[EO] From Zero to 600K: Building a Media Brand in Silicon Valley

EO Studio — which began in 2017 as Taeyong's personal interview project — was one of the most recognized media outlets in Korea’s tech scene.

It captured the early stories of the most iconic startups and inspired a generation of young people to dream of entrepreneurship.

But by 2022, growth had stalled. Taeyong knew something had to change, though he wasn’t sure what.

Investors and founders around him kept giving the same advice: to branch out into a new business.

Behind those comments lay a quiet assumption: In this market, a content business could never grow big. Taeyong didn’t buy that. Rather, he chose the opposite path.

"I knew there was always a kind of information lag between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world. If we follow people in Silicon Valley — like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk — then why not go there directly?" (Taeyong Kim, CEO of EO)

He wasn’t a native English speaker, nor had he studied or lived abroad. But none of that stopped him.

"As an interviewer, I met founders who didn't have perfect credentials and thy still built remarkable companies. If they could do it, why not us? We had to go abroad." (Taeyong Kim, CEO of EO)

From Zero to 600K: Building a Media Brand in Silicon Valley

Proof that a small teams with big conviction can reach anywhere

EO Magazine