Rim Ji-hoon

Rim was born on September 28, 1980 in Seoul, Korea. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in February 2004, receiving the Industrial Engineering Best Graduate Award.

Academic Career

Professor Rim joined NYU Stern School of Business in 2019 as Executive-in-Residence at the Fubon Center for Technology, Business and Innovaiton. He subsequently served as a full-time Visiting Professor of Management Practice before transitioning to his current role as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Management and Organizations. He teaches Managing a High-Tech Company: The CEO Perspective and Founding a Startup in the MBA and EMBA program, and Technology and Entrepreneurship in the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program, a joint degree offered by NYU Stern, the London School of Economics, and HEC Paris.

Early Career

Following his studies, Rim fulfilled South Korea's national service obligation through civilian placements at Accenture and Naver, South Korea's largest search engine. Upon completing his national service, he joined The Boston Consulting Group as an Associate Consultant, before moving into venture capital at SoftBank Ventures Asia, the venture capital arm of Softbank Group, where he served as Principal from 2007 to 2012.

KCube Ventures

In March 2012, Rim founded KCube Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm in South Korea. Under his leadership, the firm quickly became one of the most reputable venture firms in the country. Its inaugural $10 million fund returned more than $1 billion to investors, recognized as the best-performing VC fund in South Korean history. KCube Ventures was acquired by Kakao Corp. in 2015. Rim continued to serve as Board Director of Kakao Ventures until 2018.

Rim is the founder and sole funder of the Jihoon Rim Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships and mentorship to college students of Korean heritage. The foundation awards 20 scholarships of $10,000 each annually to Korean-American students enrolled at four-year universities along the U.S. East Coast, and hosts networking and mentorship events throughout the year.