| People Creating New Trends Wadiz ‘PD’
When you hear "PD," you probably think of a TV program producer, right?
However, Wadiz, PD stands for 'Project Director'.
I lead the entire process from product launch to delivery into the hands of our supporters.
From discovering makers to planning product detail pages, structuring rewards, and designing advertisements
PDs are the people who devise and execute strategies to ensure the success of funding projects.
Today, we're helping makers make a great debut Wadiz.
We followed the day of veteran PD Ko Hee-jung, with five years of experience, and rookie PD Lee Jin-hyang, with just one year under her belt.⏰
📌 Wadiz Terms You Should Know in Advance
🌟Project: An introduction page created for fundingWadiz, outlining the funding background and promising supporters the core value of the product, service, and content.
🌟Maker : Launch a project on Wadizlaunch a project, receive funding, products, services, and content.
🌟Supporter: A person who funds a maker's project and receives rewards in return.
Please introduce yourself. 🎙️
Heejung🏆: Hello, I'm Heejung🏆, aWadiz PD with five years of experience. During my university days, I joined as a founding member of a food distribution company, handling private brand product planning and overall distribution operations. While there, I was drawnWadiz— a platform offering a unique opportunity for new products to make a strong debut in the market—and decided to join. Currently, I discover makers across various categories, including food, identify projects' selling points, and collaborate to bring successful products to life.
Jin Hyang🌱: Hello, I'm Jin Hyang🌱, a PD Wadiz who will soon mark my first year here. I worked as an MD for a lifestyle goods brand, gaining deep experience with a single brand. Wadizthinking I could gain broader experience by communicating with diverse brandsand joined as a PD last year. Currently, I'm experiencing diverse tasks centered around the home living category, including reward design, detailed story feedback, ad production, and efficiency analysis.
AM 8:00 – 10:00 | The start of the day 🌅
Q. How was your commute to work today?
Jin Hyang🌱: My commute is relatively relaxed since I live close by. While there's a shuttle Wadiz, the flexible start time policy allows me to choose between 8 AM and 10 AM, so I often take public transportation to arrive whenever I prefer. Upon arrival, I always grab a latte at the company cafe, 'His Beans'. Coffee prices are steep these days, but here it's affordable at 1,000 to 2,000 won and tastes great, making it a staple in my morning routine.
Q. Do you remember your first day at work, Heejeong?
Heejung🏆: I remember! I was incredibly nervous. Even though I had experience in related work, it was a completely new environment, so I worried a lot about whether I could do well. I always went to work determined to "give my absolute best to whatever task I was assigned today."
Q. Has your mindset changed now?
Heejung 🏆: I've gained a lot more breathing room. My perspective has broadened, so I now think about the entire workflow—like brand discovery, planning, and advertising strategy— beyond just the immediate tasks right in front of me . On my commute, I monitor social media feeds and newsletters, pondering what products would be good to source. Also, leading the team has made me think deeply about how to make things more enjoyable for the pros while still achieving great results.
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Morning Work ⏳
Q. What is the first thing you do after arriving at work?
Heejung🏆: Icategorize my tasksinto ✅routine work like product sourcing, advertising, detailed story feedback, and meetings; ✅operational tasks like maker reviews ; and✅spottasks like today's interview , then set priorities. I start my day by checking the funding rates, amounts raised, and supporter reviews for projects that opened the previous day.
Jin Hyang🌱: I alsoorganize my tasks for the dayinto a checklist. Since my scope of work is broad, a to-do list is essential. I also check messages sent by makers the night before. While checking them constantly would be ideal, I communicate with many makers, so I setspecific communicationtimesin the morning and afternoon to boost work efficiency.
Q. What tasks did you handle this morning?
Jin Hyang🌱: I analyzed the advertising efficiency for each project. Fortunately, the display ads for the project that launched yesterday are performing well, leading to a significant increase in funding participants! When reviewing ad data, I analyze metrics like notification sign-ups and funding counts. If performance is lower than expected, I also consider improvement strategies. Then ,I share this data with the team during themorningscrum.
