Gangnam Style is Startup Style! with Nathan Millard
Nathan Millard from beSuccess discuss the startup and investor ecosystem in South Korea and how major forces are shaping globally and locally.
In this episode, Nathan Millard from beSuccess joined us in a conversation on the Korean startup and investor ecosystem and provide the perspective on how the major players (Samsung, LG and SK Planet) are shaping in South Korea. The surprise is that PSY’s Gangnam style is the startup style, where most of the startups are located. We also chat about Samsung’s recent troubles in the smartphone market and how Kakao Talk is defending against the onslaught of Whatsapp, WeChat and LINE.
Here are the interesting links on companies and articles on South Korea which form the basis for our discussion:
- The story of Nathan Millard, the global director of beSuccess and his role with the technology entrepreneurial ecosystem in South Korea with Betech.Asia (beSUCCESS) and organize the BeSuccess (beGLOBAL) conference.
- What is the startup culture like in Korea? What are the interesting companies? Is the startup activity centered in Seoul or other parts of Korea?
- Interesting startups making waves in South Korea & globally: Coupang, Memebox, Baedal Minjeok, Socar, 5Rocks, Between
- The venture capital ecosystem: Altos Ventures, Formation 8, Bon Angels, K Cube Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Global Brain and Softbank Ventures.
- The incubators/acclerators: Sparklabs, K-Startup, Fast Track Asia, Future Play, the Ventures, Bootstrap Labs, FT Accelerator and Venture Square.
- The impact of large multi-national conglomerates such as Samsung, SK Planet and LG, and how do they operate with the technology ecosystem?
- Samsung’s recent troubles in the smartphone market and how they might be able to reverse their fortunes.
- Outside Korea, where does Korean startups typically expand to? North Asia (China, Japan), Southeast Asia or other parts of the world such as United States?
- The number one messaging app in Korea: Kakao Talk merged with Daum and how it defends its turf against Whatsapp, WeChat and LINE.
Podcast Information:
The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bleongcw) and is sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter & Facebook).
