You’re In Good Company With Start-Up on Netflix

To succeed in life, you’d have to work hard for it. It’ll be difficult. You’ll need to start somewhere — like starting from where you’re at. But knowing where you are and knowing where you’re going are two different things. To reach your goal, you’d have to start building. You can build on resources, connections, and ideas. You can even build on a life-long plan full of patience and dedication. What isn’t talked about much is what you need to work hard on the most — yourself. Cliché as it sounds, starting with your most important resource is the key to success. You are your most valuable asset.

So what does it take to become a better version of yourself? The answer isn’t a straight line. As a matter of fact, it’s a constant upward path of trials and errors. Not everyone starts at the same place, too. But truth be told, you’re heading in the same direction. So don’t worry about it. It goes to show that you have to know how you’re going to end up right where you want to be. Do you think passion alone is enough to become who you really are? Do you need brains to gain a competitive edge? Can a special set of skills play a big role? Or does having money buy you favorable results?

Start-Up

As a publication company who has gone through the process of finding our own voice, along with enduring the unanticipated rough patch brought on by this global pandemic, we, at Village Pipol Magazine, continue to build on ourselves. Having promised to reach out to our audience with stories that hit home, we want to make sure that we can inspire and bring hope. For our 13th anniversary issue, we feature a unique but relatable tale that will surely resonate with a lot of people in this time of a great challenge.

From the minds that brought you South Korean hits like Hotel del Luna, Pinocchio, While You Were Sleeping, You Who Came From The Stars, and I Hear Your Voice, come a story about finding success in the competitive world of startup companies. Start-Up focuses on four people from different walks of life as they cross paths while trying to make it big in South Korea’s Silicon Valley. Full of youthful energy and a bit of romance, this new series aims to inspire viewers to never give up on their dreams. But with everything that’s been happening in the world now, how could anyone relate to Start-Up and its leads? There’s only one way to find out.

Burning Passion

Determination can take you places. It makes you open up to constant change, and it wills you to your dreams. Seo Dal-mi (played by Bae Suzy) is a character whose zest molds her as a jack of all trades. Despite not having a college degree, she learned so much and met a lot of people from doing all several odd jobs. With everything that’s happened, it’s amazing that her heart’s still in the right place.

If you relate to Dal-mi in more ways than none, it’s possible that you’ve gone through your fair share of manual labor. Things aren’t given to you on a silver platter — you make sure the platter is spotless for everyone else to use. This predicament doesn’t hold you back, though. You know that everything will eventually pay off. You build more networks and connections this way, and it’ll be your ticket in the long run. All you need now is some time to pamper yourself and maybe (just maybe) finally get to go on that much-needed date.

Big Brain Energy

Knowledge is power. The more you know, the more things get done. But for mathematics prodigy and former pride of his family, Nam Do-san​ (played by Nam Joo-hyuk) realizes he needs more than just a sharp mind to maintain a company. He’s on the verge of being a great disgrace, so he accepts an out-of-the-box offer to earn another shot at his dream.

Ego aside, we’ve found ourselves at our lowest point one way or the other. No matter how far you’ve come, there may come a time that you’d spiral down. Do-san makes us believe that despite the failure and the risks, it’s all worth it. If you feel like you don’t know enough, you make up for it by studying. Things will be shaky at first, but you’d pull it off. If what others say is true, you just have to fake it until you make it. But is it really faking if everything you’ve ever needed to succeed has been inside you the entire time?

Good Set Of Skills

It takes a lot of skill to reach a certain threshold. If you don’t get enough windows of opportunity, build a door. For Han Ji-pyeong (played by Kim Seon-ho), his ruthless manner of persuasion make him a successful businessman. He has a way of finding the right moment to earn a profit, and sometimes his methods can be brutal. With a tough exterior, who would’ve expected that his next big plan is to become a mentor of sorts?

Playing your cards right can help you own the game. Ji-pyeong knows his cards well, and he uses his strengths and all that he knows to stay ahead. If you have everything you need, would you pass the opportunity to become better? If you do get better, don’t you have to hone more skills? We all yearn to become Ji-pyeong someday, but that won’t happen if you won’t do something about it. Just an afterthought, though — once everything comes into place, would you still be the same person? Let’s hope that all that success goes to your pocket and not your head.

Lots of Money

Any rags-to-riches story is a good success story. Although money can’t buy happiness, it sure does buy you a lot of stuff you need — like opportunity and connections. Won In-jae (played by Kang Han-na) knows that first hand. With wealth at her disposal, it seems that everything from her education to her achievements was handed to her. But behind the poise and elegance hides a lonely fighter struggling to keep afloat.

If money isn’t a problem, then why does it feel like a burden to stand on your own two feet? In-jae shows us that getting everything you want doesn’t guarantee contentment. Making a name for yourself means you’ve made good work, but how do you do that if you can pay your wat through it? We may not have resources like In-jae, but we know the feeling of trying to live up to a spotlight we can’t overshadow. Maybe it’s time to roll up those sleeves and start grinding.

The Good Company

So what does it take to become a better version of yourself? Is it passion, brains, skills, or money? The answer is all of the above, but also not necessarily any of them. How, you may ask. Friend, to become your best self you’d need the next best resource you can get — the right folks to back you up. People who’d actually be there for you. People who can’t be bought; those who won’t get jealous of your success; folks who don’t get overpowered by your will; and good company that makes you want to continue learning. It takes a lot of courage to be yourself, but it’s a whole lot of something else if you learn to work with others.

To succeed with anything in life, you have to work hard for it. It’ll be difficult. But with good company, you can finally build yourself up to start a new normal.

In a time when everything seems to be at a stand-still, Start-Up can be a great escape. It premieres on the 17th of October, 2020 and airs two episodes a week on Netflix, the world’s leading entertainment streaming platform.

Watch the full trailer below:

 

 

Publisher | Richie de Quina & Gwynn Crisostomo

Editor-in-Chief | Jim Reynold Zamora

PR & Advertising Manager | Josh Austria

Editorial Associate | Angela Baltan

Produced by Lord Harvey Monteroso

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Senior Layout Artist | Frame Rivas

Special Thanks To Joanna Mendoza, Clara Adriano, Lana Chan, and Ad Pub Hub Manila