Why a Top Marketer Quit to Become a Stay-at-Home Dad, and Built a Brand Anyway
A few years ago, a certain marketer left a lasting impression on me. Not only did he possess a sharp eye for trends and a rock-solid background, but he was also a published author, a frequent speaker and coach, and even a certified LEGO Serious Play facilitator. His constant drive to tackle new possibilities was striking.
So, when he eventually decided to leave corporate life and walk the path of a stay-at-home dad, I’ll admit I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it at first. But I needn't have worried. He didn't skip a beat in his pursuit of growth, even amid the daily grind of parenting and household chores. Watching him effortlessly juggle work and family while carving out new paths often made me reflect on my own life as a corporate worker.
I still vividly remember a time we sat down over coffee. To my surprise, the topic weighing most heavily on his mind back then was "tenderness." I can still picture the serious look in his eyes as he earnestly asked, "How can I become a softer, more caring person?"
Looking back, I suspect that simple yet profound desire—to be more present and affectionate for his family—served as the starting point for his colorful life and countless subsequent adventures today.
And now, he has established himself as a creator who transcends the traditional boundaries of marketer and author, inspiring countless others. In particular, watching him excel in the group-buying ("gonggu") market—a space where personal taste and trust are paramount—made me want to dive deep into his story once again. I was curious about how his quest for tenderness translated into diverse life challenges, and how those challenges have shaped the person he is today.
That is how this interview began.
Q1. When you tried job hunting after stepping out on your own and faced repeated rejections, did your self-esteem take a hit? How did you manage your mindset back then?
I had a mix of conflicting emotions. Having worked in stable financial firms and startups, I always operated under the underlying assumption that "any corporate job is a place you'll eventually have to leave anyway." It was true that positions matching my exact criteria and circumstances weren't readily opening up, and it hurt to get rejected from roles I felt well-suited for.
On the other hand, a part of me knew I needed to build something of my own. Especially after our second child was born, I felt that my most important mission was to raise my kids. Some might view that as a wife's job or "women's work," but regardless of what my wife thought, I felt deep down that "taking care of my children is my job."
Every time I hit a roadblock in the job market, I felt disappointed and frustrated. My wife finished her parental leave and returned to work, so from last October onward, I was looking after the kids full-time on my own. But as I got closer to final interviews during my job search, a sudden wave of panic washed over me: "If I actually go back to a corporate job, who is going to watch the kids? Do I have to send them off to someone else's hands with a daycare pick-up helper like everyone else?"
Beyond that, I find immense joy and fulfillment in raising my children myself. Looking back, even back in my college days when I was completely immersed in studying marketing, someone asked me what my dream was, and I replied, "To be a great dad"—only to be teased that "isn't that what everyone wants?" Being a good dad has been a long-standing goal of mine. Once I actually became a parent, I realized firsthand how short the time we get to spend closely by our children's sides really is, which made the transition to a stay-at-home dad feel that much more natural.
Q2. You used to run an unmanned café yourself. What was store management actually like when you experienced it firsthand?
I ran the unmanned café for two years, short by just a single week. The pros and cons were remarkably clear-cut.
First of all, offline storefronts face very rigid limitations tied to their local commercial area. The revenue ceiling is practically set in stone. Running it for two years made me experience that hard limit with my entire body. More than anything, I felt that no matter what I decided to do next, running an unmanned café wasn't going to create any meaningful synergy with my future endeavors. For some people, the steady cash flow might be appealing, but for me, the capped revenue and lack of synergy were the primary reasons I decided to wrap up the business.
Moreover, rather than romanticized notions of a "space business," having a physical storefront simply meant I had to be on call 24 hours a day. Even though part-time staff would drop by once or twice a day, issues kept popping up that they couldn't handle on their own. I had to live in a state of constant standby, anticipating a customer call at any moment, and that was far from easy.
Crucially, I realized that letting an offline store constantly siphon away my time would interfere with my commitment to full-time parenting. So, a month before my wife returned to work, I neatly closed down the shop.
Q3. As you continuously pivoted your business and career, your surrounding relationships must have shifted quite a bit, too. Did your perspective on human relationships change a lot as you went through this journey of standing on your own?
Leading up to my decision to quit my final corporate job and become a stay-at-home dad, I spent over a year wandering and deeply agonizing over my career. Going through that phase led me to realize that external relationships aren't all that important. Instead, it became a time for me to ask, "Who am I, and what truly matters in my life right now?"
