The post Top 5 Independent Korean Beauty Brands to Watch out For! appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>B-Lab Korea is a Korean skincare brand with a focus on creating high-quality products using natural ingredients: all for the sake of a better environment. Their flagship range is their “I AM SORRY JUST CLEANSING” line which features a wide range of cleansing products, including peeling gel, cleansing water, and oil cleansers, with the range’s tagline emblazoned on it.
All their products come in chic and minimalist looking black and white packaging. Check out their Instagram to lust over the cleansers and start making your wish list.
Their products are available to order from their website.
Duft and Doft are bringing a scent of Scandinavia to Korea with their Nordic inspired fragrance range. The company creates pampering products using only natural ingredients and uses no parabens, mineral oils, talc, synthetic dyes, benzophenones or other potentially harmful chemicals. Many beauty bloggers are dubbing Duft and Doft the #1 beauty brand that they want to keep to themselves.
But, the secret’s out!
As well as being available online and in Olive Young stores, Duft and Duft also have a variety of physical locations around Korea. Find out where, here.
Thank you Farmer is an innovative cosmetic brand that produces high-performance products using all-natural and cruelty-free ingredients. Their Miracle Age Line has been praised by Media giants, such as Vogue and Allure. Their range of products feature skincare, BB creams, and sun protection essentials.
This independent Korean Beauty Brands products can be bought on their website, as well as at several physical locations around Korea. Find out where, here!
Oka is a fun and exciting independent Korean cosmetics company. They create gorgeous skincare and beauty products that use advanced ingredients for the highest level of care. However, our favorite thing about Oka is the fun packaging of their products with bright pop colors and caricature designs. They are best known for their lipsticks, lip glosses and facemasks.
Oka Beauty products are available online.
Wonjin Effect combines nature and technology to make the most effective skincare products. Their treatments have been developed by some of Korea’s leading dermatologists for the ultimate in luxury beauty. Their flagship products are their advanced face masks however, their face creams and ampoules are also popular.
Wonjin Effect skincare products can be purchased on their website.
So now that we’ve told you our 5 favorite independent Korean beauty brands, its time for you to spill your secrets? What’s your go-to k-beauty product that no one has heard of? Leave us a comment and let us know in the comments!
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]]>The post 4 Failproof Ways to Make your Startup Stand Out in Korea appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>There are many different reasons why customers decide to buy from startups instead of the brands they’ve grown up loyal to.
However, the most compelling reason of all is the connection that startups can make with customers through their story.
When you’re presenting your business to the world, whether that be to your customers or potential investors, you need to take the facts and craft them into a story. Your brand’s story should be captivating, clever and demand an emotional response from your audience.
Maybe there’s an intriguing tale behind your business idea? Or maybe you have a unique supply chain that gives back to vulnerable groups.
Whatever it is, make sure you paint it with color when you present it to your audience.
Standing out is all about having a unique selling point. What’s yours? To survive in the business world, you must have something that makes you different and memorable. And, when you work out what that is, you need to reiterate it over and over and over again.
Startups in Korea should always remember that entrepreneurship isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about taking the wheel and making it better. Even if you just make one small change to an already existing business model, you now have a unique selling point and should be ready to shout about it to the world!
As a startup in Korea, you’ll find yourself talking about your business to a lot of different groups of people: investors, potential partners, reporters, competitors and, of course, customers.
However, one of the biggest mistakes that startups make is using the same spiel to talk to every single person.
Remember that what makes your business memorable to an investor is completely different to what makes you stand out to a customer. Why’s that? Because, they have different interests, of course.
If you know your audience well and keep their own unique interests in mind every time you speak to them, you can really make your startup stand out in Korea.
Korea is awash with talent in every industry; from tech to marketing and communications. As a startup, you might think that its best to bootstrap and do things on your own. But, having an amazing partner could be the key to your business success.
If you find someone who can enhance the parts of your business that you struggle with, your startup will go from strength to strength. It’s true what they say, sometimes: two heads really are better than one!
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]]>The post Korean Startups to Watch out For: The Sool Company appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>“Sool” is the Korean word for alcohol, and that’s exactly what this expat run startup specializes in. The founders, Julia Mellor and Daniel McLaughlin, began the company to grow awareness of Korean alcohol. While doing so, they’ve successfully created a multicultural community of “sool” enthusiasts.
Both founders are specialists in Korean traditional alcohol. Julia’s been in the makgeolli industry for over 5 years, while Dan’s both an instructor and alumni of brewing biochemistry at Susubori Academy.
