142 TIPS operators join with one-on-one meetings, public pitching

Program targets founders with no institutional investment experience

500 second-round advancers from 'Startup for All' also included

Investment proposals open via platform starting Tuesday

(Ministry of SMEs and Startups)
(Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

The government will hold more than 300 investor relations sessions this year to directly connect early-stage founders who lack investment experience with investors. The initiative aims to give founders with strong technology or ideas but limited investment networks a chance to meet investors for the first time.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Friday that it will launch the Challenge IR project, which supports innovative founders in securing their first round of investment, starting Wednesday.

The program targets tech founders with concrete business plans — either heads of startups or prospective founders — who have not yet raised funding from an institutional investor. The ministry said founders have been pitching investors through email or demo days. However, a lack of opportunities to connect with investors has made it difficult for many to move on to actual investment discussions.

A total of 142 TIPS operating companies will take part in the project. TIPS, or the Tech Incubator Program for Startups, is a public-private startup support system in which private operators select and invest in promising tech startups. The government then provides matching research and development and commercialization funding. The ministry and TIPS operators plan to hold more than 300 in-person IR programs within the year.

The IR sessions will fall into three broad categories: sessions organized by individual operators, sessions linked to the Startup for All project, and sessions organized by region and industry sector.

TIPS operators will first hold IR events of their own design, including one-on-one meetings and public pitching sessions. The first round will run in October and the second in November. Starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, founders can submit investment proposals through the Challenge IR platform to operators taking part in the October program.

Operators will review the proposals, select founders for in-person IR sessions and notify them of the results at least seven days before the event. However, to allow investors to review proposals carefully, founders may submit a proposal to only one operator per round. Once an operator reaches its application cap, it will close its window early.

The project is also linked to the Startup for All project, which recently drew about 63,000 applicants. It will offer IR opportunities to 500 founders who advanced to the second round of the general and technology tracks in the first Startup for All project. Participants recommended by incubation organizations will be matched with TIPS operators suited to their business ideas and go on to pursue investment.

The Welcome to TIPS events were previously held in five regions — the Greater Seoul area, the southeastern region, the Chungcheong region, the Honam region and the Daegyeong region. This year, the program will expand to North Jeolla Province, Gangwon Province and Jeju. Outstanding companies will also get priority selection for Pre-TIPS, a support program for promising startups outside the Greater Seoul area.

Together with four science and technology institutes, the ministry will hold Startup City IR events in Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju and Ulsan. The events will connect faculty and student founders recommended by the institutes with TIPS operators to support science and technology talent in starting businesses and raising investment.

IR sessions will also be held for companies selected through K-Startup of the Year, a cross-ministry startup competition. Separate IR events will be held in connection with startup support projects run by individual ministries in fields such as defense, media, ocean industries and research and development.

To ensure the effort is not a one-time meeting, the ministry plans to continue additional investment discussions and in-depth IR sessions for outstanding companies through the end of the year. Companies that succeed in securing investment will receive preferential treatment, including bonus points in TIPS project selection evaluations. The ministry also plans to review this year's results and consider developing the program into a standing investment-support system.

The startup and venture industry expects the project to have a positive effect by widening opportunities for early-stage founders to meet investors directly. Observers note that prospective and early-stage founders in particular, who tend to have weaker investment networks, often have solid business ideas and technology. However, they struggle to find ways to reach investors. A chance to meet directly with multiple TIPS operators could help lower the barrier to securing a first round of funding.

Roh Yong-suk, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "There are cases in which good technology and ideas fail to clear the first hurdle of attracting investment." He added, "We will lower that first hurdle through the Challenge IR project so that promising founders do not give up on their ventures simply because they could not meet investors."


boo@heraldcorp.com