1415T2g1 South Korea/Reflection/day3
South Korea
| Day 2 |
Contents
Day 3: Reflections
Startup Alliance is a semi-government organization by Naver which aims to provide networking sessions and opportunities for local startups to liaise with global partners. They explained how various sectors of Korea’s startup ecosystem and how they support each other. With Startup Alliance to help with networking and with FuturePlay to help inventors tide over the initial stages of a startup and helping in areas such as patenting, Koreans are really well equipped to get into startups at lower risk. I hope that in future, more organizations will look into boosting startups and accelerating them in Singapore. D Camp is created under the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs to foster and boost Korea’s startup scene. They often provide office spaces and resources to startups similar to other accelerator programs. They provide courses to help improve the skills of the team. Sonia mentioned that all the startups in Korea are linked and know each other relatively well. It feels that the startup scene in Korea is a big family, who are willing to help each other out in times of need, fostering the younger members of the family to grow and succeed which seems relatively different from Singapore. Zikto’s ARKI is an interesting product that fulfils and actual problem in which I am currently facing as I was often pinpointed by my relatives that my walking posture is wrong and I have felt the detrimental effects of slouching. Brian mentioned that he worked with major names such as Naver to provide promotions on their platform as well as gathering free awareness on his product, a win win situation to help startups to make their product viral. In VC&C, Edward shared his secret recipe with the class about what are the steps that he takes when entering a new market. Firstly, he conducts on market research and gathers absolute data as well as relative data on the demand of applications that are similar to Between and studies the culture about the market and how can Between be readjusted to fit the needs of the locals. This is because even though couples are everywhere in the world, the dating culture differs between different countries. He would then localize his applications by shipping out new features that are relevant to the culture of the market. Next, he builds a local team and gather their expertise about the local market as well as building partnerships with the big companies that can help Between become viral. He quoted that women were the most important player in turning Between viral because the female gender tend to share good applications to their friends spontaneously and their friends would want their boyfriends to use the application. The virtuous cycle should also be offline and online to get the maximum attention of the general public.After vigorous viral marketing on the platforms of big names, the application will finally move to mass adoption by the market. Edward also shared with us the popular platforms that are famous specific to the different countries ( for example. Instagram users in Thailand spend at least 2-3hrs on the application everyday). Finally, for BeSuccess, they organize events for local startups to gain exposure to a global audience. We met Mr Myunghyun Ahn and he joined the company a few months ago. Mr Ahn shared various knowledge about Koreans. He shared why Google was unable to beat Naver was because once websites get listed in Naver, Google will not be able to search for them. He shared the nightlife culture and customs as well as his experiences with match making and that it was a really casual event and many Koreans actually go there often. There was a better market in terms of match making in Korea as compared to Singapore as people tend to have a negative image about online dating and matchmaking.
MangoPlate
During the Q and A session, I also better understood the marketing strategy of how a start-up should hit the market. For example, one should start with the market in SE Asia as a test bed before embarking on breaking into the US and Europe market. This is to ensure that the product has countless iterative improvements before they are officially launched worldwide. I also learnt the each there is no one size fit all marketing strategy. For instance, although the marketing strategy that Mango Plate uses may work in Korea, it may work in Singapore. This is due to the various cultural and taste of Singaporeans. For instance, most Singaporeans stay close to hawker centres and would not use Mango Plate application to find a good restaurant when they can get access to food easily. Hence, most Singaporeans will only use Mango Plate during special occasions which would mean that the number of user rate will not be as significant as Korea. Thus, a different marketing strategy will have to be used such as providing discount codes to entice Singaporeans to use Mango Plate.
Startup Alliance
D. camp
Zikto
From this presentation, I learnt about the importance of protecting one's startup idea from being copied via the application of patents and also operating in "stealth" mode as shared by the presented. I also learnt that the the goals of start-ups is to improve the lives of people by solving problems which the current market does not have a solution to. This is because having a good idea which does not rectify any problem will lead to no where.
VCNC Between
From the presentation by Edward, I learned that although VCNC had faced many stiff competition from other companies, one should not be too bothered by them as it will only be a waste of time. By simply doing what VCNC does best such as the improvement of code efficiency and others, it has allowed VCNC to stay ahead of the pack. Edward also shared that the mantra VCNC lived by was “If you want to bite, don’t nibble.” This is to say that as start-ups, one should be aggressive – after targeting on something, just do it once and do it good with no regrets.