The answer to that question was focusing on parenting as a stay-at-home dad. Once you dive into full-time parenting, it naturally becomes harder to reach out first and meet people, which naturally culls your network. I also felt that when you're starting your own work from scratch, other people's gazes and judgments can actually get in the way.
So, I cleaned up my unnecessary Instagram and Facebook friends, left group chats that had gone quiet, and drastically reduced incoming external inputs and messages. Doing that allowed me to focus entirely on my life and my family.
Cutting back on external relationships wasn't some grand, dramatic resolution; it happened naturally as I chose my family and carved out time to look after myself, so I didn't feel lonely or distressed. Having worked as a freelancer for a long time, I didn't have much of a thirst for institutional belonging, either. I figured that business relationships would naturally reconnect if I do well, and personal relationships are more than fine with just my wife and a few close friends—and in reality, that's exactly how it turned out.
Q4. You went through a sudden deletion of a YouTube channel you had poured a lot of effort into growing. It must have felt devastating when your hard work vanished overnight. How did you pick yourself up and start over?
I built an AI YouTube channel, crossed 10,000 subscribers in just a month, and even achieved monetization, but then the channel was suddenly shut down overnight. It genuinely felt like waking up from a bad dream, and it took a little while before I could shake off the shock.
Even so, I kept telling myself that "continuing to try" is what matters most. Confidence, after all, is something built entirely out of tiny successes.
Around that time, I started posting content on Instagram, and my likes and views started picking up, accompanied by comments saying, "I'm enjoying your content." Every single share and bit of feedback gave me a small boost of confidence. Fueled by that momentum, I experimented with creating more content, and seeing those efforts receive positive responses sparked a virtuous cycle of recovering my self-belief. That’s how I regained the strength to keep making content.
Q5. Although you've built deep trust and a solid fandom through "Monthly Thirties" (Wolgan Seorteon) and your writing, was there a moment when you felt it wasn't easy to generate sustainable revenue from content or communities alone?
I appreciate the kind praise, but the difficulty of creating a sustainable cash flow from writing or community-building isn't really a flaw in the content itself—it comes down to my own personal disposition. To be precise, I just wasn't very well-suited to making money off writing or communities.
The process and methods required to monetize them didn't align with my personality. For example, writing usually leads to opening lectures to make money, but I didn't want to go down that route. Communities also require gathering people and maintaining ongoing interactions, but since I value my personal privacy and downtime, carrying on constant interpersonal maintenance felt like a heavy burden.
I believe that no matter the field, if you refine your craft and reach the top 0.1%, the money will naturally follow. But to get there, you have to genuinely excel at the work, love it, and find that it fits you seamlessly. Frankly, I didn't have the confidence—nor did I feel enough of a spark—to become part of that top 0.1% in the writing or community space.
That doesn't mean I'm planning to quit writing or communities. I'm still doing them consistently and will continue to do so, but I simply didn't want to make them my core business model.
Q6. As a marketing expert and author, did you feel any hesitation or concern regarding your previously built career and public perception when you started 'group buying' (gonggu), which involves selling actual products directly?
Even now, I go through various internal debates whenever I run group buys or ads on Instagram. However, I didn't hesitate out of fear that my surrounding reputation or personal brand would be tarnished. I never thought that doing this work would degrade my personal brand.
I’ve talked about personal branding for a long time myself, but the most crucial element in branding isn't other people's perceptions—it's "your own thoughts." The core of personal branding is knowing clearly who you are and ensuring that how you appear to others matches that internal reality. It has to stem from your inner self, not external judgment. From that perspective, I actually feel like I'm walking the most orthodox path.
I don't sell things just because they make money; I evaluate them based on criteria like, "Can I explain this clearly?" and "Do I genuinely want to introduce this product to people?" These activities are simply one part of the various monetization strategies I want to build for my personal brand. My ultimate dream is to host a talk show under my own name that brings empathy and laughter to people, so I don't consider my core identity to be a "merchant."
This wasn't a choice made to chase practical gains while ignoring what others think; rather, it was a choice to lay down my accumulated legacy (as a marketer, author, and executive) alongside public judgment, and focus entirely on my true inner self. To some people, I might look like a merchant today; to others, a creator or a stay-at-home dad. But all of those facets are genuinely me. As long as I don't waver within myself during the journey of completing my brand, I believe my personal brand won't shake either.
When I first uploaded funny videos on Instagram and put "Stand-up Comedian" as my career aspiration in my bio, people probably thought it was just a bit or a concept, but I was completely serious. The reason I didn't list any of my past corporate history in my bio was precisely because I wanted it to reflect only who I am right now and who I want to become.