Together, they bring their passion for Korean alcohol to foreign consumers through fun tours and educational courses.
For visitors wanting to try their hand at brewing alcohol, The Sool Company offers a huge variety of classes. The most popular of all is the makgeolli class which is available all year round. They also have seasonal classes such as soju distilling and makgeolli brewing.
For those who love Korean alcohol but don’t live in Seoul, they also offer a free offline Korea homebrewing crash course.
Those who’re more interested in drinking alcohol will be glad to know that The Sool Company also offers traditional alcohol tours in Seoul.
The tours are conducted in English and take travelers on a traditional alcohol tasting spree. While making their way around some of the traditional parts of Seoul, they take guests to makgeolli bars and introduce the foods that are eaten alongside the different drinks.
For foodies and “Sool enthusiasts”, this is a great way to familiarize yourself with a very special part of Korean culture!
To learn more about The Sool Company, have a look at their website!
Want to read more about startups in Korea? Check out our Korean startup archives!
The post Korean Startups to Watch out For: The Sool Company appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>The post Building Bridges – Seoul to Tel Aviv: Episode 5 Trusti and Buff Game appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>In this episode, we’re going to be featuring Trusti and Buff Game: two blockchain based startups who’re reinventing the way we look at tech!
Trusti helps their users to create accredited cryptocurrency wallets with state of the art security protection. These wallets will help do the following:
Because these wallets are built with compliance in mind, the creators can be sure that they’re meeting all authority regulations. This covers enterprise requirements such as financial KYC, individual’s data protection, and certification.
6% of all the Bitcoin in the world has been stolen at least once. Secure crypto storage options like this can give the world more confidence in cryptocurrency.
The team has worked hard to create a wallet system that isn’t just compliant. It also has the user experience in mind, too. This is an approach that all startups should consider when they create their products.
The Startup Radar team met Trusti at their Tel Aviv HQ. We were welcomed with fresh fruit and delicious sandwiches. We were able to sit down with Trusti CEO Zachary Swerdlow, Chief Technology Officer Ronen Lahat, Investor Relations Laura Buki, and Chief Operations Officer Oliver Worth. After watching a short presentation about their services, we talked about the blockchain startup scenes in Israel and South Korea.
The team’s office is located in a prime area of Tel Aviv, in the same building as First Digital Assets Group, who was featured in Episode 3 of the Building Bridges series.
Love playing games? Want to get real rewards for playing? Then, let us introduce you to Buff Game. Buff is a loyalty platform for games that use a rewards-based token system. The decentralized platform has created a scheme for gamers to accumulate BUFF coins through the blockchain for doing what they love the most- gaming.
This approach gives gamers a chance to make money from their hobby. It also brings game producers the benefit of more loyal users, too. We sat down with Ophir Gertner who is in charge of the BizDev side as well as Elay De Beer the CEO at BUFF to speak more about why Korea specifically is the right target market for BUFF.
Much like Trusti, Buff Game also operates its system with the user experience in mind. None of the coin accumulation processes interfere with the gameplay.
The traditional game economy only sees real money going from gamers to game publishers. Some game publishers also gain additional revenue for ads that gamers need to watch, obstructing their overall gaming experience.
Buff changes this by allowing gamers to independently gain rewards for gaming. This helps the game publishers increase their revenue thanks to gamer loyalty.
We think that this idea will really kick off in Korea, where gaming and crypto are two of the nation’s favorite past times. However, following the controversies of gaming addiction in Korean teens, we know that it would need to be heavily regulated by government officials.
One of the main lessons we learned from these companies is how user experience can help make or break a startup product. At the end of the day, it’s the users who’re going to buy and use your product or service- aka put money in your tills! Make sure that they’re at the forefront of every decision you make. Otherwise, you’ll get left by the roadside.
So, before you head off today, leave us a comment and let us know:
What do you think is the most important component of the User Experience?
The post Building Bridges – Seoul to Tel Aviv: Episode 5 Trusti and Buff Game appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>The post Weekly Roundup: Startup Events in Seoul August 24th to 31st appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>Sovereign Wallet is a messenger-style cryptocurrency wallet with banking grade security. The company’s CEO, Seokgu Yun will be talking about the concept behind the sovereign wallet. He’ll also be addressing the concept of stable, non-futile tokens and how these could help promote mass adoption of cryptocurrency.
Where: Bitcoin Center Korea (3rd Floor, Itaewon-dong 123-7, Yongsan-Gu, Seoul)
When: Saturday, 25th August (5 pm – 7 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Reserve on Meetup
React.js projects is a group coding workshop for coders of all levels to get together and get experience using React. Participants are free to work on their own projects or help out with a team project. The aim of the event is for everyone to improve their skills and understanding of the React library.
