The Idea Marketplace (IMP) is POSCO’s representative venture start-up support program which connects venture companies with investors, or attracts direct investments by helping prospective venture businesses and investors build a network and compare with other compelling venture ideas.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon gives a speech at the 12th Idea Marketplace, addressing economic improvements through partnerships with local industries and fostering the growth of promising venture companies.

In a welcoming speech, POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon said, “The most obvious way to drive future growth in our slowing economic environment is to discover innovative ideas and commercialize them. I will actively support the creation of jobs that are combined with the local economy of Gwangyang city.”

POSCO selected and nurtured ten venture companies in their support program this year. Their fields ranged from medical, the internet of things (IoT), music to big data. They were verified by outside experts for their business feasibility and received mentoring in company briefing sessions for ten weeks.

During the IMP, an IR event was held for investors, and a prototype exhibition hall took place alongside. The event involved representatives of venture companies engaging in one-on-one Q&A sessions with members from the judging committee.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon, center, talks to guests at the Idea Marketplace venue. From right, Weonpyo Sun (president of the Yeosu and Gwangyang Port Authority), Hyunbok Jeong (mayor of Gwangyang) and Seongho Park (director of the POSCO Creative Economy Promotion Team).

In this Idea Marketplace event, the Excellence Prize went to Futures Bio Works (CEO Woosoon Chang), for its development of a shape memory polymer microneedle vascular anastomosis device. The company Algorigo (CEO Gilhwan Cha) took home the Excellent Start-up Prize for building a smart posture tracker platform that helps people to develop healthy sitting habits.

Since 2011, POSCO has selected and fostered 132 companies, 59 of which have received direct investments of approximately KRW 9.2 billion from POSCO. The amount of foreign investments the growing companies has attracted reached 59.4 billion won, which contributed to the creation of jobs for 572 people.

Prospective business founders or venture companies that want to take part in the POSCO Idea Marketplace can apply for the program at any time via its website: http://www.poscoventure.co.kr.

Nurturing and Supporting 14 Startups This Year Through Idea Marketplace

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon (left) talks about 3D hologram film developed by SSADT at the 11th Idea Marketplace held in the Pohang Creative Economy Center on July 25.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon said in his welcoming speech, “Creative innovation is the DNA of POSCO and the source of economic take-off. POSCO will strive to revive the local economy and create more jobs through nurturing competent startups.”

He added, “The Pohang Creative Economy Center is the nation’s only privately managed creative economy center. We will actively support the startups, which have been discovered in this center, through promoting their business while growing in the global market.”

The 14 startups that were introduced had been selected in March to be supported by POSCO and have since had their business plans verified while receiving mentoring by outside experts. At the Idea Marketplace, the IR session was carried out in front of an audience through one-on-one Q&A sessions between the directors of the startups and the panel.

SSADT has garnered attention with its technology that turns 2D images into 3D images by attaching a 10-nanometer holographic film to smartphones, tablets and notebooks. The company received positive reviews and is considered as being competitive in the industry for its large-scale nano mold technology, deadline efficiency and low pricing. Its holographic film will be adapted to the electronic display boards for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, which will allow Olympics broadcasts to be shown in 3D.

Cast Pro has successfully developed a receiver that can be wirelessly connected to a global smart operating system, such as Android, IOS, Windows, DLNA or WiDi. It has been credited with achieving high synchronization rates delivering wireless connection to any operating system in the display market. Director Jae-ho Lee said, “There is not much support available for manufacturing-based startups. The investment environment is not favorable, either. However, despite these situations, POSCO has made a systematic investment and supports looking in to the future, which has been a great encouragement for us.”

Directors of the selected startups introduce their business to investors and guests at the Idea Marketplace.

The Idea Marketplace is POSCO’s representative startup support program where POSCO invites business ideas to either directly plan collaborating with some of the competent startups, or connect them to outside investors. It is a place for investment promotion where the selected startups present their business plans to investors after having established their plans with the help of their professional mentors over the course of 10 weeks.

POSCO has nurtured 122 startups since 2011, and directly invested 8.5 billion won into 53 companies among them. The companies supported by POSCO have increased their sales by 69% to 34 billion won. This is in comparison to the 20.2 billion won in sales they had when they first received the investment.

POSCO has also made contributions to a key part of the creative economy, namely job creation, by creating 458 additional jobs. In addition, the company has attracted 35.8 billion won worth of investment from external sources to support these startups as they continue to grow.

We accept year-round applications from interested prospective entrepreneurs or startups. Visit  http://www.poscoventure.co.kr/S91060/S91060010/en/index.do to apply for POSCO’s Idea Marketplace.

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.