The University of Seoul has been leading youth entrepreneurship and regional innovation since 2022, under the vision of 'Seoul Impact' with the motto 'The most Seoul-like influence, the most global value.' It particularly focuses on supporting startups in AI-based urban innovation and social impact fields, creating a sustainable startup ecosystem where technology and social value harmonize. The university was selected as an excellent case in the regional revitalization field of the Seoul Campus Town project and received an A+ grade in the 2024 Seoul Campus Town performance evaluation. IT Donga introduces the growth stories and innovative achievements of AI startups fostered by the University of Seoul.

Hustlers operates the smartphone usage management app 'Turning.' Through its own research, Hustlers found that the cause of smartphone users falling into addictive content like SNS and shorts is unconscious behavior and unlimited scrolling. To prevent this, they developed Turning, applying behavior science-based user experience (UX) design.

Turning blocks unconscious behavior by presenting simple missions when a user registers a specific app and executes it, and prevents unlimited scrolling by setting usage time. According to Hustlers, user analysis showed that app usage decreased by about 62% within a week of using Turning.

Currently, Turning has approximately 200,000 users domestically and about 30,000 overseas, with around 20,000 cumulative paid users. Hustlers plans to expand Turning's technology into various services and enter the global market.

An interview with Moon Yong-woo, CEO of Hustlers, was conducted to discuss the development background of Turning and future plans.


Experience Over Theory, Young Entrepreneurs Who 'Hustle'

IT Donga: Hello, CEO Moon Yong-woo. Please introduce yourself.

Moon Yong-woo: Hello, I am Moon Yong-woo from Hustlers. I founded Hustlers with co-CEO Kim Sun-jae in April 2022 after completing my sophomore year in college. I am a young entrepreneur who 'hustles' to create business results by continuously proving and making something.

The term 'hustle' means 'to work hard' or 'to move busily' in English, and in sports, it refers to bold actions without sparing oneself. As student entrepreneurs, we did not have any notable expertise or experience to boast about. Instead, we had a strong will to solve problems around us with our own strength and achieve results. The company name Hustlers reflects our determination to work hard to achieve our goals.

IT Donga: Why did you start a business before finishing your studies?

Moon Yong-woo: During my college years, I worked as an intern at a startup for a short period, and I found the process of giving opinions across the entire business cycle and persuading to realize those opinions quite interesting. Seeing my opinions directly applied to customers made startups attractive to me. I thought that the fastest way to solve the problems we felt was 'entrepreneurship,' and since we were going to start a business anyway, we decided to do it now and founded Hustlers with my long-time friend, CEO Kim Sun-jae. Although we were students, we had a greater desire to gain business experience by jumping into practice rather than learning theory. I believe that boldly challenging and experiencing trial and error at a young age allowed us to grow more.


IT Donga: Please introduce Hustlers.

Moon Yong-woo: Hustlers is a digital wellness app solution company that suggests correct and efficient ways for a better life. Under the philosophy that 'a better person can create a better society,' our goal is to help people increase time that benefits them and reduce meaningless time. Our main service currently focuses on the smartphone usage management service, Turning.

Turning Blocks Unconscious Behavior and Unlimited Scrolling

IT Donga: What led to the development of Turning?

Moon Yong-woo: After deciding to start a business, we considered various items and developed a social calendar service for college students and a study time management service for students. However, they did not achieve the expected results, and we faced financial difficulties. I even tutored. This naturally led us to think about the problems faced by teenagers and students.

Through this, we discovered that many students struggle with increased smartphone usage due to addictive content like SNS or shorts. Upon investigation, we found that adults also experience similar issues. To address this, we developed the smartphone usage management service, Turning.

IT Donga: Please introduce Turning.

Moon Yong-woo: Upon investigating why smartphone users stay on specific apps for long periods, we found that unconscious app execution without purpose and unlimited scrolling of addictive content were the main causes. To prevent this, we applied behavior science-based UX design.

First, users register apps they want to reduce usage of in Turning. Turning targets users who have the will to reduce unnecessary smartphone usage. Therefore, it is designed for users to register apps they want to reduce usage of themselves.

