Photo : Ryan Kim, CEO of Callus Company.

To celebrate the launch of Tech Seoul, we started interviewing CEOs of Korean startups. Today, for the eighth time, We met Ryan Kim, CEO of Callus Company.

Hello, Mr. Ryan Kim, thank you for your time. We think this interview with Ryan Kim, CEO of Callus Company, the curriculum-based internship program for teenagers, will be very interesting and informative for Tech Seoul readers

Q. Please introduce your company.

A. Callus Company offers the 'Sprint Program', a curriculum-based internship program for teenagers. Through the Sprint Program, teenagers can participate as remote interns in startups related to their desired career paths, following a curriculum designed from an educational engineering perspective. Currently, Callus Company collaborates with a broad range of startups, both domestic and international, providing countless teenagers the opportunity to explore their career paths.

Q. What's the story behind your company?

A. Callus Company was brought to life through the company-building program of Antler, a global venture capital firm. Initially, our business was centered around a 'mobile puzzle game aimed at preventing dementia,' a project my co-founders and I had been invested in prior to founding Callus Company. Interestingly enough, a few students reached out to us, expressing interest in our service and expressing a desire to intern with us. While we initially hesitated, their passion, even in the face of unpaid work, led us to offer them a five-week opportunity to participate in our service development. The satisfaction they derived from this opportunity nudged us towards expanding the company's business, which eventually led to the creation of the Sprint Program.

Q. What kind of projects are planned for 2023?

A. Our foremost priority for 2023 is to broaden the reach of the Sprint Program. In line with this goal, we're actively increasing partnerships with various educational institutions and planning to launch a website to facilitate easier interaction with our customers.

Presently, we're providing the Sprint Program to over 40 educational institutions across different countries, including Korea and the United States, with plans to expand our partnerships to more countries.

Q. What does the meaning of success for you and your company?

A. For Callus Company, success through the Sprint Program is defined by the number of opportunities we provide for teenagers to discover their passions.

I recall my own journey, where I had to switch jobs twice post-graduation before I could identify where my true interest lay. If I'd had this clarity earlier, things could have been different.

At present, we're largely centered on offering educational services through internships. However, our long-term goal is to craft a variety of educational content that assists teenagers in uncovering and pursuing their individual passions.

We had a student who, through the Sprint Program, interned at three different. Initially, he aspired to be a developer, but he discovered a stronger interest in fintech, prompting him to decide on a double major in economics and computer science. Such instances, for us, embody the true essence of success.

Q. What can you actually do for Korean Startups?

A. Our contribution isn't limited to the Korean startup ecosystem; we extend our support to early-stage startups globally. Through the Sprint Program, these startups can offer incredible opportunities to young minds while simultaneously generating an initial cash flow. The beauty of it lies in the fact that startups can participate in the Sprint Program in alignment with their primary business activities, rather than treating it as an unrelated, outsourced task.

Q. Where do you see your company in three years?

A. While we currently offer only short-term, four-week programs, we envision ourselves operating long-term programs extending over a year in the next three years. These programs will aim to help teenagers discover and nurture their passions.

Q. How do you set project goals?

A. When we embark on a project, we remind ourselves that our service is still in the beta phase. This mindset allows us to remain open to modifying the project's scope and objectives whenever new customer needs emerge.

Q. Thank you for your time today. We wish Callus Company's endless development Lastly, please say hello to the readers of Tech Seoul.

A. Thank you. We're geared towards developing richer educational content in the future, and we'd greatly appreciate your continued interest and support.

Thank you for your time today. We wish the endless development of Callus Company.