Kihong Bae Managing Director
Kihong is the author of ‘Startup Bible’ and ‘Startup Bible 2’, Korean bestseller books inspiring the next generation of startup entrepreneurs, and has extensive experience dealing with a wide spectrum of technology companies both in Silicon Valley and South Korea. As a Managing Director of Strong Ventures, Kihong selectively identifies, invests and advises in early stage startups both in Korea and the US leveraging his extensive network and experiences in both markets. He was responsible for the successful global launch of Musicshake, a user-generated music community, at TechCrunch40 and has served as its General Manager in North America. Previously, he was a Senior Marketing Manager for Microsoft Korea, in charge of middle-market marketing. Prior to Microsoft, he was the Sales and Marketing Director for Zionex Inc., where he catapulted the company to be Korea's No.1 supply chain management solution provider.
Kihong grew up in the Canary Islands of Spain and speaks Korean, English and Spanish. He holds a Master's degree in Engineering from Stanford University and is an MBA candidate, currently on indefinite leave, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
John Nahm Managing Director
John has had a diverse career in the high-tech industry, the public sector and the finance world. As a Managing Director of Strong Ventures, John focuses on identifying, advising and investing in early stage startups both in Korea and the US leveraging his extensive network in the high-tech and finance industries. He is also a Managing Director of Oceans Partners and has advised many tech companies and startups in their global marketing strategies and fundraising initiatives.. John was the Co-Founder and CEO of Phonevite, a leading VoIP broadcasting company based in San Jose, California. His passion for high-tech and venturing was developed at Dialpad (acquired by Yahoo!), Silicon Valley’s leading VoIP company, where he worked as an International Business Development Manager and as a Senior Product Manager, responsible for launching Dialpad's award-winning products globally. John started his career at the United Nations, where he was an IT manager, and helped coordinate development cooperation projects in Latin America. His experience also includes work in Corporate Banking at Comerica Bank and US Bancorp, where he served as VP of International Banking.
John grew up in the Canary Islands of Spain and speaks English, Spanish and Korean. He earned both his Master in International Business and Finance, and B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.
James Jung Director, Public Relations
James Jung focuses on promoting the Strong Ventures brand as well as helping portfolio startups expand their businesses to global markets. As the Director of Public Relations at Strong Ventures, James shares his deep global PR strategy building skills and provides marketing communication support for both Strong Ventures and their portfolio companies. He is also the CEO of OnSuccess, the leading Korea Startup & Tech Media, and advises several Korean startups with their global PR strategies through partnerships with major global media partners. James has several years of experience at Korea Telecom with various business departments including sales, HR, marketing, corporate strategy and global PR. Previous to Korea Telecom, he was the Founder/CEO of JRI, an Asian trading company of interior items between Korea, Japan and China.
James is fluent in both English and Korean. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Hanyang University and also served as a Second Lieutenant in the Republic of Korea Army.