LAS VEGAS, January 7 (AJP) - A landmark forum spotlighting the global expansion of Korean startups convened alongside CES 2025, drawing over 100 technology and business leaders from South Korea and Silicon Valley.
The inaugural Global International Growth Summit (GIGS), hosted by AJP and backed by South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups served as a platform for discussing innovation, collaboration, and strategies to navigate global markets.
"AI and machine learning are driving transformative innovation across industries, while sustainable technologies and ESG initiatives are the pillars of the future," said Kwak Young-kil, chairman of Aju News Corporation, in his opening remarks. Kwak emphasized the forum's role in fostering dialogue between Korean startups and Silicon Valley innovators, highlighting the power of collaboration in advancing technology.
The event featured notable participants, including Innobiz Association chairman Jeong Kwang-cheon, KOTRA CEO Kang Kyung-sung, and former high-ranking officials Joo Young-seop and Koo Yoon-cheol.
"This forum offers an invaluable starting point for small and medium-sized enterprises to learn and collaborate," said chairman Jeong, while former director Koo expressed optimism about its potential to help South Korea address current economic challenges.
The forum included insights from seasoned startup executives and venture capitalists, who underscored the importance of a customer-centric approach in scaling businesses globally.
Melanie Imfeld, director at Mapbox, noted the pitfalls of losing focus on end-user needs. "In larger companies, it’s easy to get bogged down in details and forget the bigger picture—why we’re doing what we’re doing," Imfeld said. Her team oversees data from 700 million monthly active users, with navigation systems implemented in over 1 million GM vehicles.
Tyler Steinke, vice president at Productable and a CES veteran, emphasized that groundbreaking technology alone isn’t enough. "It’s not just about having interesting technology—retaining existing customers is more critical than acquiring new ones," Steinke said.
The forum also featured advice from investors like Gautam Rao of GVC Partners, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business professor Sam Ha, and Spencer Faust of Sozo Ventures. Their insights provided early-stage startups with strategies to navigate the complexities of global markets and scale their ventures successfully.
"It's very important to define your customer. And that's not just the user you're thinking about when you first start your company, it's defining all the stakeholders of your product or platform," said Rao. "The more you can define that value prop for all of them, the easier it is going to be to scale."
"If we, as individuals and as an organization, grow, our company will be better off," said Ha. "We'll have the open mind to anticipate what's around the corner and be prepared for the future we will inhabit."
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Kim Joo-heon, Baek Soo-hee
jhkim123@ajunews.com
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