Charlie (Cheolwon) Lee

CEO & Co Founder @ True Balance

About

I founded True Balance with a singular mission: to build a digital gateway for the underserved and underbanked, ensuring every Indian has the opportunity to participate in the formal financial ecosystem. Driven by the philosophy of "Finance for All," what began in 2014 as a mobile utility has since evolved into a sophisticated, AI-led financial powerhouse — now trusted by over 10 Crore Indians.By integrating AI-enabled alternative data underwriting and global technology standards, the platform provides seamless credit access and essential financial services to millions. We are not just facilitating transactions; we are leveraging proprietary technology to drive financial independence and bring millions into the fold of the modern economy, establishing a leading presence across the Indian market.Today, True Balance is at the forefront of the Digital India movement, backed by world-class institutions including SoftBank Ventures Asia, Naver, and Line Corporation. This mission is informed by over two decades of experience scaling high-impact technology businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, including senior leadership at RealNetworks and the founding of Access Mobile.A graduate of Seoul National University and the University of Chicago (MPP), I remain committed to innovating at the intersection of AI and finance to ensure a more inclusive and prosperous economic future for all.

Country

India

City

Gurugram

Industry

Financial Services

Skill

Telecommunications, SMS, VAS, Mobile Advertising, Wireless, E-commerce, Start-ups, SaaS

Experience

CEO & Co Founder

True Balance

2015-1 - Present · 11 yrs 9 mos

Seoul

• Founded True Balance India, creating a financial platform aimed at serving India's next billion users. • Spearheaded the development of an all-in-one app for lending, bill payments, and financial services. • Achieved over 100 million downloads, significantly enhancing access to credit for unbanked and uneducated consumers. • Championed the mission of "Finance for All," addressing the last mile issue of credit access in India.

Chief Executive Officer and Co Founder

True Balance

2014-7 - Present · 12 yrs 3 mos

Gurugram

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

어피닛(AFINIT)

2014-7 - Present · 12 yrs 3 mos

Seoul, South Korea

CEO & President

PT. Access Mobile Indonesia

2006-4 - 2014-12 · 8 yrs 9 mos

- Runs businesses with 20+ mobile operators in Asia Pacific region. Provides major ARPU-enhancing VAS as ASP in APAC (CRBT for SMART & Hutch, UGC Portal for Telkomsel, Mobile Ad for SMART and Color SMS for 8 Operators) - 5 branches in Korea, India, Indonesia, China and Philippines and local partners in Australia, Vietnam, Thailand and Middle-East Founded Seoul Headquarter in April 2006 Founded Limited firm in Manila, Philippines, July 2006 Founded Limited firm in New Delhi, India, August 2006 Founded Limited firm in Jakarta, Indonesia, June, 2006 Founded Liaison Office in Beijing, China, August, 2007 - Major ASP for Leading Global Mobile Operators CRBT ASP (“Caller Tunes”) – SMART, Philippines in Nov 2007 CRBT – Hutch, Indonesia Nov 2008 UGC ASP (“MyPulau”) – Telkomsel, Indonesia in Aug 2007 Mobile Ad Platform – SMART, Philippines in Aug 2009 COLOR SMS ASP with 8 Operators in APAC Nov 2006 – Excelcom Indonesia (“Xpress SMS”) Dec 2006 - Smart Philippines (“SMARTEXT”) Dec 2006 – Hutch Indonesia (“Color SMS”) Feb 2007 - Globe Philippines (“KoolText”) Apr 2007 – Vodafone India (“Picture SMS”) Feb 2008 - Aircel India (“Color SMS”) Nov 2008 – Idea India (“Magic SMS”) Dec 2008 – Telkomsel Indonesia (“ESMS”)

Head of Asia Pacific Business

RealNetworks

2001-12 - 2006-5 · 4 yrs 6 mos

- Sales worth of 100mil USD to 20 mobile operators at 9 countries - COLORing : India Bharti Airtel and BSNL, Indonesia Telkomsel, Telkomflexi, and Excelcom, Philippines Globe, Australia Telstra, Vietnam S-Fone, and Singapore M1 - Game and others : Above clients + Taiwan CHT and APBW, Thailand DTAC, AIS and True, Singapore Singtel, Philippines Smart, Audtralia Optus, Hutch and Vodafone, Malaysia Maxis, Celcom and Digi, Brunei DST