What does the Business Division actually do?
What's it really like to work at a startup? Some say it's the freedom and laid-back culture. Others point to equity compensation — sharing in the upside when things go well.
There's also the popular startup maxim: "The best perk is great colleagues." Working with sharp, driven people you actually respect? That matters.
But there's another defining trait: startups grow fast.
Of course, rapid growth isn't always pretty. Compressed timelines mean brutal growing pains. Goals and priorities shift constantly. The pressure on individuals can be intense.
But if you can navigate the chaos? Your career accelerates too. That's one of the most rewarding reasons to join a startup in the first place.
Today we're talking to Kayo, who leads ONDA's Business Division. She joined ONDA precisely because it's "a place where I can grow alongside the company."
We sat down with her to talk about what a B2B tech company's Business Division actually does — and what it takes for individuals to thrive in that environment.
ONDA leaders come from the wild
Before ONDA, Kayo spent over a decade in the travel industry across Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. She worked at a Japanese outbound travel agency, then at a global hotel metasearch platform — gaining firsthand experience in both Korea's and Japan's online travel markets.
Most recently, she was Director of Online Sales & Marketing at a large resort and hotel in Cebu, seeing the travel tech world from the hotel's side. So why ONDA?
You've built a strong career across the travel industry. You could've joined bigger-name companies. Why ONDA?
"I've been in travel for years, but I've always taken on new challenges. If I just kept doing the same thing — becoming, say, 'Japan hotel operations specialist' at a large company — would I actually keep growing?"
"If the work was the same, I wouldn't have felt the need to switch. I joined ONDA because I believed my career could grow with the company. That's what attracted me."
There are plenty of travel startups out there. Why ONDA specifically?
"In my previous roles, I worked with booking engines (BE), channel managers (CMS), property management systems (PMS). I had real experience — and a clear sense of what a better service should look like. ONDA isn't finished yet, but it's a startup building all of those services. I knew I could contribute what I'd learned and grow with the company."
"Also, when I came in for the interview and met Kevin (ONDA's CEO), there was just this positive energy. A gut feeling that something good was happening here."
At ONDA, even senior hires go through probation — sometimes 2-3 months of proving yourself. You're expected to figure out your own work. That shocks a lot of people. How was it for you?
"I run domestic business now, but I actually joined to work on ONDA's global side. Right away, I was doing market research on Japan, China, Thailand... and then immediately thrown into the field."
"A week into the job, I was on a call with a new partner in Vietnam — leading the pitch, introducing ONDA. I was honestly panicking. 'I barely know this company yet. Should I be leading this call?'"
"It was confusing at first, no question. From my outside perspective, ONDA was constantly breaking my assumptions about how things 'should' work."
"I was hired for global business, but kept bumping into domestic business issues. That's when I started having a lot of conversations with JT, who was leading Product. Those talks helped me understand the company. That's how I adjusted."
You joined for global, but ended up leading domestic business?
"My background was mostly Japan-focused, so when they asked, I really hesitated."
"But I thought: this is a chance to expand from the Japan market into Korea. To grow my own career while the company itself is growing. That's why I said yes."
The Business Division connects customers to the product
Let's start simple. What does the Business Division actually do?
"ONDA is a travel tech company. The Business Division sets strategy and direction for the business."
"Even the most tech-forward companies need to stay close to the Voice of Customer (VOC). If we don't collect feedback from the field and relay it properly to Product and Engineering, we end up building something disconnected from real needs. Bridging that gap is a core part of our job."
"ONDA is also a B2B platform — we sit between hotels and accommodation owners on one side, and online sales platforms on the other. Supply partners want a convenient solution and strong performance. Sales partners want good inventory, rates, and quality content. We're the connection point. Making that work is critical."
In reality, ONDA's business is surprisingly complex. Similar companies overseas tend to focus on hotels — often large chains — because in markets like the US, Europe, Southeast Asia, or Japan, that focus alone can power startup-scale growth.
Korea's market? Fragmented. Hotels here are smaller. You've got countless pensions, motels, and other lodging types. That's why ONDA's Business Division is segmented by property type and partner profile.
Given all that, what's the biggest challenge for ONDA's Business team right now?
"Historically, everyone at ONDA had different KPIs and areas of expertise. In some ways, even within the division, that wasn't always well-shared."
"Everyone had different priorities. And my predecessor, Kevin, was stretched so thin that he couldn't always manage that. Are you really going to write this part?"
Of course. Kevin needs to hear the hard truths too. (laughs)
"Yikes. Anyway, the Business Division has 3 units and 8 teams."
"Since I became the leader, my main focus has been creating one shared goal. Because of Korea's fragmented market and the survival pressures of a startup, our team members are often world-class specialists in their own area — but don't always have full visibility into the broader market."
"There's no formal training program, but we're constantly sharing what we're doing, learning the overall market flow, and connecting individual work to company-level goals. That process is ongoing."
Where the Business Division is headed
The goal you recently shared internally was so aggressive it honestly surprised me…
"We beat last year's full-year numbers in just the first half of this year, didn't we? We've stabilized, systematized, and professionalized as an org. Given that progress, it made sense to aim higher."
"In the recent org restructure, we created three 'units' within the division. That structure reflects where we need to focus. I'm also delegating more decision-making to each unit so we can respond to the market faster."
"We started knocking on the hotel segment's door late last year. Now it's time to go all-in. With global travel reopening, the hotel segment will be central to our international business."
Any early wins in hotels?
"Hotels are a tough market. Even competitors who've been at this for years struggled to crack 4- and 5-star properties."
"But ONDA is doing it. That's really encouraging."
ONDA's been pushing hard on D2C through our booking engine and Google Hotels over the past year. As the head of Business, how would you honestly assess that effort?
"It wasn't easy, but it was meaningful. These days, when people in the industry talk about D2C, they think of ONDA."
"Setting aside immediate performance metrics, this is the right direction. We have to go this way. And we're in talks with partners beyond Google. This past summer, search volume across Asia for ONDA's D2C hotels increased significantly."
"Inbound travel to Korea is going to pick up fast. If we manage it well — expand language support, etc. — we'll see even better results."
That's a wrap on our conversation with Kayo, who leads ONDA's Business Division.
ONDA is growing so fast that even internally, it's hard to keep up. Sometimes you wonder: are we really responding to the market correctly? Are we going in the right direction?
That's when you need a leader who can make the call and drive it forward. After this interview, I'm confident we've got exactly the right person for where ONDA is in 2022.
Cheers to Kayo and the entire Business Division team!