Unicorn Ranch (유니콘 목장)

unicorn ranch
keywon chung
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robboudon/6035811624

weird title, Bad news
How “unicorns” & t-shaped
people rule this age of
software innovation
how we’re disappointed with
the korean talent pool

outline
WHAT IS A UNICORN?
why is everyone looking
for unicorns?
what is a unicorn ranch?
How do we build a ranch?
can we build it in korea?
what do you think?

what is a unicorn?
How do you evaluate talent?
What makes your talent more
valuable than others?

what is a unicorn?
historical perspective
I asked:
Why is it so difficult to
explain to my parents
what I do?
I was studying Design & Human-Computer Interaction
at Carnegie Mellon in 2001.
Richard Buchanan said:
You need a
history lesson.
He was the dean of School of Design at
Carnegie Mellon and a prominent academic.

law medical banking art cooking
lawyer doctor banker painter chef
Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Memorize recipes
Practice the dishes
Shop for ingredients
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Recipe book
Knives
Oven
what is a unicorn?

Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Memorize recipes
Practice the dishes
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Recipe book
Knives
Oven
what is a unicorn?
historical perspective This is vertical.
Trade or domain

Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Memorize recipes
Practice the dishes
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Recipe book
Knives
Oven
what is a unicorn?
historical perspective This is horizontal.
Across multiple domains

what is a unicorn?
historical perspective Middle Age: Verticals
Everyone was in their narrow trench
Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Memorize recipes
Practice the dishes
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Recipe book
Knives
Oven

Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Memorize recipes
Practice the dishes
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Recipe book
Knives
Oven
what is a unicorn?
historical perspective Renaissance: Horizontal
Think Da Vinci, a Renaissance Man

what is a unicorn?
historical perspective Post-Renaissance: Verticals again
Think Industrial Age, 20th Century
Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Memorize recipes
Practice the dishes
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Recipe book
Knives
Oven

what is a unicorn?
historical perspective Design started as a vertical
Industrial design, car design, logo design
law medical banking art Design
lawyer doctor banker painter Designer
Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Draw logos
Make clay models
Proof CMYK print
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Offset printer
Photoshop
Foam models

what is a unicorn?
historical perspective New types of design is emerging
Problem solvers, strategists, experience
Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Draw logos
Make clay models
Proof CMYK print
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Offset printer
Photoshop
Foam models
These designers work across verticals
Medical device, credit card, charity branding
Design is both horizontal and vertical
Making it very confusing to others

Understand law
Advise people
Represent people
Memorize anatomy
Diagnos illness
Perform surgery
Learn bank products
Make calculations
Enroll customers
Learn to draw
Master your medium
Sell your paintings
Draw logos
Make clay models
Proof CMYK print
License exam
Law books
Case studies
Anatomy book
Scalpel
Pills and herbs
Calculator
Spreadsheet
Customer Rolodex
Canvas
Oil paint
Sketchbook
Offset printer
Photoshop
Foam models
what is a unicorn?
But these horizontal types are not
unicorns.
These are just generalists.

what is a unicorn?
definition
Someone who can perform
multiple specialty functions and
solve a broad set of problems
your team faces.

what is a unicorn?
example
“Seed-stage startup looking for rockstar
junior designer to sketch wireframes and
design beautiful mockups. You’ll be
responsible for crafting our logo and brand
and writing UI copy. Must know how to run
usability studies, prototype and write
production-ready HTML and CSS.”
Braden Kowitz

research interaction writing visual Ui dev
user
researcher
usability
expert
product
analyst
what is a unicorn?
a unicorn designer
product
designer
interaction
designer
ui designer
ux designer
copywriter
editor
content
manager
brand
strategist
visual ui
designer
communica-tion
designer
gui designer
identity
designer
junior
developer
frontend dev
ui prototyper
ios developer
This job posting describes...
Someone both broad and deep

