dream is hidden in the fog of reality. People who establish startups are no better than ordinary people. The only difference is that we look into the fog more closely and have more courage. I was the same. I wanted to raise my voice to solve the prevalent problems in the art industry; sexual crimes in the art world are already well-known among the public and the artist’s profits are too small compared to their hard effort, so I wrote a book that condemns these issues, but it wasn’t enough. In the end, my final decision was to jump into startups. I felt the necessity of making my voice be heard by gaining recognition and success in order to change the society. I decided to make my dreams come true, not for the money, but because of an obligation to benefit the public.

Can you explain in detail about the project you are currently working on? The LSJ Company comprises of entertainment business, online marketing and personal branding, focusing mainly on publishrelated projects. We make profit from creative, marketing, and performance activities, which is categorized under the entertainment business. We also consult our clients who need help creating their own contents and provide them with our one-stop training for those who are new at starting a business. In the future, we plan to create YouTube and VR contents in the music business. Our company is constantly growing in size and expanding its scope.

What is the most challenging part about being a CEO in your 20s? How others view us or the work itself is not the difficult part. The biggest challenge was conflicts that rose due to the lack of communication because most of our team members are young and did not have much experience. However, we overcame such difficulties by going through many trials and errors as a team. We set certain values, such as honesty, respect, and proactiveness, to enlighten the spirit of our team. I also worked on making the process of communication easier by setting up a communication channel for the team members.

Any advice for students who are struggling with employment and careers? Try different activities like getting part-time jobs or joining clubs. But don’t forget to try your best everyday no matter what you do. Develop a habit of taking notes and recording your everyday life. If you always contemplate and work hard, I am confident that you will live a better tomorrow than today. Lee believes that now is the time to realize one’s dreams, and only those who know what they want, plan ahead, and act to achieve their goals will truly succeed. Lee hopes that LSJ company will serve as an inspiration for many women to do just that.

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