The recent days have been getting hotter. Still, amidst the heat from the Olympics, a fierce storm in the form of the TMON and WeMakePrice incidents has occurred in the open market. The results of a scheme that started a few years ago, where they replaced the lower stone with the upper one, have now exploded. The damages amounting to hundreds of billions from TMON, WeMakePrice, and Interpark Commerce, which is primarily focused on shopping, have become apparent not just for small businesses, consumers, payment gateways, and card companies that helped with transactions, but also for the government that could not collect taxes. In terms of results, a tremendous castle is collapsing, and it turns out that the castle, which should have been built with stone and earth, was actually a 'sandcastle'.

In the shopping and distribution industry, a business that has risen as an old practice is the commission settlement business. These commissions are paid to sellers after the entire payment has been received from customers, minus the commission, and we refer to this as 'settlement'. The issue arises exactly from this settlement. When the shopping company mistakenly believes that the tremendous revenue due to the 'settlement cycle', which refers to the time it takes to pay sellers, is their own money, problems emerge.

There are distribution companies in the industry that proudly explain this structural processor as a business model. Therefore, rather than selling products, they use this cash that needs to be paid for larger marketing and new businesses. If consistent corporate activities take place, they receive investment, go public, increase their stores, and if consumers also grow, even if there is a loss, all participants are happy within a controllable range. This is why the parent company of commerce, Qoo10, as well as TMON and WeMakePrice, as well as the sellers who sell an abundance of products and services and the consumers who buy them cheaply, were able to witness this mirage of happiness.

However, this temporary situation is clearly showing problems as customers move to the appearance of cheaper shopping companies, such as Coupang, AliExpress, and Temu, which expand with strong services. As stores move and the unpaid settlement liability increases, the collapse occurs all at once, with all participants falling apart. It is a common characteristic of these companies to misinterpret the meaning of 'large corporations don't easily fail' and increase only cash sales, leading to greater losses disguised as growth. It is too heart-wrenching that, despite Heinrich's warning that many signs appear before a disaster, it has occurred, and we were unable to prevent it. There are friends and families in tears who had dreams of exciting travel, and right next door is the business owner who is anxious because they haven't received their settlement. The incident where my young nephew, who dreamt of becoming a unicorn, lost hope is not someone else's affair—it is something that has happened to me, beside me. Furthermore, it is still unresolved and ongoing.

Turning the story around, last year Starbucks achieved 3 trillion won in sales in Korea and 36 billion dollars globally, and it continues to grow every day. Starbucks is not just a coffee company; they simplify ordering with Siren Order, analyze their stores using big data, standardize the taste of coffee worldwide through the cloud, and through Starbucks gifting and prepaid cards, there is a balance of 2 billion dollars that they will have to settle later. However, despite being a company capable of being wrapped in such technology and finance, there is a message that Howard Schultz always emphasizes: "Let’s become the king of coffee." He has also stated, "If baristas do not put their love into creating low-quality espresso, they lose the essence of inspiring coffee." It is famous that when issues arose concerning the quality of Starbucks coffee, they suffered millions of dollars in losses and closed all Starbucks stores to conduct training for their employees. In conclusion, it can be said that Schultz understands the essence of the business and the company he operates and believes that this will enable them to grow into a sustainable company. While it is a growing company, I hope it is understood that the wealth of a sustainable company starts from the 'essence' based on trust in the company. (Cho Jae-hong, Professor at Gachon University Startup College)