An era is opening in which people can start a business with just an idea. The government has begun directly investing in entrepreneurial talent.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a kick-off ceremony for the "Startup for All Project" on the 25th at Dreamplus in Gangnam, Seoul.
The "Startup for All Project" is a new policy model that breaks away from the traditional review-and-selection support system and shifts to a national approach of investing in entrepreneurial talent. Anyone with an idea can participate, and it offers opportunities to grow into a startup through incubators such as universities and accelerators (ACs) and through a mentoring group of veteran founders.
At the event, more than 100 incubating institutions and about 500 veteran founder mentors who will lead the project were introduced. ACs such as Primer, Sopoong Connect, and FuturePlay and science and technology institutes such as KAIST participated. These institutions will identify about 5,000 entrepreneurial talents and nurture them through the final stage.
The veteran founder mentor group includes Toss CEO Lee Seung-gun, Beenulabs CEO Kim Han-i, Wrtn CEO Lee Se-young, and Rebellions CEO Park Seong-hyun, among other entrepreneurs who have achieved results in the market. They will provide one-on-one mentoring tailored to the founder's growth stage.
In the following "Real Talk with Mentors for All," Kim Han-i, CEO of Beenulabs, which operates Korea's largest campus-life platform "Everytime," and Yang Je-hyeon, CEO of Jeju citrus food and beverage brand "Gyul Medal," took the stage to share their experiences. Regional lead operating institutions, including Primer (Seoul), KAIST (Chungcheong), and Glitcher Partners (Southeast), also presented their incubation plans and visions.
The kickoff ceremony was held simultaneously in 17 cities and provinces nationwide. It was also streamed live on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) YouTube channel. Each region appointed a star entrepreneur as a "Startup for All ambassador" and ran programs linked to briefings.
Regional leading entrepreneurs joined to help spread startup enthusiasm, including unicorn corporations such as Busan's "Yanolja," CES Innovation Award-winning corporations such as Gwangju's "Ghostpass" and Daegu's "Mangoslab," and deep-tech corporations such as Ulsan's "DeepEye" and Jeju's "SPEQS."
Minister Han Seong-sook said, "The 'Startup for All Project' is not a one-off support program but an innovative 'entrepreneurial talent development platform' in which the nation invests in the potential of entrepreneurial talent," adding, "We will foster a culture where anyone can pursue innovation without fear of failure and open a true national startup era."