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Underdogs to Conduct 6-Month Startup Education Optimized for Entrepreneurs and Startup Stages Based on Data from 10,000+ Startup Founders Nationwide Up to 40 million won in business support per team provided through business support funds arranged by Iksan City and Jeonbuk Energy Service Underdogs (Representatives: Kim Jung-heon and Cho Sang-rae), a startup education specialist company, announced on the 19th that it will conduct the 'Public-Private Collaboration WITH LOCAL Youth Startup Support Project (hereinafter WITH LOCAL Support Project)' with Iksan City in Jeonbuk and Jeonbuk Energy Service (hereinafter Jeonbuk ES). The WITH LOCAL Support Project is a technology-based startup support initiative aimed at solving issues in the Iksan region through 'locally-based startup establishment' and overcoming problems such as youth population decline and outmigration. To this end, the project is recruiting business plans based on regional issues from prospective and early-stage entrepreneurs aged 18-39 nationwide. Additionally, business feasibility was reviewed based on strict criteria including business viability, sustainable social value, and regional value creation. As a result of this process, a total of 20 startup teams were finally selected on the premise of relocating their addresses and business establishments within Iksan City within five months. Underdogs will provide basic and advanced startup education over the next six months to the finally selected teams. Basic startup education is specialized education tailored to social ventures, consisting of courses that allow the diverse finally selected startup teams—such as those in food, tourism, manufacturing, distribution, environment, cultural arts, hologram, and ICT services—to prepare for actual market competitiveness. Advanced education is conducted with 'Underdogs Coaches,' who provide startup guidance based on actual entrepreneurial experience, assigned 1:1 to each startup team, and is centered on actual market validation and business performance from MVP testing to investment review preparation. In this process, business support of up to 40 million won per team is provided to cover the process up to prototype development. Cho Sang-rae, CEO of Underdogs, said, "With the production of over 10,000 diverse entrepreneurs nationwide and based on accumulated data, we have high expectations for sharing Underdogs' overwhelming practical startup education optimized for startup stages and entrepreneur characteristics." He added, "Underdogs believes that entrepreneurs cultivated through startup education can solve various problems faced by local communities across the nation." He continued, "In particular, we will approach the cultivation and discovery of locally-based entrepreneurs themselves as a social infrastructure suitable for the ESG era." Meanwhile, Underdogs (Representatives Kim Jung-heon and Cho Sang-rae) is a startup education specialist company. First established in 2015, it has produced over 10,000 innovative entrepreneurs nationwide to date. The company name derives from 'underdog,' a sports term referring to teams or athletes with low chances of winning or winning a championship. It embodies the intention to create a startup ecosystem from the perspective of the underdogs—those with limited possibilities but capable of driving social innovation and changing the world through business. Currently operating branches in Seoul, Gunsan, Jeongeup, Sejong, and Jeju cities, it is a subsidiary of company builder Newblack, supporting the cultivation, production, and growth of entrepreneurs.