Taehyun Yoo grew up watching his parents run their own restaurant before entering the Multi-Disciplinary Design program at the University of Utah. Wanting to find ways to help other immigrant entrepreneurs succeed, Yoo felt driven to simplify the complicated documentation process for immigrant entrepreneurs. Through research, he discovered inconsistencies within federal and state levels of license documentation, especially within differences of language. These inconsistencies created the largest obstacles for applicants; from this issue stemmed the idea of Moida, a third-party licensing and document packaging solution.
Yoo developed a detailed plan to create a digital platform with an approachable interface, updated with an inclusive user experience design. With some guidance from his mentor, Cord Bowen, the Multi-Disciplinary Design program director, he decided to focus on language barriers and sought to find an innovative solution to alleviate those struggles. Within his research, Yoo found data that reported over 50% of immigrant entrepreneurs desired help with their legal documentation. As he continued with his project, he found purpose in the idea that he could help others if he developed a digital platform that is accessible to all.
When reflecting on his research, Yoo recalled how he actively pursued an answer even when the solution wasn’t clear. Yoo, now graduated, is learning to code to take greater initiative within this project. He is thankful for the relationships he built with his professors within his research, and for the knowledge he learned from Spice Kitchen Incubator, a Utah company that works with immigrant entrepreneurs to help launch their businesses.
More articles like this in ‘Student Innovation @ the U!’
Find this article and a lot more in the 2021 “Student Innovation @ the U” report. The publication is presented by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to celebrate student innovators, change-makers, and entrepreneurs.
