The care market was a classic "lemon market." Demanders lacked the means to verify providers' reliability. Meanwhile, providers struggled to find stable work. For dual-income couples juggling childcare and careers, the emergency care situation was particularly stressful.
"Just a few years ago, if you wanted to entrust your child to a caregiver, you had to rely on referrals from acquaintances or search for information on mom cafes. There was also no way to verify their trustworthiness or experience," said Kim Hee-jung (48), CEO of Connecting the Dots, in an office on Achasan-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul.
The company, which started as "Cock-a-Cock" and recently changed its name to "Connecting the Dots," boasts 20,000 verified caregivers and 1 million cumulative matches. It recently expanded its business with the acquisition of pet sitter platform "Dogmate."
Choices to reduce time and cost
"Think about the cost of searching and vetting new pet sitters. How long will it take to build a pool of 70,000 vet sitters?"
When asked about the background of the Dogmate acquisition, CEO Kim Hee-jung asked back.
He expressed his anticipation, saying, "Above all, we can dramatically reduce the time and cost required to enter the market by securing existing platform assets, such as a loyal customer base, a pool of over 70,000 pet sitters, and tens of thousands of matching data points." While the acquisition price was not disclosed, CEO Kim Hee-jung stated that it was "a reasonable condition." Industry sources estimate the deal to be worth several billion won, considering Dogmate's cumulative transaction volume and user base.
What's interesting is the cross-work strategy. About 600 of Tickle Crocodile's caregivers are interested in working as pet sitters.
He explained, “Kids and pets are structures where there can be cross-demand from the supplier side,” and “We are currently verifying the hypothesis that child care teachers can expand into competitive pet sitters by simply supplementing certain capabilities.”
However, it's difficult to predict the success of this strategy. Childcare and pet care require different levels of expertise and responsibility. CEO Kim Hee-jung also expressed caution, saying, "It's still too early to tell how much cross-location can increase LTV."
From branding to organizational integration, a 100-day record
The first step after the acquisition was branding. Regarding the reason for changing Dogmate to "Mogwai," CEO Kim Hee-jung explained, "With the existing name, which felt limited to dogs, it was difficult to expand into the cat market or expand into space services. We wanted to convey a message of responsible pet care."
The organizational integration method is also noteworthy. Instead of creating a separate pet-focused organization, the existing Tickle Crocodile functional organization now operates Mogwai as well.
CEO Kim Hee-jung emphasized, “Creating a separate organization could reduce efficiency,” and “Since this is our organization’s first time going through the integration process after an acquisition, we anticipate there will be trial and error, and we plan to focus on communication while making the organization ‘lean.’”
Apartment Complex Entry: Experimenting with a New Revenue Model
One of the reasons Connecting the Dots is attracting attention is its model of entering apartment communities. It plans to operate integrated child and pet care spaces in locations such as Dongbu Ichon-dong and Daejeon Haneulchae Lucier.
“We are currently discussing a flexible model, such as providing free space to the developer + performance-based fees, or revenue distribution linked to management fees,” explained CEO Kim Hee-jung.
The core of this model is reducing customer acquisition costs (CAC). "Our integrated model of kids, pets, and senior care is more efficient in terms of space, staffing, and operating costs than operating each service separately," the company explained. In fact, the company received a plaque of appreciation from Samsung C&T, acknowledging its contribution to the promotion of apartment sales.
The driving force behind the rapid sales growth came from the B2B/B2G sector. Partnerships with Samsung, SK, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government created a virtuous cycle that increased trust.
"We designed it so that we could target top partners first, making that in itself a testament to our trustworthiness. Our renewal rate is over 90%."
This strategy proved instrumental in securing suppliers. "Being placed in a large corporate welfare channel was a powerful attraction, resulting in 10 to 15 times more applicants per job posting than in general regional recruitment."
A significant portion of the company's first-quarter sales of KRW 4.5 billion (a 173% increase year-over-year) came from these B2B contracts. "Along with various forms of care spaces, including direct and consignment management, orders for space planning and operation consulting rapidly increased, broadening our base of fixed revenue," the company explained.
Basis for confidence in a third-quarter turnaround
CEO Kim Hee-jung expressed confidence in her goals for this year: "20 billion won in sales" and "returning to profitability." She stated, "Our fixed cost structure has reached a point where we can cover a certain level of sales," and added, "We will be able to turn a profit on a quarterly basis in the third quarter." She cited the expansion of the offline space business as the basis for this goal.
“In this process, the margin structure is improving, and we are seeing the effect of attracting customers through offline channels with relatively low CAC (the total cost a company spends on marketing, advertising, sales activities, etc. to acquire one new customer).”
However, he expressed a cautious stance on AI development in the care sector. "Care is, above all, a personal domain, and given the unique nature of care recipients, such as children, personal information protection and ethical risk mitigation measures are crucial," he explained. "We are designing the system based on 'ethical sensitivity + technical protection design + institutional transparency.'"
Although the company plans to launch its first AI service in September, it declined to elaborate, saying, "For security reasons, I can't share specific details." Instead, it stated, "We believe that good care begins with high satisfaction among those providing care," adding, "Our primary goal is to use the AI to assist these caregivers in their work and increase their satisfaction."
Plans to create 20,000 jobs by 2027, with completion of connectivity "underway."
When asked about her plans for the next three years, CEO Kim Hee-jung provided specific figures. Her goal is to increase direct employment from the current 120 to 200, and to create over 20,000 indirect jobs annually.
“More than 70% of these will be women on career breaks, local talent, and people with immigrant backgrounds.”
Regarding its 2027 IPO goal, the company stated, "By integrating lifecycle care into a single platform, space, and AI technology specialized in the care domain, we will simultaneously achieve high customer LTV and low CAC." They also described the company as a "lifecare tech company with a data-driven revenue structure, securing a dominant network of caregivers in a market facing a deepening shortage of providers." The core message was clear: the company aims to connect all areas of the care market under a single platform.
At the end of the interview, we asked CEO Kim Hee-jung about her biggest challenge.
He answered frankly, “The expertise and regulations required vary by field,” and “There are inefficient regulations from the perspective of integrated care providers, but we are not yet at the stage where we can voice our opinions to the government to improve them.”
What started as a small idea nine years ago, started by CEO Kim Hee-jung as a one-person business, has now grown into a platform that connects tens of thousands of jobs. However, the "complete picture" he envisions, connecting the dots, is still a work in progress. It remains to be seen whether all the puzzle pieces will fall into place as he works toward his goal of an IPO in 2027.
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