Hearing me say this might make it sound overly grandiose, but there’s an English expression: "They don't pay my bills." The people who look at a single slice of my life and talk me down don't pay my rent or my loan interest. I'm just earning an honest living for my family, and I don't believe those earnings carry any shameful label. If I can do work I enjoy while providing for my family, that is more than meaningful and happy enough.
Q7. The raw, honest sides of yourself that you shared through your newsletter, Sunday Fathers Club, struck a major chord with readers. Did the trust built with subscribers that way end up translating into your commerce or other business ventures later on?
Well, if you ask whether the trust built through Sunday Fathers Club served as direct nourishment for my business, I'd say it acts as a proof point that validates my authenticity whenever I talk about parenting. It stands as evidence confirming my genuine views on parenting and life, things that can't fully be captured in short videos.
I didn't approach it with business calculations in mind, but from the perspective of "branding by showing who I am," it can serve great reference material and ultimately help downstream businesses.
To be completely honest, though, I don't think Sunday Fathers Club has an overwhelmingly massive impact on the commerce and revenue-generating activities I do right now. I don't actively tie it into my Instagram group buys, either.
In fact, I always tell our members: "Instead of trying to squeeze out grand business results right away, let's keep it sustainable over the long haul. Let's place the highest value on simply writing down our stories and feelings as we raise our kids."
Q8. As a male creator, it might have felt awkward or unfamiliar at first to run products like women's innerwear. What led you to decide to take it on, and how did your audience react?
Since I'm still relatively new to group buying, I'm more in the process of learning what my followers genuinely want.
If personal branding is about showcasing your inner self, growing a channel starts with figuring out who your loyal followers are and what they desire. The vast majority of my followers are women in their mid-20s to early 40s. When running a group buy, my own profit matters, but the products also have to be genuinely useful and desired by the followers purchasing them. That’s why I ended up doing women's innerwear.
At first, I worried whether my audience might find it awkward, but so many women had already deeply resonated with the stories I shared as a stay-at-home dad. Thanks to that, they comfortably accepted me not just as a male creator, but as a relatable voice who empathizes with women's minds.
Trying the products on myself or explaining them wasn't done for clickbait or shock value. I simply wanted to authentically present the true merits of the product from a woman's perspective. I think the most important attitude is deeply considering things from the other person's standpoint—understanding what your target audience worries about and what makes them hesitate.
Q9. You must receive various partnership offers. Do you have a strict personal principle of "I never run products like this"?
Rather than a blanket rule of what I won't do, I have two core criteria when selecting products to feature:
Is this a product I can genuinely empathize with and trust enough to recommend to my followers?
Do my followers actually need this?
If it's a brand I haven't personally used or don't know well, I always request samples to test out beforehand, no matter how lucrative the terms are. If a brand refuses that request, I walk away regardless of the commission. Even after trying it myself, if it doesn't truly resonate with my heart, I won't do it.
Q10. Balancing the life of a tender, hands-on dad focused on childcare with the life of a creator who has to constantly check notifications and customer service must be tough. How do you strike a balance between the two in your daily routine?
To be honest, I live under constant time pressure. Creating and uploading content has to happen when the kids aren't around, so juggling housework and personal tasks on top of that is far from easy. When I'm with my kids, I try my best to stay off my phone—and honestly, it's hard to look at it anyway—though I do sneak a peek every now and then.
Fortunately, real-time alerts and customer service inquiries don't flood in at an unmanageable scale. I keep only essential notifications turned on for Instagram and mute the rest, so minor pings don't bother me. I can just hop in during small pockets of free time to respond, which keeps it from becoming a major issue.
When I was asked this question, I checked my screen time, and my average daily Instagram usage came out to about one hour. That's actually shorter than you might think for someone working as a creator, right?
Even if the total usage time isn't massive, I still have to check in periodically to look at comments, monitor view counts, and scout content to benchmark, so I inevitably end up spending around an hour or so a day on it.
Q11. When selling products through your Instagram feed or stories, what do you pay the most attention to in order to drive purchases while maintaining your personal credibility?
I try to avoid tactics that push products by emphasizing unverified benefits or unduly stoking fear. It's a method I've thoroughly disliked since my days as a long-time marketer, and I believe it's something one should never do.
That's why I never fabricate stories purely for promotion or sales when I don't genuinely resonate with them.
While this approach might not maximize immediate sales in the short term, I truly believe it is essential for sustaining long-term trust in myself and my brand.
Q12. Many creators look like "successful writing and lecturing experts" on the outside, but inwardly struggle with revenue or stagnation. What advice would you give to those trying to generate actual cash flow through personal branding?
