• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.165-182
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• 2019

An equity crowdfunding system of Korea has been introduced since January 25, 2016. The crowdfunding has contributed to remove the funding gap for startups in Korea. In the three years since the introduction of the system, the amount issued has been growing annually 31 percent. In 2018, the general investors who participated in equity crowdfunding, account for 93.8% of the total market size. General investors are a large part of equity crowdfunding. Investors, however, are facing the information asymmetry problems. General investors rely heavily on the investment prospectus provided by startups to obtain the information they need to determine their investment decisions. Under these circumstances, startups have the incentive to provide information that is advantageous to them, and investors are likely to be adversely affected by the investment prospectus. In this study, we collected the novel crowdfunding prospectus dataset: a total of 459 investment prospectus and conducted a morphological analysis. The analysis showed that the more positive the word, the higher the success rate of investors' subscriptions. We also compared projects that were heavily invested by general investors with projects that were heavily invested by professional investors. Then, we were able to examine that the success rates of project subscription, which were heavily invested by general investors, were higher than the projects of professional investor type. It can be interpreted as a general investor driven crowdfunding market. Based on these results, we propose three policies. First, the supervisor should be strengthened to provide more detailed information on investment risk factors in the prospectus. Second, the crowdfunding intermediary should monitor information provided by startups. Third, an investor should be asked to add a question to the investment compliance test that allows the investor to recognize the problem in the manual.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.141-158
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• 2023

From the perspective of an entrepreneur, one of the most important factors for understanding the inherent limitations of a startup, reducing the risk of failure, and succeeding is the composition of the talent, that is, the founding team. Therefore, a common concern experienced by entrepreneurs in the pre-entrepreneurship stage or the early stage of startup is the choice between independent startups and co-founding start-up. Nonetheless, in Korea, the share of independent entrepreneurship is significantly higher than that of co-founding start-up. On the other hand, focusing on the fact that many successful global innovative companies are in the form of co-founding start-up, the success factors of co-founding start-up were examined. Most of the related preceding studies are studies that identify the capabilities and characteristics of individual entrepreneurs as factors influencing the survival and success of entrepreneurship, and there is a lack of research on partnerships, that is, co-founding start-up, which are common in the field of entrepreneurship ecosystems. Therefore, this study attempted a multi-case study through in-depth interviews, collection of relevant data, analysis of contextual information, and consideration of previous studies targeting co-founders of domestic startups that succeeded in opportunistic startups. Through this, a model for deriving the phased characteristics and key success factors of co-founding start-up was proposed. As a result of the study, the key element of the preliminary start-up stage was 'opportunity', and the success factors were 'opportunity recognition through entrepreneur's experience' and 'idea development'. The key element in the early stages of start-up is "start-up team," and the success factor is "trust and complement of start-up team," and synergy is shown when "diversity and homogeneity of start-up team" are harmonized. In addition, conflicts between co-founders may occur in the early stages of start-ups, which has a large impact on the survival of start-ups. The conflict between the start-up team could be overcome through constant "mutual understanding and respect through communication" and "clear division of work and role sharing." It was confirmed that the core element of the start-up growth stage was 'resources', and 'securing excellent talent' and 'raising external funds' were important factors for success. These results are expected to overcome the limitations of start-up companies, such as limited resources, lack of experience, and risk of failure, in entrepreneurship studies, and prospective entrepreneurs preparing for a start-up in a situation where the form of co-founding start-up is attracting attention as one of the alternatives to increase the success rate. It has implications for various stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.31-44
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• 2020

Accelerators that invest in early startups, as well as nursery and overall management, have recently emerged as "key players" in the startup ecosystem. This can be proved by the case where the number of domestic accelerators registered in the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups has recently reached 208. Accelerators provide the necessary education for early-stage companies, including guidance for a certain period of time, and support startups in ways such as demo days to attract subsequent investment after the seed investment. There is not much research in academia about what factors impact on these accelerators when making investment decisions at the time of seed investment. In this study, we checked the meaning and function of the accelerator and tried to analyze what factors affect on accelerators when making a decision to invest in startups. The research method is based on a literature survey of previous studies on investment decision-making factors of venture capital and angel investors, and a lens model and judgment analysis method through empirical research targeting 43 accelerator investment decision-makers. Empirical analysis shows that accelerators have three of the key factors to consider when choosing the first startup to invest and educate; entrepreneurs' entrepreneurial traits, their product and service expertise and a potential return on success. This will provide an opportunity for early startups to gain strategic access to accelerators when they need money or need a structured educational program. Also, the results obtained through this research will be a kind of guideline for startups to attract accelerators' investment. The significance of this study is that discriminatory evidence was presented on the accelerator determinants of investment, and it would be highly suggestive to startups and related public institutions.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.203-215
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• 2014