Q. What topics do you typically discuss in Scrum?
Heejung🏆: Since PDs frequently have off-site meetings or product sourcing, sharingindividualschedules andwork progressis the core of our scrum. We especially share urgent tasks that require quick resolution and check areas needing collaboration.
Q. Did you find the daily scrum very helpful in adapting to your work, Jin-hyang?
Jin Hyang🌱: Honestly, I was intimidated at first. Everyone was handling projects worth hundreds of millions and tackling diverse tasks. I worried, 'Can I really do this?' But then I realized, with so much information flowing around, there must be tons of learning opportunities! After that, I started asking questions proactively and gaining insights, which helped me adapt to the work quickly. Now, Scrum is truly invaluable. It helps me study trends beyond my assigned category and sets the direction for projects.
Q. Ms. Heejeong, Ms. Jinhyang, hearing their stories must bring back memories of your own rookie days.
Heejung🏆: Hearing you talk, Pro, makes me wish I'd asked more questions when I first joined. Seniors can be intimidating, right? So I spent a lot of time struggling alone . Looking back, the seniors generously shared their know-how with me. Even things like 'trade secrets'—the most important assets for a PD . Now that I'm a senior myself, I understand that feeling. When juniors ask questions, I want to pour everything out(?)! In a way, it feels like a Wadizculture. There's a strong mindset focused on succeeding together with makers' brands, rather than competing.
PM 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch break 🍽️
Q. It's finally lunchtime! How do you usually spend it?
Heejung🏆: Today I brought takeout and ate at 'Oasis'. 'Oasis' is Wadizbreak area, equipped with a microwave and snack bar, making it perfect for a quick meal. On days when I don't feel like going out, I often eat delivery or takeout here.
Jin Hyang🌱: I go out to eatwith my team members oruse the underground cafeteria. On really exhausting days, I rest in the lounge at the 'Trust Center'. It's a great space to lie down and relax with massage chairs and recliners. I also check my Instagram feedwhenever I get a chance. I created a secondary account to follow brands I'm interested in. It helps me quickly grasp the latest trends.
Q. You often have meetings with makers during lunch, right? Any memorable episodes?
Heejung🏆: Meeting such a diverse range of makers, I've noticed that the points where negotiations actually succeed vary greatly. I remember one maker I spent a whole week persuading early in my career. They were a sole proprietor developing fresh food products. The product was excellent, and the detailed story was well-crafted, but they insisted on spending absolutely nothing on advertising. It's tough for a one-person brand to achieve results without advertising, and I felt it was such a waste. I presented various data points, trying to convince them to invest even a little. Finally, I said this: 💬 "Think of it like giving your child tuition or pocket money—it's a product you've poured your heart into." After that heartfelt persuasion, we ran the ads, and he achieved the sales he wanted. This experience taught me that "there's no set formula for persuasion."
Jin Hyang🌱: I vividly remember traveling all the way to Namyangju to meet a maker in personjust four months after joining the company. It was a product I really wanted to feature Wadiz, but the maker was hesitant because there was no precedent. So I went to meet them directly, changing locations two or three times, and spent six hours persuading them. 💬"Since it's not Wadizyet, this is actually your chance to capture the market!" I appealed. But it didn't happen immediately. After two months of consistent communication , we were able to open the project, and it ultimately ran successfully. After that , I felt my communication skills had noticeably improved, and the sense of accomplishment from 'finally pulling it off' was huge!
PM 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Afternoon work 🚀
Q. You must have gone through a lot of trial and error while handling various tasks.
Heejung🏆: There's no one right answer for what makes a product successful . At first, I kept wondering if the products I recommended were truly what customers needed. It's still challenging, but I'm striving to understand Wadiz supporters' preferences and Wadizcharacteristics. SinceWadiz supporters wait a long time to receive products,it's crucial to consider whether they're worth the wait. ✅ Does it offer price advantages? ✅ Does it have fresh, unique points not found in the market? I strive to clearly define a project's selling points while considering these factors.
