Photo courtesy of Temp Seoul
Kakao Ventures said on the 19th that it will open Temp Seoul, a community workspace for solo founders, in September.
Temp Seoul is a space where solo founders gather in one location for a set period to focus on developing their own products. The name comes from “/tmp,” the temporary file storage directory in computer operating systems. It reflects the idea of a temporary community where founders build products intensively in one space before moving on to their next stage. Kakao Ventures envisions serial founders and first-time founders moving in together to evaluate one another’s businesses and generate positive momentum.
Another pillar of Temp Seoul is a program designed to remove distractions to concentration together. Every Friday, a “Ship Night” is held to share development results and review what participants have built and validated. Regular retrospectives and weekly one-on-one sessions are used to define the next goals.
Kakao Ventures is partnering with OpenAI and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support product development by Temp Seoul residents. Residents receive technical resources and credits provided by the partners, including ChatGPT and Codex subscriptions, API credits and technical workshops. Various other support is also planned, including exchanges with global founder communities and meetings with senior founders.
Temp Seoul will be run by Oh Young-taek, a head at Kakao Ventures. Oh gained hands-on experience in both technology and investment as a founding engineer at blockchain company Hatch Labs and as an analyst at Altos Ventures. At Temp Seoul, Oh will serve as community leader, shaping the early culture and building trust among participants.
“I want to create a culture where Temp Seoul participants can share their experiences and strengths with one another and immerse themselves deeply in the problems that matter most to each of them,” Oh said.