SoftBank Chairman Son Jeong-ui's game-winning life

There are times when all IT companies have to make decisions while standing at the crossroads of despair due to the high volatility of the industry.

When it goes well, it experiences dramatic corporate value growth, and when it doesn't, it experiences a dramatic decline incorporate value.

Entrepreneurs have to make the right decision as a victor each time.

Son Jeong-ui History

Chairman Son Jeong-ui has faced numerous difficulties and inflection points from his childhood until now, and he dared to win.

SoftBank Chairman Son Jeong-ui is one of the best in the IT industry to do this.

In this regard, I would like to introduce ten anecdotes.

Leaving to study in the United States despite family opposition

At the age of 17, I decided to study in the United States with the purpose of learning advanced culture.

However, his family's circumstances at that time were not very good as his father's disease got worse.

Nevertheless, he insisted on the idea that it had to be now.

He said that he was able to pay for tuition and living expenses after sending a letter of resignation to the school and convincing his family and friends one by one.

Pass the high school GED in the shortest possible time

Son Jeong-ui wanted to finish high school as soon as possible because he left after hearing the sound of disobedient children and felt burdened by the heavy tuition.

I studied at random, and within a year, I begged the principal to take the graduation exam.

But how easy is that? In a situation where English is not perfect, there were too many sentences to be interpreted and problems to be solved.

During the test, he proudly raised his hand and said, “I am from Japan. Let me write After all, it's not testing English, it's testing academics."

The superintendent was puzzled, but after inquiring with the school district, he replied that he could use an English-Japanese dictionary. Eventually, he passed the GED

Son Jeong-ui's introduction to Business:

Sold electronic dictionary patent to Sharp

Son Jeong-ui entered the prestigious UC Berkeley after attending Holy Name College, a two-year university. He came across Intel microprocessors by accident and decided to make an electronic translator.

But he had no money for him, no team. So he went to Forrester Moder Institute of Technology and said,

"There are some really good business items. But I don't have money, and I don't have a team. Professor, please gather your colleagues and make a product."
"If the patent is sold, we will settle it immediately. But if the development fails, we cannot give you money."

In a word, it meant taking risks and investing in ventures with labor, not money.

The professor was absurd but judged that the idea was not bad, and above all else, he was fascinated by his bold spirit and accepted it.

Fortunately, the patent was sold to Sharp. It is said that the electronic dictionary IQ3000 was utilized.

Most of the start-up funds are devoted to PR and marketing.

Softbank:

Son Jeong-ui returned to Japan after studying abroad and started his own software sales business.

At that time, software was unfamiliar to the field and the company was in its infancy, so sales were not carried out properly.

More than anything else, I thought it was necessary to raise awareness, so I borrowed 80% of the start-up funds to rent the most expensive booth at a famous IT exhibition.

It got a lot of attention, but at the end of the exhibition, it was almost bankrupt.

But fortunately, a mid-sized company contacted me and we succeeded in signing a software supply contract.

“It was the most reckless decision of my life at the time, but it made some sense for my age, and that success fueled the betting that was going on.”

confront competitors head-on

Over time, Softbank has grown into a distribution company with sales of tens of billions of won.

However, with the growth of the software industry, market competition became more and more fierce, and a large competitor was holding it in check.

It made it impossible to advertise in PC magazines.

Son Jeong-ui decided to set up a PC magazine by himself without bending or backing down.

Since I have never been in the publishing business, it is natural that I experienced countless failures in the early stages.

However, he showed a more aggressive appearance by increasing investment, lowering magazine prices, and even running TV commercials.

Eventually, the publishing business rebounded. All proceeds from the public offering are used for mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

SoftBank believes that the 'MS-IBM' standard will dominate the PC market in the late 80s

Softbank working with other companies:

After working closely with Microsoft, we succeeded in obtaining exclusive sales rights in Japan.

With this, I did another quantum jump.

It has attracted a large number of public funds through the IPO.

Son Jeong-ui, who was contemplating global expansion, decided to acquire information-rich media and exhibition companies first and acquired IT media company Jeep Davis and IT exhibition company Comdex. He's been spending a lot more on M&A than the public offering.

“But it is very meaningful in that he gave me experience in M&A and helped me invest in promising startups such as Yahoo and Alibaba.”

Son Jeong-ui Crisis:

A crisis came to Son Jeong-ui as he risked his life to build a high-speed internet network.

As the dot-com bubble burst, the market capitalization of Internet company Softbank shrank to 1/100.

He chose the high-speed internet distribution business as his reversal card.

He usually noticed that Japan's Internet environment was underdeveloped, and he was stimulated by the success of Korea's related businesses.

And for the sustainable growth of his main business, Yahoo Japan, he decided that the distribution of high-speed Internet was essential.

For this, NTT, a giant telecommunications company, had to lease base stations and install networks for them, but they were frequently checked.

In addition, as the scale of the business was so large, opposition from internal and external forces was also a burden.

He made a decision, and went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to meet the manager in charge and said, "If you condone NTT's unfair competition, I will use oil and burn to death."

He made threats, not threats.

In the end, NTT raised a white flag

Softbank was able to complete the business.

Softbank's entry into mobile communication:

Carrying out mobile communication business with company funds SoftBank announced its entry into the mobile communication business in 2006 after selling software and distributing the Internet and high-speed Internet networks.

To this end, it acquired Vodafone Japan, the third-largest telecom operator.

They stole all the funds the company had. The market was very concerned because the telecommunication market was very stagnant and Vodafone Japan's situation was not good.

First, he created a wind of change with the lowest priced policy, met Steve Jobs, with who he had always maintained a good relationship with, and signed an exclusive iPhone contract.

Vodafone Japan's market share

It increased significantly from 15.9% in 2007 to 22.9% in 2014”

Final Thoughts:

If it is a good start-up, invest even at a premium.

SoftBank's current homework is to prepare food for the future for sustainable growth.

The most notable trend is an investment in promising startups around the world.

One interesting thing is that the cost of the investment is higher than is generally thought.

If it is a good startup, it reflects the will to invest even if it is expensive.

Representative examples include:

Mobile game company Supercell, Singapore taxi app Grab Taxi Chinese taxi app Kwai Di Da Che, Indian e-commerce company Snap Deal.

Creating a successor training academy

The '50-year life plan' he made when he was 19

It's quite famous. To summarize...
20's, get your name out
30's, collecting business funds
40's, a big game
50's, complete the business
Passing on management to the next generation in their 60s

The last remaining task is to find a successor.

This method is also a winner.

Opening the 'SoftBank Academy' to educate 300 students and select one with the best grades and qualities to hand over the company

"The remaining 299 people are also said to be raised as leaders of group affiliates, rather than being thrown out just because they failed the competition."