[The CEO of Jeju National University Early-Stage Startup Package 2025] 'Hurdlers,' a startup that consults companies on AX (Agent Experience) and develops AI agents for each field

Seongmin Yoo, CEO of Hurdlers

'Datalk' enables non-data professionals to ask questions in natural language, analyze the necessary data in real time, and visualize the results. Its primary competitive advantage is that 'anyone can gain insights simply by asking questions verbally'

Hurdlers is a startup that builds AI services. CEO Seongmin Yoo (31) founded the company in April 2022.

CEO Yoo said, "Hurdlers is an AX partner," adding, "AX refers to AI Transformation, and our role is to help companies transform into AI-driven organizations and successfully adapt to new trends in the AI era."

"We provide services in every form that AI makes possible. We also generate revenue by creating our own proprietary solutions at Hurdlers. We also form joint ventures with companies in various industries that already have customers to conduct R&D, and we collaborate in an outsourcing format to build AI services together."

Hurdlers possesses a variety of modules and agents. The item that has recently been in the center of attention is Datalk. As the name suggests, it is a service that enables non-data professionals to ask questions in natural language, and the necessary data is instantly analyzed and visualized in real time.

"For example, if a marketer asks, 'Which Naver ad campaign had the highest ROAS this week?,' Datalk extracts the necessary information from the integrated data sources (BigQuery, Meta Ads, Cafe24, etc.), automatically generates the SQL, and presents the results in graphs or tables. The reason we created this solution was simple. In the field, planners, marketers, and operators frequently request data, but each time, the data team had to write SQL and analyze it before sending it back, which was an inefficient process. Hence, we started with the idea of creating a system where anyone could simply ask in words and immediately receive data insights."

Datalk specializes in the domestic commerce and marketing environment. It integrates frequently used data sources, such as GA4, Facebook Ads, Cafe24, and Coupang, and saves repetitive queries automatically to use like a dashboard.

CEO Yoo said, "Ultimately, the core value of Datalk is 'to make data accessible through conversation without difficulty.'"

"The biggest competitive edge of Datalk is that 'anyone can gain insights simply by asking questions verbally.' These days, there are numerous BI tools and dashboard solutions, as well as various tools that automate data analysis. However, there are still barriers for non-data professionals. For example, many people struggle to find specific data or set appropriate filter conditions. Datalk eliminates that process. Just ask in plain language, like 'What was yesterday's top-selling product?' or 'Show me this month's new acquisition channels in descending order of conversion rate,' and the AI understands the data structure, generates the necessary SQL, and visualizes the results in real time."

The second competitive edge is that it is optimized for the domestic work environment. It is designed to integrate directly with platforms that practitioners frequently use, such as GA4, Facebook Ads, Naver Ads, Cafe24, and Coupang, so it can be used immediately in the course of work.

"The final competitive edge is speed and convenience. It streamlines complex data request processes and enables easy access to data for anyone, significantly lowering communication costs within the team. As a result, the speed of data-driven decision-making itself changes. I believe this is the true competitive edge and differentiating factor that Datalk provides."

Datalk had already secured a customer base even before its launch. "Before Hurdlers transformed into an AI company, we had carried out hundreds of GA4 installations and data analysis consulting projects. We have worked directly with marketing and sales data from a wide variety of companies. The customers gained during this process became our initial users, and they remain important partners by providing early feedback. Many people also know us through lectures or publications as we give talks and publish books in various places."

For the past three years, Hurdlers has grown every year while operating its brand without any separate sales activities or advertising. CEO Yoo said, "This year, as before, we have already secured a high-efficiency surplus for the second half without any sales activities," adding, "Rather than pursuing excessive expansion, we are focusing on sustainable independence and building real problem-solving experience with customers." He added, "Datalk, which we just launched, was also a project that began naturally with requests and feedback from our existing customers, so product–market fit has already been validated to some extent."

Regarding future plans, CEO Yoo said, "I value sustainable and realistic progress over flashy visions," adding, "In the short term, our first goal is to enhance Datalk’s completeness and establish it as an AI data analysis tool that anyone can use comfortably in real work environments."

Founded: April 2022
Main Business: Data, IT, AI
Achievements: Selected for the Jeju National University Early-Stage Startup Package

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com