Where: wcoding (Seollung-ro 72-10, Gangnam-Gu)
When: Saturday, 25th August (2 pm – 4 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Reserve on Meetup
Python is a group hack night for coders to get together and learn more about the Python programming language. The event is aimed towards beginner to intermediate developers looking to learn from one another and discuss projects.
Topics covered will include web scraping, web development, data science, automation, and more.
Where: wcoding (Seollung-ro 72-10, Gangnam-Gu)
When: Wednesday, 29th August (7.30 pm – 9.30 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Reserve on Meetup
The Quantx Seminar will feature keynote speakers sharing their secrets on how to make it trading cryptocurrency. Some of the topics will include Crypto Asset Management, Trading XBT and Altcoin Futures, and, Cryptocurrency Derivatives Products and How to Leverage them. There will also be a panel Q&A session.
Where: 15F Central Park Hall, Kensington Hotel (16, Gukhoe-daero 76-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu)
When: Wednesday, 29th August (6.00 pm – 9.30 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Reserve Online
One of Asia’s top marketing agencies, G3 partners, are sharing their expertise with blockchain startup companies on how to market their company or token sale. The event will be presented by the company CEO, Nathan Millard, and feature presentations, case studies, a Q&A and networking opportunities.
Where: Startup Alliance (Room 701, Hyundai Tower, 423 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
When: Thursday, 30th August (7 pm to 9 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Not necessary. Check the Facebook event for more details.
East 2 are a blockchain company who’ve created a decentralized marketplace for frequent fliers to redeem their travel points. The event will feature talks by the company co-founder and address how their Air Loyalty Plus program will revolutionize air loyalty programs for both travelers and airlines.
This is part of the company’s roadshow across Asia to promote their concept and idea.
Where: Spark Plus – Universe Event Hall (28, Nonhyeon-Ro 98, Gangnam-Gu)
When: Thursday, 30th August (7 pm to 9.30 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Register on Eventbrite
Innotech, The 19th Innovation Technology Show 2018, is Korea’s largest tech trade show. The show will bring together some of the leading technological innovators from a variety of fields, including electronics, environment, food, communication and more. Attendees will be able to interact with the engaging exhibitions and learn more about the hottest tech companies in Korea.
Where: Coex Exhibition Hall C
When: Thursday, 30th August to 1st September (Thurs, Fri: Noon to 5 pm, Sat: Noon to 4 pm)
How Much: Free
Reservations: Not Required. More information available here.
Have an event coming up soon? Contact [email protected] for the chance to be featured!
The post Weekly Roundup: Startup Events in Seoul August 24th to 31st appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>The post Korea Opens First Blockchain Cafe appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>Korean love coffee shops. You can’t walk a block in Gangnam without seeing one. Some even have special themes, like bookstore coffee shops, cat coffee shops, and even VR coffee shops. However, the newest and most innovative café on the block is the new DeCentre blockchain cafe. Seoul has always had a fever for crypto. Why not combine Korea’s two favorite passions?
The DeCentre blockchain café, located in the heart of Gangnam, offers a space for crypto-enthusiasts to come together, share their knowledge and get updated on the latest blockchain news.
Despite the Korean government’s conservative views on blockchain technology, young people have been quick to adopt cryptocurrency and have a keen interest in ICO projects. Thanks to the DeCentre Blockchain Café, customers may even be able to pay for their iced americanos using cryptocurrency- a breakthrough for blockchain industries in Korea.
Many blockchain skeptics complain that the currency has no real life use. Projects like this blockchain café are important for promoting mass adoption of cryptocurrency. As well as giving it real, concrete value. Even world-famous coffee-chain, Starbucks, plans on accepting Bitcoin as payment in its stores soon.
When they’re not opening coffee shops, DeCentre acts as a professional blockchain Accelerating and Marketing company. It’s renowned in Korea for being made up of some of the country’s most experienced blockchain business experts. The company creates marketing strategies for cryptocurrencies, pre-sales, ICO and global promotion. Their work has been praised for helping to create synergy and community by linking businesses in blockchain.
DeCentre provides guidance on the basic guidelines for ICO preparation. As well as, consults businesses on their initial token issue and allocation structures. They are also affiliated with global legal firms with experience in ICO. Therefore they can give legal guidance to companies going through this vital procedure.
