RE: Interview with Trevari CEO Yoon Soo-young
This English version was translated by a large language model and may not perfectly match the original Korean text.
The following piece was written after reading Yoon Soo-young’s Trevari CEO interview in the Chosun Ilbo.
Human beings are, by instinct, indecisive creatures—like children. We want a distinct individuality that stands out in the crowd, yet we also feel a strange comfort in following others. If I were a god watching humans, I might sigh and say, “These creatures really can’t make up their minds.”
Then where is the boundary between individuality and conformity? From what I have observed so far, humans pursue individuality only to the extent that they can bear it. When the topic is trivial and carries little burden, people grow bored and look for ways to distinguish themselves. But the moment the stakes begin to feel heavy, they retreat to the safety of conformity. How finicky we are. As Schopenhauer once said, “Life swings like a pendulum between pain and boredom.” Humans choose conformity to avoid pain, and individuality to escape boredom.
That is why I have always admired those who choose a path different from others on a grand scale. They defy the human tendency to pursue individuality only within safe limits. Walking a road no one recommends, toward an uncertain future, requires immense courage. Only those who take such a path, I think, deserve a life that is not the same as everyone else’s.
Recently I read an interview with Yoon Soo-young, CEO of Trevari, and it brought these thoughts back to mind. Even in a short interview, I felt that he too was pursuing something uncommon. In an era where everyone rushes online, he built a business around offline gatherings. And even during a pandemic, when meeting in person was nearly impossible, he insisted on continuing them. That kind of decision is difficult unless one deliberately resolves to move in the opposite direction from everyone else.
What struck me most was his phrase, “the predictable startup growth machine.” We now live in a time where words like startup, growth, and innovation sound almost routine. Companies begin with different visions, yet often end up operating in strikingly similar ways. Perhaps that is what led him to such a phrase. To me, it suggested that he is chasing something beyond the startup growth machine itself.
And so I want to do something different from others. Lately everything around me has begun to feel predictable. Predictable does not mean universal. I was surely born with a certain kind of social and economic privilege. Still, it often feels as if people live according to paths already laid out for them. That is why I want to defy fate. The Homo sapiens instinct within me whispers that I should follow others and accept the destiny given to me. But I want to overcome that instinct, and prove that one can walk a vast and uncommon path through sheer will alone. It will no doubt be painful and difficult. But the predictable path holds no interest for me.