Startups serving office workers are expanding their businesses with new services. The strategy aims to solidify their revenue models by growing both individual and corporate customer bases.
According to industry sources on the 6th, Remember, a business card management application, saw total visitors to its real-name-based social networking service "Connect" recently surpass 1 million. The milestone was achieved just a month and a half after Connect's launch. Considering Remember's total of 5 million subscribers, roughly one in five users is active on Connect.
Connect is a social networking service where Remember users share posts and photos under their real names and company affiliations, open to users of all ranks from CEOs to entry-level employees. The service was launched to enable users to share personal branding posts, real-world work experiences rather than textbook theories, project reviews, and career success and failure stories. The company aims to position itself as a networking platform where working professionals share authentic stories. Indeed, the service gained word-of-mouth traction from its early days as industry insiders posted on the platform. Notable active users include Jeon Woo-sung, CEO of Seasidecity; Ji Yong-gu, CEO of Douzone Bizon; and Oh Rin-ah, research fellow at LS Securities.
The industry views Remember as aiming to expand its user base through Connect. User growth is a key factor in Remember's business model. Remember currently generates revenue through advertising and recruitment businesses. For recruitment, it provides hiring solutions to corporate clients through headhunting firms it has acquired as subsidiaries. The model involves signing contracts with companies seeking experienced hires and connecting them with professionals matching the desired criteria. Since users register and engage based on their business cards, the company also runs an advertising business, leveraging its ability to offer precisely targeted marketing to corporate clients. "Remember's unique strength is the ability to select professionals working at either large corporations or small and medium-sized enterprises and deliver customized marketing," a Remember official said. As more users sign up for Remember to post on Connect, the company can strengthen its advertising and recruitment businesses with the growing customer base.
Blind, an anonymous community for office workers, also plans to expand its data analytics solution business "Blind Insight" in the Korean market this year. The service, first launched in the United States, is a business-to-business (B2B) solution that analyzes organizational culture and other factors based on data posted on Blind. It provides a range of information, including real-time issue monitoring, trend tracking of keywords of interest, competitive benchmarking, identification of perception gaps among employees, detection of changes in brand perception within the industry, and early detection of key talent attrition. In the United States, global companies such as Meta, TikTok, Bloomberg, and Roblox have been primary users of the service. "Blind Insight has been offered on a limited basis in the Korean market, but we plan to expand its offering this year," a Blind official said. "We also aim to launch a large language model (LLM) service combining artificial intelligence (AI) within the year."
Blind currently has more than 13 million total subscribers. In the Korean market, its main revenue models have been advertising and a dating app targeting office worker users. The industry expects startups serving office workers to accelerate efforts to expand profitability this year. Remember has been operated by private equity firm EQT Partners since its acquisition last year. Blind also selected Mirae Asset Securities as its IPO underwriter earlier this year and is reviewing various listing options.