The DeCentre SMO, Mike Noh said:
“DeCentre Blockchain Cafe was started as the first blockchain cafe in Korea, allowing both crypto beginners and experts to learn more about blockchain technology from one another. Our café also provides information about blockchain technology and current status of markets.”,
“DeCentre plans to set up ATMs to exchange cryptocurrency into cash, provide education on blockchain and cryptocurrency, interact with companies, and provide ample networking opportunities.”
DeCentre is particularly well known in the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange scene. They are currently expanding their business globally by signing strategic partnerships with global cryptographic exchanges like CoinBene and BitForex.
“We opened ‘DeCentre BlockChain Cafe,’ an offline platform of DeCentre. The slogan of DeCentre Blockchain Cafe is ‘Meet Here’, and we expect many people to change the world by sharing information and creating communities through blockchain technology.” said David Lee, CEO at DeCentre
As for us, we’re excited to hear more about the future of Korea’s first blockchain café, and hope to see this trend continue around the world!
The post Korea Opens First Blockchain Cafe appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>The post Weekly Roundup: Startup Events in Seoul August 18th to 24th appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>Bitcoin Center, Korea is a community center in Itaewon which embraces all things Bitcoin, and connects developers, startups, and investors from the blockchain industry. The center isn’t always open to the public, but every Saturday they have an open house for non-members. The event features key speakers on different industry topics and ends with group discussions and networking.
Where: Bitcoin Center Korea, Itaewon (Bitcoin Center Korea, 13, Itaewon-ro 27ga-gil
Yongsan-gu, Seoul 04350 Korea, Republic Of)
Time: 3 pm to 5 pm
Cost: Free
Reservations: Not required
Seoul Promotion Plan 2018 is Asia’s largest scale animation and webtoon market. From Tuesday through to Thursday, companies will be pitching their webtoons and animations every day.
Where: Dongdaemun Design Plaza (281, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul)
Time: From 9 am Daily
Cost: Admission based
Reservations: Must apply as an artist or business. Check out SSP’s website to keep up to date with the next event.
Join rewards based social media platform, Foresting, for a night of blockchain and content creation chat. The event will be held at the brand new Decentre Blockchain Cafe which serves as a place for the Korean community to learn more about blockchain and even has a crypto ATM!
Where: Decentre Cafe (105 Dongyang Building 2F, Bongeunsa-Ro, Gangnam-Gu)
Time: 7pm onwards
Cost: Free
Reservations: Check back for more info!
Blockfesta is a 2-day blockchain conference hosted by Block Media and Korea Blockchain Industry Promotion Association to discuss the blockchain industry and the technology behind the 4th industrial revolution. The event will feature industry leaders and government officials such as the Mayor of Seoul and bitcoin.com CEO, Roger Ver. Businesses will be able to showcase their offerings at the exhibition and demonstration booths.
Where: SETEC (514, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu)
Time: 9.30 am Weds to 6 pm Thurs
Cost: $30 USD for attendees
Reservations: Buy Tickets Online
This one-day blockchain event will feature speakers from the blockchain industry, and give fanatics the chance to network with like-minded individuals. It’s hosted by Open Chain Global, a Korea-based blockchain community for people to come together and discuss cryptocurrency. They host various startup events in Seoul based on blockchain/ cryptocurrency.
Where: Janchun Stadium (Exit No.5, Dondae-Ipgu station: Line No.3)
Time: 2 pm to 6 pm
Cost: Free
Reservations: Register on Meetup
Puzzleworks are hosting a networking party for entrepreneurs to come together and share their stories. This is a monthly event for startups in Seoul aimed towards business and startup owners to meet other inspirational people.
Where: A-Lounge (BF2 50, Apgujeong-ro 12-gil, Gangnam-gu)
Time: 7 pm to 9 pm
Cost: 15,000 won
Reservations: Check Meetup for more Info
The Seoul International Imagination Industry Forum is one of the world’s premier conferences for the most influential scholars and experts in imagination industries. The event will shine the spotlight on animation, game, cartoon, AR/VR, and more. It will provide professionals and students alike the chance to network and learn more about trends in the industry.
The event is part of Seoul Cartoon and Animation Week.
Where: A-Lounge (BF2 50, Apgujeong-ro 12-gil, Gangnam-gu)
Time: 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm
Cost: Unknown
Reservations: Check the Facebook Event for more Info
Leave a comment and let us know, which of these startup events in Seoul are you looking forward to this week?
The post Weekly Roundup: Startup Events in Seoul August 18th to 24th appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>The post Building Bridges- Seoul to Tel Aviv: Episode 1 Colu and Zeex appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>Up first are Zeex and Colu, two blockchain startups with the shared vision of mass cryptocurrency adoption but completely unique business models and ideas.
