If you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life 

but for many of us, the thought of turning our passions into profits is nothing but a distant dream. And, let’s be honest, this can’t be truer for many millennials in Korea for whom crazy working hours and jam-packed commutes are the norms. But, if you’ve lost that loving feeling with your corporate job, maybe it’s time to start flirting with the idea of turning your passion into profit and be one of the thousands of Entrepreneurs in Korea.

To help you get started, we’ve created a step by step guide that’ll get you out your boring job in no time.

Find What You Really Love

It’s all well and good wanting to do something that you love everyday for the rest of your life…. but what if you don’t know what that is yet? Maybe the only things you’re really passionate about are watching Netflix and sleeping until midday on Sunday?

We hear you.

It can be difficult to find you passions but, if you dig deeper, you’ll find that even the most mundane things can be turned into profitable business ideas.

So, let’s start with the Netflix analogy and explore these questions.

• What do you love about lounging around watching TV?
• Do you think that other people love that, too?
• Is there something that would make your experience better?
• How about an app that’ll deliver curated snacks to your home every Friday night, just in time for your big binge?
• Or a pimped out DVD bang filled with gourmet treats, comfy couches, and cozy sweaters? (So you can still feel social while doing what you love!)

With a few simple questions and a bit of digging, you can easily find some commercial potential in your guilty pleasure.

And after you find it, you have your business idea.

Find your Customer

What’s the prime thing that a business needs to survive? Money. And to get money, you’re going to need customers.

These days, there’s so much competition on the market from creative micro-businesses who’re developing amazing products that are utterly perfect for their customers.

You might think that the secret to their success is something complicated or extraordinary but, actually, it’s easier than you probably think:

They know exactly who they’re selling to and exactly what their customer wants.

And, you can do the same thing, too.

First, think hard about your customer. What type of person are they? How much do they want to spend? Where do they shop? Why do they need your product?

In today’s business environment, you shouldn’t be afraid to niche down. Actually, the more niche you go, the better. People want something that feels like it was 100% curated for them. So, maybe you want to open a dessert cafe for marathon running vegans who love chocolate? In Seoul alone, you probably have thousands of potential customers. (I mean who doesn’t love chocolate?!) And, best of all, you probably have very few- if any- direct competitors.

Win-win.

Be Unique and Have a Voice

In a sea of voices, how do you make yours heard? By being unique. No one remembers Plain Jane or Beige Dave. The same thing goes for businesses so don’t be afraid to express yourself and shout about all your quirks to the world.

First, consider what makes your business different from your competitors. That’s your unique selling point and is a vital survival tool for startups in Korea.

This unique selling point is the thing that you really want to shout to the world about. Incorporate it into your web copy, your social media strategy and make sure that it’s the first thing people remember about your product.

Make a Timeline

Probably the most important step of all is creating a timeline to get your business off the ground. So many business ideas lie dormant in potential entrepreneurs’ minds for far too long. Not getting started is a sure fire way to fail- don’t fall into that trap. Make a clear plan with achievable goals and a realistic timeline.

Want to make sure you stick to it? Find an accountability partner and cheer each other on as you surpass each hurdle together.

The Verdict

With careful planning, turning a passion project into a profitable business is well within anyone’s reach. So, let this be the year that you say goodbye to your corporate job, long hours and crazy commute, and say hello to a life of doing what you love.

Entrepreneurs in Korea, you can do this!

The post Entrepreneurs in Korea: Turn your Passion into Profit appeared first on Startup Radar.

I am a very positive guy.  Therefore when investing at J-Seed Ventures I always look at the upside where you have bigger returns, innovating and disrupting the market and making changes in society.  For example in Japan, being a startup entrepreneur is seen as having no social status.  This is because you are not working for a large corporation like Toyota or Sony or etc.  This means it’s difficult to get a loan from bank. Sometimes can’t even apply for a credit card when you start your own company.  The upside for entrepreneurs comes when you go public or M&A or you are creating innovation in the industry.  Of course, there are a lot of risks and failures that might happen.  But thinking about the upside will help people get motivated.

