Overview of SparkLabs, Asia's leading accelerator. Based in Seoul, South Korea.
SparkLabs is a startup accelerator founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs in South Korea. The focus will be on startup companies from the Internet, online gaming, mobile, ecommerce, digital media sectors and healthcare. The mentorship-driven program will be three months in length and provides funding, office space, a structure program and access to a top-tier network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and executives.
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SparkLabs Accelerator Q1 2015
1.
2. SparkLabs accelerator focuses on entrepreneurs seeking
to change the internet, online gaming, mobile, ecommerce,
digital media and healthcare sectors.
§ Founded in December 2012 in Seoul, South Korea
§ Recently completed our 4th batch
§ Only global accelerator in Korea with a mentorship driven model
§ Over 110 global mentors actively participating in our program
§ Proud member of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN). GAN is the global champion
of the seed-stage, mentorship-driven accelerator model and includes 50 of the most
respected accelerators from six continents around the world.
SparkLabs Overview Q1 2015
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
3. § 32 companies have graduated from our program.
§ Successfully completed 4 Demo Days in Seoul with over 1,500 attendees
§ Invested $25,000 to all companies who participated in our program
§ 100% of our portfolio companies are still active in their business
§ 79% of our companies received follow-on funding during or after our program.
§ Startups from over 20 countries have applied.
§ $541,000 average funding prior to our program and $1,776,000 average
funding after program
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
SparkLabs Overview Q1 2015
4. Confidential. Please do not distribute.
SparkLabs Overview
Snapshot of South Korea
§ Largest number of 4G users in the world
§ Highest 4G LTE penetration in the world
§ 2nd highest smartphone penetration
5. Confidential. Please do not distribute.
SparkLabs Overview
Snapshot of South Korea
§ 7th largest e-commerce market in the world
§ 8th largest personal luxury goods market
§ Home to Samsung Electronics (largest mobile
phone maker in the world) & LG (5th largest
mobile phone maker)
6. Confidential. Please do not distribute.
SparkLabs Overview
South Korea: Land of Innovation
§ Ranked #1 most innovative nation on Bloomberg’s Innovation Index in 2014 and 2015
§ Nexon create the first MMORPG (online game) in 1995 and pioneered the
microtransaction/micropayment business model
§ Cyworld launched the first major social network in the world in 1999 and continued
validating the micropayment model to the rest of the world
§ Naver, Korea’s leading search portal,
launched the first user-generated Q&A
in 2002
§ KaKaoTalk, founded in 2010, was the
first mobile messaging platform to
leverage its network for content
distribution.
§ NEXT?
7. Entrepreneurs growing Entrepreneurs
All of our partners are entrepreneurs who have built companies in Korea,
Israel, India, and the U.S. We have endured the ups and downs of
entrepreneurship, successes and failures.
They have the experience and a strong desire to help out the next generation
of global entrepreneurs.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Vision
9. Ray Ozzie
• Founder & CEO of Talko
• Former Chief Software
Architect at Microsoft
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Advisors
Vint Cerf
• A “Father of the Internet”
• Vice President & Chief Internet
Evangelist for Google
Michael Crow
• President of ASU
• Chairman of In-Q-Tel
Mark Cuban
• Owner of the Dallas
Mavericks
• Star Investor on ABC’s
“Shark Tank”
Tom Peters
• Author of In Search of
Excellence
• Management Guru
10. Over 110 experienced entrepreneurs, thought leaders, experts
in over 12 countries around the globe.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Mentors
11. Mentorship-Driven Startup Accelerator
SparkLabs is providing a 3-month long program for seed to early-stage
entrepreneurs who have a vision beyond Korea’s borders. Our program is offered
twice a year.
Entrepreneurs who want to build global companies and have a vision to expand
to the U.S., China, Japan and elsewhere or vice versa expand into Asia should
apply. SparkLabs uniquely provides a world-class team of mentors to accelerate
and guide each of our companies.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Program
12. • SparkLabs invests $25,000 in all participating startups in exchange for up to
6% equity. This percentage varies depending on the startup’s stage and
investment status.
• Each startup is matched with 4 to 6 mentors. Our mentors are either
world-class entrepreneurs, engineers, product visionaries, Fortune 500
executives, and thought leaders from SiliconValley and throughout the world.
