Under the theme of “Bigger Than It Seems,” the technology industry’s innovation and future can be seen at one place
Asia’s largest startup conference, “beLAUNCH 2014,” will be held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul for two days in May 2014 under the theme of “Bigger Than It Seems.” The conference has been inviting some of the world’s leading startup investors and entrepreneurs as speakers to share the latest trends and strategies of the global startup industry. It has also established itself as Asia’s largest startup conference by discovering innovative startups at home and abroad and providing a foothold for overseas expansion such as attracting investment from domestic and foreign investors and signing of 10 partners.
The results of attracting overseas investment from the past “beLAUNCH 2013” and “beGLOBAL 2013” are raising expectations for the event. 5ROCKS, which specializes in analyzing mobile games, received about 25.5 billion won (US$21.7 million) this year after meeting with Yurimoto, CEO of Global Brain, a famous Japanese venture capital, at the past “beLAUNCH 2013.” Korbit, a bitcoin exchange, introduced its business in front of renowned venture capitalist Tim Draper (DFJ Chairman) at the beGLOBAL held in Silicon Valley in September 2013, and has since attracted about 400 million won (US$341,266) in angel investment from Silicon Valley big-name private investors under the leadership of Tim Draper.
“We are confident that there will be more cases for Korean startups to enter the global market than usual at this year’s beLAUNCH 2014,” said CEO Jung Hyun-wook of beSUCCESS. “By doing this, 2014 will be an important year to promote growth potential of Korean startups to the rest of the world, and this will serve as a stepping stone to Korea’s economic development.”
Asia’s top-notch speakers to talk about leading the world’s venture capital and technology industries
“beLAUNCH 2014” will showcase a more enhanced line-up of speakers to mark its third anniversary. The two-day event, which will run under 10 themes, including “The Wearable Revolution,” “The Tipping Point of Bitcoin,” “The Future of the Game Industry,” and “Changes and Strategies in Angel Investment,” will bring together some of the industry’s top experts not easily seen in Korea but also in Asia.
The line-up of overseas venture investors is also diverse. A total of 17 venture capitalists, including Joe Lonsdale, CEO of Formation 8, which was recently acquired by Facebook, and David Lee, CEO of SV Angel, and Tim Chae of 500 startup, will attend the event to showcase the IPO’s strategy.
Over 160 promising startups that dream of entering the global market to “take their first step beyond Asia to the world.”
Startup Battle, one of the most watched sessions on “beLAUNCH 2014,” has been providing will have participating startups with investment, customer attraction and networking opportunities with global partners. This year, more than 120 teams from home and abroad have qualified for the finals. The selected 20 teams will compete for Asia’s top startup position at the main event in May.
Startup booths are a venue for 60 select companies to showcase their services to the general public and venture capitalists and industry workers who have gathered from around the world on both sides. To provide opportunities for more intensive PR, marketing and interaction for Korean startups, Vironch once formed content partnerships with renowned foreign media, including Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and Venture Beat.
After the main event of “beGLOBAL 2014” conference, which will be held in Silicon Valley, Tokyo and other global startup-oriented cities, will be held later 2014. The winner of Startup Battle will be given a round-trip air ticket and a chance to pitch in front of local investors, adding to expectations. beLAUNCH 2014, which will continue to be a “beGLOBAL” conference, will evolve into a networking festival for real startups, not a one-off event.