Q. What efforts do you make to cultivate your own unique expertise?
Jin Hyang🌱:To become a PD capable of more compellingstorytelling, I consistently analyze customer reviews and advertising materials. Wadizmany small brand products, so while performance and utility matter , I've realized that detailed pages and story structures that can captivate supporters are truly crucial. That's why I'm studying successful projects. ✅ I archive the detailed story flow and key copy from successful projects. ✅ I search for similar products on related shopping sites to examine them .✅ Ianalyze customer reviews to build up my indirect experience.
For example, there was the 'Stairway to Heaven' home training equipment project I worked on. Looking at similar product communities, I saw many reactions like, "I used to wait nervously at the gym all the time, but now I can finally do it at home." So I set the main copy as "That Heavenly Staircase you used to wait for nervously at the gym? Now you can exercise freely at home." As a result, we successfully raised over 200 million won in funding.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Commute home 🌙
Q. You've worked hard today! While Wadiz PDs seem similar to 'MDs' in general e-commerce, their scope of work appears much broader. What do you think is the biggest difference?
Heejung🏆:I think Wadiz PDs are 'productbuilders' who direct the entire project process . It's not just about sourcing products at the lowest price; it's about thinking, "How should we introducethis product?" and They must build brand value, and instead of operating solely around existing suppliers, constantly pioneering new markets. Thanks to this, I get to meet makers from diverse industries, broadening their business perspective and naturally building product planning skills.
Jin Hyang🌱:The biggest difference is that my entire skill set is utilized from the project's inception to its completion . While there are certainly challenging aspects, the sense of accomplishment when achieving good results is incomparable. The planning direction has also changed. Whereas my role as an MD centered on 'sales,' my current focus is the goal is to grow the brand. So the core now is engaging in deeper communication with makers to collaboratively shape the overall brand planning direction.
Q. It seems like both of you are creating 'greater value' beyond simply selling products.
Heejung🏆: Wadizis where 'productsnot found in existingmarkets' make their debut. That's whyI often meet makers who are incredibly earnest and passionate . So when we succeed in funding together, the joy and thrill feel doubled. Also, when a brand or product I sourced grows significantly, or when copy and concepts I proposed become the brand's signature message, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. “I'm creating a new trend in the market." is the kind of I guess you could call it a sense of pride?
Jinhyang🌱: That's right. I also felt a lot of pride after successfully completing a construction-related project Wadiz. Typically, construction products are high-priced and sold mostly offline. I'm currently preparing a blind product, andas expected, it's still dealer-centric with no online advertising or sales data. I'm pioneering this, so it's a bit challenging, but "I'm leaving my mark on this industry!"makes it all worthwhile.
One last thing!🎤
Q. What advice would you give to those who are about to become new producers?
Heejung🏆: Wadizhas many colleagues who brainstorm and grow together. ✔ Those who love discovering new things, ✔ are highly curious, and ✔ have clear ambitionswill find this the best environment to leap forward amidst countless opportunities. Wadiz PDs aren't just sales or planners—they're 'pace makers' who grow alongside products and brands. If you want to broaden your unique insights while working with new makers, I encourage you to take the challenge.
Jin Hyang🌱: Wadizis a place where people passionate about various industry trends can freely bring their own projects to life. While we have teams organized by category, your work isn't confined to a specific field. I'm part of the Living team, but I freely explore and challenge myself across various categories. Plus, even products that might be difficult to launch on other platforms can be successfully brought to market here if they have a clear selling point and strong planning. If you want to grow through diverse experiences, Wadizis the perfect place!
Curious about the Wadiz PD position currently hiring? 🔍