• Every week startups participate in our weekly teaching sessions where they
have the opportunity to learn from and interact with various people in our
global network. In addition, startups actively engage and solicit feedback
from SparkLabs’ General Partners and team members.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Program: Elements
13. Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Program: Teaching Sessions
1. Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Head of Smart TV Services at Samsung Electronics
• Product Development and Customer Development
2. Chris Wong, Senior Vice President at Ooyala
• M&A Strategies and his entrepreneurial journey
3. Kai Huang, Founder of Red Octane (Guitar Hero)
• His experiences in building one of the billion dollar video game franchises in history
4. Jae-Yong Lee, CEO of PXD (UX/UI firm)
• Creating target users, UX and UI
5. Hae-min Lee, Chairman of Amotech & Former CEO of Samsung Electronics (Digital
Appliances Group)
• Managing rapid growth at Samsung Electronics and his experience of taking a startup to IPO in Korea.
6. Sirgoo Lee, CEO of Kakao (DaumKakao)
• “Managing Rapid Growth” of a startup and preserving startup culture
7. Eric Kim, Managing Partner / Co-founder at Goodwater Capital
• Investment trends and fundraising strategies
14. SparkLabs provides free office space in MARU180, located at the center of
Korea’s startup scene, and over $900,000 worth of perks, ranging from cloud
services, legal counsel and software services.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Program: Perks
16. Eugene Kim, Principal
Eugene is a Principal of Sparklabs and manages the day –to-day operations of the Sparklabs accelerator
program. Eugene previously served as a Director of Global Business Development at Tencent Korea.
He was responsible for the sourcing of Korean game titles to China and Tencent’s global publishing network,
headed the global sales of Tencent game titles, and he managed relationships with Tencent’s global publishing
partners. Prior to Tencent, Eugene was Director of Business Development and Marketing at Podotree, an
online educational app developer in Korea. He was responsible for their marketing and launch effort into
the U.S. He earned his BA in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Michigan.
Sophia Choi, Senior Associate
Sophia is currently a Senior Associate of SparkLabs and manages day-to-day operations of the accelerator
program. Sophia is in charge of building curriculum and teaching sessions of SparkLabs accelerator program,
as well as general business development, public relations and discovering potential startups for the program.
Previously Sophia was a Global Business Development Manager at Tencent Korea, where she was responsible
for not only the business development between Korea and China, but also between Tencent and its global
publishing network, including countries likeVietnam, Philippines, Russia,Taiwan and Singapore. Sophia managed
the global sales of Tencent game titles, and also managed relationship with Tencent’s global partners. She
earned her BA in Business Management & Govt and International Studies at the University of Sydney,Australia.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Team
Harry Han, Director
Harry is currently a Director of SparkLabs and manages legal, financial and investment related duties of the
SparkLabs accelerator program. Previously Harry managed legal issues within both Korean and global
corporations, with experiences built from large law firms in Korea. Harry also served as a legal director for
Innotive, where he managed investment, legal and government related issues of the company. Harry earned
his BA in Law from KNOU.
17. Bernard Moon, Co-founder & General Partner
Bernard Moon is a Co-founder & Partner at SparkLabs GlobalVentures. He is also a Co-founder & Partner
at SparkLabs, a startup accelerator in Korea. Previously, he was Co-founder & CEO ofVidquik, a web
conferencing & sales solutions platform. Bernard was a Managing Director at the Lunsford Group, which is
a private investment firm with holdings in real estate, healthcare and other industries. Bernard was
Co-founder &VP of Business Development of GoingOn Networks, a social media platform for companies,
and also led their product development where BusinessWeek recognized them in their "Best of the Web"
list. Previously, Bernard was a Director at iRG, a leading boutique investment bank in Asia, where he focused
on TMT companies. Bernard serves on the Advisory Board for GAN (Global Accelerator Network), which
is the global champion of the seed-stage, mentorship-driven accelerator model and includes over 50 of the
most respected accelerators from six continents around the world. He serves as a mentor to MuckerLab, a
startup accelerator in LA, and SixThirty, a fintech accelerator in St. Louis.
Hanjoo John Lee, Co-founder General Partner
John Lee is Co-founder Partner at SparkLabs GlobalVentures. John is a co- founder EVP of
Corporate Development and Strategy of Hostway. He serves additional responsibilities as CEO of
Hostway India. John and his fellow co- founders bootstrapped Hostway into a top 5 web hosting
company in the world with over 700 employees.
