The open innovation session aims to support startups and large corporations to soar high together by working together to come up with new products and services and discover new operative portals. The event had 18 large companies and included several stages for startups to interact with these companies. Here investors and accelerator programs presented the services they could offer to promising startups and how they could thrive together. KTD was live at the event and compiled the following companies and investors who pitched for promising startups.
DREAM PLUS: Open innovation and company building
The session kicked off with a presentation from Jungyun Cho, the head of Dream PlusGangnam Center on open innovation and company building. Cho stated that connecting dreams means connecting various dreams, which is the essence of the Dream Plus slogan. With this in mind, Dream plus aims to create new and better values by creating connections where the company can actualize the dreams of the startups that work with them.
“Dream Plus is not only building itself but also creating a startup ecosystem that helps young companies to reach their potential. Our growth is mainly attributed to our strength as an accelerator, investor, and the shared offices we provide to startups. We also offer different programs for individuals, investors, and companies. We offer internships, academies and events for individuals, accelerator programs for startups, collaboration and investment analysis for investors, and partnership and networking for corporates.” Cho Said. These services make them an enabler in the open innovation system. Cho also presented Dream plus’s plan of creating an enabler ecosystem in which enablers could provide guidance and support to young startups by helping them to innovate their products and providing capital as the young companies grow to enable them to create profit. The firm is looking for other large firms and promising startups to join its enabler ecosystem.
Kyowon open innovation’s challenge for ‘unexpected synergy.’
Younguk Shin, CEO of Kyowon EDU, started his presentation by presenting the Kyowon group, which started as the largest education platform in South Korea. However, the company has expanded to the hotel & leisure, and living & wellness industries through open innovation. Initially, Kyowon sold its product directly to customers, but in 2018 it changed its system to provide platform sales and produce content alongside its products.
“The transition was massive and couldn’t be done by a single person. We partnered with 10 startups to help create our platforms and content. The move enabled us to synergize international innovation to our internal innovation while boosting sales to over 1 trillion KRW.” Shin said. Kyowon is looking to partner with 9 new startups and gives a cumulative investment of 6 billion KRW. He ended his presentation by stating that startups offered new opportunities and ideas needed by the changing market and assuring their startup partners of Kyowon’s endless support, investment, and counseling as they grow together
Google for startups: Accelerating growth and going global
Mike Kim, head of Google for startups, APAC, started his presentation by saying he believes startups are shaping the future and APAC has the resources and connections they need to grow. APAC’s mission is to support as many startups as possible with the best of Google resources. As such, they created a Google space in Teharan valley, close to Korea’s leading IT companies, VCs, and incubators. “Together, we aim to create a startup ecosystem under one roof,” Kim said. Currently, they have 46 startups in their campus residency program, 1700 community events each year, and more than 37000 community members. Kim ended his presentation by inviting startups to visit their offices in Teharan valley and benefit from their online resources, training, and vast resources.