When the registered app is executed, Turning runs first and asks, 'Do you need this app?' This is a device to block unconscious behavior. Then, it presents simple missions like entering a quote or taking a deep breath, prompting users to reconsider whether they need to use the app now. After completing the mission, a screen for setting usage time appears. This prevents unlimited scrolling, as the app closes once the user-set time elapses.


IT Donga: Do simple questions and mission completion effectively reduce usage?

Moon Yong-woo: The core of the missions we provide is to delay time. Through user interviews, we learned that the act of completing missions itself, rather than the content of the missions, has a decisive impact on reducing usage. During the mission, time passes, allowing users to realize their unconscious behavior. Therefore, we designed it to allow some time while presenting missions. In fact, analyzing the usage of apps registered in Turning showed a reduction of over 62% after a week.

Currently, we offer five missions: entering a quote, entering a user-set phrase, deep breathing, flipping the smartphone, and viewing a future photo registered by the user. We plan to continuously add missions. We are also researching various ways to enhance the effectiveness of the Turning app through collaboration with Yonsei University's AI research lab.

IT Donga: Some app services provide their own usage restriction features. What are the differences from those features?

Moon Yong-woo: Some app services offer basic usage restriction features that temporarily provide app blocking and timer functions. In contrast, Turning induces changes in user behavior patterns by blocking unconscious behavior and unlimited scrolling. It not only prevents smartphone usage but also helps users make good use of their smartphones within the range they set. That is the biggest differentiator. Additionally, with basic app features, users must run the app every time to use the feature, but with Turning, once the app is registered, it does not need to be run every time.


Securing 200,000 Domestic and 30,000 Overseas Users

IT Donga: When was Turning launched?

Moon Yong-woo: When I first came up with the idea for Turning, I wanted to verify its effectiveness and profitability. Previous solutions we developed did not achieve the expected results. So, we created a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in three weeks, introduced the service to users, and prompted payments. This confirmed user needs and purchase intent, leading us to believe commercialization was possible.

After enhancing the service, we launched the Turning beta version in June 2023 and the official iOS version in November of the same year. In April 2024, we released a paid version with premium features. The Android app had a free version released in December 2024 and a paid version in April.

The paid version supports more powerful control with premium features. The free version allows usage even if the daily target usage time is exceeded, but the paid version does not. It also offers a variety of mission choices to delay unconscious usage. The paid version costs KRW 7,900 per month, KRW 39,900 per year, and KRW 89,900 for app purchase. Although it may seem expensive, it is considered cheaper than the value of the time users waste.

As of October, Turning has about 200,000 domestic users, 30,000 overseas users, and approximately 20,000 cumulative paid users. Overseas users mainly come from North America and Japan.

IT Donga: Please share your achievements so far.

Moon Yong-woo: In September 2024, we secured seed investment from Company X and were selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' private investment-led technology startup support (TIPS) program. In April, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sejeong Academy, a large entrance exam academy. Through this, we provide Turning to academy students at a discounted price.


IT Donga: You are currently receiving support from the University of Seoul Campus Town. What kind of support have you received?

Moon Yong-woo: The University of Seoul Campus Town provides various support necessary for early startups to grow, including business funding, office space, human resources, and networking. We receive significant help from Campus Town officials who fully support and assist startups like ours. Thanks to the many managers who played the roles of observers and helpers, we, who lacked experience and direction, were able to grow to this point.

IT Donga: Please share your future plans and goals.

Moon Yong-woo: I believe the issue Turning addresses is just one of many areas for a better life. The market for solving problems people feel in the lifestyle field with B2C app solutions is vast. Especially, the digital wellness field we focus on will expand further as AI advances and personalized hardware devices increase. This trend applies not only to Korea but also to the global market.

Therefore, we are pushing for global market entry to secure more customers. We participated in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 in Las Vegas, USA, in January for global market research and network building, and we are positively discussing specific collaborations after winning the grand prize in open innovation hosted by a large overseas company. Starting with collaborations with overseas companies, we plan to expand into various B2C services targeting the global market. We will start with services we can actually implement, solidify our foundation, and grow step by step.

IT Donga Reporter Han Man-hyuk (mh@itdonga.com)

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