Hostway is a multinational web hosting company headquartered in Chicago, and serves more than 600,000
customers worldwide. He is currently responsible for overall corporate strategy, strategic alliances, and
mergers and acquisitions. Previously, he has held positions in every department of the company, including
leading global marketing and sales and overall PL for North America.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Team
18. Jimmy Kim, Co-founder General Partner
Jimmy is the Co-Founder and President of N3N, an interactive software company that mixes passion,
creativity and technology to create new interactive user experiences and innovative presentation solutions.
He previously served as Innotive’s CEO and his client lists include BMW, Infiniti, Nike Golf, Dentsu, Korea
Telecom and other leading worldwide companies. Jimmy is sought-after speaker on online gaming and
technology and has spoke at various conference such as LeWeb, Ad:Tech, and Web 2.0 Expo. Previously,
Jimmy served ExecutiveVice President of Nexon Corp, and Head of Nexon’s Portal and Web Services.
Jimmy received his B.S. in Engineering from Northwestern University, and also a M.S. in Engineering from
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Jimmy also completed the Stanford
University’s Graduate School of Business’s Executive Management Program.
Frank Meehan, General Partner
Frank is a Co-Founder Partner at SparkLabs GlobalVentures and a Partner at SparkLabs, Frank was
selected as part of the 2012 Wired UK Top 100 in tech, andVanity Fair's The Next Establishment list 2010.
Previously Frank was with HorizonsVentures (HK), representing them on the boards of Spotify, Siri,
Summly, Affectiva, Bitcasa, Fixmo, DoubleTwist, Ginger, Desti and Magisto. He also is the founder of
Kuato Studios, a leading educational games studio, and INQ Mobile which was an early pioneer in mobile
internet, winning Best Handset at Mobile World Congress 2009.
Frank started with Ericsson in 1994 as a coder and troubleshooter, lived in Singapore and HK, and then
Joined Hutchison Whampoa in 2001 and was responsible for the technical integration of the first 3G
(WCDMA) networks around the world, launched under the Three(3) brand in multiple countries in 2003.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Team
19. Net Jacobsson, General Partner
Net Jacobsson is a Co-Founder Partner at SparkLabs GlobalVentures. He is a former Facebook
executive, entrepreneur and investor with vast international experience from many pioneering companies.
Net started out in Sweden Ericsson Mobile Communications (now SonyEricsson) in 1998 with user
interface design. In Israel Net led international business for Icq/AOL and then joined Chinese browser
company, Maxthon in 2005 as partner SVP. Net put Maxthon on the world map and brought in CRV
and Google as investors. In 2007 Net joined Facebook as the head of International business development
with focus on new user acquisitions, new markets and early MA opportunities. In addition Net was
responsible for Facebook's mobile business and led a number of deals with mobile operators and handset
manufacturers. Since 2009 Net has been involved an advisor and investor in Crowdstar, OpenFeint (sold
to GREE for $104M), Playhopper (Founder), PixOwl, P1 (Board of Directors), and Cellogic. During 2012,
Net assumed the role as CEO for Ginger Software.
Jay McCarthy, General Partner
Jay McCarthy is a General Partner at SparkLabs. Jay has more than 22 years’ experience in Asia.
Currently, as a Managing Partner of Pacific Advisers, he has advised, financed and invested in a range of
deals in Asia across industries, principally mining energy, technology, luxury consumer and property. In
recent years, Jay has focused on originating investment mandates for PA to invest its own capital in both
publicly listed and private companies. Such origination leads to co-investment opportunities selectively
with the hedge fund and institutional investor communities. Jay has significant experience with structuring
deals and working with the relevant investor, industry and service (legal and advisory) counterparts.
