Today was whirlwind tour of the inner workings of beSUCCESS, and another demonstration of the insatiable energy and networking prowess of beSUCCESS founder James Jung. When he said he had some meetings lined up I didn’t realize we would be meeting eight people, from three continents and six business entities. And all before afternoon tea. And here’s what we learned.
Most of those we saw were on their way to G-Star in Busan - a major date in the startup calendar (Nov 8-11) in S. Korea’s coastal second city. beSUCCESS will be represented there by Euno Lee, so look out for him. If you are attending please share your experiences with us, which we can share with our global audience!
Rico Wyder was our first appointment and shared the vision behind Fiksu’s mobile app marketing solution, which targets potential user groups intuitively, to ensure that marketing spend is not thrown into the wind, but channeled intelligently towards genuine customers. Rico’s aim is to share his solution with the Korean tech eco-system, to promote the growth of mobile apps, globally. Many startups struggle with distribution and Fiksu is a major player in solving this issue.
While I wrapped up with Rico, James was already on a conference call with our close associates, John and Kihong from Strong Ventures in Silicon Valley, who have steadfastly supported James’s vision for beSUCCESS, and keep the Korean team closely in tune with what’s hot on their side of the world. Great to get a boost from these seasoned startup pros, before our next appointment.
Our friend Erik from RNTS Media then caught up with us for a coffee and chat about the company he represents. After founding his own startup in the US he has spent some time in Korea acclimatizing and now brings his state-side expertise to bare for Korean startups. RNTS focuses on multimedia publishing and app development and can assist with localization strategy, marketing and distribution for tech startups wanting to go global.
Ebihara has spent several weeks in Seoul, and represents Cyber Agent Ventures from Japan, further demonstrating that our neighbor to the east is keenly engaging with the startup scene in Korea for investment opportunities. He shared the need for sound strategy when engaging new markets: By way of a metaphor: kimchi for Koreans, sauerkraut for Germans (IE your product, in this case the humble cabbage, may work in new markets, but may need to be remodeled to achieve success).
Also from Japan (and for coffee No. 2), we met Jin, the energetic CEO of Mynet Inc, a game developer and mobile game media platform. He is keen to launch his mobile RPG here early next year and cash in on Korean’s enormous appetite for games on the go. He was struck on arriving in Seoul for the first time that on the crowded subway more than half of of the people he saw were either gaming or watching video content on their mobiles. Yes, Korea is wired, and wired fast and smartphone penetration and active engagement makes this a must have market. Partnership with a major platform (such as Kakao Talk) is almost essential, but the rewards can be astonishing.
For coffee No. 3 we met up with Ludolf, founding CEO of Yogiyo (perhaps Korea’s fastest growing food delivery service provider) and member of Team Europe, an incubator, consultancy, and investor rolled into one, that aggressively grows startups into profitable businesses. He is now developing his next business interest (details to be announced live at G-Star, with more news to follow on beSUCCESS shortly).
Enough coffee for one day. It’s time for the final Wednesday meetup with Eunse Lee, a self fashioned business consultant and close associate of beSUCCESS, perhaps with a Soju after a busy and profitable day.
If you are interested in any of the businesses or people mentioned, please drop me a line, or connect with me on linkedIn and I will leverage our relationships for your success!
