The Overly Competent Junior Employee

“When did you arrive at work?”

Dokyung led Han Dahyun, who looked half-dead, to the break room located in a corner of the center.

Carrying two cups of coffee, Dokyung sat across from Han Dahyun.

“Around six o’clock? Thanks for the coffee.”

Dokyung furrowed his brow as he watched Han Dahyun gulp down her coffee.

“Six o’clock?”

“Yes… I need to submit a report that the client requested by this morning.”

“I don’t mean to interfere with your work, Dahyun-ssi, but…”

“Oh, come on, why are you beating around the bush? Just say it, it’s fine.”

Dokyung had been trying to be polite, but Han Dahyun waved her hand dismissively.

“What kind of report requires you to come in so early?”

“Well… you know about the recent situation with the startups our team manages, right?”

Dokyung nodded slightly at Han Dahyun’s words.

“Yes, the Agrobridge fund and the place your client invested in.”

Recently, there had been various changes in asset management accounts for high-net-worth individuals, such as those at Yuseong Investment Securities’ Leaders Center.

Previously, investments were almost entirely focused on stocks, bonds, or real estate, but nowadays, clients seemed to have a wider range of options.

If a client wanted a new investment product, PBs would either study it themselves or assign an expert within the branch.

“That’s right.”

In the case of Team 3, to which Dokyung belonged, they not only handled stocks and bonds but also wine futures investment for Dokyung’s client Ko Eunha, and a newly established startup fund thanks to Dokyung.

Han Dahyun, who had always been interested in startups, was in charge of all startup-related matters.

“Agrobridge and the startup I recommended to my client recently achieved unicorn status.”

Unicorn status was the most important indicator of a startup’s success.

If a startup’s total company value, including the investment funds received, the money earned through business operations, and future business potential, exceeded 1 trillion won in Korean currency, it was called a ‘unicorn company’.

Countless startups worldwide were struggling to achieve this unicorn status.

The reason everyone aimed for unicorn status was that it wasn’t the end goal, but rather a milestone indicating that the company could survive.

“Yes, I heard. The clients are pleased.”

At Dokyung’s words, Han Dahyun nodded with a brief smile. Then she quickly wiped the smile off her face and returned to her gloomy state.

“Both Agrobridge, which you chose, and the company I chose… they’re doing so well that it’s becoming a problem.”

Dokyung’s head tilted in confusion at Han Dahyun’s words.

“How is doing well a problem?”

“The company wanted promotional articles, so they distributed press releases. ‘Yuseong Investment Securities Leaders Center made two startup investments, and both startups achieved unicorn status.'”

For the company, this was nothing short of great news.

Both of the only two investments they had made had achieved the milestone of unicorn status.

“And since some of our clients are socially prominent figures, they seem to have spread the word here and there.”

“Have new clients started coming in?”

Han Dahyun nodded at Dokyung’s question.

“That’s something to celebrate.”

“It is something to celebrate… for PBs like us to have new clients coming in without having to do any marketing. But…”

Han Dahyun took a breath before continuing.

“The newly contracted client wants a case like this one.”

“A situation like this one… you mean they want to enter early?”

“Yes. They think that for companies that have already been recognized as unicorns, if they enter now, their investment won’t get them much equity.”

Dokyung nodded at Han Dahyun’s explanation. Even with stocks, there were people who deliberately sought out companies with low stock prices, hoping for a big payoff.

This was a matter of personal investment philosophy, so there wasn’t much to say about it.

“So, Dahyun-ssi…”

“I’ve been looking at various companies for the past few days, but I can’t find an answer.”

Dokyung started to focus on Han Dahyun’s words with a serious expression.

“Dokyung-ssi, have you heard of PDR?”

“PDR? I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s a concept that has recently emerged for evaluating startup company value. Price to Dream Ratio.”

As the words “Price to Dream Ratio” came out of Han Dahyun’s mouth, Dokyung’s brow furrowed once again.

“Price to Dream Ratio?”

“Yes. If we translate it literally, it’s the price-to-dream ratio. In stocks, there are indicators like PBR (Price-to-Book Ratio) and PER (Price-to-Earnings Ratio) to assess a company’s value, but it’s harder to see at a glance in this field.”

While the concept was relatively unfamiliar to Dokyung, he thought that as money flowed into the startup investment market, such metrics were bound to emerge.

“And when startups go public on the stock market, their stock prices don’t rise as much as their pre-IPO valuations.”

“Like Rocket Shopping?”

Han Dahyun nodded at Dokyung’s words.

A major domestic online shopping mall had listed on the U.S. NASDAQ market, but its company valuation from its startup days before going public had plummeted once it actually listed on the stock market.

After all, the stock market strictly looks at how much money a company is earning, and no matter how much market share Rocket Shopping gained, it seemed unlikely to be valued at the same level as before going public unless its massive deficit decreased.

“And since global inflation has started, the importance of these indicators has been increasingly emphasized.”

It couldn’t be helped.

In an era of liquidity where money was being poured into the market on a large scale, startup investors might have been more lenient in evaluating company values, but now those good times were over.

“Recently, in the startup investment industry, there’s talk that the party is over.”

Dokyung nodded at Han Dahyun’s words.

This was a statement that applied not just to startups, but to all asset markets.

The party was now over, and the time of truth had begun.

“As you said before, Dokyung-ssi, now investors want to invest in companies that are actually making money. It means they’re abandoning those with only dreams.”

