Introducing Mr. Yongho Kim, the CFO of Boosters, who is responsible for various areas such as finance, SCM, and Tech. Mr. Yongho, who has a heavy sense of responsibility for his work and actively creates changes, says that the results he produces when he works are himself. Check out the interview with Mr. Yongho, who is diligently working to maximize the efficiency of the acquired brand and ensure its stable operation.
Q. Hello Yongho, would you mind briefly introducing yourself?
Hello, I am Yongho Kim, the CFO at Boosters. My responsibilities extend beyond finance, encompassing the design of efficient company processes. I manage areas such as finance, SCM, and Tech, participate in M&A deals, and occasionally program tools to streamline our work.
Q. You're a jack of all trades, especially with introducing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Could you elaborate on the reasons behind the introduction of ERP and the changes it will bring to Boosters?
To handle many brands and channels, we need to find out the profit and loss by each channel and item quickly and correctly. We need to know where we're making or losing money, which costs we need to cut, and what's holding back our money flow. This helps us use our resources where they're most needed. But, many companies find it hard to set up this type of system. They usually focus on growing the brand first and think about a system later when they have the resources. But as the company gets bigger, it's harder to change, and 'management debt' increases. To avoid this, Boosters decided to start using ERP and management systems earlier. Our goal is to make the best use of our resources by using the profit, loss, and inventory data from the ERP.
Q. What are some unique features of the ERP currently in use at Boosters?
Most commerce companies use a combined accounting and warehouse system. They prefer it because it's what they're used to. However, this often leads to issues in tracking profits and losses. Some companies try using foreign systems, but these can be hard to adapt to local needs. They also often come with unnecessary features. At Boosters, we use a custom system that works better with real commerce transactions. It brings together sales, payment, and warehouse data. This allows us to accurately track profits and losses.
Q. Preparing to introduce an ERP that's optimized for Boosters must have been quite a challenge, right?
We started building a custom ERP system in October 2022. It was a big challenge to build and launch it in just three months. This was my fourth ERP project and the most difficult one. However, we completed it successfully, thanks to our understanding of Boosters' commerce, our excellent backend team, and our proactive ERP consultants. Now, seven months after we launched, we're in the stabilization phase. Soon, I plan to present accurate profit and loss data calculated through the ERP system to the Boosters team.
Q. I heard that the backend team automated a lot of work processes within Boosters, including ERP. What's the ultimate goal of automating these processes?
Boosters is running about 150 automatic processes. This shows the team's hard work. The goal is to make the brands we buy more efficient. We do this by putting a small amount of money into brands that have a lot of potential. To make things more efficient, we have to spend less money and make more money. This means managing the products, orders, and sales well, as these are the biggest costs in commerce. It's also important that people can easily find the information they need to run the brand. So, we aim to make information easy and quick to get. This will lower the time and cost of communication. In the future, we'll keep working with the backend organization to meet our goals.
Q. You seem to have a diverse range of experiences besides finance. Could you tell us a bit about your experience before joining Boosters?
My first job was at an accounting firm. As a Certified Public Accountant, I worked on audits and financial and tax advisory services, and I gained a lot of experience by visiting many companies. The team I was a part of was well-known in the industry, so I got to participate in many big deals. Even though I was an accountant at the time, I was interested in software development, so I developed and distributed an app to help accountants work more efficiently, and I understand that many people are still using the app I made. I was also interested in ERP implementation consulting, so I took SAP consultant training. After that, I wanted to experience the business process of a big company and take on more challenging work, so I entered the startup industry. I have experience in a wide range of commerce, including fashion, beauty, platforms, and on/offline channels.
Q. How did you end up at Boosters?
I started at Boosters in late April of 2022. I already knew about the company and had mixed feelings about their business model. However, the CMO Jinyoung, who I respect, reached out to me. After talking with our CEO Yunho Choi, I began to see the company's vision and potential. I believed I could help create something new and exciting.
Q. You seem to be a person who loves driving changes. Is there a value or motto that you hold dear when you work?
I believe that my work defines me and helps me grow. While doing good work, I consider its quality, speed, and cost. I see doing well as getting high-quality results quickly, without spending too much. If two tasks have the same quality, the quicker one is better. If they're equally fast, the less costly one is better. Understanding the priority of tasks is also crucial. I use the ICE (Impact, Confidence, Ease) framework to decide what to do first based on its impact, success rate, and simplicity.
Q. As the CFO of Boosters, how do you see the role of a leader?
A leader guides team members to comprehend company goals, enabling them to find purpose in their work and overcome hurdles. Thus, I aim to promptly and transparently share necessary information and assist in overcoming challenges. As a leader, I believe in limitless responsibility to perform my role effectively. Maintaining this attitude consistently allows team members to focus on problem-solving without shirking responsibility.
Q. Lastly, I'm curious about your personal goals that you want to achieve in Boosters.
My aim hasn't changed since I started at Boosters. I want to build a new kind of brand business that can repeat success without depending on luck. As time goes on, the brand aggregator is a business model that's more likely to succeed. The ERP system, dashboard, and automated processes that our backend team has developed are all about improving how well we can measure brand performance. This needs to be good to lower the chances of failure and build our expertise. In this process, we're not just building a strong backend system, but also gaining solid expertise in acquiring and operating brands. I believe we can reach our goals soon!