To be honest, generating genuine cash flow is an area where I'm still constantly experimenting and figuring things out myself, so I feel a bit cautious giving advice.
In the past, I used to list my past resume and accolades in a long string on my Instagram bio. The reason I eventually removed all of it is simple: people care far less about you than you think, and they really don't care how accomplished you are. In fact, the more you show off, the easier it is to invite antipathy.
That's why I think it's more important to express yourself with humility and composure rather than flaunting your resume, focusing on the things you can actually do. That doesn't mean you shouldn't make yourself known; it means you should talk about the "essence" of who you are.
You also need an attitude of finding a platform that suits you and communicating authentically in a way that companies or the public actually want.
Q13. From job search failures and unmanned cafés to platform shutdowns and diving into commerce, you’ve made bold moves without hesitation. What advice do you have for people who overthink and struggle to take the first step?
I think the answer is already hidden within the question itself. If I have a formula for execution, it's that "starting right away is the best way to reduce the risk of failure."
There's no special secret to putting things into action instead of just overthinking them in your head. People who only deliberate in their heads will stay trapped in thought until the day they die. In reality, the reason people hesitate to start is quite simple: because they don't need to do it right this second. If you're hesitating because you have a safety net—whether it's a steady paycheck or investments—then you can just stick with that. If you don't, then it's crucial to start small with whatever is in front of you.
If I had to offer a tiny tip, it's this:
When you start, start unconditionally small.
The next time you try, add even a 0.1-level improvement over your previous method.
If you keep repeating the exact same thing, it just adds up to 1 + 1 + 1. But if you try it with even a slightly better method, it compounds like 1 + 2 + 3. And if you happen to catch a stroke of luck, it multiplies into 1 x 2 x 3. Whether it turns into addition or multiplication is something you'll only find out by continually putting things into action.
Q14. Modern commerce relies heavily on an individual's personal trust and labor. Do you ever plan to scale your business down the road into an agency model that connects other creators or brands?
It's hard to predict the future definitively, but as of right now, I have zero plans to build a massive business empire.
During my period of career wandering, I tried countless things—real estate auctions, coaching, unmanned cafés. Looking back, all of those attempts were conclusions I reached after deeply exploring my own mind. I am someone with a strong desire for recognition, and I'm someone who simply cannot survive unless I express the thoughts inside my head in my own unique way. Above all, I care deeply about making people smile.
Because of my marketing background, I naturally think about how to package content and monetize it, but preserving my identity as a brand that brings joy to people is vastly more important to me. I don't consider group-buying to be the final destination of my revenue model, either.
An agency structure where you make money by acting as a middleman was never the purpose I started this for. If making money was my primary goal, I would have chosen a different path.
When I first started out, no one guaranteed whether my follower count would grow or if ad and group-buy offers would roll in. People looking at the results now might assume, "Ah, he had a grand plan all along," but it was nothing like that. Not at all.
Exactly a year ago, when I decided to live as a stay-at-home dad, I simply started sharing the realities of spending time with my kids and the hardships of parenting through content. It received a great response, which led to brand sponsorships, which naturally expanded into group buys and various items. Right now, I am still in the ongoing process of figuring out how to work happily while making money, and how to effectively leverage my labor.
Q15. Having navigated countless attempts, pivots, and unexpected changes, what kind of person do you want to be remembered as 3 to 5 years from now?
To be honest, I don't want to define what kind of person I'll be in 3 or 5 years, and I don't think I can, either.
I heard that you proposed this interview to me because you've been watching my journey through unexpected life shifts. But none of those changes were engineered with some grand plan or hidden intention. I simply tried to live by doing my absolute best with the circumstances handed to me in each given moment, and by bumping into reality day by day, I naturally wound up here.
So, I have no desire to be remembered as someone who left behind grand values or as an extraordinary entrepreneur. I am simply someone who honestly asks himself every single day, "What do I need to do so that my family can be happy?"
As my kids grow older and I gain a little more breathing room, I might try out new things again. But whether I do or don't, the essence of my life won't change. Raising my kids with my own hands and protecting the small, happy ordinary moments with my beloved family—that is the entirety of my life.
Like any other parent, I plan to raise my children with tenderness; like any other creator, I plan to ponder my craft every day and faithfully live out the today that has been given to me. If I keep filling up each day without letting my life's core standards waver, I figure I'll naturally evolve into my next chapter 3 or 5 years from now, just like before. I'm honestly quite curious myself to see where and what I'll be doing when that time comes.
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