The Arkansas Korea Alliance by Startup Junkie Consulting

There’s an assumption in South Korea that in order to break into the U.S. market, founders have to move their startup to Silicon Valley or New York City. However, there are so many other emerging ecosystems in America that many don’t know about yet. One of them is Arkansas which has grown into a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem over the past few years. There are incubators and accelerators across the state that support entrepreneurs in key industries such as banking, finance, and healthcare. Startup Junkie Consulting, a startup support organization, has been at the forefront of building a healthy infrastructure for ventures and businesses in Arkansas. 

Arkansas Korea Alliance by Startup Junkie Consulting

Startup Junkie Consulting is an entrepreneurial support organization that empowers innovators and entrepreneurs through one-on-one consulting, events, workshops, and programs. It is also the first organization in Arkansas to open a partnership program with South Korea. With this program, Startup Junkie aims to create an exchange that benefits startups in both countries. Louis Diesel, the representative of Startup Junkie Asia, has worked with many Korean startup programs in the past. “While there are various open innovation programs in South Korea, many are not facilitated by a dedicated enterprise accelerator team yet.” he shares. Open innovation programs offer 1:1 sessions but usually, he saw no follow-ups or ways for enterprises to actually test or experience the startups’ products and services. That’s where Louis saw an opportunity for creating this program.

Arkansas Korea Alliance

Startup Junkie Consulting is seeking promising Korean startups for its testbed initiative in Northwest Arkansas. By partnering with the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), coworking space Station Neo, and the Korea Venture Business Association, they formed the Arkansas Korea Alliance. Additionally, Startup Junkie was also added to the Innobranch partner list by KITA to support global open innovation for Korean startups.

Why Startups in Korea? 

Korean companies have many advantages in the areas of beauty, culture, hardware, and fintech. However, most startups struggle to expand outside the Korean market and are not ready for global communications. The Arkansas Korea Alliance program provides opportunities for PoC product trials and other B2B collaboration opportunities for Korean startups that are looking to enter the U.S. market. 

What makes Startup Junkie’s program so special is that it connects startups with major partner-enterprises like Tyson, KPMG, and Walmart. Furthermore, the Arkansas Korea Alliance team is well-versed in understanding the needs of corporates and is able to find the right startup for them to match with. They help Korean startups to prepare for their meetings with multinational companies and make sure both parties are aligned. The aim is to give Korean startups the skills they need to work with multinational corporations like Wallmart and others. 

“There is a surplus of world-class startups thriving domestically in Korea, and many of them have matured to become true global competitors with solutions that any international enterprise would want to get their hands on. Combining that with Startup Junkie’s HQ being in Northwest Arkansas, and all the great enterprise relationships on our side, this partnership brings a geographic arbitrage situation with in-house teams on the ground in the U.S. and in Korea,” said Louis Diesel, Startup Junkie Consulting’s Head of Asia. 

11 Korean Startups selected by Startup Junkie Consulting

Startup Junkie’s initiative is called the 2020 US Testbed Cohort for Korea Tech Startups. It is the first step in building a strong bridge between the startup ecosystem in Northwest Arkansas and Korea. The program looks for startups in Korea that have a proven track record in the Korean market. One of the benefits of joining this program is that startups will directly be connected with blue-chip clients and major VC firms in the U.S. 

The US Testbed Cohort announced its first Korean startup batch that will be participating in the program. The 11 Korean startups selected have raised over $32 million in investments to date. The startups selected for the Arkansas Korea Alliance cohort program include:

The Importance of Enterprise-Startup Programs for Korean Startups

Cross-border programs like Startup Junkie’s US Testbed Cohort program play an important role in scaling high growth startups in Korea. Many startups in Korea do not get the opportunity for foreign capital, expertise, and network within Korea. In addition, the lifespan of many startups in Korea is similar to others around the world. Most Korean startups never make it past their first few years in business. However, a startup’s success rate skyrockets if they have a corporate partner that benefits from what the startup offers. With this corporate-startup partnership, startups in Korea will have a steady flow of income which is crucial in the early stages. 

Many entrepreneurs in Korea today have a global mindset. Many want to eventually branch out of South Korea and enter new markets. And there is no bigger market than the United States. 

Partnering with enterprises is a viable way to achieve sustainable growth. Enterprise-startup partnerships are collaborations where an established company enters into a mutually beneficial relationship with a startup. Therefore, this form of partnership is not only beneficial for startups but also for enterprises. Startups are able to bring innovation/agility and the enterprises can help startups scale. Enterprises understand that in this day and age, in order to keep up with the accelerating rate of innovation, they need to invest, develop partnerships, and collaborate with startups. To gain access to these enterprises, teaming up with Startup Junkie is the right way to go.