beLaunch “Bigger Than It Seems”

As beSUCCESS is getting ready to launch their annual tech start-up conference this May 14-15th at DDP, here is a look back at what happened at last year’s groundbreaking conference…

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Seoul, South Korea – This year the theme for beLaunch, a start-up tech conference was “Bigger Than It Seems.” But beLaunch may have just outdone themselves by being bigger than anyone could have imagined. As conference speaker Soujanya Bhumkar, founder of Cooliris observed, “Koreans have a distinct fire in their belly and this raw passion to succeed…coupled with the country’s amazing infrastructure makes Korea an ideal breeding ground for entrepreneurs.”

And this was never more true than the past 2 days when Seoul hosted 50 world-class speakers, 1,000 entrepreneurs, and over 2,000 attendees from around the globe at the Dongdaemoon Design Plaza or DDP. With its urban neofuturistic design, DDP was the perfect backdrop to promote innovate thinking, creative conversations, and partnerships that will likely change and shape the future.

The Korean government has pledged to invest roughly $3.2 billion dollars in start-ups over the next 3 years and will provide monetary support to 50 Korean start-ups by the end of the year.

From easy typo correction solutions for smart phones, to technology that allows you to start your car with simply just your phone, to an app that offers personalized restaurant suggestions — all the ideas presented showed great promise and have already gained traction both locally and globally. This year, 20 start-ups pitched their ideas in front of an audience in the hopes of convincing venture capitalists, investors, and established businesses that they are onto the next big thing. Over the course of the conference, teams braved the event stage and were scrutinized by a panel of judges in hopes of winning the title of “Start-up Battle Winner”. In the end, a dating app called ChinChin walked away with top honors. Last year’s winner shakr.com closed out the event by sharing their successes and offering free advertisement space in Gangnam’s neon billboard to the top three submissions who use their affordable professional quality video making tool.

It is quite fitting that the winner of this year’s battle was a dating app. As the point of beLaunch is to bring start-ups and investors together in the hopes that a match is made. And indeed that is what event organizers hope will continue to happen even after everyone returns to their home countries. This has been Teri Ham reporting for TBS eFM 101.3.

nalda+Profile: Metro Make-over in France

PARIS, FRANCE – This year, French residents and tourists may be getting an early Christmas present. In a city known for its luxury and opulence, tourists often get a rude awakening when they discover that the subway system is anything but well maintained. Passengers of the public transportation system are often greeted by rude daily commuters, as well as humid and smelly hallways littered with trash.

However, there may be a big change on the horizon. RATP – which runs the Metro and other rail services around Paris – has pledged to invest 70 million Euro per year, over the next five years in a massive project to clean-up the thousands of trains that make-up the country’s public transportation system. Another 40 million Euro will be invested towards addressing the many leaks and humidity problems that the metro stations face – which often cause damage to the station platforms and add to the poor conditions of the already 100-year-old underground network.

In addition to the work performed by RATP’s cleaning staff, grime inspectors will now be performing 3,400 unannounced, monthly check-ups to maintain the new cleanliness & odor standards for all of Paris’ 366 stations.

The timeliness of this new initiative comes at a financially surprising time as it is reported that last year RATP lost 100 million Euro due to fare-dodgers. It appears the make-over of the metro system is not stopping with its physical appearance. The company has also recently published a rule book titled “An etiquette manual for the modern traveler” which contains 12 instructions educating passengers on proper metro etiquette. In addition to the manual, France’s rail company has already employed 3,000 inspectors or “politeness police” to monitor and educate passengers about such improper train etiquette as spitting, language, and placement of feet on seats.

So, whether you are a local resident or a tourist in town for the holidays, hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised by the concerted efforts of the public transit system to make your ride both cleaner and friendlier. This has been Teri Ham, reporting from Paris, France for TBS eFM.

Related Reports: A new change in France’s Start-up Scene

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Korea’s #1 Foreign Language Radio Station: TBS eFM 101.3

THIS MORNING with host Alex Jensen (Every weekeday from 7:05-9AM)

Producer:  Seul Kim / Writers:  Kyung-mi Choi, So Hyeon Park, Hyoung-Joo Choi

nalda+Tech: A new change in France’s Start-up Scene

PARIS, FRANCE – For most, Paris may be known as the fashion capital of the world, but for tech lovers it is the home of the latest le web conference. Le Web, tagged as the “place where revolutionaries gather to plot the future” has recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Today, LeWeb is recognized as the premier international conference for startups and entrepreneurs.   For 3 days, visionaries from around the world gather together to unlock the potential of where technology can take us in the next 10 years.

However, Paris was not always the most likely location for such an event in the past. In fact, French expats have been very vocal in stating that startups would be better off launching in London rather than Paris. French billionaire entrepreneur Xavier Niel has defended his city by countering, “We have a perception problem, you don’t need to get on a plane. It can happen here.”

Across Europe, public and private entities are offering cheap working spaces, special visas and even state aid to attract talented innovators to their countries. But some say France’s wealth taxes and complex labor laws may be an inhibitor to progress.   As Paris’s deputy mayor has pointed out, “France has had a horrible reputation among investors. We need to show foreign startups why they should come here.” And the city is doing just that.

Paris’s new startup-hub dubbed Numa is already catching wide media attention and is aiming to attract up to 45,000 visitors and 600 tech start-ups per year. The space is a breeding ground for talent from everyone from students to established entrepreneurs, and has even attracted funding from Google. Billionaire, Xavier Niel is also doing his part to aid in the efforts by helping to finance a $164 million project to convert a warehouse into what is projected to be the world’s largest startup incubator by 2016.

Many hope that these recent bold moves will spur economic growth. The finance ministry estimates that the country’s GDP can increase upto a ½ % just by expanding its startup sector.

There is no doubt that there is a new momentum in France’s start-up scene; and only time will tell if these new platforms will bring lasting economic change. This has been Teri Ham, reporting from Paris, France for TBS eFM.

GlobeTrotter Reporter for TBS eFM 101.3

____________________________________________________________________________

Korea’s #1 Foreign Language Radio Station: TBS eFM 101.3

THIS MORNING with host Alex Jensen (Every weekeday from 7:05-9AM)

Producer:  Seul Kim / Writers:  Kyung-mi Choi, So Hyeon Park, Hyoung-Joo Choi

 

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