Ex-Morgan Stanley Banker Cleaned Houses Before Startup Took Off

  • Lee’s H2O raised funds at $180 million valuation in September
  • Hospitality management firm plans to expand in Southeast Asia
John Lee, founder of H2O Hospitality Ltd.Source: H2O Hospitality Ltd.
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

John Lee cleaned houses in South Korea for six months after leaving his job at Morgan Stanley in 2014.

As a hospitality management graduate from Cornell University, the now 33-year-old entrepreneur had a bigger goal in mind: He wanted to get a foothold in a business that he thought was ripe for change. So he started out providing housekeeping services to Airbnb homes in Seoul.