“Unicorn” Designer
They exist. But unlikely you can find or hire them.
user
researcher
usability
expert
product
analyst
what is a unicorn?
a unicorn designer
product
designer
interaction
designer
ui designer
ux designer
copywriter
editor
content
manager
brand
strategist
visual ui
designer
communica-tion
designer
gui designer
identity
designer
junior
developer
frontend dev
ui prototyper
ios developer

user
researcher
usability
expert
product
analyst
what is a unicorn?
“T-Shaped” Designer
product
designer
interaction
designer
ui designer
ux designer
copywriter
editor
content
manager
brand
strategist
visual ui
designer
communica-tion
designer
gui designer
identity
designer
junior
developer
frontend dev
ui prototyper
ios developer
T-Shaped Designer
You can find them... only in certain places

what is a unicorn?
what is “t-shaped?”
Disposition for collaboration
Across different disciplines.
Curiosity, enthusiasm, empathy.
Depth of skill
Contribute to creative process.
Competitive & competent
Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO

what is a unicorn?
Horizontal stroke = defining factor
Disposition for collaboration
Across different disciplines.
Curiosity, enthusiasm, empathy.
Depth of skill
Contribute to creative process.
Competitive & competent
Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO

what is a unicorn?
unicorn vs. t-shaped
The pyramid is skewed
Much fewer unicorns than Ts exist
The Rest
Most are neither unicorns nor Ts
A lot more mediocre people

what is a unicorn?
unicorn + t-shaped
Value increases exponentially
Both provide much better value than the rest
The Rest

what is a unicorn?
unicorn + t-shaped
In this presentation, we will use the term “unicorn” for
Existing unicorns
+
T-shaped people
striving to evolve into a unicorn.

why is everyone looking for unicorns?
a recent phenomenon
Everyone’s looking for a unicorn.

who’s looking?
“Seed-stage startup looking for rockstar
junior designer to sketch wireframes and
design beautiful mockups. You’ll be
responsible for crafting Designer
our logo and brand
and writing UI copy. Must know how to run
usability studies, prototype and write
production-ready HTML and CSS.”
Braden Kowitz

who’s looking?
Developer
SiliconFlorist.com

who’s looking?
1) Exceptional at deep analysis of data and
running tests.
2) Gifted at creating Marketer
content and
3) Brilliant at branding.
Oh, and it would be awesome if they were also
world-class project managers.
Dharmesh Shah

who’s looking?
“Something has gone terribly out of whack in
looking for realistic talent,” Ms. Weinstein said.
Many companies are looking for “a five-headed
monster,” focusing Advertising
on creative and highly
and the list goes on.
technical skills (number crunching, data
visualization, quantitative analysis) and a strong
business acumen.
New York Times

what’s causing this rush?
Why?
Sudden high demand for unicorns?

software development has changed
y-combinator
python, ruby
Lean Startup
Agile dev
a/b testing
design first
mobile first
analytics
software as a
service
angelist
open source

software development has changed
y-combinator
What kind of people thrive in
(and define) python, this new ruby
era?
Lean Startup
Agile dev
a/b testing
design first
mobile first
analytics
software as a
service
angelist
open source

standout companies
Creators of Ruby on Rails
Design company -> Web apps
Basecamp, Backpack, Campfire
Silicon Prarie News
Creators of Paper iPad App
1.5M downloads in 2 weeks
Apple Design Award winner
FiftyThree

because you need them
What do you think is required to build
and join these standout companies?
Technical knowledge? Not really.
Good schools? Screw that.
8 tenets of standout tech companies

1/8
Scratch your own itch
Be your own customer
Love your problem
Are you solving a problem that you truly care about?
Are you scratching your own itch?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9516941@N08/2286083797

2/8
Love your customers
They are your allies and partners with the same itch you have.
You exist to make their lives simpler and better.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurleif/66875875/
Empathy for customers
Think like your customers

3/8
Anti-Tablet PC = iPad
“Finger is the ultimate input device”
Make opinionated product
Take sides. Pick an enemy. Have a vision and attitude.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/viagallery/2037438708/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/oxtopus/5102485260

4/8
cross-function
Create opportunities to expand yourself.
Do only what you already know -> Create only what already exists.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/altuwa/4398216485

5/8
Screw textbook
Just start hacking and designing.
learn quickly
Learn problem solving, not the answers.
Ask questions.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajkjuu/3671301881 http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsms/4794163953/
Or, better yet...
Start a project with a peer or mentor.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ter-burg/5520205712

6/8
momentum-sensitive
Win small victories consistently.
Push your product forward every day, every week.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/orcmid/3879260297
Decisions are temporary
“Done” is the magic word

7/8
Stay away from Preferences
Be decisive for users, and move it forward
Quick decisions
Bring in your own point of view.
Simplify the product for your customers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyndonhill/6911975683/

