There must have been times when traveling was inconvenient due to carrying a large bag. Sometimes, people visit subway station lockers or storage facilities to keep their luggage. Mr. Oh Sang-hyeok (Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Class of '99) has developed a platform that mediates idle spaces in shops, allowing people to store their large luggage conveniently anywhere. I had a chance to meet Mr. Oh, who adds new value to spaces, and we had a conversation about his innovative platform.

His company, Bluewhale Company, operates two space mediation platforms called “Lugstay” and “UHOO.” Lugstay is a platform for mediating idle spaces within urban areas, while UHOO is a platform for space rental mediation. Mr. Oh explained that both platforms share the same purpose of recycling abandoned spaces.

With Lugstay, users can utilize various spaces such as shops, cafes, and restaurants in urban areas. Mr. Oh mentioned, "Travelers can find shops on Lugstay that offer luggage storage services, and the shop owners can earn a portion of the luggage storage fee." On the other hand, UHOO is a service where spaces are rented for a certain period based on a per-square-meter price. He explained, "The advantage of UHOO lies in the freedom of using idle spaces without a specific purpose."

The birth of Bluewhale Company was driven by the need for “hub spaces.” Mr. Oh said, "While working at LG Electronics before starting my own business, I contemplated the realization of future mobility technologies like autonomous driving," adding, "I eventually realized that to establish the mobility market, hub spaces were essential." During his preparations for entrepreneurship, there was a surge in individual travelers. He stated, "As the number of individual travelers increased, there was a demand for personalized services," and he added, "We added value to spaces to make travelers' journeys more convenient."
 

The Bluewhale Company has experienced rapid growth, having attracted pre-series A investment in January. Mr. Oh explained, "While there were platforms for renting residential and business spaces, there was none for renting idle spaces," emphasizing, "Lugstay's strength lies in being the first in the country to provide various services for safely storing luggage."

Additionally, Lugstay demonstrates outstanding advantages at festival venues. Mr. Oh mentioned, "As festivals grow in scale, there is an increasing demand from tourists for luggage storage services," and he emphasized, "Unlike conventional luggage storage facilities with high loss rates, Lugstay, which requires personal authentication, has never experienced a single loss incident." Furthermore, he stated, "We are linking luggage storage services with festival tickets to provide a comprehensive experience," and added, "We are expanding beyond B2C to the B2B market."

In the future, Bluewhale Company plans to expand its services mainly in the B2B market. Mr. Oh said, "We will steadily secure spaces to expand the range of available spaces for consumers," and expressed his aspiration, "We want Lugstay to be the first choice that comes to mind whenever people need to store their belongings." He continued, "There was no platform like UHOO where people could rent spaces for their desired period," and confidently added, "As the first domestic space subscription platform, we aim to attract many customers."

While Mr. Oh started his business, he attended the entrepreneurship support program offered by Hanyang University. He said, "Participating in the entrepreneurship program helped alleviate the burden of starting a business," and added, "It was a great opportunity to indirectly experience the things that need to be prepared for entrepreneurship." Furthermore, Mr. Oh mentioned, "Engaging in various clubs and departmental activities during my undergraduate years proved to be helpful for entrepreneurship," and advised, "It's beneficial to gain as much experience related to entrepreneurship as possible during your college years."