Two of his startups failed. Now, this 30-year-old just bagged $32 million for his company

Sae Hyung-jung remembers a clip erstwhile helium disquieted astir not having capable wealth for his adjacent meal. 

He was 20 years old, and had conscionable founded an artificial quality (AI) institution that helped students amended their trial scores for assemblage introduction examinations — but it wasn't doing well.

"I had truthful overmuch indebtedness and I adjacent had to usage my recognition paper to springiness wage to my employees," Sae told CNBC Make It.

Ten years later, the serial entrepreneur's beingness paints a alternatively antithetic picture.

He is present the laminitis and CEO of oVice, a virtual bureau level created to bring the corporate vigor successful carnal bureau spaces to distant teams.

For example, the level allows casual check-ups with colleagues without the "formalities of online meetings," according to oVice.

The institution is headquartered successful Japan wherever Sae, a South Korean, present lives.

Late past month, oVice raised $32 million successful a Series B backing circular led by a radical of investors from Japan and overseas. The latest backing brought the full superior raised to $45 million.

The institution has been making $6 cardinal successful yearly recurring revenue, according to Sae.

CNBC Make It finds retired what the young entrepreneur learned from his failures, and however a caller start-up was yet born.

The biggest occupation astir the failed AI task was that helium did not "find the market," Sae acknowledged.

"My AI level specialized successful that 1 introspection that overseas students needed to instrumentality to travel to Japan," helium shared, referring to the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU).

Sae, who was studying successful Japan successful 2017, took the aforesaid exam and struggled portion preparing for it.

"There were not galore books to study for EJU... I collected questions from section university exams and made an AI that generates questions to amended students' scores," helium said.

"But [at that time], lone 1,000 radical were doing this exam each year, truthful it was [a] truly niche and tiny market."

Investors told him that for them to put successful the start-up, helium would request to grow the market.

But Sae said helium was stubborn. "I said no. I privation to lick this problem."

Despite his resolve, the level struggled to enactment afloat, and arsenic Sae enactment it simply — "it failed."

"I was truthful obsessed astir making it enactment due to the fact that it was my ain product."

He yet sold disconnected the company, which helped him to wage disconnected his debts and gave him the "reset" helium said helium desperately needed.

Even so, Sae didn't springiness up — due to the fact that entrepreneurship is simply a "continuous journey," helium said. Moreover, it wasn't his archetypal sensation of failure. 

When helium was 18, helium started a commercialized brokerage concern connecting companies with supplies and distributors successful Japan and South Korea. But aft a year, Sae had to adjacent shop. 

"Back then, 2011, determination was a big earthquake successful Japan. It was crazy… my clients [in South Korea] were importing products from Japan, their buying prices were doubling."

Seeing however unsustainable the concern was, Sae decided to unopen down his concern and prosecute a assemblage grade successful Japan instead. 

Looking backmost astatine his experiences, helium realized being adaptable is important successful entrepreneurship. 

"If it's not going to work, it's okay. I volition commencement different thing. If you person flexibility, you volition person a person accidental of success." 

Throughout assemblage and postgraduate school, Sae worked arsenic an AI and blockchain consultant. In February 2020, his relation brought him to Tunisia — which is astir 925 kilometers, oregon 575 miles, from Italy.

At that time, the Covid-19 virus was spreading rapidly passim Italy, which became the epicenter of Europe's archetypal coronavirus outbreak. 

"The Tunisian authorities said that you request to spell retired time due to the fact that we're going into lockdown. But flights to Japan happened erstwhile a day, truthful it was impossible," Sae said.

Stuck successful Tunisia, Sae had to work remotely, on with his colleagues successful Japan who were moving from location arsenic well. 

But helium rapidly grew frustrated with distant work, arsenic determination was small collaboration betwixt employees. 

"In the office, I could spell inquire for task updates and rapidly place bottlenecks, oregon I could observe problems from conversations I someway overheard," helium explained.

"But doing distant work, communicating done Zoom, Slack… that doesn't springiness you the aforesaid benignant of experience. It felt similar a blackout, you don't cognize thing that's happening successful the institution anymore." 

Sae decided to instrumentality matters into his ain hands, and recreated the space-sharing conception of an bureau — taking it online. 

For example, his virtual bureau level allows users, oregon their avatars, to attack a workfellow to commencement a speech oregon person a casual chit-chat — overmuch similar successful a carnal office.

Don't privation to beryllium overheard? You tin "lock" the speech oregon instrumentality it to a backstage virtual gathering room, Sae said.

After taking 2 weeks to physique his archetypal prototype and sharing it with his colleagues, Sae realized his instauration brought him immense satisfaction.

"Because I enjoyed it truthful much, I judge that the radical who consciousness the request to beryllium successful an bureau volition beryllium satisfied arsenic well." 

oVice was launched successful Japan successful August 2020, and Sae said determination was a immense uptick of companies paying for the work arsenic they realized the pandemic was not going distant immoderate clip soon. 

"Companies started reasoning astir connection and engagement with distant enactment and oVice helped with that."

Sae's caller institution enjoyed immense occurrence successful the past 2 years owed to the pandemic.

But arsenic countries astir the satellite relaxed restrictions and workers began returning to offices, oVice began shifting its absorption to companies adapting to what immoderate person called, "the caller normal" — hybrid working. 

"Many radical are present like, I similar being successful the office, but if my institution decides to spell to bureau 100%, I volition quit. And companies cognize that," Sae added. 

"Yes, we are going backmost to the office, but it doesn't mean that [online collaboration] volition vanish."

Sae remains assured that his level volition proceed to thrive arsenic workplaces determination toward hybrid enactment and pre-pandemic normalcy.