Please tell us about the activities at Gachon Cocone School.

[What I Gained]
The greatest thing I gained from my activities at Cocone School in early 2023 was 'confidence'. In the years I studied my major, the days I felt confident can be counted on one hand. I have always tossed and turned at night, questioning whether I can enjoy my 'work', why I want to do it, and why I must do it, only working hard without any justification. It was really confusing. I reached the conclusion that I had 'fallen into a fantasy' at one point.

After coming to Cocone School, in March 2023, for the first time, I was able to live every day filled with confidence about my 'work' until now.

Although it was not a result of an impulsive change, but rather a long contemplation, the crucial trigger was the people and experiences I met within Cocone School.

[What I Liked]
What I liked the most was being surrounded by passionate people who seriously contemplate life, and having happy and genuine conversations with faculty members who love that environment. Within the curriculum, I was able to meet many representatives and C-level executives from famous companies that are hard to encounter outside. Even now, when I reach out to them, they warmly welcome me and spare no advice, which seems to be the strength of the Cocone School environment.

As a specific example, I received important organizational management insights during a personal meeting with CEO Hwang Seong-hyeon, who oversees human resources at Google and is the Vice President of Human Resources at Kakao, which I must engrave in my mind as I move toward starting my own business.

Furthermore, I have a keen interest in the commerce industry, and I learned a lot from CTO Ryu Hyung-kyu of Market Kurly, who spoke about how products are presented and what improvements are being made in fulfillment—insights that are not easily accessible elsewhere.

From a personal experience, I also appreciated being able to receive feedback from various perspectives during the process of rapidly validating different ideas and learning from failures. Cocone School has professors whom you cannot easily encounter anywhere else. Dean Jang Dae-ik, who has already achieved numerous accomplishments yet continuously challenges himself and holds dreams of innovation; Professor Lee Min-seob, who always listens to student opinions; Professor Park Jun-young, who tirelessly invites various marketing experts to help students build practical experience; UX specialist Professor Shim Hye-rin, who instills the most important intrinsic values; Professor Choi Jae-hong, who always supports us from behind and helps with networking; Professor Kim Yong-jae, who awakens social values; and even the administrative staff seem to be passionate about the work at Cocone School.

[Recommended Audience]
I would like to recommend it to those who have or want to have confidence in their 'work'. I believe that if one cannot find a clear justification, namely confidence, regarding their 'work', it will be difficult to get up again once the fantasy is broken.

Please tell us about the current ongoing project.

Currently, I am focusing on validating various ideas in the 600 trillion won retail market. The retail market is structurally opaque and inefficient, making it difficult for suppliers to find distribution channels and demanders to find optimal suppliers.

Ultimately, I am operating "Deep Curating Group Purchase Commerce BUCL," targeting the B2C market based on experiences and foundations established for venturing into the B2B market.

[Problems BUCL Addresses]
The consumers BUCL targets face the problem of "increasing consumer prices" due to secondary and tertiary distribution, while brands grapple with "uncertain marketing costs."

[BUCL's Solutions]
By targeting 3040 moms and eliminating all intermediaries from preferred parenting, food, and living brands, BUCL provides 'lowest price group purchases' and 'review analysis, consumer analysis' to improve the conversion rate, thereby offering consumers high-quality products at low prices and promoting bulk orders without marketing costs for manufacturers, resolving issues for both parties involved.

[BUCL's Achievements]
Following the first sales, we achieved a 300% growth the next month, reaching a maximum purchase conversion rate of 8%, and about 20 carefully selected brands have been onboarded. We are striving for stable growth of 20-50% each month and to create more meaningful value.

Rather than the existing open market success formula of "many sellers, many products," we aim to realize "Direct Manufacturer Shipping" through "small variety deep curating group purchases," hoping to alleviate the inefficiencies in distribution, even if it's just in a small domain.

[Another Problem BUCL Targets]
Another issue in distribution is 'market development' for manufacturers that have production capacity but struggle with online distribution.

Hence, BUCL is planning to showcase high-quality products from lesser-known brands through collective purchases recommended by influencers in the 'Influencer Recommendation Deal' category.

The reason for leveraging influencers for small manufacturers' products is that influencers are incredibly discerning. This was recognized multiple times during the initial BUCL model validation process, where I found that famous influencers do not promote products if they do not personally like them after trying them out. I witnessed this firsthand when a representative from a chili powder manufacturer visited BUCL services all the way from Gyeongnam for help. I believe that well-combining the favorable functions of influencers and the challenges faced by high-quality small manufacturers can lead to fulfilling consumer needs.

Please tell us about your future plans.
I originally intended to find 'the value of work together and seek partners to realize it' within Cocone School, which I have not yet achieved.
Therefore, I am currently planning a 'B2B Brand Sales Automation Tool' after building an economic and experiential foundation for venturing into larger markets.

[Problems]
When brands (such as Coca-Cola) and distribution channels (such as E-Mart or Market Kurly) enter into distribution contracts, numerous documents, face-to-face meetings, and price negotiations are required, which can take months—a highly inefficient process.
Thus, there are 'vendors' that act on their behalf, but using a vendor can introduce additional elements such as 'warehouse rental fees and transaction fees,' which leads to inflation caused by the inefficiencies in the distribution structure.

[Solutions]
Therefore, we are planning a tool that matches brands and manufacturers with optimal distribution channels in a one-stop manner, merely by storing the required information/documents once. I believe this is a root issue that fundamentally needs to be improved in the distribution market, both domestically and internationally.
The clearer the foundation and solutions become, the closer we will come to finding partners to join this journey, and I will do my utmost to achieve it.

Contact Information
H.P : 010-7250-6297
Mail : buclcorp@gmail.com