Zeex is a mobile app offering a simple shopping experience that allows crypto holders to shop at their favorite retailers, using the coins they hold. With the app, users can spend their crypto on real products without the additional (and costly) step of converting it into Fiat currency. Among the many brands that support the app are H&M, ASOS, Amazon, and Apple.
This is perfect for people who have crypto but don’t really know what to do with it. Rather than just focussing on growing what they have, they can spend it on real things in the real economy.
The Zeex system is intuitive to use for any user- even those who know nothing about blockchain. And, if you think about it, that’s the way it should be. We can all use PayPal but few of us understand the underlying system that operates. Blockchain startups need to focus more on the User Experience and less on using exclusionary industry jargon.
In actual fact, the Zeex system is built upon a complex, secured inventory management system based on the rails of virtual gift cards- but the user never need know about this.
Given the success of similar platforms in Korea, such as Kakao Gift on Kakao Talk, we think that this idea could really take off in the Korean market.
Zeex’s philosophy made us think a lot about how making real-world crypto use easier will promote mass adoption. As blockchain pioneers, we completely share their vision. Making blockchain and cryptocurrency more accessible to the majority of the population is the key to a decentralized future.
Plus, we also learned a thing or two about office interior design from them. (And are seriously considering bringing a rooftop garden to Startup Radar HQ now…)
Colu is a digital wallet app that aims to localize cryptocurrency use in communities. Through the app, people in a specific area can form their own unique coin and use it as a local micro-currency. This micro-currency can then be spent easily through the app at participating local businesses. Not only will this unique business model help make cryptocurrency more accessible, it’ll also help promote a fairer community-based economy.
The app is currently live in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Liverpool, and London, with each city having its own unique coin. The 4 cities have 150,000 users combined.
In London, a huge variety of different small local businesses are connected to the app. This ranges from gelato stores to yoga studios, coffee shops, and even steamed dumpling restaurants. Because of the choice available and ease of payment, the app users are naturally inclined to support these independent establishments. This is great for locals businesses and will help strengthen local communities.
Cryptocurrency being for the greater good of society is a refreshing concept in a scene that’s dominated by millionaire day-traders. We hope that this can be a trend that we see coming out of talented blockchain startups in Korea.
So, before you head off today, leave us a comment and let us know:
How do you think cryptocurrency and blockchain startups can make changes for the greater good?
The post Building Bridges- Seoul to Tel Aviv: Episode 1 Colu and Zeex appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>The post Foresting HQ at the “Blockchain Symposium — Token Economy”, Seoul appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>Foresting’s CEO Daniel Eom took to the stage to talk about how blockchain-based social media platforms can help harness a fairer social media environment for content creators.
He talked a lot about the flaws in today’s most popular social media channels. For example, how they rely mainly on advertisement revenue, have an unfair value distribution and use insecure data handling practices. He’s confident that his revolutionary blockchain-based social media platform will finally bring economic freedom to content creators.
Speaking about the event, he said:
“We are delighted to be opening the first session of this token economy symposium by introducing a new paradigm of communication through blockchain technology. We are confident that many of our participants are actively responding to our vision and service. Foresting is developing the technologies and services that are in high demand currently.”
In addition to this event, Foresting HQ will also be holding their “Talk Concert” on August 2nd. 250 of the country’s biggest content creators plan to join this event, making it one not to miss. At the Talk Concert, there will be discussions about the current issues in the content creation industry. Hopefully the panels can create some solutions on how to eradicate them and create fairer value distribution streams.
Popular content creators such as Danny Kim and David Kim, Kim Review, and beauty creator Kong Sue Ni will participate in the event. These content creators are all extremely well known in Korea; particularly Kim Review who boasts an outstanding 460,000 followers.
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]]>The post Start your First Blog: Complimentary E-Book Download appeared first on Startup Radar.
]]>Contents include:
We hope that this guide will help budding content creators get their blogs up and running quickly and easily.
It can be daunting starting your first blog, but this guide will break everything down for you. Of course, if there’s anything else that you’d like to know, leave us a comment.
Follow along on Facebook so that you don’t miss the next parts of the #plantaseed content creators handbooks series. We can’t wait to see all your gorgeous creations. You can use our hashtag #plantaseed on Instagram to share your blog with the world.
#plantaseed
and
#watchitgrow
Download your free copy of the “Start your First Blog” e-book here!
The post Start your First Blog: Complimentary E-Book Download appeared first on Startup Radar.
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