Previously, Jay served as an Executive Director in the Equity Division at Morgan Stanley and worked in the
Tokyo, HK, Beijing and Singapore offices over a 16- year period.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Team
20. Since October 2013, SparkLabs GlobalVentures has invested in over 40 companies.
Their global approach means that they can pick the best deals in the right
geographies where the sectors are hottest.They have invested in across most
sectors besides capital intensive startups (i.e. biotech, pharma, cleantech), but have
concentrated on 5 general areas: FinTech, Mobile App, IoT, Online Gaming,
and Ecommerce sectors
Companies from our first, second and third batch, Memebox, KnowRe,
Flow State Media and Mangoplate have received follow-on funding from SparkLabs
GlobalVentures. From SparkLabs Global’s perspective, SparkLabs accelerator is
only one deal source of many throughout the world.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Affiliated Seed Fund:
22. Memebox
• First Korean startup to get accepted intoY Combinator
• Voted top 3 in the Winter 2013Y Combinator batch
• Reached over $1.5M in revenue, 3 months after their launch in the U.S.
• Continuous growth in both Korean and U.S. markets
• Recently expanded into China
KnowRe
• Incorporated in the U.S. to focus on global markets – RD center in
Korea
• Series A funding from Softbank
• Selected as the “World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Education
by the Fast Company
5Rocks
• Invested by a Japanese venture capital firm, Global Brain, and
expanded into global markets
• Actively partnered with companies in Korea, Japan, Europe and U.S.
• Recently acquired by Tapjoy, the mobile industry’s leading
app-tech company.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Success: Global Growth
23. 79% of our companies received follow-on funding
from leading investors after their graduation of
our program.
$1,775,968
$541,123
AVERAGE FUNDING
PRIOR TO PROGRAM
AVERAGE
FUNDING
AFTER
PROGRAM
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Success: Follow-on Funding
24. 1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class
2013 March
At COEX, Seoul
6 Companies Presented
200 People Attended
2013 October
At COEX, Seoul
8 Companies Presented
250 People Attended
2014 April
At Olleh Square, Seoul
8 Companies Presented
350 People Attended
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Success: Demo Days
25. • Largest Demo Day hosted in Korea with over
700 attendees
• Hosted with strong support from Korea Development
Bank (KDB) Ministry of Future ICT
• 2 foreign startups (China SiliconValley) participated
in the program
• Ken Segall, former creative director for Apple spoke
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
SparkLabs 4th DEMO DAY AT KDB (December 11th, 2014)
Our Success: Demo Days
26. • Proven brand and reputation in the Korean startup ecosystem. Selected for
the 2 leading government initiatives to nurture the growth of early stage
startups by MSIP (미래부) and SMBA (중소기업청).
• Members of both local and global accelerator leadership groups: ALF
(Korea) and GAN (Global)
• Active enabler and builder of startup ecosystem events in Korea through
hosting, sponsorship and participation in leading conferences, forums, panels,
and competitions.
• SparkLabs’ global partners are active participants in startup conferences
and events as speakers/panelists throughout the world.
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Our Ecosystem: Local Global Networks
28. 01
5Rocks’s main service is segment-specific user behavior analytics that provides detailed analysis of
users appropriate to the characteristics of different types of games, and enables the simultaneous
operation and marketing of a game based on those results. In addition, it allows A/B Testing to test the
effectiveness of the marketing strategy and provides monetization analysis. Famous Korean game
developers, including SundayToz, Gamevil, Loadcomplete are currently using 5Rock’s service. 5Rocks
was recently acquired by Tapjoy.
30. 02
Website:
www.knowre.com
Industry:
Education Tech
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
KnowRe is an educational technology company with an adaptive mathematics platform. KnowRe’s patented
technology assesses an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, personalizes a curriculum for each student’s focus
areas and engages students through gamified features, attractive graphics and social learning. KnowRe believes
in the importance of a good education, the need for personalization in our educational system and that
technology is the most effective tool to help bring about these goals.
KnowRe was named winner of “Best Instructional App” in the NYC Schools 2013 Gap App Challenge and was
Grand Prize winner of Google’s Global K-Startup. It was also listed in Fast Company's Most Innovative
Companies 2014 series as one of The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Education.
31. 03
Website:
www.memebox.com
Industry:
E-Commerce
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Memebox.com is the leading beauty e-commerce and mobile commerce in Korea and rapidly growing in the U.S.
And China. They aim to offer the most comprehensive platform for their customers to explore innovative
beauty products curated by their team of beauty industry experts. Each month, their members will anticipate a
curated Memebox (subscription beauty box full of trial sizes) arriving on their doorstep and have the
opportunity to discover new products. Full size items are available to members for purchase at the best price.