I also learnt from VCNC that although having the technical know-how is good, that is not sufficient enough to work in VCNC if employees do not share the same passion as VCNC. This shows how important it is to ensure that employees of a start-ups do not have a conflict of interest (i.e. should not have different passion). This is because a conflict of interest will hinder the progress of the start-up. I also learnt that as a start-up, it is important to have one’s goal fixed on going global so as to fully maximize the potential of the start-up. Furthermore, it is also important to know who the target market are as different consumers in different countries can have different taste and preference towards dating. It is also important to target the women consumer base in some situations. For example, in the case of between, as women tend to be more aware of such cute applications and would want to use them, they will often rope in guys too. Hence, the consumer base will indirectly increase too. Lastly, I also learnt about the importance of having an A-team (Best of the best people in the team) in a start-up. This is to allow each member weaknesses to be covered by another team member’s strengths so that they can complement each other. Not only will this lead to cost savings, it also allows each team member to know and appreciate each other more which improves productivity.
BeSucess
I also learn that for new startups, networking is really important. As Startup Alliance mentioned, they often organized events for new startups to build their network with one another and with investors. Along the same line, D-Camp said that trainings are important for new companies, which is why they organized programs for new entrepreneurs.
From VC&C, I learn what to do before entering the market. Although VC&C is the first company in their industry to launch a couple-centric application – Between - they continuously do their research before expanding to another country’s market in order to personalize their approach. This is similar to what Carousell did to Thailand and Indonesia, where they added additional categories and different marketing approaches.
From Zikto, I learn that sometimes government and investments are not the only way to gain funds. They use crowdsourcing to measure the markets and at the same time, gain their funds. I believe this is aligned with what Mangoplate said, which is related to the trust of your users. For both companies, they believe that earning the trust of the people is the most important things of all. I think this is true. As customers come to put their trust with the company and use the products, the market will grow accordingly. Similarly, this will serve as a marketing strategy where users will spread the words to their friends.
We have a great time talking with people from BeSuccess over dinner. We learn that although their company is small, they also hire people on a project-basis. The company has a great culture where they trust each other and everyone is willing to work extra hours to complete their projects. This further emphasizes the importance of a good teamwork in a startup, since a startup usually have less people as compared to big companies thus allowing all of them to interact with one another closely. Every single part of the team has to feel that the company is theirs.
In the end, it is always about the people - both the users and the teams - and not the products solely. We have to think of the people first and what they need.
- We learnt that MangoPlate utilizes crowdsourcing to verify the existing restaurant data such as opening hours, locations, and to add new restaurants to its database. Crowdsourcing seems to be a trending and effective method for gathering accurate data.
- From Zikto, we learnt that Kickstarter not only serves the purpose of crowdfunding, but it also provides information about market demand for the company’s product and the demographics of the users that are interested in it.
- From Between, we learnt that there are multiple channels for generating revenue in the app:
- Freenium: sell emoji and stamps in the app.
- Advertising: sell dating ideas that feature paying organizations in the app
- Commerce: partner up with organizations to buy physical goods such as flowers to gift to one’s significant other through the app
- From our trip, we learnt these four recurring lessons for a successful startup:
- Solve a problem that real users are facing
- Get a capable team, which means people who have the same passion and experience
- Obtain funding
- Build up connections and networking early to do the above.
Today, we visited MangoPlate, Startup Alliance, D.Camp, Zikto, VCNC and BeSuccess.
Learning about all the help that the companies in Korea are able to have access to, I realised that the Korean government has put the money where their mouth is, coming up with these various organisations to give start-ups the best opportunities for survival. With about 50% of college graduates unable to find a job, it is an extremely appalling yet unsurprising figure. As the education level increases, it become inevitable that higher skilled jobs will run out. Therefore, it is an ideal opportunity to encourage entrepreneurship - to give these people jobs. Also by giving start-ups as much help as possible through the start-up eco-system, it gives these start-ups easy access to the less "essential" parts of building a company, and allows them to focus on their core business process, whether it is developing their product, or providing the best level of customer service to their clients, and hopefully, help them bridge the "valley of death" that start-ups usually face after the third year. I am extremely admirable to the efforts of the Korean government, and really felt that it gave me some headway into creating my own business. I was not really aware of any other ways of incubating my start-up apart from IIE. Learning how much help these companies can actually give to start-up has given me the impetus to look into the options that the Singapore start-up scene has to offer, giving me greater motivation and a sense of direction as to how to proceed with my start-up idea.
MangoPlate
MangoPlate is a restaurant discovery application that makes personalized recommendations for its users based on their food preference and by getting recommendations from the people in the user's social network.