“That’s not a good trend.”

Of course, when investing in stocks, Dokyung followed the principle that one should invest in companies that make money.

But startups were a different story.

They were companies that, by nature, needed to seek investors, and had to be evaluated based on things that couldn’t be quantified, such as the business potential of their technology and the philosophy of their CEO.

“Startups are companies that grow on dreams, but if investors now demand that even those dreams be shown in numbers…”

“The market can’t help but freeze.”

Han Dahyun, who had responded to Dokyung’s words with a serious expression, let out a sigh.

“That’s why I’m worried. The client wants to invest in startups, but now it feels like we really need to pick the cream of the crop.”

Han Dahyun’s concern was ultimately about something that applied to all investments.

In a market like now, where companies with only dreams were being excluded, Han Dahyun, tasked with chasing dreams, had to find a middle ground.

“What does the client want?”

“A company that meets all the criteria we’ve talked about so far.”

Dokyung couldn’t help but chuckle at Han Dahyun’s words.

“Ah, I’m not laughing because it’s funny. It’s just that it seems so difficult that I can’t help but laugh.”

At Dokyung’s words, Han Dahyun nodded with a pitiful expression.

“To sum it up, they don’t want a company that’s already valued as a unicorn, but they also don’t want one that only has dreams. That’s it, right?”

Dokyung chuckled again. It was like trying to run a marathon with sandbags tied to both legs.

“So, judging by your early arrival today, have you chosen a company?”

“Yes, I’ve chosen a company, but…”

“May I take a look?”

Han Dahyun looked at Dokyung with surprise at his words.

“Aren’t you busy, Dokyung-ssi? You’re the busiest person in our branch…”

“I’m fine. It’s not like I’ll find the answer just by looking, but… maybe I can be of help to you, Dahyun-ssi?”

Han Dahyun stood up with a smile.

“Actually, I was thinking of asking you anyway.”

Saying that, she quickly headed to the office, and Dokyung followed her with a grin.

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“I think we should reduce our domestic stock holdings this year.”

Meanwhile, the day was also beginning at KFSG, known as having the most outstanding skills among Korean private equity funds.

The most important topic at KFSG recently was the June quarterly rebalancing.

In other words, it was the process of readjusting the operating stock funds to match the portfolio ratios.

“We should probably reduce our LS Health & Beauty ratio a bit, as we’ve been thinking.”

Kang Sung-ho, the representative of KFSG, continued talking to the executive in charge of stock funds.

“As we discussed before, the risk of dependence on China in the beauty sector doesn’t seem to have been fully resolved.”

“Yes, I completely agree with your point, Representative-nim. No matter how you look at it, the momentum for sales recovery isn’t good. The technology of Chinese domestic cosmetics brands has also improved significantly.”

“Right. For now, the situation isn’t favorable for re-rating domestic cosmetics companies. Let’s go with the approach of excluding them entirely.”

“Yes, understood. I’ll report on that part separately after the meeting.”

Kang Sung-ho nodded with satisfaction at the manager’s words and looked in another direction.

“How’s the new fund coming along?”

Kang Sung-ho was recently developing a new fund bearing his name.

Of course, all the funds coming out of this company bore Kang Sung-ho’s name, but this time he was putting in particular effort.

“We plan to distribute press releases to the media next week and make it public.”

“Let’s pay extra attention this time. After all, it’s our first attempt and… as you all know.”

At Kang Sung-ho’s words, the executives focused on his words with tense expressions.

“It’s our first time investing in startups.”

Until now, the returns on the funds KFSG had released under Kang Sung-ho’s name were tremendous. The profits were far higher than the funds sold by securities firms, and they were leading the domestic market even among private equity funds.

However, while they had previously taken positions of buying stocks and making demands on companies according to shareholder value, this time they were trying something new.

“And since we’re digesting the exit process of already established startups, we naturally need to ensure they can be listed on the stock market.”

Kang Sung-ho’s new fund was investing in startups, but the method was a bit different.

It was an investment in companies that grow and exit (Exit, recovering investment).

In other words, it meant that the existing management of startups that had been recognized for their value would sell their companies to Kang Sung-ho’s fund.

“The acquisition targets are progressing well?”

“Yes, that’s right. They seem to welcome our approach.”

“I suppose it’s because it’s difficult for startups to directly list on the stock market these days.”

Even decacorns (companies valued at 10 trillion won), which are ten times the size of unicorns with a corporate value of over 1 trillion won, were unable to go public.

This was because the scrutiny was strict due to suspicions that corporate values might be inflated.

“I think I need to meet with the management myself.”

“You mean personally, sir?”

“It’s a fund bearing my name, and customers buy the fund because of my name, so I should take care of it personally.”

Everyone nodded at Kang Sung-ho’s words.

“Set up an appointment as soon as possible.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And since I’ll need to focus on startup issues for the time being, I’ll trust you all with the existing funds. If any problems arise, don’t try to handle them alone, but share them with everyone. Understood?”

“Yes, understood.”

“Good. Let’s wrap it up here.”

As Kang Sung-ho ended the meeting, everyone stood up and left the representative’s office.

After everyone had left, Kang Sung-ho loosened the tie around his neck.

“Am I getting old too?”

He grumbled about feeling tense before a new attempt, whereas in the past, new challenges had been exciting.

“Useless worrying.”

Kang Sung-ho chuckled and began reviewing the documents in front of him.