8/8
good communicator
Good speakers and writers make good designers and coders.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/i_wont_hire_people_who_use_poo.html
Effective, concise thinking
Valuable in every aspect

love your
problem
love your
customer
make
opinionated
product
cross-function
learn
quickly
momentum-sensitive
quick
decisions
good
communi-cator
World view, value system,
passion for improvement

love your
problem
love your
customer
make
opinionated
product
cross-function
learn
quickly
momentum-sensitive
quick
decisions
good
communi-cator
This is about attitude.
Not as much about resume or skills.

it’s more about attitude than skills
this is a cultural shift
ideo
stripe
facebook
Same situation at other
idolized companies.
airbnb
google
dropbox

all these companies are looking
still most people are “I-shaped”
High demand, low supply.
http://www.quora.com/Designers/Why-is-there-such-a-stunningly-short-supply-of-designers-in-Silicon-Valley-right-now http://www.quora.com/Silicon-Valley/Why-is-there-such-a-stunningly-short-supply-of-good-developers-in-Silicon-Valley-right-now

do i need unicorns?
Why do they offer higher value?
Value increases exponentially
Unicorns and Ts provide much better value
The Rest

yes, you need unicorns
the difference is simply too big
Unicorns are no accident.
They are self-aware and culture-aware.

advantages of unicorns
They get the culture
we compete in.
No need to explain all this
Passion for improvement and innovation included
Improving oneself beyond what’s offered by
school or work system included
Quick learning included
Problem solving included
Ability to deal with ambiguity included
Empathy and cross-functional growth included
Point of view and decision making ability included
Good communication included

is it greedy? no.
You don’t need unicorns for new hires, but
you need T-shaped people to
compete in this age.

it is necessary
And one more thing:
Founders need to become unicorns,
if they aren’t already.

unicorn ranch
building a collective
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robboudon/

unicorn ranch
we are unicorns
Videography Event Organization
Branding and Identity
Infographics
Visual UI Design
Photography
Interaction Design
HTML/CSS
Copywriting
Print Design
Physical Prototyping
Market Sizing
Sketch, storyboard, wireframe
XCode Storyboarding
Keywon Michael
Look & Feel Moneyshot
HR/Recruiting
Motion Graphics
User Interviews
Trend Research
Competitive Analysis
Pitch and Presentations
Interactive Media Art
Guidelines & Documentations
Patent Filing
Academic Paper SEO Analytics
Python/Django
Financial Modeling
Data Mining
Pitch and Presentations
SEM Campaigns
Recommendation Engine
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Handwriting Recognition
Production Backend
Production JS and Frontend
Mathematical Algorithms
Objective C Prototyping
Fundraising
Source Control
Deployment
Statistical Analysis
Acquisition
Press and PR
VC Relationship
Academic Paper
UI Design Review
Code Review
Facilitation
Professional Brainstorm
Market Sizing
HTML/CSS
Software Testing
Performance Optimization
UI Designer
and Tester
Visual/Graphic
Designer
Product Planner
& Manager Customer
Researcher
Computer
Scientist
Software
Developer
Quantitative
Venture Marketing
Founder

unicorn ranch
three ranches we lived in
IDEO
palo alto, CA
MIT MEdia lab
boston, ma
microsoft research
redmond, wa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2475731 http://www.flickr.com/photos/edublogger/838786841 http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/413378149

unicorn ranch
possible for startups? Yes.
37 signals
32 people
fiftythree
10 people
stripe
31 people
How do we bring this level of
excellence to startups?
Silicon Prarie News FiftyThree Stripe

unicorn ranch
lab80 experiment
Our experiment in
unicorn ranching

unicorn ranch at lab80
what we are
Personal Investing in the US
Early startup, 4 people
Seoul+SF
Targeting US consumers
Unicorn Founders
Design Thinking + Data Science + Lean Startup
Mission Driven
We help people invest in their beliefs

international search for bootstrap city
Initial idea
Startup Chile
Prototype1
Prototype2
Data processing
Lab80 opens
team of 5
team of 4 + hiring
2011/02
2011/04
2011/06
2011/08
2011/11
2012/02
2012/06
2012/09
Peru
Brazil
S’pore
Seoul
SF
Seoul
Seoul
Seoul
We opened Lab80 in Seoul
“Good talent at a lower cost”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cubagallery/7690090178

benefits of being one in korea
Kevin kelly
founder of wired
We get to meet & host
Industry leaders and thinkers from the US
tim brown
ceo of ideo

principles of a ranch
1. set up an environment
common goals
common language
basic structure & process
2. we all run as fast as we can
in the same direction
3. See who keeps up
Just enough to establish the
direction to run toward
Recognition & flex time

lab80 experiment, summer 2012
1. set up an environment
weekly release
weekly user tests
customer feedback
team synthesis
pitch & demo to all guests
crit & checkpoint

