The 15 Korean startups that participated in the fifth edition of TIPS & beSUCCESS Korean Startup Showcase Silicon Valley co-hosted with Korea Business Angels Association and Cuvee April held from October 11 to 14, 2022, had a mentoring session with Weichang Ge, senior analyst with HAX program of SOSV. SOSV is a global, multi-stage venture capital firm that operates early-stage startup development programs.
Weichang Ge is a senior analyst for HAX who works directly with the HAX General Partner Cyril Ebersweiler in San Francisco. SOSV’s HAX program is the world’s first and most active pre-seed program focused on hard tech startups. Weichang has worked in various venture capital firms across the U.S. and China. As a technology enthusiast, Weichang is particularly passionate about innovations across borders.
The TIPS & beSUCCESS Korean Startup Showcase Silicon Valley is a program held to showcase the potential of the Korean startup ecosystem to leading V.C. firms and accelerators in Silicon Valley and support startups to enter the global market. The 15 Korean startup teams that presented their services were Gadget Korea, Blinkers, TissenBioFarm, Gomi Corporation, Noutecompany, inDJ, Ad-Shield, Aurum Care Management, Kinava, LooKo, MoveAWheel, PMX, PuzzleData, Testbank, and Tart.
The TIPS & beSUCCESS Korean Startup Showcase Silicon Valley is a program held to showcase the potential of the Korean startup ecosystem to leading V.C. firms and accelerators in Silicon Valley and support startups to enter the global market. The 15 Korean startup teams that presented their services were Gadget Korea, Blinkers, TissenBioFarm, Gomi Corporation, Noutecompany, inDJ, Ad-Shield, Aurum Care Management, Kinava, LooKo, MoveAWheel, PMX, PuzzleData, Testbank, and Tart.
The startup founders presented their pitches at the mentoring session with Weichang Ge at the SOSV office in San Francisco. They showcased their products and services and responded to queries from the mentor. Weichang Ge asked the startup teams many relevant questions about their products and services. It helped the founders gain an insightful perspective of the U.S. market and global expansion strategies.
Weichang gave a brief introduction about the HAX program of SOSV and its work for startups. He enlightened the participants about the difference in approach for a market like the USA and discussed the need to be relevant to the USA market. “In the US not everyone is aware of Korean products and services. It is a different market and startups need to tailor their products to suit the American taste,” Weichang advised the founders.
He asked many questions to the startups, to prepare them for possibilities with prospective investors like business model definition, revenue expectations, business relevance, target consumer, regulatory and security issues, market size, technology, expansion, etc.The startups were engaged in conversation with Weichang Ge answering his queries, and learned about the possibilities for the final demo day presentation.
Weichang asked the startup Looko, which operates a digital closet, how they meet the challenges of acquiring buyers and sellers for the marketplace platform. For the startup Tart, Weichang wanted to understand the LTV for their app PRAP, an alternative investment platform and how their current consumer base is responding. The content startup inDJ, which operates a music app that runs according to the user’s mood, was asked to explain how they will tackle issues like copyright, user algorithms, and measure accuracy for recommendations. He told inDJ startup founder that it was an interesting idea and, “This probably could be an acquisition target for bigger companies.”
Noutecompany, which provides a digital tablet stationary platform, got Weichang’s interest as he talked to them about expanding services. “I write a lot of investment memos, and this could be something I can use. What is your strategy to expand the business and increase creation?” he asked. He also wanted to know about their market size, creator economy strategy, acquiring creators for the platform and revenues.
Weichang wanted to know how GOMI Corporation, a global commerce solution provider startup, intends to sell Korean products in a diverse US market. “In some states in the US, people know about Korean products, but in many other states, they are unaware of them. So how will you get products that suit American taste?” he asked.
“How do you aim to integrate your solutions into the existing workforce in businesses? And what are your compliance and data security plans?” Weichang had asked the startup founder of PuzzleData, which provides a process intelligence platform to businesses.
Also Read,
- Korean fintech startup Tart app PRAP helps search for best alternative investment products
- MoveAWheeL, Inc. develops advanced road safety sensor technology that can detect invisible ‘black ice’
- Korean startup Looko’s AI digital wardrobe app Acloset gets over 800,000 global users
- Korean startup Kinava commits to a zero-waste world and develops technology to convert organic waste into energy
Lincoln Georgis
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