Memebox Global website launched in September 2013 to introduce Korean beauty products to beauty
enthusiasts around the world. Now customers have the ability to benefit from the excellence and innovation
of Korean beauty products at competitive prices.
32. 04
Website:
www.nflabs.com
Industry:
Big Data
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
NFLabs is a Korea-based company that develops and distributes Peloton, a hadoop based real-time analytics
platform that makes ingesting, managing, and analyzing large data sets simple and fast. Peloton enables data analysts
and scientists to discover and analyze large data sets without having to learn Map Reduce or other complex big
data technology. In addition, they built industry-specific analytics modules that allows companies to simply plug-in
their data sources and instantly view their standard reports.
33.
34. 05
Website:
www.step.pe
Industry:
Wearables Productivity App
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
WePlanet has developed mobile life-logging services that focus on recording, analyzing and managing
everyday activities automatically to help people lead a life where tomorrow is better than today.
Its main service, STEP Journal (www.step.pe) is an automatic journal that collects and connects personal
records from various mobile sensors, including calendar, social service and wearable devices, and
provides a comprehensive and meaningful feedback.
36. 02
Website:
www.heybread.com
Industry:
E-Commerce
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
HeyBread focuses on delivering premium organic breads from local bakeries to customers. Customers can
easily order and receive fresh, healthy and popular breads from bakeries all around Seoul. HeyBread curates
each bread on their website, including information of ingredients and the patiche.The company plans to
expand its service to the entire fresh food industry.
37. 04
Website:
www.lateralsv.com
Industry:
Search, Software
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Lateral SV is a startup based in San Francisco with a resolute mission to redefine the very fundamentals of
online search.They specialize in online information science and are experts in post-query navigation with
technologies and products used in both the consumer and enterprise space.They are a team comprised of
various backgrounds, ranging from military intelligence, biotechnology, academia and computer sciences who
have come together with a resolute mission to enhance the methods and possibilities of how we
interact with online information.
38. 05
Website:
www.mangoplate.com
Industry:
Mobile Application
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
MangoPlate finds the best places to eat tailored to your personal tastes.Whether you are looking for an Italian
restaurant or macaroon bakery, MangoPlate is your best local recommendation guide to finding just the right
place for you. The more you use the app, the better the recommendations.
MangoPlate also provides amazing lists of restaurants, curated by editors and power bloggers.The curated lists
of restaurants will help you discover new openings, trending popular eateries, and top places in new areas.
39. 06
Website:
www.stylewiki.com
Industry:
Fashion Tech
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
A Seoul-based social wiki platform for fashion enthusiasts.The company is building a user-friendly fashion
encyclopedia built from the collective fashion intelligence of its community. Stylewiki's vision is to collect
scattered fashion information into one platform, where users can search, gather information and communicate
with other fashion enthusiasts.
40. 07
A Singaporean online social investment platform for equities. The company is led Bobby Bhatia, the
Former Managing Director and Head of Principal Investments at AIG for APAC. TrakInvest provides tools
to identify and create future “alpha” generators. It has partnered with Thomson Reuters to provide
research and analytics to its user base. Users are able to win an internship opportunity at leading
Investment banks through online competitions.
Website:
www.trakinvest.com
Industry:
FinTech
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
41. 08
Zoyi’s Walk Insights is a comprehensive data analytics solution that collects and analyzes visitor data in retail
stores using smartphone Wi-Fi signals.This method contrasts with other popular data mining platforms, which
trace consumer patterns using systems like infrared sensors or cameras.With increasing global permeation
of smartphones, ZOYI Co. offers formidable competition against more established data mining solutions.
Walk Insights involves the installment of a simple, portable device in a store or shopping mall. Using the data
obtained through the installed infrastructure (dwell time per zone, visitor retention patterns, correlation with
weather, device manufacturers, and more),Walk Insights then provides high-quality analytics tailored
specifically to the store type.
Website:
www.zoyi.co
Industry:
Data Analytics
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
43. 01
1Day1Song is a music recommendation app that introduces one new song to users every day. The company’s
mission is to break from the current music industry in Korea dominated by large distribution and
entertainment companies, and to help users enjoy a bigger variety of music by discovering hidden jewels in
the music industry.The service allows users to identify and understand the music better by introducing
personal stories behind songs and artists. Its recommendation system is solely based on musicality, season,
social issue and weather. It does not incorporate the artist’s personal connections. Once a month, there is
a special service called ‘Blind Test’ which lets users to simply concentrate on the music by hiding the name
of the artist and the song.The company plans to expand to other Asian markets and later to global markets.
