Crisis Breeds Innovation... 'Startup Class'

Expanding Business Opportunities Through Innovative Thinking

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Startups facing crises due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic are creating new business opportunities with innovative ideas born from a change in mindset. Travel-related startups and companies linking face-to-face services are inevitably hit hard by the prolonged COVID-19 situation, but they are pouring their efforts into overcoming this slump tunnel with the unique innovative ideas of startups and turning adversity into opportunity.

◆ 'Change of Mindset' Travel Startups = According to the venture and startup industry on the 24th, MyRealTrip, which operates a travel product brokerage platform, is preparing a business that provides travel-related content in the form of a magazine. Until now, it has established itself as a platform where users can book activities, flights, hotels, and more, but now it plans to also offer content introducing major attractions, restaurants, and things to enjoy at travel destinations. This strategy aims to enhance the completeness of a 'one-stop travel platform service' in a travel industry already contracted by COVID-19, so that even users without an immediate desire to purchase travel products will continuously visit to seek travel information. MyRealTrip is expected to provide optimized travel content based on the analysis of accumulated travel product data, allowing users to get an overview of preferred travel destinations, cities, major attractions, and accommodations at a glance.

CreateTrip, a startup operating a domestic travel information platform for foreigners, launched a direct purchase agency service to help foreigners conveniently buy Korean products after the number of tourists visiting Korea decreased due to COVID-19. As direct purchase inquiries from foreigners who gave up traveling to Korea continued, the company officially launched this service as 'Korean Direct Purchase' and took the opportunity to expand its business scope. When users upload URLs and photos of Korean products available for overseas shipping on the CreateTrip app or website and apply for purchase agency, they can receive the total cost including shipping fees in advance. CreateTrip then finds, purchases, inspects, and ships the ordered products on behalf of the customers. Im Hye-min, CEO of CreateTrip, said, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, direct purchase inquiries from foreigners unable to visit Korea directly have continued, so we opened the service targeting countries with high demand," adding, "We will strive to provide services that satisfy users worldwide."

◆ 'Actively Alleviating Anxiety' Face-to-Face Services = Startups mediating platform labor that inevitably involves face-to-face services are overcoming the crisis by actively alleviating customers' anxiety. Startup Saenghwal Research Institute, which operates the home cleaning service 'Cheongso Yeonguso,' is retaining customers by offering free in-home disinfection services amid situations where customers may be reluctant to allow visits from cleaning managers or other outsiders due to the spread of COVID-19. When using the basic cleaning service, customers can receive disinfection services for about 15 minutes within the service time at no additional cost. The disinfection covers frequently touched areas such as refrigerator and kitchen sink handles, door handles, switches, and remote controls, using professional sterilizing disinfectants employed in hospitals for virus sterilization.

Customer responses appeared immediately. After implementing this service, reservations for Cheongso Yeonguso reportedly doubled. Additionally, Saenghwal Research Institute provides cleaning managers with masks, disposable hygiene gloves, and disinfectants to prevent COVID-19 and monitors their health status and movement routes in real time. Yeon Hyun-joo, CEO of Saenghwal Research Institute, emphasized, "As customers spend significantly more time at home due to COVID-19, they will seek verified premium services more often," adding, "We will prioritize the safety of customers and managers and do our best to provide the best service."

◆ The Best Time to Recruit Talent is When Hiring is Slowed = Some startups have judged this period, when the job market has frozen due to COVID-19, as the best time to recruit talent. According to a recent survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute, one in four large companies plans to either not hire new employees or reduce the scale of recruitment in the first half of this year. However, startups see active recruitment during this period as an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of growing companies. BankSalad, which operates a data finance platform, recently launched a large-scale recruitment of about 200 people to attract talent to lead the data industry. The recruitment fields include over 90 job categories such as development, design, planning, legal affairs, and marketing.

BankSalad explained that it is actively investing in creating the industry's best working environment so that recruited talents can maximize their capabilities and focus on customers and data. They have also introduced a referral system for aggressive talent acquisition, offering rewards of up to 20 million KRW for successful recommendations. A BankSalad official said, "Due to the need for social distancing amid COVID-19, we are actively using video interviews to consider applicants' safety until the situation stabilizes."