You will have a higher success rate with lean startups.   Creating a prototype, creating a new market and then trying to scale by raising more money. (One of the options).  So start small and thinking big afterward will give startups a higher success rate.

Scaling out

Companies can always pivot after investing. Of course as investor, we want to maximize the return, gain 10x, 500x or more. If the scale is difficult, having to focus on niche category and getting the number 1 market share could be another strategy.  This is because they could create a business environment around it if you are the number 1 player in some industry.  In this case, you can scale out to other countries as well.

When I was a CEO, running my own company, what was always on my mind was the family of employees I had to pay a salary for.  That is a lot of responsibility.  But the key was I always loved what I do so for me adrenaline keeps me going.  Therefore, I tell my portfolio companies that finding what they are passionate about and executing would be the key to success.

The post Startup Advice for Young Asian Startup Entrepreneurs appeared first on Startup Radar.

There is a moment in time for all of us between the ages of 17-27 where the world starts to open up.  For me, for example, was 18 when I went off to college in California.  Some Koreans living in Korea will do the same but others won’t leave their home until well after college.  With this new found freedom will also come a lot of expectations to succeed.  There will be a lot of demand that your family, friends, and even your culture will have on you.  Korean entrepreneurs all faced the same issue.

A decade ago those expectations for most Koreans was to become a doctor, lawyer, or join a big company like Samsung or Hyundai.  However, there is a great opportunity for many young people as their minds and freedom start to open up.  That opportunity is the opportunity to shape our own lives through our own decisions.  It is to truly become independent.  I am not talking about taking care of yourself financially.  I am talking about having an independent mind to truly discover who we really are.

Free your Minds

For years Koreans have been taught in schools what to think and even how to feel.  Now with this independence young Koreans have the freedom to discover the truth on their own whatever that may be.  These 10 or so years are crucial in the development of young minds.  Whatever they decide during this time is the path they will go on for the rest of their lives (mostly).  If they set their path to work for Samsung during this time, they will most likely end up being a company man for Samsung or another big corporation for the rest of their lives.  I bring up Samsung because for most Koreans back in the day the greatest achievement was to work for Samsung, it was looked upon as success and stability.  So many Koreans followed what “society” expected of them, in essence giving up their independence.

Use Your Minds

The ability to have the freedom and the independence to use your mind is one of the most precious things you will ever have.  Humans are built to use their minds, that is the greatest asset humans have over any other species.   Humans were able to use their minds and innovative.  Through innovation came revolutions.  Humans need to continue to innovate and that is not easy to do if your mind is not free.  Many Koreans study hours and hours on tests to get into schools or prepare for corporate jobs during these crucial years.  Sure you will get into a great school and find a nice job, but where is the chance for innovation?  That job at a corporate office will always be there.  Rather than focusing on a corporate job use these precious years to challenge yourself.  Go out and figure out what you LOVE to do and what you are passionate about.  Depart from what is considered “normal”, be an innovator, be a true entrepreneur.  This, in the end, will lead you to live the best life you can live for yourself.

The post Dear Young Korean Entrepreneurs appeared first on Startup Radar.

The ASES Summit in Melbourne is looking for young Korean entrepreneurs to participate in their week-long entrepreneurship program.  There is a strong Korean community in Australia but not enough young Korean entrepreneurs.  This is a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs in Korea to meet participants from all over the world.  They will gather to hear from some of the region’s best speakers, attend workshops, and visit leading companies.

There will also be a boot camp program where Korean entrepreneurs can take their ideas to the next level.  They will also be able to make international friends with leading young entrepreneurs from around the world.

Australia is a lovely place to visit and Melbourne was voted the most liveable city in the world for the seventh year in a row.  In addition, the Summit will take place at the University of Melbourne.

Young Korean entrepreneurs will just have to bring an idea to the summit and if it is good enough they will be able to work on developing their idea throughout the week.

