Choi Young-ju: Spearheading Korean Startups’ Global Expansion with Tenity Singapore

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Korean startups aiming to penetrate the Singapore and global markets have found a robust supporter in Choi Young-ju, Partner Director at Tenity Singapore, a global accelerator and early-stage investment firm.

Originating in Zurich, Switzerland, Tenity started as an internal venture of SIX, the operator of the Swiss stock exchange, before becoming an independent entity through a spin-off in 2016. Choi Young-ju is at the forefront of supporting Korean startups’ entry into global markets from her base at Tenity Singapore. Her global market interest was kindled by her first backpacking journey abroad, leading to a career where she honed her international sensibilities and business skills across diverse global corporations in the USA and Switzerland.

Upon relocating to Singapore, Choi led programs at the K-Startup Center Singapore to facilitate global expansion for startups, including Korean ones. She has continued this mission at Tenity, organizing programs for startups looking to expand into Singapore, Europe, and the Middle East. To date, Tenity has supported around 350 global startups, which have successfully secured approximately USD 370 million in funding.

Although Tenity’s programs predominantly cater to the fintech, insurtech, and regtech sectors, reflecting its origins in the financial sector, they also welcome early-stage deeptech startups. Companies participating in these programs benefit from initial funding, access to a global network, and participation in tailored programs. Tenity conducts its support programs biannually in locations such as Switzerland, the Nordics/Tallinn, and Singapore. With the seventh batch in Singapore commencing in March and the eighth batch on the horizon, these present significant opportunities for Korean startups.

As a Korean, Choi has a deep-seated interest in Korean startups, a passion clearly visible through her LinkedIn profile and posts. She offers earnest advice to these startups on prerequisites for global expansion, highlighting the importance of cultivating meaningful relationships, demonstrating gratitude, and approaching challenges with an open mind to ensure success in international markets.

However, the initial step for Korean startups wishing to venture globally might well be adopting the same spirit of challenge and preparedness that Choi herself exhibited through her exploratory backpacking trip, gaining insights into the global market’s demands. There is hope that Korean entrepreneurs and startups will forge successful paths in the global market through their association with Tenity and Choi Young-ju.

Please introduce yourself and say hello

Nice to meet you everyone!! First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to Mr. Taehyun Kim, CEO of wowtale, for inviting me to this interview. It is my great honor to be here and to share my story.

I am Julie Young-ju Choi and currently working as a Partner Director at Tenity. Tenity is a global accelerator, incubator, and an early stage investor. Currently I am based in Tenity Singapore, where our APAC office is located. My humble wish is playing a role connecting Korean startups and startup supporting organizations with global partners and helping the promising Korean startups advance into Singapore, Southeast Asia, MEA, Europe, and the UK where Tenity has built a strong network.

What motivated you to work for global companies?

I think my very first solo backpacking trip to New Zealand helped me open up a whole new horizon to me. Before this trip, I was an ordinary Korean growing up in Korea and having finished schooling from primary to the university, I have received Korean standard English. During this trip I felt that I really need to improve my English skills to be able to connect with global people from different countries and cultures. To be able to do so I needed better English. Once I had a comfortable level of English, it opened a door to global companies like Northrop Grumman, the US Embassy in Korea, Swiss Chamber of commerce in Singapore, Herden Holdings and now Tenity. I also lived in Switzerland before moving to Singapore in 2015. First thing I did in Switzerland was learning German because I know knowing the local language will help me settle down as well as bring me an opportunity like I got a job at Aktiv Kapital.

Working for global companies, started with my interest in learning languages as well as knowing it is the first step to go global. Once I was equipped with a certain level, going global became possible.

What did you do at the K-Startup Center in Singapore?

K-Startup Center is a platform that supports the globalization of Korean startups. They are in 8 countries like France, US, India, Sweden, Finland, Israel, Vietnam and Singapore and supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Korea SMEs & Startups Agency(KOSME) and Korea Institute for Startup and Entrepreneurship Development(KISED).

The Singapore office opened in July 2022. Since then it is bridging Korea’s innovative startups with the vast opportunities of the global market.

Think of it as a launchpad: not only it offers workspace, but it’s also a connector to local venture capitalists and a global corporate network, including world-class accelerators. Plus, we offered a number of programs tailored to help startups comfortably settle into the Singapore scene.

In my role as a program manager, I supported transitioning KOTRA Business Incubation to the new K-Startup Center Singapore. This involved not only moving to a new office and setting up the center but also numbers of programs designed to ensure the startup settle well in Singapore. My responsibility was to make sure they had the support they needed to thrive in this vibrant Singapore ecosystem.

Please give a brief introduction to Tenity

Tenity started as a corporate incubator of SIX, a Swiss stock exchange operator in 2015. Then it spun off in 2016 to operate its own incubation and acceleration programs. Until now, approximately over 350 global startups have gone through the Tenity program, and starting in 2022, we are forming a global incubation fund (CHF100M) to focus primarily on fintech, insurtech, regtech, and deeptech as an early-stage investor.

Tenity is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with hubs in Singapore, Madrid, Stockholm, Tallinn, Turkey and the UK.

By strategically acquiring Hackquarters accelerator at the end of 2023, which operates an active startup support program in the UK, Southern Europe, MENA, and Turkey, the network of our corporate partners, investors, and communities has been further strengthened across MENA, Europe, UK and APAC.

With our strong network and resources, Tenity is absolutely committed to nurturing the growth of Korean startups on the international stage.

What program did you manage at Tenity?