Website:
www.facebook.com/1day1songapp
Industry:
Music Curation
44. 02
Website:
www.domobio.co.kr/
Industry:
Healthcare
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Founded by a dentist, Dr. SeungGyuYi in 2009, Domo Bio is a company specializing in snoring and
obstructive sleep apnea device, called QT33. QT33 has obtained patent in Korea, US and China.The
device is currently solid in Korea and the company plans to expand to the U.S. market as soon as it
obtains US FDA approval.
Domo Bio’s QT33 is not just a simple improvement on the function and user convenience aspect. It
is a completely new snoring and obstructive sleep apnea device. So far, more than 97% of the patients using the
device have expressed high level of satisfaction and have experienced dramatic improvement in snoring and
sleep apnea. Domo Bio’s mission is to provide solution for snoring and sleep apnea so that people can lead
a healthier and happier life, breaking away from the fear aroused from snoring and sleep apnea. Domo Bio
plans to devote itself to supplying QT33 and continuing research development.
45. 03
Freenters is a Chicago-based startup that provides free printing services to US university students.The
company makes revenue by allowing advertisers to place banner advertisement on the bottom margin
of the printed paper through its in-depth targeting mechanism that uses student’s grade, gender and major
to customize the advertisements.
Freenters satisfies both students who enjoy free printing services and the companies that previously had
to spend large sum of money on advertising to college students. In the near future, the company plans to
offer marketing promotions such as discount coupons instead of banner adverts. Freenters’ mission is to
go beyond simply providing free printing service by developing into a platform for advertisers that target
college students.
Website:
www.freenters.com
Industry:
Advertising / Marketing
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
46. 04
Flow State Media is a mobile gaming company composed of MIT Zynga alumni focused on creating live
mobile multiplayer gaming experiences.Their hit word game Letter UP was the#1 Word Game in the
Apple App Store in 13 countries in just 5 days after launch.They were also featured as a Best New Game
by Apple. They foresee live, synchronous multiplayer play as the next evolution in mobile gaming, and believe
gaming companies that offer both synchronous and compelling offline play as the next winners in the
market.With their proprietary, cross-platform multiplayer engine, they are well-positioned to take advantage
of this on coming trend. The team has over 75 years of combined experience in gaming and has worked on
massive franchises such as Call of Duty, Zynga Poker and FarmVille.
Website:
www.flowstatemedia.com
Industry:
Online/Mobile Gaming
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
47. 05
PeopleWare is a “people-based” network for freelancers. Freelance market is worth more than $400 billion
dollars, but the problem is that it is difficult to verify freelancers unless you or somebody you know have
worked with them before. Also it is exhausting for freelancers to keep on marketing themselves to find the
next project to work on.
PeopleWare solves these issues in the freelance market by providing a platform that offers social network-
based verification and project matching. In other words, PeopleWare makes it easier for freelancers to find
work and for companies to employ freelancers. PeopleWare is an invitation-only service to ensure quality
control.The company’s mission is to gather great freelancers all over the world onto one platform.
Website:
www.itswowpeopleworld.tumblr.com/
Industry:
Human Capital Management
Peopleware
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
48. 06
Penta Press is a startup that seeks to become the Getty Images of Asia. Penta Press differentiates itself from
competitors by utilizing its network of professional photographers in 25 countries. The company not only
provides professional photographers advice on photos that people upload, but also selects and supplies good
photos to domestic and foreign media companies such asYonhap News and JiJi Press. Penta Press
attracted a lot of attention when Russian speed skaterVictor Ahn’s photo of winning the gold medal at the Sochi
Winter Olympics was supplied toYonhap News. Penta Press is securing partnerships withYonhap News,
Daum and JiJi Press.
Website:
www.pentapress.com
Industry:
Online Platform
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
49. 07
FeelU is a company focusing on delivering cutting-edge, multi-sensory experiences to users. Their team
consists of hardware and software specialists based in Tokyo, Seoul, and London. FeelU’s first product, RingU,
is an interactive ring with which a user can give a significant other or close ones a remote 'hug' no matter
how far they may be from each other.
