Jin Young Kim, the CEO, was in charge of strategic planning at Softbank Media, a media affiliate of Softbank Korea in 1997, and served as Managing Director of Softbank Research & Consulting. In 2003, Kim established the Roa Group, a consulting firm specialized in the IT market such as wired and wireless communication / device, in Tokyo, Japan (Co-Founder). Kim then established Roa Consulting Korea corporation in 2004, and has led BM development and new business strategy consulting for 14 years for domestic leading mobile operators and device makers. Kim resigned as CEO of Roa Consulting in February 2017, and then founded his second founding, a separate independent corporation, Roa Invetion Lab (company name will be changed to The Invention Lab). He is currently sole CEO of Roa Invention Lab (accelerating brand is The Invention Lab), which fosters and discovers innovative technology-based startups and venture companies.

He has been interested in innovating business models since 2012. He designed and developed a business model game methodology based on gamification techniques, and has run business model planning / development / evaluation programs for large business executives and start-ups / venture companies. He intuited that the boundaries of industry were collapsing due to platform business models, and that traditional business models were being dismantled or the boundaries between industries are crumbling down with the advent of innovative technology startups, and has developed and operated a platform strategy research and workshop programs. The Invention Lab is a company established to directly carry out these efforts and ideas.

The Invention Lab was established to discover- foster -invest in platform startups pursuing technological innovation, and has developed a new start-up accelerating program from the Open Innovation strategic point of view, securing its position as an operating partner, along with large companies in the manufacturing, finance and telecommunications sectors (SK Telecom, KB Kookmin Card, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor Group, CJ Olive Networks, Samsung Fire, Kyobo Life Insurance, Welcome Financial group, etc. Establishment of purposeful angel investment association and joint seed investment with large companies, plan – develop – operate – result measurement- follow-up management of joint Open Innovation Program).

Kim received a Ph.D. with a research on the formation and evolution of two-sided market of mobile service platform (Ph.D., Business Administration, Kyung Hee University). Kim’s books include ‘Interrobang, the Innovation Icon that Changes the World (2011)’, ‘Vertical Platform Revolution (2012)’, ‘Business Model Game (2013)’, ‘Digital Transformation, how will you do it? (2017)’.
Graduated from Korea University, HSE (Helsinki School of Economics) MBA(E-Business major)

Jong-Min Ham, venture partner, previously worked at Samsung Electronics, Naver and served as the CTO of LF. Ham is currently serving as the director of AIRI (Artificial Intelligence Research Institute) and has been an individual angel investor. Ham is a financier of our 4^th  Vietnam New Technology Investment Association and a member of Investment Committee. Ham’s career backgrounds are as follows.

Major Career Backgrounds

Woonyoung is an entrepreneur with manufacturing and F&B experience as well as IT experience, having launched, exited, and failed multiple startups.

He started his startup as COO of Waffle service, a global Wi-Fi marketing platform. He has led more than 70 projects in Korea, including large enterprises including the three major telecommunications companies and media companies, as well as overseas local partners in the U.S., Japan, and Vietnam. He then co-founded a startup that provided a global Wi-Fi sharing app service and a live food commerce platform that attracted investments in the U.S. and Korea, but failed. Afterward, he served as the head of strategic planning for a blockchain subsidiary of H Group and was in charge of overall management as COO of a web3 and blockchain-based game company.

In addition, he has participated in coaching, judging, and mentoring at companies, public institutions, and universities, and is growing as an expert who best understands the physiology and environment of startups.

Based on his experience in successful startups, pivots, domestic and overseas investment and government support projects, and various team projects such as B2B and B2C, he joined the OI management team of The Invention Lab and is currently leading the OI program service improvement and operation/management.

Konkuk University (International Trade)

Jee Yong-min served as a PL for open innovation and internal venture programs that build business cooperation cases between large and medium-sized enterprises and startups in Korea at N15 Partners.

His major projects include open innovation with NH NH Bank, Samsung C&T, and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, and internal venture programs with Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Hanwha Systems, and Hanwha Insurance, and he was in charge of planning and operating the business of discovering and connecting startups with innovative technologies such as digital, new tech, AI, aerospace, and platforms with various large and medium-sized companies.

He was a member of the early SCM team of a ceremonial liquor company operating mobile laundry ‘Lundrigo’ and has experience in planning the initial collection/delivery system construction, and later gained experience as an entrepreneur through serial startups of household goods manufacturing and e-book subscription services.

Currently, he joined the Open Innovation Team at The Invention Lab, where she is in charge of operating and managing open innovation programs (Samcheonri S-Together, Fine Deal), female venture startup incubation projects, and TIPS.

Graduated from Kyung-gi National University, Department of Sports Management

Sam Nguyen’s journey toward entrepreneurship and innovation began with her role as a member, and later Head of the Academy Department, at the Flagship Startup Club in her university. In this capacity, she organized workshops and competitions aimed at inspiring students to transform innovative ideas into actionable projects.
Sam then gained further exposure to the innovation landscape as an Innovation Consultant Intern at KPMG Vietnam. There, she conducted extensive desk research across various topics, such as innovation management and innovation partnerships, contributed to the development of sales proposals, and successfully executed an innovation policy engagement.
At Starstorm Ventures, Sam worked closely with early-stage startups in sectors such as generative AI, analyzing their business models and identifying those that aligned with the firm’s investment thesis. This experience further deepened her knowledge of cutting-edge technologies and emerging trends.
Currently, as a Research Analyst at The Invention Lab, Sam manages startup-vn.com, where she builds comprehensive startup and investor databases and conducts in-depth industry research to identify promising areas for investment.

Bachelor in Business Administration at International University – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City

JaeWon Jung majored in business administration in college.
He was interested in the field of investment, so he obtained a license as an investment asset manager and gained a better understanding of investment while interning at an asset management company.
He gained experience in back-office work and the overall investment process at the investment support team, and gained experience in asset management work by preparing securities reports and investment reports. Since then, he has joined the Investment Analysis Management Team at The Invention Lab, where he is in charge of various administrative and management support tasks required for the formation of investment associations, execution of startup investments, and post-management.

Business Administration, Kangwon National University