How to Apply

Applicants must be available for an online interview between the 26th and 30th of March. Applicants must also be available to be in Melbourne, Australia for the period of 8th – 14th July.

There is a fee of $600AUD (subject to change slightly) to attend the summit and participants are required to organize travel to and from Australia themselves. However, accommodation and food will be provided for the week of the summit.

The application process:

The first part of the application process is a simple form which you can find here: http://bit.ly/melbsummitapplication

If successful at this stage, ASES Summit will contact you to set up an online interview with some of their team.

After that, successful applicants will be contacted early April.

Key Details:

Please note all dates and times are in AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

First round applications close – 23rd March Interviews held – 26th – 30th March Acceptance letters sent out – 2nd April Summit – 8th July – 14th July Location: The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Number of spots: 30

Application form: http://bit.ly/melbsummitapplication

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis so get in quick.

They are looking for young passionate entrepreneurs in Korea.  Therefore, those that are looking to make the most of an opportunity like this and meet amazing like-minded people from all over the world.  Furthermore, this will be a great experience for young entrepreneurs in Korea looking to start a startup of their own.

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IF you are not great at what you do.  If you don’t love it and the world does not need it.  Lastly, if you are not getting paid for it, it will fail.  The intersection between “you are great at it” and “you love it” is called passion in my world.  If you are not passionate about what you do, you will not be a successful startup entrepreneur.  If this is you just wanting to jump on a bandwagon because you are fed up working at a big corporation and how you are just going to move into the sexy world of startups.  You are going to get disappointed.  You are going to get REALLY disappointed.  If you are not working 12 hours at the weekend, you are going to find this incredibly difficult because there are other people out there doing whatever it is you do.

What is Your Purpose?  What is your Passion?

The intersection of your passion, your mission, your vocation, your profession, is your purpose.  Lucky is the man that find’s their purpose.  Most will probably not find it until they are in their late 30s or even 40s.  If you are not excited about what it is that you do.  Do not expect a STRANGER to be excited about it for you.  It comes back to passion.  Does that make sense?  The #1 connector here is your passion.  You have to hit their passion.  You will find more people who do not like you and your business than you will those that are stupid enough to invest in your business.  That is the world of entrepreneurship…welcome to it!

Explain Clearly What it is You Do

If you don’t come across as competent, that’s fine but you will fail.  You will certainly fail to get funding.  But why?  Because the person doesn’t NEED to invest.  They are looking at you from the perspective they are going to be with you longer than most of my marriages.  In Mexico, Hong Kong, Berlin, London, etc we meet 30 to 40 startups, here is the most difficult question that we ask, remember these people are being curated.  Remember that we do A LOT of work, that question is for example “John great to meet you, tell me about your business.”  36% of people fail every time in every city, exactly the same amount to be able to explain what it is that they do in simple terms.  Geeks almost pathologically are incapable of being able to explain to a normal human being what it is that they do.  Our sole advice for academics is to get a human being with communications skills to do the pitching for you because you are not going to be able to the passion across be excited.

If you cannot prove that you already have made money and that is the only proof that we require, we are Europe and Asia’s largest Angel network by far.  We want sales.  Don’t tell me people SHOULD be buying your products.  I recently judged an MIT competition in 2017, they were amazing, but does anybody want to buy the product tho?  Have they done any market research?

Some Tips

Do not ask for more money than you need.

This is difficult because you don’t actually know because you haven’t actually done it before.  How much money do you need?  “I don’t know” is actually the correct answer.  Who does know?  What we do know is that it is going to be more than you ask for.  But don’t ask for more than you need.  Be able to explain in terms of the costs because you don’t truly know what your sales are going to be.  We all accept that, but we would like to see that the costs are pretty correct.  We want to see the best “guess”.  At Angel’s Den we train our Angels on seven things across the world.  We have a team of people that go around delivering the same 7 programs at luxury hotels to incredibly rich people every month…we teach Angels 17 ways to value your business, 17 ways.  The dirty little secret at the end of that, that saves you a whole days worth of training….is that there is no way to value your startup.  Who knows?  It is a compromise.  If you can’t compose the compromise at that stage then the whole relationship is dead.