I had a great time engaging with Lina, Joon, Michael, and Audrey from MangoPlate and I've learnt quite a few things:
- Set a goal that you can envision yourself working towards
- Focus on user-centric development and custom the service to the user's preference
- Work with partners and network to get to know people who can help with your business
- Retention of users through incentives like parties and gifts
- Keep a keen eye on user behavior to help you develop anything ranging from application development to marketing. This will help you find what triggers the user
- Solve a real problem with a kickass team and they must have the passion and drive to execute the project
Startup Alliance, D.camp, beSuccess
These 3 companies are platforms to provide start-ups with funding opportunities and learning opportunities thtough events like networking sessions and forums. Compared to Singapore, the South Korean support and interest in start-up is going strong. A recent survey was done in South Korea and 30%~ of undergraduates consider entrepreneurship as a possible career path. The growth and development of such support services help lower the risks of starting a business and I think this makes up part of the reason why fresh graduates are considering entrepreneurship as a possible career path.
VCNC
VCNC created the dating application Between. What contributed to their teamwork is their code of conduct which sets guidelines on how everyone should treat one another. Edward shared that this helps to prevent emotional arguments which can override logic and reason. Their code of conduct is very applicable in many different ways and it is also something that I can apply in my day to day interactions with people.
Zikto
Zikto is currently developing a wearable that corrects the body posture. It is up against competition against many different kinds of wearables in the market. After reflecting on his idea based on what I've learnt from the companies that we previously visited, I think that unless the product has been medically proven to be successful in correcting posture, the product will face difficulty in capturing the saturating market of wearable consumers.
JJS Media
As JJS office is not open when we arrive thus a lady brought us to tour around the building. The building consist of few levels. Mainly the 9th floor which is open to anyone to use. The lady mentioned that students can use that area as well. And I felt that the area looks like SMU Labs back in Singapore. And at the 7th floor, it’s the Content Korea Lab Gyeonggi. They have a recording studio as well as a big 3D printer! There are currently 28 start-ups and they can stay there for 2 years max. The minimum period is 6 months, but there will be an interview again on the 5th month. Unfortunately, this program is mainly for Korean.
The representative from JJS Media is a lady called CJ. JJS Media have a product called MyMusicTaste. Artists and promoters can use this application to measure the demand while the fans can request for the concerts that they want. Currently they are targeting K-Pop. That’s because they are from the same country and that K-Pop stars prefer to work with Korean company as compared to foreign companies. However, CJ also mentioned that they are preparing to flip, which means that their HQ will be at US, and Korea will only be the branch.
From CJ, I learnt a lot. According to CJ, the biggest hinder is to convince others to believe that the product is good and the team will be able to support it. Thus, the team is very important. They select their team member by sitting down with them and look at their personality. They will only hire if there have something that is in-line with the company. Hence, grades doesn’t matter to JJS Media. Also, CJ felt that you should not be frustrated when she calls you at 5am on a Saturday for work related issue. If you will be frustrated, don’t go into the start-up industry.
She also compare Korea start-up ecosystem against Singapore and US. The Korea government provide help to the start-ups. Example JJS Media is located in a government owned building. Their rental fee for 6 month is USD1000 only. However, this benefits are more towards the Korean citizen. On the other hand, Singapore too have government funding. But they benefits the foreigners as well. And most importantly, people in Singapore knows English! That is something that Korea do not really have. As for US, especially Silicon Valley, it is the best place to get funding if you have a great idea. There are a lot of VC there and “they are just waiting to throw their money in”.
FiveThirty
The latest product/service that FiveThirty do is the ZimCar, ZimMan and the ZimBox. This is targeted for the single family who need help in moving house and they are flexible in time (meaning 24 hours). The ZimCar provide the vehicle to carry the items and will cost 49800 krw (S$61.69). The ZimMan is the mover and will cost 33000 krw (S$40.88) and ZimBox is provide the box to store the items as well as the necessity that is needed, such as bubble wraps. It cost 25000 krw (S$30.97) each. There is a bundle price of 249800 krw (S$309.42) which consist of 1 ZimCar, 2 ZimMan and 1 ZimBox. FiveThirty are not worried that others will follow them and be their competitors. Instead, they mentioned something that inspire me: “People can follow them. But they (FiveThirty) started first. So they have an advantage. When others are following them, they still need to get the contacts and material, but they (FiveThirty) had all the materials already, thus able to do more and go further than others”. From the speech, I learnt that to have a higher success rate in start-up, we need to focus on our passion. Passion is the thing that keep us moving and to push our team. They felt that if you are below 25, it’s okay for you to try doing a start-up first. However, if you are more than 25, you should do some work first before proceeding to start a new business. They also agreed that it is not easy to attract employee. Unlike big companies, start-up generally can’t provide a high salary to their employees. Thus, in start-ups, the company will tend to give their employee some stocks instead.
