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Sophie Kim

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Sophie Kim
Kim in 2022
Born
Kim Seul-ah

(1983-06-16) 16 June 1983 (age 43)
Ulsan, South Korea
EducationWellesley College (BA)
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • business executive
Years active2014–present
Known forFounder and CEO of Kurly

Kim Seul-ah (Korean: 김슬아; born 16 June 1983),[1] better known as Sophie Kim, is a South Korean entrepreneur who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kurly [ko], the parent company of grocery delivery service Market Kurly.[2]

Early life and education

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Kim was born on 16 June 1983 in Ulsan, South Korea,[1] to parents who both worked as physicians.[3] She attended the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy.[1] In 2003, Kim attended Wellesley College, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2006.[4]

Career

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Early career

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In 2007, Kim began working for Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, working in bonds, and subsequently McKinsey & Company in 2010.[5] In 2012, she worked at Temasek Holdings. In 2013, she returned to South Korea[6] to work at Bain & Company's branch in the country.[7]

Kurly (2014–present)

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Kim founded The Farmers in 2014,[7] launching with only 30 products as an online grocery retailer in 2015.[8][9] The Farmers was branded to Kurly Inc. in 2018.[10]

As of 2024, Kurly has raised US$761 million in venture capital from investors including CJ Logistics, Sequoia Capital, and SK Networks.[11] Kurly operates Market Kurly, which allows customers in the Gyeonggi Province to receive orders ordered before 11 p.m. by 7:00 a.m the next morning.[12]

In 2021, Kurly initiated plans to IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, raising pre-IPO funding of $210 million at a $3.3 billion valuation.[13] The company shifted plans to list on the Korean Exchange instead; Bloomberg News reported that they were seeking to raise US$1 billion.[14] Kurly called off IPO plans in 2023.[15]

In 2024, Kurly rebooted plans for an IPO at a targeted valuation of $2.3 billion, after recording its first quarter of operating profit.[15]

Recognition

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In 2019, Kim was included on Forbes' "Asia's Power Businesswomen" list.[16]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 남희헌 (12 November 2021). "[Who Is ?] 김슬아 마켓컬리 운영 컬리 대표이사". 비즈니스포스트 (in Korean). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Singh, Manish (7 April 2020). "Korean grocery startup Kurly raises $150M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  3. ↑ Hosokawa, Kotaro (29 December 2020). "Seoul's Kurly remakes home cooking with overnight food delivery". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Kim, Hyun-bin (12 October 2020). "Market Kurly CEO receives Pony Chung Leadership Award". The Korea Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "김슬아 컬리 대표 "죽기 전 후회할 것 같을 때만 창업하라"". 한국경제 (in Korean). 18 January 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  6. ↑ Jung-a, Song (14 April 2021). "Online focus creates lockdown winners in South Korea". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  7. 1 2 Park, Han-shin (19 January 2022). "Kurly CEO Sophie Kim on the road less traveled". The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  8. ↑ Barton, Cat; Hwang, Sunghee (22 November 2022). "Frustrated foodies gobble up South Korean grocery unicorn". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  9. ↑ Sang-hoon, Cho (2 May 2022). "Kurly: Dawn Delivery Trailblazer Eyes the Throne in E-commerce". Business Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  10. ↑ Bae, Jeong-cheol (2 November 2022). "Market Kurly drops Market from platform name to expand business scope". The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  11. ↑ Park, Kate (31 August 2024). "Watch out for these 10 hot startups from South Korea". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  12. ↑ Hong, Sung-yong; Lee, Eun-joo (5 January 2023). "Kurly calls off IPO plan due to IPO market slump". Pulse (in Korean). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  13. ↑ Park, Kate (20 December 2021). "Kurly lands $210M pre-IPO at a $3.3B valuation months after its last funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  14. ↑ Kim, Heejin; Baigorri, Manuel (8 February 2022). "Goldman Alum's Grocery App Said to Seek $1 Billion Korea IPO". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  15. 1 2 Noh, Ja-woon; Lee, Jae-eun (13 February 2024). "Market Kurly reboots $2.3 billion IPO plan amid market skepticism". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  16. ↑ Wehbe, Rana (23 September 2019). "Asia's Power Businesswomen". Forbes. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
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