'Golmok Startup School,' a Practical Startup Training Institution Located in Seongsu-dong, Begins 14-Week Course
Targeting 20 Young Adults Aspiring to Start Food Service, Coffee, and Dessert Businesses... Intensive, Practice-Oriented Curriculum Conducted
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is training practical "young entrepreneurs" to revitalize neighborhood commercial districts.
On the 3rd, Seoul announced that it has completed the selection of 20 prospective entrepreneurs in the food service and dessert sectors to participate in the first half of the "Neighborhood Startup School" education program held last April, and will begin the 14-week course starting from the 2nd.
The "Neighborhood Startup School" is a practical startup education institution that provides all-in-one training, from theoretical education necessary for starting a business to hands-on practice and consulting before and after launching a business. The training center is located in Seongsu-dong and is equipped with classrooms, kitchens for cooking practice, barista rooms, bakery rooms, and a filming studio.
The curriculum is mainly composed of theoretical education, cooking practice education, and on-site mentoring. The education is conducted four times a week for 14 weeks and consists of an intensive, field-oriented curriculum that combines theory and practice.
The theoretical education focuses on essential content needed before and after starting a business, including commercial area analysis, labor and tax consulting, branding, and service mindset. Especially from this year, a program has been added to provide close support for young prospective entrepreneurs with relatively little startup experience by having experts in the food service and branding fields propose and diagnose step-by-step tasks from preparation to execution to help concretize their business plans.
Cooking practice education takes place in a separate practice space prepared within the Neighborhood Startup School. Experts diagnose and coach trainees' recipes one-on-one and provide intensive consulting to improve their proficiency as owner-chefs. Additionally, opportunities such as product tasting events are provided in advance to showcase finished products and support market research.
On-site mentoring offers a chance to directly experience the startup know-how and management philosophy of successful small business owners. Mentoring is conducted individually or in groups by startup field, and involves visiting the stores of successful small business owners to observe and learn practical aspects of store operation and on-site conditions firsthand.
Young people who complete the Neighborhood Startup School are also offered low-interest loans of up to 70 million KRW for startup funds. Furthermore, a dedicated team operates to provide consultation from the business plan development stage through to financial support.
Meanwhile, the "Neighborhood Startup School" began operating in the second half of last year targeting 20 prospective entrepreneurs of all ages and produced its first graduating class in November last year. Among the graduates, seven have either completed their startups or are in the final stages of opening their businesses.
Im Geun-rae, head of the Small Business Policy Division at Seoul City, said, "We will help young prospective entrepreneurs with relatively fewer startup opportunities or experiences succeed through customized education, and foster young businesspeople with a win-win mindset who can coexist and grow together with existing merchants, thereby simultaneously revitalizing neighborhood commercial districts and addressing youth employment issues."
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