Lee Kang-joon, CEO of Doonamu & Partners, has advised investors to monitor the vision of founders and corporate competitiveness in blockchain investment.
In a recent seminar on the Blockchain Technology Outlook from the Investors’ Point of View 2018, on the Jeju Island, his company’s investment focus is on the corporate philosophy of founders. “We cannot control so many variables in investment, but once you invest in companies whose founders have a clear vision, you will not fail in investment,’’ he added.
He founded Doonamu & Partners early in 2018 with the aim of investing in blockchain startups. Most of Doonamu’s fund came from Softbank in Japan. Lee has been in charge of investment at the Softbank for the past decade.
He said Internet protocol technology has dramatically upgraded the value of Amazon and e-Bay. The majority of the people believe that the services Amazon and eBay provide are fast changing the world.
He diagnosed blockchain is at the early stage of development. Once blockchain becomes a powerful technology like the Internet, it could produce companies of which influence would match that of Google, Tencent and Never, Lee predicted.
He said it would be interesting to compare stock charts of major IT companies with those of bitcoin, ethereal and ripple.
For example, MS stock price peaked in the IT bubble age in late 1990s before its price nosedived in half and again its price has been on upturn trend from 2014.
He said MS, Apple, eBay, and Amazon are competitive companies and their founders have excellent vision. “When we invest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups, we will look into the vision of founders,’’ he said.
He said people’s perception and belief do not change suddenly. But indications are that public view on blockchain has been turning positive. The recent influx of investment in blockchain indicates that public sentiment to the core technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has been turning positive.
Another sign of positive development, many talented people are venturing into blockchain business.
When disruptive service appears in the market, few can initially estimate its intrinsic value. For example, ten years have passed since bitcoin made a debut, but few had appreciated its significance. Nowadays, the CEO thinks positive view has been emerging on the importance of bitcoin in the market.
Lee said that it is difficult to predict which will become the winner in the cryptocurrency market, time will tell.
Lee predicted blockchain would be a breakthrough in powering the sharing economy, online game, settlement, and asset tokenization.
He said Doonamu & Partners would focus blockchain and fintech as its core business. “At this stage, it is difficult to define business that can be made possible by fintech and blockchain. But these technologies have unlimited potential for growth,’’ he predicted.