I could say we made big milestones last year executing 15 programs by Tenity Singapore alone. Among those wonderful programs we rolled out, we successfully completed 7 Korean programs.

Some examples of Korean programs we conducted include KB Financial Group’s Global Acceleration program, Global Market Expansion program supported by Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development targeting smart city startups, and the Spark IR Day program sponsored by Incheon Techno Park also was a smart city program.

What makes 2023 year more special was that Tenity built a strong network and resources on delivering not only Fintech acceleration programs but smart city programs. More than half of the 7 Korean programs we delivered last year were Smart city related programs or industry agnostic.

What are the incubating programs and benefits at Tenity Singapore?

Tenity’s pre-seed incubation program takes place twice a year in Switzerland, Nordics/Tallinn and in Singapore. For Singapore, the seventh (7)th batch will commence this coming March and applications for the eighth batch will begin soon.

Startups selected for the incubation program will receive an investment of SGD70K, and in return, Tenity will receive a 2.5% stake and a program participation fee of SGD15K.

At the end of the four-month program, startups will have a Demo Day where they will have the opportunity to pitch in front of investors, Tenity alumni, the local startup ecosystem builders, and corporate partners. Even after the program ends, we strive to continue working with partner companies to provide startups with additional opportunities for growth and development.

Until now, more than 350+ startups have gone through our programs (not incubation program specific), and these companies have successfully raised a total of approximately USD370m million in funding.

During the program, which startup left a memorable impression?

Several companies come to my mind. With Tenity, I executed about 8 programs, and met about 50 Korean startups through the program.

I would like to talk about one company that recently contacted me with happy news. This company was a part of 2022 K-Startup Center Singapore program Tenity supported. They are in cyber security and were trying to build a case in Singapore with a corporate partner.

Through us, they got connected with HPE (HP Enterprise) in Singapore and signed an NDA to work on a PoC case. This startup contacted me a few months ago and said that they were finally conducting a PoC after almost a year after their initial meeting. The news was indeed great and certainly something to celebrate, but at the same time I felt bad that it took almost a year to roll out this PoC case.

This is because you can see the concept of time can vary greatly between the fast-paced world of startups and the more deliberate timelines of large global corporations. Despite this, it’s truly rewarding to witness the remarkable growth and success stories.

Do you focus on investing in fintech or other sectors too?

Tenity’s pre-seed incubation program specifically targets early-stage startups within the domains of fintech, insurtech, regtech, and deeptech. Each cohort typically comprises around 10 startups, with a majority, about roughly 50%, representing traditional fintech. Insurtech ventures make up approximately 20-30%, Regtech also makes up around 20-30%, while the remainder are businesses offering finance-related services, even if they do not strictly fall under the fintech category.

What is the international investors’ assessment of Korean startups?

Korea has ranked top 10 on “Global Innovation Index” by World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) and is a home of not only BTS and Psy, but also 22 unicorns. These Korean unicorns are strong in Fintech, Internet software and ecommerce verticals. Not only the 22 unicorns, but also Korea has been a global leader in IT, having global companies like Samsung, LG and Hyundai among many others.

However, the fact that Korean startups are still concentrated in the domestic market of about 50 million population, the unique environment of Korean language use, and the fact that most startups having Korea as their primary market could act as an obstacle to entering the global market.

Most founders are experts in creating technologies, products, not global markets or network experts.

It is absolutely essential to have the Korean government’s support system in place, along with programs that facilitate global expansion, to ensure that Korean startups can thrive.

With these excellent initiatives, which are already accessible to Korean startups, the startups can utilize global accelerator programs and platforms for investment-related events. These resources create invaluable exposure, opening doors to potential opportunities to connect with global investors and industry partners.

What is this year’s Tenity program content and participation method?

I would like to mention three updates. First, the 1st Tenity Incubation program in 2024 is set to start this coming March, but the application for the 2^nd program will be soon available on the Tenity website.

Secondly, corporate partner collaboration programs are either currently underway or will start soon. The program partners will be Franklin Templeton, Ripple for XRPL acceleration program, Julius Baer, UBS and SIX so please refer to Tenity’s LinkedIn or website for more details.

Lastly, following our acquisition of Hackquarters last year, our network has grown to cover MENA, Europe and APACE Turkey. With this expansion, we are excited to roll out various programs aimed at fostering Korean startups global expansion.

Finally, what message would you like to convey to Korean startups?

Leveraging Tenity’s expansive network across MENA, Europe, and APAC, we look forward to supporting Korean startups in scaling up on a global platform. We will launch many exciting programs soon, so please keep an eye on Tenity’s website and LinkedIn page.

[Korean Startup Interview]

Choi Young-ju EN Fintech go global Insurtech Interview K startup center Korea Korean startup regtech Singapore SouthEast Asia Startup Together Tenity WOWTALK

AI Pioneer WiseAI Secures KRW 10 Billion in Series B Investment

네이버, 4개 법인 24년 신입 공채 실시(~3월18일)

One Comment

[Korean Startup Weekly News #8] Korea’s Startup Boom: Mega-Funding Highlights in February 2024 – 와우테일(WOWTALE)

2024-03-10

[…] [Korean Startup Interview] Choi Young-ju: Spearheading Korean Startups’ Global Expansion with Teni…Choi Young-ju, Partner Director at Tenity Singapore, supports Korean startups in global expansion, leveraging her international experience to facilitate their entry into Singapore, Europe, and the Middle East. […]

응답

와우테일(WOWTALE)