The Startup Support Network, a nonprofit led by CEO Kim Jeong-hak, has been selected as the operator for the second round of "Everyone's Startup," a national entrepreneurship program overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and administered by the Korea Startup Promotion Agency, the organization said Monday.
"Everyone's Startup" is a government-backed initiative designed to help anyone with a business idea enter entrepreneurship — and to get back on their feet if they fail. The program runs through an incubation model combined with government-led competitions.
The Startup Support Network, the 100th startup accelerator licensed by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has chosen a focus for the second round that sets it apart from other operators.
While support for youth and deep tech ventures has been robust, the organization said it will concentrate on people in their 40s and older, as well as local small-business owners, who have been relatively underserved — giving them a path to try entrepreneurship again.
The approach aligns with the core spirit of the "Everyone's Startup" program: learning from failure and finding the courage to try again.
Rather than chasing flashy new-technology ideas, the Startup Support Network aims to help people who have already run shops or businesses grow their hands-on experience into a company.
For middle-aged participants who may be less comfortable with computers, the organization has launched the "2026 AI Startup Road Show," a practical AI business-planning workshop.
Billed as "No problem if you're not great with computers — build your own AI business plan in just three hours," the road show kicks off in Nam-gu, Gwangju on Friday before touring five areas across Gwangju and South Jeolla Province. Admission is free, and each showing accepts the first 40 registrants on a first-come, first-served basis, for a total of 200 participants.
Participants will receive help drafting an AI-assisted business plan, one-on-one expert mentoring, and the opportunity to connect with the second round of the "Everyone's Startup" program.
Mentors are not academic instructors but local practitioners who have built successful businesses themselves. Specialists in retail, marketing, brand development, product development, investment and online sales will work alongside prospective entrepreneurs from the idea-evaluation stage through to commercialization.
"Entrepreneurship is not something you endure alone — you go much further when you walk alongside someone who has already made the journey," said Ha Sang-yong, the program's lead mentor. "Even the experience of failure becomes a powerful asset when it meets the courage to try again. Regardless of age or location, we will stand by everyone who wants to take another shot."
sij@heraldcorp.com
