친구들이나 주변 사람들이 다음 질문을 많이 한다. “뮤직쉐이크는 IT 벤처기업인데 왜 실리콘 밸리가 아니고 LA에 미국 사무실을 세우셨나요?” 음…안그래도 실리콘 밸리의 광팬인 내가 왜 LA로 왔을까…여기에는 몇가지 이유가 있는 가장 두드러지는 이유 두가지는 다음과 같다.

1. Musicshake, Inc.는 IT 기업이지만 전통적인 벤처 기업과는 그 성격 자체가 약간 다르다. 인터넷과 기술을 기반으로한 종합 엔터테인먼트 회사이다. 즉, IT+음악+media/entertainment의 성격을 가지고 있는 매우 혁신적인고 disruptive한 회사이다. 실리콘 밸리는 벤처의 메카이지만, 아직까지 할리우드가 있는 LA야 말로 media and entertainment의 중심지이기 때문에 LA로 결정을 하였다. 물론 뉴욕 또한 media & entertainment 산업이 매우 발달 하였지만 아직까지는 LA를 따라올 수 없다고 생각한다.
2. 또다른 이유는 전략적인 이유에서이다. 우리가 Series B 투자를 받을때 운이 좋게 한국, 아니 세계 최고의 온라인 게임 회사인 넥슨 (아마 넥슨은 몰라도 “카트라이더”라는 게임은 알것이다. 바로 카트라이더를 만드는 회사이다)에서 참여을 해서 현재 넥슨은 뮤직쉐이크의 주주 중 한 명이다. 넥슨 아메리카 사무실이 LA에 있는데 현재 Musicshake, Inc.는 넥슨 아메리카와 같은 건물에 있다. 이거는 많은 의미를 내포하고 있다. 많은 사람들이 strategic investment (전략적 투자)라는 말들을 많이 하는데, 아직까지는 나는 제대로 된 전략적 투자 case를 본적이 없거든..말들은 전략적이라고 하지만, 실제로 까서 보면 그냥 money-in, money-out 게임이다. BUT! 넥슨 – 뮤직쉐이크의 경우는 조금 다르다. 아주 classic한 전략적 투자의 좋은 예시이다. 이 블로그에서는 모든걸 말해줄 수는 없지만, 앞으로 넥슨과 많은 일들을 같이 할 계획이며, 온라인 게임과 user generated music은 아주 완벽한 궁합이다.

하여튼, 내가 말하고자 하는 요지는 이 새로운 생활과 opportunity에 매우 기대를 많이 하고 있으며 아주 재미있는 일들이 앞으로 생길거라는 예감이 팍팍 든다…역시 나는 학교에서 탁상공론하는거 보다는 현장에서 몸으로 경험하면서 뒹구는게 더 어울리는 거 같다.

몇 일전에 TrenchMice라고 하는 블로그의 Nicholas Katers라는 기자와 간단한 인터뷰를 하였다. 뮤직쉐이크에 대한 질문 및 뮤직쉐이크라는 벤처기업의 문화에 대한 질문이 대부분이었는데, 방금 live 된거를 보니 역시 기자답게 아주 stylish하게 글을 쓴거 같다.

I recently spoke with Kihong Bae, the general manager of the burgeoning startup Musicshake based out of Seoul. The company produces software that helps musical novices and computer users create music using tools that require no formal training. I found out that Musicshake is expanding this year into the United States from Korea in an effort to expose a larger market to the company’s products.

My interest in getting some inside information on Musicshake led me to ask about Kihong’s management style. The 20 full time professionals are given plenty of freedom on a daily basis to finish their part of each project. Kihong explained that the tight schedules and budgets make specialization important. Musicians, programmers and freelancers are given a set of expectations that need to be met in order to complete projects. The effusive manager said that each employee needs to act like they are running “their own company” in order to make Musicshake projects their own.

The only way that this startup has been able to grow is by hiring the right employees. Kihong Bae says that incoming workers need to share in the “culture” of Musicshake. The creative flow inherent in creating music production software makes an immediate connection between new employees and old hands at the company a necessity. Kihong described the urgency of hiring smart, principled employees by saying: “This is a fast changing industry, you can’t spend tons of time preparing and predicting the future. You should just do it, and make modifications as you go along. We are a very horizontal organization where we talk less and do more. The rest just falls in place when you lead by executing.”

I know that questions about management style can be answered to reflect kindly on a manager’s approach. I dug further into Musicshake’s origins by asking Kihong about influences from past ventures. The lessons he learned from past businesses showed that his original contention about an efficient workplace with a casual feel were heartfelt. Kihong spoke about the need to keep ventures “lean” and bring in enough cash to keep the business on sound footing for the near future. A combination of smart borrowing and revenue generation from opening day has made Musicshake a success.

My favorite question to ask a business owner is how they balance industry news with their own intuition. I asked Kihong Bae the industry sources used by Musicshake to get a read on the online music industry. Kihong responded with several publications from business schools including the Harvard Business Review that would make this manager seem conventional in his approach to business. His use of blogs like VentureBeat and TechCrunch gives him a nudge outside of the box.

The final line of questioning involved the sales pitch of Musicshake to skeptical investors and customers. Creation of software and widgets, after all, can be a difficult thing for the average consumer to wrap his head around. Kihong Bae responded by stating that the lack of language and geographical barriers to music along with the company’s proprietary program make Musicshake a company with unlimited potential. The success of this venture in the 2007 Crunchies and its place as a finalist in the TechCrunch40 seems to be the closing number for Kihong Bae in making his appeal to potential business partners.

I have a favorable projection for Musicshake in the future. The success of a startup trickles from the top down and Kihong Bae has a clear vision for the company’s future. It is difficult to project the success of electronic products but the employment of musicians lends credibility to the company’s software. The only roadblock I see for Musicshake comes with the saturated market for software development in the United States. If Kihong Bae can lead Musicshake through 2008 and 2009 successfully, watch out for this company as “Guitar Hero” fans get their hands on new software to make real music.