Although many studies about start-up existed, It is almost never shown study about ICT convergence start-up enterprise. This study tries to analyze success factor to start-up enterprise in rapidly growing ICT convergence area. Based on 10 entrepreneurial success cases, We figure out the total 29 units success factors utilizing ERIS model. We classify ICT commercialization with 4 types which are software-R&D centric, software marketing centric, software plus hardware R&D centric, software plus hardware marketing centric. Among success factors the most success factor is related entrepreneur;s ability and include major and professional knowledge about ICT's filed, insight through sensitivity about technical paradigm etc. It was derived the success factors indicated in the course of commercialization of ICT Covergence Unlike other forms of the existing start-up entrepreneurs and contributed to typified in four forms startups for ICT Covergence start-up entrepreneurs.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.17-39
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• 2021

Indonesia's industrial application of digital technology is growing fast, especially in the application of mobile technology. About 1,700 digital startups are sprouting. PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa is one of those digital startups founded in 2010. This company is widely known, especially in Southeast Asia, for its products and services called 'Gojek' which was launched initially in 2015. Gojek began as a ride-hailing mobile-based application that later evolved into a Super App providing more than 20 different services in one single mobile application. After becoming Indonesian first unicorn company in 2016, Gojek now has become the first decacorn company in Indonesia, worth more than USD 10 billion since 2019. This paper aims to analyzes the technology industry in Indonesia and analyzes Gojek's background and history, its competitive status, and critical success factors. As a conclusion, we provide some advices for future development of Gojek in Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia's market. The advices include rebranding its overseas presence and the use of consistent brand identity across countries.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.61-79
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• 2023

This study is a case study of overseas banana farms as a global agricultural startup that has hardly been attempted so far in terms of paradigm shift in the industry, beyond regional limitations. It was researched for the purpose of revealing the success factors of 'global agricultural startup' in terms of business process, entrepreneurship, and management dimensions learned through direct participation and observation at the local level. In order to study global agricultural startups, this study also conducted a comparative analysis of global startups (global startups) and global agricultural startups(global agricultural startups). In fact, the analysis consists of 'definition', 'components', and 'success factors', and we want to confirm the difference between the two concepts that can be distinguished. The case analysis tried to maximize the advantages of 'participatory action research' by directly observing and experiencing banana farms. In the case of banana farm cases, by dividing them into preparation process for farm development and farm development and management process, various variables considered in farm management were explained through the whole process of farm management. Through the process of overcoming and responding to specific failure cases, we tried to secure the reliability and validity of the research, and the case studies related to entrepreneurship, management, and organization analyzed by applying them by subdividing them into theoretical areas belonging to components and management that were theorized in existing preceding studies. This study is almost the first study on the process of creating a local entry business by directly moving the head office overseas rather than entering overseas agriculture as a subsidiary, joint venture or overseas corporation. In particular, it is a unique case that corresponds to agriculture in terms of region(Africa), scale(startup), and industry that have not been introduced so far as a global agricultural startup. In terms of entrepreneurship, it also concretely exemplified how entrepreneurship components such as innovativeness, risk-taking propensity, proactiveness, vision sharing, social contribution, leadership, etc., which have not been attempted so far in agricultural cases, are manifested and effective. The management and cultural aspects also went beyond the argument that only cultural aspects are important in overseas business, and also confirmed individual failure cases and their responses in recruitment, job, wage, retirement, development, organizational structure management, etc. As a result, there is significance and implications of this study in that it provides theoretical confirmation as well as practical and responsive basis for 'entrepreneurship', 'farming management', and 'management' aspects in overseas agricultural startup business operation.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.141-156
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• 2023

The advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), along with the expansion of government and private investment in startup discovery and funding, has led to the emergence of startups seeking to generate outstanding results based on innovative ideas. As successful startups serve as role models, the number of aspiring entrepreneurs preparing to launch their own startups continues to increase. However, unlike entrepreneurs who challenge themselves with serial entrepreneurship after experiencing success, early-stage startups face various challenges such as team building, technology development, and fundraising. Accelerators play a dual role of mentor and investor by providing education, mentoring, consulting, network connection, and initial investment activities to help startups overcome various challenges they face and facilitate their growth. This study investigated whether there is a correlation between the characteristics of startups and their entrepreneurial performance, and analyzed whether accelerators mediate the relationship between startup characteristics and entrepreneurial performance. A total of 11 hypotheses were proposed, and a survey was conducted on 302 startup founders and employees located across the country, including the metropolitan area, for empirical research. SPSS 23.0 and Amos 23.0 were used for statistical analysis. Through this study, it was found that factors such as innovation, organizational culture, financial characteristics, and learning orientation among the characteristics of startups, rather than having a direct impact on entrepreneurial performance, are linked to entrepreneurial performance through the role of accelerators. By analyzing the impact factors of startup characteristics on entrepreneurial performance, this study presents research on the role of accelerators and provides institutional improvements. It is expected to contribute to the expansion of investment and differentiated acceleration programs, enabling startups to seize the market and grow stably in the market.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.45-55
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• 2022

Accelerator is a private investment institution that provides startups with comprehensive solutions to solve various difficulties such as startup facilities, funds, commercialization, securing a market etc. In addition to the role of an investor as a new startup support model, accelerators have contributed much to improvement of business ability of startups through intensive mentoring. Considering that previous studies gave weight to the determinants of investment from the perspective of investors, this study made a comparative analysis on the relative importance of determinants of investment in startups among accelerators, investors and entrepreneurs through the method of AHP. Results show that accelerators and investors regard "managerial characteristics" of startups as of the highest importance, whereas entrepreneurs think that "market characteristics" of startups are the most important. The result stems from an empirical judgment from the perspective of investors that success of startups depends on the ability of entrepreneur, and it is considered that investors evaluated marketability of startups as the most important factor in consideration of investment payback period. The result is similar to the result of previous studies on the determinants of investment determinants of angel investors and venture capitals. This paper is expected to make a contribution to the advancement of investment decision-making model for accelerators to discover startups with high possibility to grow and achieve more in incubation and investment.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.366-376
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• 2019

Youth unemployment reached a record high in 2017, and business revitalization is emerging as a means of overcoming this situation. The number of venture companies and amounts of new venture investments are increasing year on year, and the government has upgraded Small and Medium Business Administration to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. However, the success rate of startups is relatively poor. Over the past three years only 39.1% of Korean startups survived and 90% of companies failed in the Valley of Death phase. Survival this phase is critical for early startups, and thus, the amount and timing of investments are critical. Current models for establishing business startups do not effectively attract investments because they lack practical, corporate evaluation variables. In this paper, we develop a mixed process that incorporates the factors and business models focused on by venture capital investors. In addition, we compared our Death Valley Venture (DVV) process with current methods and provide an example of its application.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.55-69
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• 2021

For the national economic development, the participation of women in the social and economic activities is crucial. The popularization of start-ups, digital transformation, and WEconomy trends have lowered the barriers to opportunities for women to start a business and provide an environment in which women can grow faster. This paper examines the significance and process of success of women entrepreneurs and the characteristics of innovation strategies and achievements by linking the recently changing business environment of a company, factors influencing the success of women entrepreneurship, and innovation activities. To this end, four companies' cases were analyzed in the fields of distribution/service and consumer products/services, which are areas of large investment among female startups. The result shows that women entrepreneurs recognize the meaning of success as creating and continuing to create a 'corporate value through establishing a trust relationship with customers' within the 'balance between personal life and work.' In terms of the business ecosystem, women entrepreneurs strive for 'business activities based on the win-win growth of consumers, producers and sellers' for success, and rather 'focus on the process with a problem-solving approach' rather than achieving performance-oriented goals. Also through excellent power of observation, flexibility, and execution power, women entrepreneurs conduct business by adapting to changing trends. In terms of innovation activities, the innovation strategy of women-led companies puts priority on 'creating the value customers want' and focuses on innovation in the 'customer-centric business model' rather than technological innovation. As such, women-led companies show several differentiated characteristics, which enable them to create corporate value and achieve sustainable growth. The barriers to challenges and opportunities for women to start a business have been lowered, and an ecosystem has been created for female startups to grow. But why are there still so few women entrepreneurs, and the answer to where we need to close these gaps is ultimately a close analysis and investigation of the field. We must present milestones for growth steps through the accumulation of case studies of women startups that have exited. In addition, women can stand as economic agents only when the policy targets are subdivided and specific approaches to child-rearing and childcare for women entrepreneurs must be taken. This paper expects to serve as basic data for follow-up studies and become the basis of research for women entrepreneurs to grow as economic agents.