Kospo Launches 'Growth Lab' Startup Capability Enhancement Support Project

Kospo Strengthens Positioning as a Community for Over 1,550 Startup Founders

Korea Startup Forum Member Company Round Talk

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Korea Startup Forum (Chairpersons Kim Seul-ah, Ahn Sung-woo, Lee Seung-gun; hereafter Kospo) announced on the 30th that it will launch the startup capability enhancement support project 'Growth Lab.'

Growth Lab is a participatory growth laboratory where over 1,550 entrepreneurs participating in the Korea Startup Forum take the lead in discovering programs necessary for startups and share their experiences, knowledge, and know-how. Leveraging Kospo’s strength as the largest startup entrepreneur community in Korea and utilizing the cooperative partnerships built with support organizations, venture capital (VC), and large corporations, it plans to create a virtuous ecosystem where startups support the growth of other startups themselves.

This year, Growth Lab will introduce various growth series centered around four themes: investment, marketing, organizational culture, and business partnerships, which are essential for growth and capability enhancement. The programs to be operated annually include ▲ Growth Talk Live series, where entrepreneurs share their prior experiences and know-how ▲ Growth Pitch series, which provides information and insights on the investment ecosystem necessary for early-stage startups and offers IR opportunities ▲ Growth Matching series, supporting partnership proposals and cooperation among member companies ▲ Growth Partners Day, aimed at building open innovation cases among startups. Through each program, entrepreneurs and cooperative partners will interact, share their capabilities, and exchange feedback and information for mutual growth, serving as a dynamic startup growth platform.

Since its launch in September 2016, Kospo, now celebrating its 5th anniversary, has been joined by startup members such as Kurly, Zigbang, and Viva Republica, large corporations like Naver and Kakao, startup support organizations including Startup Alliance, Lotte Accelerator, Hanwha Dreamplus, and Asan Nanum Foundation, as well as global companies like Facebook and Netflix. Recently, SoftBank Korea, IMM Investment, and Signite Partners joined as special members of Kospo, expanding the VC industry network. Kospo stated that it is expanding cooperative partnerships and consolidating capabilities to serve as a platform where startups and ecosystem members grow together.

Choi Ji-young, Head of Business Development at Kospo, said, "The prior experiences of startups and ecosystem members who have grown based on innovation are a great asset to the startup industry. Based on Kospo’s strength as a startup community, we will develop and experiment with differentiated programs through Growth Lab and nurture it as a capability enhancement platform for the startup ecosystem."