MarketDesigners

MarketDesigners operates as a specialized on-demand platform builder, strategically targeting markets characterized by significant information imbalances between suppliers and consumers.

Founded in 2017 by CEO Kim Hyunyung, the company leverages his extensive experience, which includes serving as Vice President at Daum Communications and successfully building two billion-dollar companies. This background in major IT ventures informs the company’s core strategy: to identify and acquire promising startups in fragmented, offline-dominant sectors and accelerate their growth. The company began by acquiring 'Da-isa' (now part of Da24), a moving services platform, in 2017 and introducing a consumer rating system to bring transparency to the market. A significant milestone followed in 2018 with the merger of ed-tech startup 'Tutoring' (now Lingora), expanding MarketDesigners' portfolio into the education sector.

The firm’s business model is a 'Company in Company' (CIC) or venture builder approach, where acquired entities are nurtured as independent in-house companies. MarketDesigners provides a shared services center that offers expert support in critical areas like finance, HR, marketing, and data science, allowing the individual businesses to focus on their core product and operations. This structure is designed to foster autonomy while benefiting from centralized expertise. Revenue is generated through the matching services provided by its platforms. By October 2019, the company had secured cumulative investments totaling 20.9 billion KRW from ten investment firms.

MarketDesigners' portfolio is primarily focused on two large consumer spending categories: housing and education. Its flagship services are Da24 and Lingora. Da24 is an on-demand housing services platform that connects users with vetted providers for moving, cleaning, and interior design, with a cumulative transaction value reaching 870 billion KRW by September 2024. Lingora is an on-demand educational platform, most known for its real-time, one-on-one language tutoring. It connects students with a global network of tutors, offering flexibility in learning without the constraints of fixed schedules. The service has incorporated AI technology and surpassed 5 million cumulative lessons by July 2024.

Keywords: on-demand platform, matching platform, venture builder, company builder, two-sided market, lemon market, information asymmetry, Da24, Lingora, WeMatch, Tutoring, Kim Hyunyung, housing services, moving platform, cleaning service, ed-tech, language learning, AI tutoring, corporate venture, platform economy, South Korean startup