Navigating the Journey from Music to Tech: Lessons Learned in Product Market Fit and Empathy

As a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Naver Z's US team, I've learned that finding product-market fit is just the beginning - it's all about embracing uncertainty, valuing relationships, and being open to new opportunities.

  • 1. Finding product-market fit is more of a financing game than building a good product.
  • 2. Jungsuk Jay Lee is currently the CEO of Naver Z, USA, a tech giant in Korea.
  • 3. Naver Z operates a proto metaverse where users can express themselves, connect, create and play.
  • 4. Lee's career journey involved many things beyond his control, such as relationships and external factors.
  • 5. He grew up in Seoul and was an extroverted kid who loved music.
  • 6. After dropping out of high school to pursue a career in music, he joined Devsisters as a sound designer.
  • 7. Lee's military duty required him to find another company, so he joined Olaworks Computer Vision Technology Startup.
  • 8. In 2014, he moved to San Francisco to start his new chapter.
  • 9. In 2016, he co-founded Buzzmusiq with his best friend.
  • 10. Buzzmusiq aimed to provide contextually aware music recommendations based on the time of day and audience.
  • 11. When TikTok acquired Musically and started pouring money into content creation, Buzzmusiq struggled to compete.
  • 12. Lee realized that finding a good product-market fit is only the beginning and needs to be followed by scaling the company.
  • 13. He had to find peace with his ego shattering and identity shaking during this process.
  • 14. In 2020, Buzzmusiq was acquired, and Lee's new responsibility is building a US team for Zepeto.
  • 15. Lee believes that people react to stories and moving hearts, rather than just metrics.
  • 16. He values relationships over productivity or efficiency.
  • 17. Empathy and understanding are key to finding connections and building relationships.
  • 18. Lee is proud of maintaining a deep connection with his team members.
  • 19. He emphasizes the importance of shared spirit and direction within a team.
  • 20. There were many things beyond Lee's control in his career journey, but he learned to value relationships and connections.

Source: EO via YouTube

❓ What do you think? What is one thing you have learned through your career journey that has had the most profound impact on your approach to leadership and decision-making? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!