KUBS Startup Station Discovers New Future of Startup in Germany
KUBS Startup Station attended “TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2017,” a startup fair which took place in December, to enhance their practical startup skills. Nearly 30 student CEOs from nine KUBS startup teams based in Iljin Center for Startup Incubation – △Red Rocket, △Vlogr, △Stipop, △Hidden Track, △Rich Baeksoo, △D&I, △SOVS, △Cosmetheus, △Dr. Teddy – partook in the event, featuring company visits.
TechCrunch Disrupt, held from December 4 to 5, allows startups from across the globe to introduce their businesses and interact with each other. Only fifteen selected teams will vie for the Disrupt Cup and $50,000 in the Startup Battlefield. The KUBS startup teams analyzed leading technologies worldwide and had the opportunity to hone their funding skills by networking at a global startup conference.
At this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt, the participating startups mostly demonstrated business ideas such as automotive hardware, IoT devices, medical devices, and blockchains. Lia’s flushable pregnancy test won the grand prize in the Startup Battlefield. The participants concurred that many of the startups had business items with a huge potential for expansion.
“After joining TechCrunch Disrupt, we thought we need to ensure our company provides a stronger value in the existing market,” Rich Baeksoo CEO Eul Rho said. “We were able to discover the future direction of our startup.”
“I was particularly impressed by the ways that the Lia pregnancy test team, the winner of the Startup Battlefield, raised awareness of an issue and reached a solution,” D&I CEO Sangjoon Park said. “I have gained insights into the field of environment which will be an attractive market in the future, and hopefully D&I can relate to this field as well.”
On December 6, the KUBS startup teams visited Korea Innovation Center (KIC) Europe to explore startups in Berlin. KIC Center President Seok Koo Ji explained the culture of German startups and potential for Korean companies to enter the German market. The number of startups and office leases has been rising rapidly after Berlin was selected as the world’s best city for startups to grow in 2016.
“Although it is extremely challenging to expand a business internationally, I learned that doing business overseas will offer us more opportunities and open up access to a larger market,” SOVS CEO Hyungjoon Oh said.
Meanwhile, as a part of the Korea University LINC+ Project, KUBS Startup Institute conducted a case research on TechCrunch Disrupt and Berlin’s startups to prepare for the event.
