I stepped away from my startup, hexafarms, which I founded and developed most of the foundational technology for from the beginning. It has been almost a 4-year journey—starting with no business model, no startup experience, and zero revenue. The first three years were purely about learning: how to build a team, how to run a business, how to develop a product, how to deliver to customers, and how to ensure customer satisfaction. By the fourth year, we finally established a business that generates revenue and delivers real value to customers. So, I’m happy to step away as a shareholder and support it from a distance.

I had a similar experience nine years ago, back in 2016, when I left my first job at Hyundai Mobis. I also left after about four years there, but the feelings were partly the same and partly different. When closing a chapter in my career, I start missing a lot—I grow attached to the work I’ve done. It feels like something will go wrong because my work still needs my attention. However, this time, it wasn’t just my work—the entire business was built through my thoughts, effort, and dreams. Even now, it’s not something I can simply switch off.

But when I realize there are plenty of other fields that need me, I’m again filled with excitement. Over the years, I’ve read, asked, researched, and experimented extensively in plant biology, especially with strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). How they grow through specific phases, how humidity affects yield and disease, how photosynthetic activity develops based on light and CO₂ levels, which growing materials influence overall growth, the effect of winter-cold treatment—so much knowledge came from trial and error across the globe, knowledge I’d never have gained if I hadn’t started an agriculture startup.

One of the most exciting realizations is that my relentless pursuit of truths—ones nobody else knew—day and night, gave me tremendous confidence that I can do anything. I know I’ll face many challenges and fail to achieve some goals multiple times. But I also know it just requires grit and conscious steering to move in the right direction.

My life goal is to become a polymath. Working across different industries, roles, and cultures shapes how I work and live. This is why I must keep ending one chapter and beginning another.

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