Press

The age of entrepreneurs in their 20s continues to decline, while the demand for startups among those in their 30s, 40s, and older has increased significantly. Many young people in their 20s now view entrepreneurship not just as a credential for landing a job at a large corporation, but as a genuine career path. Older entrepreneurs no longer see chicken restaurant franchises as a viable answer after leaving their previous jobs. Kim Jung-heon (35), CEO of Underdogs, is a social entrepreneur creating social enterprises. Starting in April 2015, he began providing startup education focused on social innovation and assisting early-stage startups. Over three years, his company has produced approximately 5,000 participants and 260 teams. Underdogs also invests in and develops social innovation startups as subsidiaries. 'Noldam,' a babysitting coordination platform for college students that gained fame through investment by Megastudy Chair Son Ju-eun, emerged from Underdogs education. Four subsidiaries including 'Quit School,' a career guidance program for office workers, and 'Honest Meal,' which produces eco-friendly healthy pet food, were developed as subsidiaries through direct investment by Underdogs. Last year, the company recorded 1.7 billion won in revenue, and 2.8 billion won when subsidiaries are included. Underdogs conducts six-week free startup education for approximately 100 people as corporate social responsibility, along with six to 15-week commissioned startup education programs for about 2,000 people annually. As major corporations like P&G and GS Home Shopping strengthen their support for startups as part of social contribution efforts, the commissioned education market has expanded. CEO Kim stated, "When we started startup education in 2015, it seemed nearly impossible, like barren land. While demand gradually emerged from local governments, major corporations have recently begun heavily investing in commissioned startup education." Yoon Hong-jo (32), CEO of Marimond, is a well-known social entrepreneur recognized for generating social empathy regarding the 'comfort women' issue. Yoon started a university club focused on solving community problems through business, and launched her startup in 2012 while still a student. Last year, she grew the company to record annual revenue of 9.9 billion won with approximately 60 employees. Through Facebook and Instagram, Yoon created video and card news content featuring stories of grandmothers who transformed from comfort women victims into human rights activists and artists advocating for peace through raising the comfort women social agenda. She produced and sold various design products including smartphone cases and bags featuring the grandmothers' artwork. By creating stories with 'social value' and developing products embodying these narratives, Marimond sold both 'social value' and 'empathy.' A social atmosphere supporting 'conscious consumption' opened the way. Celebrities like Suzy and Park Bo-gum voluntarily shared photos of themselves using the products on social media without sponsorship deals, and a consumer base of women in their 20s who value 'empathy' became willing advocates on SNS. Starting this year, Marimond has selected 'Children' with messages of 'child relief' and 'child abuse prevention' as new social values to promote. The company established a 'Partner Team' internally, whose managers create collaboration points with selected NGOs aligned with chosen social issues. CEO Yoon stated, "The direction of content stories and product design we share in the future originates from the Partner Team." On the 15th, Kim and Yoon, representing social enterprises that have moved beyond their initial stages into genuine growth phases, met at a talk show during the 'Change and Impact, Social Economy Festival' hosted by Korea Credit Guarantee Fund at Garden Hotel in Mapo, Seoul. While the European Union's social economy accounts for 10% of GDP and 6.5% of total employment, South Korea, based on 2015 data, has approximately 40,000 social enterprises with 370,000 employees, accounting for only 1.4% of total employment. The Social Value Alliance Fund steering committee, recently created through private-public partnership, attempts to provide seed funding for the social economy through financing and support sustainable business for companies entering their growth phase. CEO Kim stated, "As government and major corporations show increased interest in social enterprises, I don't think initial funding scarcity prevents startups today. However, when companies grow and require investments in the hundreds of millions of won, the situation changes. I hope the market will provide active evaluation and investment in social enterprises that have entered their growth phase through recent years of startup activity."