[Beauty] A 26-Year Veteran Cosmetics Developer’s First Funding Campaign: The Secret to Reaching 200 Million

#12

By Kwon Byung-wook, Maker of "Neulseon"
"Beauty Funding: A Success"

"Neuseon" Maker Profile

3-Line Summary

• The brand “Neuseon,” whichlaunched on wadiz as the swan song of a cosmetics developer with 26 years of experience, raised 100 million won within two days of the funding campaign’s launch and ultimately reached approximately 200 million won,earning a 5.0 satisfaction rating from over 300 supporters.
• Some supporters said they “were spellbound”by the brand’s sincere and lighthearted funding Story, which detailed the brand and product development process, and ended up backing the campaign.
• Kwon Byung-wook, Director of Neuseon, who felt that wadiz was the only place to introduce products that embodied his life, says, “Take on a wadiz funding campaign when you have more stories to tell than you know what to do with.”

A brand created by a cosmetics developer with 26 years of experience
Be “Neuseon”—Be Free 

Neuseon’s first product featured on wadiz funding: a set of three functional ampoules

Q. Hello, could you please introduce Neuseon and yourself?

Hello, I’m Kwon Byung-wook, the director of Neuseon. I’ve been working as a cosmetics developer for about 26 years. I’ve mainly focused on makeup products, but with “Neuseon”—the brand I created as my swan song—I’ve developed skincare products for the first time in a long while and am now launching them on wadiz. To be honest, there’s a tendency in the skincare industry to exaggerate product claims. I disliked that aspect, which is why I’ve focused on developing makeup—but I never expected my final project before retirement to be a skincare product (laughs). 

I chose the brand name “Neuseon” with the hope that our days would be a little more relaxed. Since I’ve struggled with panic disorder myself, I wanted to conveythe message that people don’t have to be tied down by anything—they can be free. I’ve heard feedback like, “Why name a skincare product ‘Neuseon’? What if my wrinkles get looser?” but since it carries my own message, I really like it. 

Q. I’m curious about what led you to develop ampoules containing fermented ingredients rather than other types of products.   

If you search for “ampoules” on a search engine, nearly 700,000 products come up. While I was wondering how to differentiate my product, I came across an ingredient called “fermented extract.” As I looked into it further, I realized there wasn’t much scientific information explaining why fermented extracts are such a great ingredient. I thought, “This is it.” Although the ampoule market is a red ocean, I concluded that the fermented ampoule market would be a niche market. 

“Keani,” a probiotic specialized for skin tone care, is depicted as a character to illustrate the probiotic’s characteristics.

Since fermentation is a scientific process, there’s no need for me to make anything up.I also liked that it wasn’t anartificial orforced method.That’s how I developed three types of ampoules: one for pore improvement, one for skin texture improvement, and one for skin tone care. To explain the scientific principles and processes from the customer’s perspective, we gave the probiotics in each product cute character names—“Jjupjjupi,” “Shabjak,” and “Kyeoni”—to make them more approachable.

The story behind creating an ampoule that embodies a lifetime,
wadiz was the only place to share it 

The main fermentation ingredient development process (left) and the formulation process (right)

Q. I heard the product development process wasn’t easy.

That’s right. It took 24 months to develop the products, and 16 of those months were spent just perfecting the main ingredient. We put in a lot of effort to ensure we didn’t compromise, even if it took time. We were even turned away at the door when we visited ingredient suppliers in person, and we managed to make the product a reality only after pleading with researchers to give us just 20 minutes for a presentation.

It took a long time and a lot of manpower just to create a single ingredient we wanted. Since we developed different main ingredients for each of the three ampoules, it was a challenging process. However,because wewanted to create specialized productstargeting pores, skin texture, and skin tone—which are the essence of skincare— —which are the essence of skincare—we refused to give up.

Q. You chose to debut the products you’d spent so much time and effort developing on the wadiz funding platform first.
Was there a particular reason for that?

I’ve been following wadiz on Instagram for about two years now, and I’ve taken their funding courses whenever notifications popped up. I thought wadiz’s message —“Creating something from nothing”—was truly inspiring.

I’m so passionate about Story that when I developed my color cosmetics brand, I wrote an essay for each color and compiled them into a book. wadiz is a platform that can showcase the unique and distinctive stories of various brands. That’s why I’ve always known I’d eventually try my hand at a wadiz funding campaign. Since “Neuseon” is my swan song, wadiz was the only place that came to mind where I could freely share the story of my life.

Two secrets to a successful funding campaign:
Honest storytelling and friendly communication

Neuseon’s funding story, which candidly shares the brand’s story and the product creation process

Q. When it comes to “Neuseon,” you can’t leave out its sincere and cheerful funding story.
Even though it’s quite long, it’s incredibly immersive. What did you focus on most when creating the Story?

I’d kept extensive records of the intense product development process, anticipating a funding campaign someday.I preferred rough, candid photos that captured the on-site atmosphere overpolished ones.I compiled those records, along with a 50-page brand brochure I created myself and a 20-page section on ingredients, to complete the funding story. 

The wadiz team listened to my story with interest for over two hours and helped polish it to fit wadiz’s tone. They told me, “Neuseon is a brand that embodies your life,” and guided me to include my name and face in the Story. That was a huge help. Above all, my motto was to create natural content— as if I werecasually chatting with supporters—and that approach really worked on wadiz.

