Greg Moon – Living Each Day a Little Differently

As a child, Greg Moon had a free spirit. He disliked being constrained by established molds and always harbored a strong desire to live differently from others.

During his youth abroad, Greg's sense of "being different" grew even stronger. A year in Australia was a cultural shock for him. Full of curiosity and a keen observer of people, Greg was exposed to diverse races and even more diverse ways of life, opening his eyes to new perspectives. There was not just one way to live a valuable life. All he had to do was find a place where he could do something unique, somewhere he could fully realize his potential. When he attended an international school in Beijing, he expanded his world through friendships, getting a taste of his friends' hometowns, cultures, and communities. More than just hearing about them, he wanted to understand through direct experience.

Inspired by Steve Jobs' keynote for the first iPhone, he pursued a degree in graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). After graduation, he moved to New York, the epicenter of the design industry, but due to visa issues, few design firms were willing to hire a fresh foreign graduate. To make ends meet, he began selling glasses to tourists at Chelsea Market. With fluent Chinese and an observant nature, he excelled in sales, achieving impressive revenue. However, he needed a job where he could utilize his design expertise and secure a visa. After a long search, he landed a job at a small production and branding company, where he glimpsed the potential for growth in branding and design within tech companies. He became convinced that tech would change the future and didn’t want to hesitate any longer. He left for Silicon Valley, renting a small place with friends. Coincidentally, the design agency BASIC, known for its work on design systems, was recruiting for a Google project. After interviewing with CEO Matt Faulk, he was hired. His next goal was to work directly within a tech company. He noticed a project focused on building Google Home and reached out directly to Rachel Been, the team lead and a renowned industry figure, for a coffee chat. Their energies must have resonated because he transitioned to Google, where he specialized in design systems. Unlike conventional frameworks that confine life, design systems help scale things up. They add significant value to both large companies and small startups. He had some stable days where he was recognized by the industry, but it was frustrating, like being in a bubble. He decided it was time for a new challenge with people who shared his values.

It was during this period that a mutual RISD acquaintance introduced him to Minsuk Kang, who defied every stereotype of a developer. Minsuk never said "impossible," always challenged limitations, and approached things from a business perspective. Greg felt he had found someone he could work with for life. They named their team Gobi. At Gobi, every day was different.

Greg Moon and Minsuk Kang, Co-Founders of Gobi

Minsuk Kang – A Better World to Leave Behind as a Good Father

Minsuk Kang spent a lot of time alone due to the large age gap with his older sisters, which sparked his curiosity. He wanted to see the inside of a hard disk and repeatedly dropped it from the second floor until it broke. His single-minded focus on things he loved exploded in elementary school when he encountered computers. Among everything one could do on a computer, gaming was by far the most enjoyable. He was intrigued by the people who created games, particularly the stories of developers who spoke at conferences in stretched-out T-shirts. He felt a sense of freedom in an industry symbolized by T-shirts and slippers. He imagined himself working with people who didn’t follow traditional paths. Dreaming of becoming a game developer, he entered a high school where he could specialize in computer science, gaining a solid foundation. He wanted to challenge himself in the US, the birthplace of computer gaming, so he studied English, earned a network certification, and headed to Iowa State University to major in computer science.

His first job was with the Windows team at Microsoft headquarters in Seattle. Although he had initially thought of working for a gaming company, he felt a greater responsibility to build a stable life for his family. Besides, Windows had special meaning for him—it was the first software he had ever purchased as a child after persistently begging his parents. He had installed and uninstalled it dozens of times, so being on the Windows team felt meaningful. Six years later, he moved to Facebook’s Oculus team, marking a turning point in his career. COVID led to remote work, which allowed him to explore side projects. His first was a delivery app where neighbors helped each other pick up desserts. Minsuk, who preferred diving right into things rather than calculating risks, quickly moved through development, shop sales, and customer marketing, gaining experience that extended his product-focused perspective into the business realm, deepening his understanding.

The surest and fastest way to learn about startups was through direct experience. He joined Scale AI, a company founded in 2016 and valued at $9 billion within six years. He joined as an employee in the 200s, and after a year and a half, the number had quadrupled. He gained valuable experience at a rapidly growing AI-based startup. He wanted to find a scalable, motivating goal in the long term, asking himself, ‘What problem do I want to work on for the next ten years?’

Minsuk’s dream is to be a good father. He hopes to leave behind a better world for his children, where they have the freedom to choose their way of life. Running Gobi with Greg helped him find this goal. It was also an exciting area where he could fully leverage his expertise from the last decade in gaming, data, infrastructure, AI, and Web3. His personal values aligned with Gobi's vision, drawing him to create a platform where he could work joyfully and provide significant value to users. Greg was the ideal partner for him. While Minsuk would charge ahead like a racehorse when focused on a single task, Greg, with his wide-ranging interests, often found insights in unexpected places and excelled in creating systems.

Gobi

Two words that fill Gobi – "Own Fate." This is the way of life that both Minsuk Kang and Greg Moon aspire to. After a decade of challenges in the US as an engineer and designer, respectively, they came to understand who they are and the kind of world they want to create.

Gobi aims to help people lead happier, more fulfilling lives by innovating how they work. Through their first product, Gobi, they plan to take on this challenge. Gobi’s mission reflects the founders’ independent mindsets and relentless drive to break through limitations. And that’s why we believe that they will one day achieve their ambitious goals.

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Last fall, we first connected with Minsuk, who was then at Scale AI, in Seattle. We felt an instant connection with his co-founder, Greg, and grew to understand each other more deeply. Their story thrilled us. As a senior engineer at Microsoft and a senior designer at Google, the duo had charted a successful path in the US. Yet, they had chosen to forge their unique path by persistently challenging traditional definitions of success. We are genuinely delighted to partner with them.

With Gobi co-founders at the bowling alley