The ring is connected to a corresponding private social network where you can send messages, photos,
and videos in conjunction with the ring’s physical ‘hug’. RingU has other exciting applications such as for
interactive music concerts and closer-than-before fan to idol interaction. There are limitless possibilities
for RingU to discover, and with it our world can be even more connected.
Website:
www.ringu.mixedrealitylab.org/
Industry:
Wearables
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
50. 08
Industry:
mVoIP Platform
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Based in Palo Alto, California, RingCL provides a mVoIP platform service that allows easy construction of
mobile communication environment just with API. Any APP can make mVoIP call within few hours using
RingCL API. Their biggest strength is that they are optimized for mobile environments unlike existing solutions.
Large traffic can be handled reliably and cheaply using RingCL’s P2P method and can be connected to existing
operator using international standard SIP.
We provide a private manager page where the client company can easily check various data information and
all user history and call records are kept encoded. If there are companies that want to build mobile environment
for communications or provide mVoIP to their own APP service, RingCL is their solution.
52. 03
HUD Inc. has developed a new technology to render 3D-images of buildings by simply using floor plans. They
utilize algorithmic modeling instead of other traditional methods such as using panoramic cameras or by
generating an image of the complete building. A live demo of alpha version is currently available on web and
the official beta version of the platform will be available by May 2015. They have produced 3D models
for 4,500 apartments in Gangnam area of Seoul, and by late 2015 they plan to have 3D data for 4.5 million
residential facilities in Korea.
Industry:
3D /Virtual Reality
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
53. 02
Industry:
Mobile Application / Healthcare
Beacon Doctor
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
Based out of Chengdu, China, Beacon Doctor aims to provide a mobile and cloud based solution for doctors
and the medical community to collaborate and communicate more effectively. Beacon Doctor has three major
features: Dynamic Directory, Cloud Storage and Search, and Medical Network Service (MNS).
54. 06
Stayes is both web and app based platform that connects unrented flats to consumers who are looking for
long term rental service. Consumers can rent rooms from as short as two weeks to more than a year with
price that is 60% lower than the traditional market. Stayes has made rapid growth since the launch in
September 2014. Stayes is currently based in Seoul and plans to expand globally in future.
Website:
www.stayes.com/ko/
Industry:
Travel / Online Marketplace
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
55. 01
Website:
www.buyfi.com/
Industry:
Data Analytics
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
BuyFi is a provider of analytics, social media and marketing applications to small and mid-sized businesses.
They continue to grow their base of payment processing partners and the latest to join is SilverEdge, a
Colorado-based provider of turnkey business solutions, with over five thousand merchants under its portfolio.
Since January 2014, BuyFi has seen the adoption of its business analytics application grow rapidly from
1,500 merchants to over 15,000 merchants. The company raised their seed round from Accel (first venture
capital firm in Facebook, Dropbox and Supercell) and Charles Rivers (first venture capital firm in Twitter
andYammer).
56. 04
N.thing is committed to developing innovative IoT products that are designed to improve the quality of food
consumption. N.thing's first product, Planty, is an internet connected herb pot that introduces a new smart
way of living. It provides innovative and smart gardening experience to users through functions such as giving
water remotely, analyzing data and user behavior collected from the device. Users can gain access to
agricultural data and gardening community on the mobile application, which is automatically and wirelessly
connected to the herb pot. N.thing aims to step beyond the out-of-date agricultural technology.
Website:
nthing.net/life
Industry:
IoT / Agriculture
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
57. 05
Onnuri DMC was founded in April of 2014 by members with over 10 years of experience in digital marketing.
They have built a new data management platform for mobile advertising called Cross Target. Cross Target
analyzes user behavior on mobile devices in order to provide the most relevant advertisement to users.
Onnuri DMC has built partnerships with top media agencies, portals and other leading advertisement
platforms in Korea.
Industry:
Ad Tech
Confidential. Please do not distribute.
58. 08
Water Strider invented a new touch sensor with high resolution and spectrum for both surface and space.
This potentially revolutionary technology can be applied to home appliances, robotics, heavy industries and
many other fields.This technique can be used to resolve technical and cost issues faced by different types of
markets utilizing sensors. Water Strider's RD team is developing an ASIC chip by mid-2015 for
commercialization.
Industry:
IoT / Touch Sensor
Confidential. Please do not distribute.