Appeal from SparkLabs CEOs on 10th Anniversary: "Fool, the Problem Is Regulation"

10th Anniversary Press Conference and Demo Day Held
Government Emphasizes Software Policy and Regulatory Relaxation
"Reduced Failure Costs" "Changed National Status"
Plans to Advance AI and Big Data Utilization Platforms

Co-CEOs of the startup accelerator SparkLabs, Kim Yujin, Kim Homin, Lee Hanju, and Bernard Moon (from left), are answering questions at a press conference held on the 3rd at COEX in Seoul.

"The government needs to support the software industry through policy and ease regulations further." (Kim Ho-min, Co-CEO of SparkLabs)

"A regulatory sandbox alone is not enough. Now is the time to boldly loosen regulations." (Lee Han-joo, Co-CEO of SparkLabs)

Accelerator (AC) SparkLabs, specializing in early-stage startup investment and nurturing, has reached its 10th anniversary. SparkLabs, which is specialized in supporting startups' global expansion, has invested in over 270 startups. The follow-up investment amount raised by these companies totals 1.3 trillion KRW, and their corporate value reaches 6.7 trillion KRW.

SparkLabs has officially expanded to Taiwan, Australia, and Pakistan, with major portfolio companies including Ballan, WantedLab, Nthing, and SparkPlus.

On this day, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, all four co-CEOs of SparkLabs gathered to hold a press conference to discuss business directions and the recent startup ecosystem.

During the Q&A session with the press, they emphasized the need for the government to ease regulations on new industries. Co-CEO Lee Han-joo raised his voice, saying, "Instead of reducing regulations with each administration, they have significantly increased. To leverage the dynamism led by the private sector, regulations must be loosened." He added, "A regulatory sandbox alone is insufficient. What happens after the two-year demonstration period ends? Now is the time to boldly ease regulations."

Co-CEO Kim Ho-min appealed for regulatory relief for the software industry. He diagnosed, "While hardware sectors like manufacturing and smart factories are encouraged at the government level, software is still in its early stages."

He continued, "Globally, companies with high corporate value are those that create and sell software. In Korea, there is no company in the B2B (business-to-business) cloud sector with a corporate value in the trillion KRW range. We need to support the software industry through policy and ease regulations further," he urged.

Co-CEO Lee also supported this, saying, "Software does not face supply chain disruptions like manufacturing because it comes from the brain." Lee's argument is that to survive global competition in 10 or 20 years, the software industry must be nurtured through policy.

However, reflecting on the past 10 years, he evaluated that government policies and social atmosphere have shifted toward significantly reducing the costs of startup failures. He said, "In the past, CEOs faced criminal penalties if they provided guarantees, so the cost of failure was high, but now entrepreneurs' mindsets have changed a lot, and the startup ecosystem's diversity has been secured."

He added, "At first, government ministries did not understand startups well and did not know how to support the ecosystem, but now policies have become more sophisticated. Other countries envy Korea's policies a lot. Especially TIPS is an excellent program." He further suggested, "The investment industry inevitably moves slowly. We need to maintain a long-term perspective and consistently make policy efforts."

Co-CEO Bernard Moon evaluated, "As a country where technology and culture combine, the nation's status has changed." Co-CEO Kim Yoo-jin also predicted, "If we focus on early-stage startups and reduce failure costs, the number of unicorns (unlisted companies with a corporate value over 1 trillion KRW) will increase significantly."

In a frozen startup investment market, what do the four co-CEOs pay close attention to when deciding on investments? CEO Bernard Moon focuses on 'marketing,' CEO Lee Han-joo on 'numbers,' CEO Kim Ho-min on the founder's personality and experience, and CEO Kim Yoo-jin on 'differentiation.'

CEO Lee said, "A company's value comes from cash generation capability," adding, "If you cannot explain 'If I receive investment, I will generate this much money by this time,' you will never get investment in the current climate."

However, he added, "The world is suffering from the US-China hegemony struggle," and "Our country can present a third way to many countries that are exhausted."

CEO Kim Ho-min said, "Investment is not about giving money to those who need it, but about making those who do not need money receive it," and "We appeal by finding the best companies first."

Additionally, SparkLabs announced plans to enhance its platform using big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

CEO Kim Ho-min stated, "We will further focus on early-stage founders to enhance services and systematize program operation and portfolio management through building a big data and AI-based accelerator platform." SparkLabs operates a system based on three platforms: Accelerator App, SparkLabs Q, and SparkLabs I.

At the SparkLabs 19th Demo Day held that afternoon, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will attend as one of the speakers. Chairman Chey will share insights under the theme "The Core of Future Corporate Value Creation: Relationships with Customers, Story, and Trust" and communicate with founders.

Previously, Chairman Chey also attended the SparkLabs 13th Demo Day in June 2019, discussing digital transformation led by startups and offering advice to junior entrepreneurs.

CEO Lee said, "My friendship with Chairman Chey naturally formed through activities as alumni of the University of Chicago." He added, "Since Chairman Chey took office in 1998, SK Group has been restructured into future industries such as bio and semiconductors," and previewed, "He will share his thoughts as a businessman from the standpoint of having started a second venture."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.