2. run as fast as we can
8 weeks
5 prototypes, 11 releases
16 user interviews
200+ user quantitative test
5+ events & talks
20+ talents interviewed

3. see who keeps up
who thrives?
those who really want to improve.
“willingness” to improve isn’t enough.
“greedy” and ambitious people do well.
people with solid vertical skills.
T-shaped > i-shaped > generalists
culture fit and point of view
trumps process or resume.

an idea to reinforce the unicorn mentality
immersion in excellence
“work in the valley” month
every year,
we will take the entire team
to san fracisco
or another unicorn habitat
and work there for a month.

lessons learned 1/3
The best way to become a unicorn is to
Work with unicorns and see
if you can grow into one.

lessons learned 2/3
You can’t teach someone to become T-shaped or a unicorn.
Either you are unicorn material
or you aren’t.

lessons learned 3/3
In order to not “burn through people”
We have to be rigorous and selective
in the beginning.

to sum it up...
there is a cultural shift
We need T-shaped people to
compete in this age.

a unicorn ranch in korea?
desire vs. reality
Desire
Reality
Threadless / Allan Faustino

we are frustrated
We’ve been here 7 months
interviewing dozens of people.
And we’ve had only one
recruiting success.
Here are 3 things we are really sick of hearing
from the Koreans we meet.

how it sucks - 1/3
After working at a startup...
I can get a nice job at
Samsung or Google.

how it sucks - 1/3
After working at a startup...
I can get a nice job at
Samsung or Google. Working at a startup is a privilege.

how it sucks - 2/3
Oh I need to learn a new skill?
I’ll buy a book and study it.

how it sucks - 2/3
F*ck textbooks. Oh I need to learn I’ll buy a book Learn a new skill?
and study by doing.
it.

how it sucks - 3/3
Shit, I don’t know the answer, so
I’ll shut up and wait until
you tell me the correct answer.

how it sucks - 3/3
don’t Shit, care I don’t know what the answer, you so
We already
I’ll shut up and wait until
you know. tell me Problem-the correct solve.
answer.

we are discouraged
expat recruiting
instead of hiring
korean talents
remote
collaboration
with unicorns in
sf/overseas
instead of looking for
Korean talents
hierarchy &
apprenticeship
instead of finding peers
who will have a
“seat at the table”
We are considering
this is not what we want

what do you think?
are we wrong?
We don’t have a great impression of
Korean talent pool so far.
Can Korea compete in this environment?

what do you think?
are we wrong?
We don’t have a great impression of
Korean talent pool so far.
Can Korea compete in this environment?
Do you see an excellent startup coming
out of Korea now? Next year? Ever?

what do you think?
question us, challenge us.
Are you T-shaped? Talk to us.
Lab80.co
@keywonc

references
Richard Buchanan IxDA Keynote: How design makes our own subject matter
Tim Brown: T-Shaped People ChiefExecutive.net Interview
Unicorn Designer Hiring a Designer
Why Can’t Startups Find Designers?
Advertising Talent Gap New York Times article
Quora: Short Supply of Designers http://www.quora.com/Designers/Why-is-there-such-a-stunningly-short-supply-of-designers-in-Silicon-Valley-right-now
Quora: Short Supply of Developers http://www.quora.com/Silicon-Valley/Why-is-there-such-a-stunningly-short-supply-of-good-developers-in-Silicon-Valley-right-now
Quora: Facebook & Google culture http://www.quora.com/For-a-CS-major-out-of-college-which-is-better-taking-a-job-as-a-Facebook-Software-Engineer-or-Google-
37Signals: Getting Real http://gettingreal.37signals.com/
37Signals: FastCompany Interview http://www.fastcompany.com/3000852/37signals-earns-millions-each-year-its-ceo%E2%80%99s-model-his-cleaning-lady
FiftyThree http://www.fiftythree.com/about
Make Opinionated Products: Tablet PC vs. iPad http://www.cultofmac.com/126116/steve-jobs-created-the-ipad-to-show-one-microsoft-employee-what-a-tablet-really-can-be/
What it’s like to work at Stripe http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/stripes-culture
Don’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar http://bit.ly/TrCjL0
Lab80: Keywon Chung http://www.linkedin.com/in/keywon
Lab80: Michael Shilman http://www.linkedin.com/in/shilman

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