Shin Jae-wook, CEO of 8-Year B2B Startup Dal-lem, Who Acquired 320 New Customers From Zero Last Year

For 5-6 years, the company continuously had only 1 month to 2 weeks of monthly operating funds (runway), making it difficult to align the cycles of sales, settlements, and personnel costs. However, the situation improved from late 2024, achieving three times the growth compared to the previous year.

He cites investing funds in technology development before revenue was established and offering free trials as early failures. Free trials did not lead to conversions, only delayed time, and resulted in the depletion of company funds.

Reliability is crucial in B2B business, and being a startup was not a positive factor for customers. Customers doubted the company's sustainability, and he learned that trust only increases as references and track record accumulate.

In customer acquisition, feedback like 'the service is good' was not enough. It was crucial to ask specific questions such as 'How can we get you to use it?' and 'When should we propose it for consideration?' and to understand the situations in which customers actually spend money.

Every November was the most difficult period, leading to a structure where even borrowed money couldn't be repaid within a few months. He faced continuous financial difficulties in 2020, 2021, and 2022. After all investments failed, he apologized to each individual investor and restored trust through honest communication.

He had thought that customers would come if he ran a lot of ads, but that didn't work. In B2B, customers are sensitive about paying money and understand value, making the persuasion process very difficult. Therefore, it's crucial to first gain experience in receiving payment from customers.

He often feels that a thriving restaurant is 'better than his own company' and is constantly thinking about how to build a business model that generates repeat purchases (predictable revenue and margins).

Inspired by Starbucks' strategy of expanding from local to nationwide, and then overseas, and broadening coverage beyond coffee to include tea, decaf, fintech, and meal options, he envisions expanding from workplace wellness to 24-hour businesses, family-focused services, hospitals, and the insurance sector.

He was angered when Taewoong (태웅) CEO, one of his investors, visited and told him, 'You should stop, you've worked hard,' which surprisingly became a motivation to try again. Another investor told him, 'It's not good news, but it was a good experience,' making him realize that other entrepreneurs face the same struggles.

He states that the process of finding PMF is not a 9-to-6 business, but continuously thinking about how to integrate into people's lives 24/7/365, receive money, contribute, and bring about change.