Q. You achieved an average satisfaction rating of 5.0 and raised well over 200 million won in funding.
What do you think was the secret behind such great results?

I thought I’d be perfectly happy if we raised just 50 million won for funding, butwe hit that mark in just one hour and surpassed 100 million won in two days.Ihonestlythought my heart was going to stop. In the cosmetics industry, where quality standards are already quite high, I thinkNeulson’s unique Storyservedas our differentiator. 

We tried to explain the fermented ingredients—the core of our ampoules—in an accessible way through cute characters like Jupjup, Shabjak, and Kkeni, and I think many people appreciated how we honestly showed the entire process of creating Neusun just as it was. Also,I worked really hard to communicate with our supporters—so much so that I replied to each of the over 1,500 comments individually. Since these were people investing in a brand they’d never heard of before, I wanted to communicate with them as transparently and actively as possible. I think seeing that side of me made our supporters feel, “This is the first brand like this I’ve ever seen.”

Neuseon, who communicates warmly with supporters, shared 29 stories in the “News” section alone

Q. It was impressive to see how you communicated with supporters like friends through the “News” and “Community” sections.
I also saw that you gave away over 800 products for free.

I enjoyed communicating with them, thinking of it as just chatting and having fun. We’d talk about the weather and parenting. I carefully shared stories I couldn’t fit into the funding story in the “News” section, and sometimes that would generate over 50 comments. In fact, even when I wasn’t around, supporters would leave comments for each other and share information (laughs). 

Since I shared so generously with my supporters, some asked, “What do you get out of it?” But I believe what I gained was a relationship with them. In the cosmetics industry,building a user base early on is the most important thing. Those users often become repeat customers or spread the word about the brand to people around them on my behalf. So I think that simply building strong relationships with my supporters is a huge success in itself—and something I’m truly grateful for.

Using the brand as a medium
Conveying the Message of “A Relaxed Daily Life”

Q. You’re also preparing for an encore funding campaign, right?

That’s right. I introduced the Loose Ampoule as my “retirement project,” so it’s a bit embarrassing to be doing an encore funding campaign (laughs). But I decided to take on this challenge again because I wanted to repay the supporters who were disappointed with the ampoule refill quantity during the first funding campaign by providing a generous amount. Plus, well over 700 people requested that we reopen the funding campaign. 

To earn even greater trust from our supporters, we’re currently conducting additional clinical tests, and we plan to improve the packaging so you can easily see how much product is left at a glance. Based on the feedback we received during the first funding campaign, we’re working to perfect an even better product and plan to launch it sometime this coming October.

Neuseon’s product concept images capture everyone’s happy daily lives

Q. Besides the encore funding campaign, I’m curious about Neusun’s future plans.
What message do you want to convey about skin and cosmetics through Neusun?

The message is simple. I want to keep emphasizing that cosmetics and skin are nothing compared to the happiness of everyday life. After all, for your face to glow, your daily life must first be bright. In one of my News posts, I wrote, “To improve your skin, be mindfully happy. And live a relaxed life.”I hope that Neusner and our customers can become long-term friends, and I want to sharenot just stories about cosmetics, but also stories about our relaxed and happy daily lives. 

In fact, the section we’ve put just as much effort into as our product categories on our online store is the “NEUSNER” menu. We plan to collect photos that capture our customers’ most comfortable and relaxed daily lives. Once we’ve gathered enough photos, we’d like to hold a postcard exhibition and, eventually, publish an essay collection.

A moment you’d want to revisit before you die: wadiz funding
If you have “your own story,” be sure to give it a try

Kwon Byung-wook, Director of Neusner

Q. If you could offer advice to aspiring makers preparing to launch a funding campaign, what would you say?

“Take on a wadiz funding campaign when you have more than enough stories to tell.”That’s what I’d like to say. If you create a product similar to others and try to add a story to it after the fact, you’re likely to fail. People these days are very good at spotting fabricated or exaggerated stories. That approach just doesn’t work anymore. 

When you’ve built up your own unique story—one that’s different from everyone else’s—and that process has been naturally documented, people will take notice even without an outstanding design. authentic Story—one that people will recognize on their own—is complete. The wadiz team will help you make the appeal of your Story shine even brighter. I hope you’ll consistently document your journey and take on a wadiz funding campaign with “just the rich stories that have naturally accumulated over time.”

Q. Finally, I’d like to ask for your honest thoughts on your funding campaign. 

If someone asked me what moment I’d want to go back to before I die, I’d honestly say it was my first wadiz funding.It was really tough doing it allon my own, but nothing has made me happier. I’m so grateful to have had this experience in my life. 

My ultimate goal wasn’t simply to sell cosmetics. During a difficult period a few years ago when I was struggling with panic disorder, I wanted to create a brand that wouldn’t embarrass my daughters—who were always by my side cheering me on—and I wanted to be a dad they could be proud of. That’s the spirit I wanted to bring to this interview today as well. I’ve never been able to live a carefree life myself, but I hope that those younger than me can live more freely. I’m truly happy that the products I created with a father’s heart have been loved by so many people. I’m also very grateful to have met the “Neusne” community through Neusne. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep an eye on Neusne’s future endeavors, along with our encore funding campaign.

Interviewee Director Kwon Byung-wook Written by Jeong So-jeong Editor Han Ji-hye