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"Based on industry-leading know-how, content, and systems that have nurtured approximately 13,000 entrepreneurs, we will also expand into the corporate education market." Cho Sang-rae (39), CEO of Underdogs, which was founded in 2015 and has been providing practical startup education, said in an interview with Chosun Biz: "Recently, many companies are increasingly demanding education to nurture 'entrepreneurial talent' that actively identifies and solves problems." The company, named after "underdog" from sports terminology referring to teams or athletes with low chances of winning, aims to cultivate entrepreneurial talent with the aspiration to change the world through business. While there were many places offering theoretical startup education before, no other company like Underdogs offered intensive, immersive startup education programs in camp format over a set period. Underdogs gained recognition in earnest in 2017 with KT&G's 'Imagine Startup Camp,' after which similar 'customized coaching' education began spreading across the industry. It has collaborated with Hana Financial Group, Cartier, GS Retail, and Egis Asset Management to provide startup education. Ryuteon Technologies, a generative AI startup, is also an alumnus of the 5th session of 'Imagine Startup Camp,' organized by KT&G and operated by Underdogs. CEO Cho, who co-founded a startup called 'WaterPharma' that introduced a water-saving solution in 2015, began his relationship with Underdogs while receiving startup education at the time. In 2016, he transferred to Underdogs. After graduating from a teachers college, he finally entered the education market which he had long cherished. He became sole CEO last year. The catalyst for seeing the potential of corporate education was 'Underdogs Hustle,' a program for developing startup-type key talent targeting office workers, unveiled in March this year. The 12-week Underdogs Hustle is a business developer training program based on practical business cases. CEO Cho said: "Not only did office workers respond well, but companies with new business development needs also made many inquiries asking us to provide such education. We decided to go beyond traditional corporate education programs targeting new employees or promotees and formally expand our know-how and content into the corporate education market." Underdogs plans to actively develop and propose customized education programs that enable corporate talent to achieve specific objectives. Through this, the company aims to increase its estimated annual revenue (contract value) from the 20 billion won range this year to 300 billion won next year. Underdogs also plans to enter the corporate mandatory education market through its own platform. CEO Cho said: "Beyond an online learning system, it will be a system that provides personalized learning experiences to users through LXP (Learning Experience Platform)." He added: "I want to show that social enterprises can also go public by increasing corporate value. We plan to select a managing firm as early as September." CEO Cho identified Underdogs' competitiveness in the red ocean startup education market as 'coaches from entrepreneur backgrounds.' CEO Cho said: "Coaches become a team with entrepreneurs attending the education program, becoming pacemakers who together think about how to execute business ideas, which customers to meet for this, and how to refine the ideas." He said: "Paulo and Sunny, a startup that transforms discarded coffee bags from industrial waste into daily necessities like bags, received evaluations from multiple consulting and education companies saying 'the idea is common' and 'it's a failing business.' However, after meeting Underdogs coaches, they found their brand direction, regained confidence, and achieved results by collaborating with Dongseo Food and Starbucks." Underdogs has created an application called 'Light Club' for mutual learning among entrepreneurs and is currently testing it internally. It plans to release it after functional updates. CEO Cho said: "Entrepreneurs prefer learning from each other," and added: "The result of contemplation to provide added value beyond education, with senior founders and entrepreneurs in similar industries providing detailed business advice (mentoring) based on practical experience." Original article: https://biz.chosun.com/industry/company/2023/08/20/ZHMNGACMI5FH3NJETWMT35NAMI/?utm_source=naver&utm_medium=original&utm_campaign=biz