Startup Trend Report 2020 Highlights
Opensurvey and startup alliance recently released their startup trend report, here are some extracts that would be of interest to the international audience, given the main report is in Korean.
The government plays a big role in the Korean startup ecosystem. Multiple government agencies provide lots of support, running special programs for startups within the country.
Here are the results answered for which government agencies participants felt were the most supportive in startup activities.
Top 3 Organizations Most Trusted by Founders
According to the results, the top 3 organizations are:
1. “Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development”
KISED runs multiple startup education support programs, provides mentorship and consulting for business development, as well as global acceleration programs for local Korean startups in partnership with global organizations such as Plug&Play, Draper University, and many more.
SBA is a business support organization run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, operating many support programs for startups — including office space support programs, business development consulting, and much more. SBA also provides support for international startups and investors through the “Invest Seoul Center”. Invest Seoul Center provides services for foreign direct investment and for foreign-run startups as well. Services for foreign-run startups include OASIS visa-related startup idea evaluation competition programs, business Korean language classes, Startup-school program, and much more.
3. “Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation (CCEI)”
There are 19 CCEI located across South Korea, offering strong support for startups depending on the center’s location. Support programs are often connected to the key industries of the region, making the focus industries of centers differ by location. Services include office space, business development consulting, consultations on legal questions as well as intellectual property, global business development support for Korean startups, and more.
In Korea, government organizations are not the only ecosystem players that support startups. Private companies and conglomerates are also very active, providing prominent support for startups in the form of open innovation projects, early-stage investment, and much more.
Founders were asked about which corporation was the most active in supporting startup activity.
According to responses, Naver and Kakao were considered the most active on the startup scene.
1. Naver
Naver is a dominant in Korea online search engine/platform run by Naver Corporation. Naver runs programs for startups, with Naver D2 Startup Factory worth mentioning. D2 Startup Factory is a tech. accelerator that provides seed investment and helps tech startups grow, as well as cooperate with Naver on projects.
2. Kakao
Kakao is a company behind KakaoTalk, the most popular chat service application in South Korea that also has multiple other features like shopping, payments, and more. It merged with DAUM Communications back in 2014. Kakao has various startup programs as well, highlighting Kakao Makers. Kakao Makers is a platform that connects item producers and manufacturers directly with consumers and ensures smooth business transactions.
Finally, other key players that also play a role in strengthening the startup landscape — are accelerators and venture capital organizations.
Starting with accelerators and early-stage investment companies, founders were asked two following questions, “The first thing that comes to mind when you think of an early-stage investment company”, and “Please select three of the following early-stage investment companies in the order in which you would like to receive the investment from”.
This year, the most popular early-stage investment/accelerators are:
1. “Primer”
Primer is one of the most respectable and oldest accelerators in Korea. Primer directly invests in early-stage startups mainly in mobile/internet services, software, and healthcare industries. There are approximately 200 companies in the portfolio, and notable mentions include “event-us”, “payple”, and “ask-ajumma (renamed into go wonderfully)” — to name a few.
2. “MashUp Angels”
MashUp Angels is an early-stage accelerator that focuses on the ICT field. Portfolio companies get a lot of support for business development as well as networking opportunities. There are more than 100 companies currently in the portfolio, and notable mentions include “Drama & Company (Remember app.)”, “My real trip”, and more.
The Venture Capital part of the report has some very intriguing insights. The founders were asked to name their top 3 VCs that they would like to receive an investment from. “ The top 3 VCs of this year are:
Based on the results, this year, the most popular early-stage accelerators are:
1. “ Altos Ventures”
Altos Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based Venture Capital with an office in Seoul. It focuses on the IT industry and invests in the cloud, mobile, internet, and software startups that are at a fast growth stage. Notable investments include “Viva Republica(Toss)”, “Symantec”, and more.
2. “SoftBank Ventures”
SoftBank Ventures Asia is a part of the SoftBank Group and specializes in investing in IT, Robotics, AI, and IoT industry startups. It is located in Seoul and notable investments include “Danggeun Market’, “Hyperconnect” and others.
3. “Kakao Ventures”
Kakao Ventures is a venture capital firm owned by Kakao that invests in early-stage startups in the mobile and software industries. Notable investments include “Skelter Labs”, “Select Star”, and others.
These are just some of the highlights sourced from the report on Korean startup ecosystem trends. Find the full detailed report here (in Korean), covering a lot more on the startup ecosystem, we recommend you check it out!
What’s next?
If you are a startup founder, employee, investor, accelerator representative, or just interested in the Korean startup scene, join Seoul Startups — the biggest international community for founders in South Korea and beyond. It’s an amazing opportunity to get connected to this vibrant and dynamic ecosystem!
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