Demo Day for Next Elevation 2nd Cohort Held on 27th
Confidence Shown in Overseas Market Expansion
Up to 100 Million KRW Support for Outstanding Companies
Six innovative startups, ready to solve real-world problems with new ideas, took the stage after a 15-week intensive training process. These startups are set to make their mark not only in the domestic market but also globally. Their fields range from edutech and foodtech to platforms. Ideas and determination alone cannot change the market. These startups have meticulously prepared growth models in their respective fields, completing their preparations for a quantum leap. The 2nd Demo Day of startup accelerator Next Elevation, titled 'Checkpoint of Next Elevation,' serves as that stepping stone.
Next Elevation, a startup accelerator established by Asia Economy, held its 2nd Demo Day on the 27th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This demo day was organized to introduce the advanced businesses of six startups that participated in the accelerating program for a total of 15 weeks since March and to provide opportunities for investment attraction. Major banks and venture capital (VC) firms attended the event. The number of attendees reached around 250.
On the 27th, company representatives participating in the 'Next Elevation 2nd Demo Day' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are taking photos after introducing their companies. From the left, Dodongseon, CEO of Homnai; Seungyeon Jo, CEO of Joeun App; Yesung Kim, CEO of NET; Minwoo An, CEO of Tublet Korea; Seungsu Han, CEO of Bartle; Heejun Byun, CEO of Bark. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Six Companies That Surpassed a Competition Rate of Over 70 to 1... Express Bold Ambitions
The six startups participating in the demo day overcame a competition rate of over 70 to 1 to take the stage that day. The six companies are: Tublet Korea, a global university entrance online tutoring platform; Bark, a footwear company based on ergonomic recovery technology; Joeun App, a senior participation same-day logistics platform based on public transportation; Net, a customized effervescent tablet foodtech company; Homnai, a B2B distribution platform providing onboarding solutions for Southeast Asian market entry; and Bottle, an online time deal commerce service for golf green fees.
The CEOs expressed bold ambitions. Heejoon Byun, CEO of Bark, said, “Bark, the start of a world-class brand created by doctors, will take on the challenge,” emphasizing, “We aim to become a comprehensive footwear company that becomes a part of life and brings balance.” Bark is a startup that makes ‘recovery shoes’ developed directly by rehabilitation medicine doctors.
Seungyeon Jo, CEO of Joeun App, said, “Next year, we will create a new logistics ecosystem together with seniors who will exceed 10 million,” adding, “Public transportation can be a solution for an ideal logistics ecosystem based on rationality, safety, and accuracy.” Joeun App operates ‘Eodil,’ a logistics job platform for seniors based on public transportation.
Kim Yesung, CEO of Net, a company developing customized effervescent tablets with proprietary blending technology, expressed confidence in entering overseas markets. Kim said, “There are no effervescent tablet players in Korea, but Net aims to quickly become the leading player,” adding, “This year, I visited the US and Vietnam; we had our first meeting with a Korean mart in San Francisco, USA, and plan to participate in a show held in Las Vegas, USA.”
Interactive Exhibition Booths Set Up... Up to 100 Million KRW Support for Outstanding Companies
At the demo day venue, exhibition booths were set up to explain the companies. The six booths, where various promotions and events took place, were bustling with visitors eager to listen. Bark displayed recovery slippers for attendees to try on. Net also placed Pockettonic on the table for visitors to see. Homnai, Bottle, Tublet Korea, and Joeun App focused on explaining their services through laptops, tablet PCs, and monitors. In Joeun App’s case, seniors using the platform actively promoted it themselves.
Next Elevation awards up to 100 million KRW to teams selected as outstanding companies during the program. All participating teams will proceed with follow-up investment attraction through the demo day. Asia Economy supports promotion by producing content about the startups’ growth stories.
Youngmin Ma, CEO of Asia Economy’s investment division and Next Elevation, said, “Asia Economy is striving to create a startup ecosystem,” explaining, “After considering the most powerful method, we concluded that ‘let’s directly help startup people; simply telling the story through content is not enough,’ so we formed the Next Elevation team last year and established a separate company.”
Ma added, “Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, about 10 years ago, highlighted the innovation process of shifting from gaming to data centers and the transformation that followed as the core content, and said his management philosophy is always to run the company assuming it will fail in 30 days,” emphasizing, “The lessons we can learn here are innovation, the will to innovate, and urgency, all of which the six company CEOs possess.”
At the event, Jeon Hwa-sung, CEO of CNT Tech and chairman of the Early-stage Investment Accelerator Association, appeared as the keynote speaker. The topic was ‘Persuade with 4 whys (why you, why now, why this idea, why me).’ Jeon said, “When watching startup IR presentations, the important thing is problem definition, which helps investors quickly catch and immerse themselves in the founder’s thoughts,” adding, “Based on this, the proposed solutions also have depth. It is important to define the problem with my own experience.”
Cheon Hwa-sung, Chairman of the Early Investment Accelerator Association, is delivering a keynote speech at the 'Next Elevation 2nd Demo Day' held on the 27th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
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