Total revenue of around two billion KRW attained in its first year in 2014. Two years later, total revenue is nearing six billion KRW. Are we talking about a soaring venture startup? No. This is the success story of Dankook University’s Startup Support Foundation where creative ideas spark and go on to be made into actual products.
All you need when coming to the DKU Startup Support Foundation are ideas. Everything else for starting up a new business, from entrepreneurship training to financial and administrative assistance, is provided by the Foundation. It operates 1:1 mentoring services, global startup internships, pilot product exhibitions and IR (investor relations) programs, just to mention a few. People who have been on the verge of failure when starting up new businesses due to unexpected legal and institutional impediments or being unable to find the right investor can come and receive practical support. As a result, entrepreneurs who are a part of the DKU Startup Support Foundation have seen remarkable growth in their revenues.
The Foundation is also active in offering startup programs for DKU students to encourage entrepreneurship. More than 320 startup courses have been opened since 2014 with more than 10 thousand students having participated. Thirty nine student startup clubs are operating this year while each club can receive as much as five million KRW in sponsorships to be used for prototype productions and other expenses.
Thanks to the systematic and pragmatic operations of the DKU Startup Support Foundation, Dankook University recorded the highest number of student startups in Korea, and was the runner-up in terms of business startup and employment support among Korean universities (based on Korea Economic Daily’s evaluation of science and engineering universities).
The business that registered the most revenues among those that receive support from DKU Startup Support Foundation is Hello Factory, a startup that develops bicycle theft prevention and tracking systems. It takes the idea of using ‘beacon,’ a wireless communications frame, in its products and has achieved annual revenues of 380 million KRW. Offers from leading Korean conglomerates and local provincial governments to partner with the startup are flowing in.
Among student startup clubs, ‘Alt-A,’ has, as part of its track record, coming in second at the 2015 ‘Product Ideas to Change the World Contest (Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation).’ Their products stem from the idea of communicating hidden dangers in blind spots to drivers. The blind spot sensor installed on existing vehicles is limited to identifying risks on the sides of cars, but Alt-A’s product provides information on all blind spots surrounding the vehicle including those out of view on the other side of corners. There are high expectations for its future as it has already secured 100 million KRW in government grants and seed money.
DKU president Hosung Chang said that “DKU’s Startup Support Foundation will lay the groundwork for marking a monumental milestone in Korea’s economy going forward,” and added that “our university will continue to nurture innovative entrepreneurs to lead the fourth industrial revolution with challenging spirits and creativity.”