Do not bullshit.

Do not do it once.  Woman generally don’t do that.  They instinctively tell the truth.  Men generally bullshit so much and get the Angel so excited that once it is time to prove it in their second meeting…they can’t.  They are dead in the water at that point.  Who wants to invest in people that lie to them.  If you are looking to raise money and you have not got a WOMAN on board in your business you are STUPID and you will probably fail.  Woman are better.  They are more collaborative.  They are more intelligent.  Not just from an emotional perspective but from every perspective.  I’ve checked my facts, they make up 51% of the population and most men think they can guess what women want.  REALLY?  Good luck with that!

Final Thoughts

Everyone knows 80% of the startups fail.  After 10 years in 10 countries, only 8% of our startups have failed.  92.4% of every business we have ever funded and we are talking thousands of businesses across the world are still going.  Why?  Because we curated them because we understand you need sales.  If you don’t have sales you haven’t proven your business model.  You don’t have the humility to actually understand what skills you have got and what skills you don’t have.  So get the skills you are NOT good at on board.  Don’t get tempted to get more people like yourself on board, that is not going to help you.  It might be more fun but it probably won’t be successful.  Staying in business is hard.  Very hard.  Setting up a business?  That is really really straightforward.  You need to get the skills you need on board.  If you are going to raise money, don’t just raise it on crowdfunding, crowdfunding is a very effective mechanism to JUST get you money.  You will get that money at a ridiculous evaluation, you’ll be a multi-millionaire for….months.  But seriously given our experience in the UK.  Over 80%…maybe even 90% of the businesses that are being crowdfunded are successful as much as that they are getting funded, but then they go out of business. Get the right team, prove your business model, and get sales, then you are well on your way to becoming a successful startup entrepreneur.

The post How to Become a Successful Startup Entrepreneur appeared first on Startup Radar.

BBridge is a non-profit organization based in Ulsan, South Korea.  They offer remote consulting for early-stage Korean startups by connecting them with professionals from all around the world.  Therefore they are all about spreading entrepreneurship in South Korea.  Most Koreans have issues regarding communication and network.  Most Korean startups do not have a global team.  This means that it will be hard for them to connect with people outside of Korea.

Korean startups face a lot of problems when they enter the market at such an early stage.  Furthermore, in order to succeed they will need to have the right partners and the right network.  BBridge can help connect Korean startups with the right partner and network.  They can also consult with service development, business plan development, market research, and market testing.

The main services that BBrdige offers are listed below:

• Expert consultation
• Business plan development
• Financial planning
• Product development
• Business training
• Market research/testing

BBridge aims to become an ecosystem where early-stage Korean startups can build their entrepreneur skills and turn their creative ideas into reality.  Therefore, getting the right support team is very important when starting out as a startup.  It is wise to have as much help as possible.

Ulsan’s Startup Ecosystem

Ulsan has been looking to help the big and small businesses by creating new opportunities for employment.  They are focused on fostering innovative business ideas and entrepreneurial activities.  This is why BBridge has a great chance to get support from the Ulsan government.  They will be able to offer innovative resources to Korean startups in Ulsan through innovation, education, research, and practice.

Korean Entrepreneurship in Ulsan

In the past entrepreneurship was frowned upon as the culture pushed the narrative that working for a big corporation like Samsung was the dream.  However, times are changing.  People are seeing entrepreneurship in a positive light.  Therefore, running a startup is not easy.  Especially if you are located in remote regions without the ability to network and form partnerships. Ulsan is located in the southern part of South Korea.  The area already has all the elements to be one of the leading startup ecosystems in South Korea.  With the help of BBridge it is very possible that Ulsan preferred destination for startups in Korea.  Currently, BBridge is seeking funding and partnerships with associated organizations and companies who have the same goal of helping Korean entrepreneurs.

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