The 11th Time's the Charm... A Fresh Start for a 50-Year-Old Entrepreneur Who Succeeded After Relentless Challenges
- Deeplant
- Sep 28, 2025
- 2 min read
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups revealed the winners of the 11th "Re-challenge Case Contest" at the 'Re-challenge Day' event held at the S-Plex Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 19th.
Kim Cheol-beom, CEO of Deep Plant and winner of the top prize in the 11th Re-challenge Case Contest, entered the business world as a high school graduate. To overcome the barrier of his educational background, he attempted to start a business 10 times since 2001, with ventures including waterproof cases for Samsung digital cameras, noiseless pet dryers, and an e-book startup.
However, all 10 attempts ended in failure. "My past ventures were like corner stores, always focused solely on making a living," CEO Kim recalled, attributing his failures to short-sighted management that lacked analysis of the external environment.
In 2019, at the age of 50, Kim Cheol-beom took on a new challenge. He founded 'Deep Plant,' his 11th venture, with the item 'AI-based meat deep aging system.'
Subsequently, he verified the viability of his item through the government's 'Preliminary Startup Package' and established a foothold for a comeback with the 'Re-challenge Success Package,' 'Startup Growth Technology Development Program,' and 'Global Accelerating Support Program.'
Now, his venture's value is recognized in the market. As the first meat startup to be selected for the TIPS program, he is moving beyond recovery and is in the process of attracting investment for full-scale commercialization.
In addition, Lee Jin-yeol, CEO of Korea Senior Lab and the Grand Prize winner of the contest, took his first step into entrepreneurship at the age of 25 in 2013, when the iPhone launch sparked a mobile app boom, by founding a mobile app development company.
He launched 'MyDol,' a mobile app service that connected K-POP fans worldwide using the smartphone lock screen.
'MyDol' achieved 14 million cumulative downloads and secured 1.7 billion KRW in investment. However, due to issues with a majority shareholder's governance who did not contribute to the business, the absence of a revenue model, and a lack of Team-Market Fit (the compatibility between the market's needs and the team's capabilities), he had to sell the company after five years with neither profit nor debt.
Later, CEO Lee gained courage from meetings with angel investors and successful entrepreneurs and decided to start over. He then founded Korea Senior Lab Inc. in 2019 and now provides a home care service platform connecting seniors with caregivers ('Smile Senior') and an administrative automation solution for home care agencies ('Hi-Care').
The company has currently attracted 12.3 billion KRW in investment, achieved 3.3 billion KRW in revenue in 2022, and is growing into a leading company that is driving the digital transformation of the senior care market as the nation enters a super-aged society.
Source: The Korea Small & Medium Business News (http://www.kbiznews.co.kr)
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