20 Korean startups land in NY
NEW YORK–The second Korean Summit NYC last October 16 at the New Yorker Wyndham featured several Korean startups with Charlie Kim, founder and CEO of Next Jump, and Murat Aktihanoglu, managing director of Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, as main speakers.
https://koreanstartupsummitnyc.splashthat.com/
It’s not everyday you see different cultures and countries working together but ERA’s Aktihanoglu, a Turkish immigrant to the US since 1998, spoke about his trip to Korea and how it proved to be a valuable experience for everyone–startups in Korea and those from New York, and how it all resulted in a Korean startup summit. It’s something almost unheard of in Silicon Alley.
Kim, a Korean American, extolled an Asian virtue of building a company that “can make your father and mother proud.” His speech was tempered and more realistic, as he took the audience on a journey of his success in business, stressing how entitlement will get you nowhere.
Among the startup presenters in the whole-day affair were PinStory, the go-to resource for foodies in Korea; Anyractive with GoTouch and how it turns any display screen such as TV, monitor and projector into a touchscreen; Who’s Good which provides dynamic data on environmental, social and governance risks.
Huinno builds innovative, clinically-tested wearable capable of measuring vital signs, including blood pressure; Ediket which provides a unique proofreading service by integrating full proofreading experiences with its web technology.
Moloco saves Silicon Valley’s mobile apps by resolving the key restriction of the current page view-driven mobile ads, while ZIKTO gently vibrates on your wrist when it detects bad walking posture. There more presenters and and more than 20 other startups at the exhibit hall.
How are these startups doing and how did they get their start. Slidejoy has reportedly been downloaded 500,000 times with clients ranging from startups to FORTUNE 200 companies. Pinstory reportedly came to fruition when Yelp ignored the request of its founder to come to Asia. It’s customized search result via machine learning with 1,000 business accounts.
GoTouch looked mighty impressive and was a huge favorite as it also works to bundle itself with Samsung and SK Telecom.
Who’s Good was received warmly for its more social bent in investing while also providing visualization and analysis that draw inspiration from financial investing.
Huinno’s focus on healthcare wearables allow you measure your vitals, including your blood pressure as its addresses the world’s global hypertension rate at 40 percent. It is reportedly 99 percent accurate, as determined in a clinical test.
Among the Korean VC panelists were Richard Jun, managing partner at Bam Ventures; David Lee, investor and former director, Google Asia Pacific; Hyuk Jeen Suh, head of Samsung Ventures East Coast and John Ryu, partner at Scout Ventures.
The event was hosted by KOTRA with Joseph Juhn, KSE, World-Okta NY and GORI.
