HISTORY
Hannah Waitt CEO of moonROK Media
Our business has grown tremendously since starting up in Korea—we’ve established new partnerships with sponsorships and brands, and we’ve seen a huge growth on our website in terms of traffic and users. None of this would have been possible without the K-Startup Grand Challenge, which helped us get acclimated to the Korean business environment in the first place and supported our company expand with new investors and VCs. We were able to raise our company funds through investors we met during the competition, and were able to produce various media contents for free at the production and studio facilities provided by the K-Startup Grand Challenge. Participating in the Grand Challenge 2016 was the best thing we did for our company, and being in Korea has been nothing but awesome for our company so far.
“Being in Korea has been nothing but awesome for our company so far.”
“The K-Startup Grand Challenge was an amazing journey for us.”
Chris Georgiev Founder and Marketing Director of Imagga
The K-Startup Grand Challenge 2016 was really more than what we bargained for, and more than anything, it was a truly valuable learning experience. The program provided us with crash courses on how to startup in Korea, how to take care of patents and IP protection in Korea, how to validate our technologies and products for the Asian market, and how to expand to the Asian market in general. On top of that, we were able to receive personalized advice from mentors within the local startup ecosystem but also from experts from different fields. We were able to collaborate with major Korean companies like KIA Motors, and we continue to thrive with the connections and networks formed during our time participating in the Grand Challenge last year. The K-Startup Grand Challenge was definitely an amazing journey for us.
Rena Koh Co-Founder of Fashory
We have been very lucky to be part of the K-Startup Grand Challenge 2016 because we were able to make full use of the mentorship and pitching opportunities, as well as the accelerating program that really boosted our company in terms of financial investments as well as expansion into new markets. As a startup, it is hard to navigate in a new environment and figure out what the investors are looking for. Part of the process we went through during the accelerating program was to communicate directly with the Korean investors and get feedback from them, which was invaluable for our business. The K-Startup Grand Challenge was a turning point in our company’s development, and we are still grateful for all the support and guidance we received—and still receiving—from the program.
“The K-Startup Grand Challenge was a turning point in our company’s development”