[Video] From Fitness Trainer to Start-up Mentee

Samsung Newsroom — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 10:00:52 +0000

In 2016, Se-don Hwang, a bodybuilder who had successfully undergone rehabilitation treatment, built upon this experience and started a company called ‘Strong Friend’. Following the establishment of his company, Hwang worked hard to develop novel at-home workout solutions and smart healthcare products. However, as he struggled with practical problems such as prototype funding and making durability improvements, Hwang soon found that creative ideas and passionate execution aren’t always enough to set one apart in the highly competitive ‘start-up jungle’.

With his company on its last legs in 2018, the news that the Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI) was holding its ‘G-STARt UP! Pitch Day’ caught Hwang’s attention. He signed up for the competition, and went on to win first place. As a result, Hwang was selected as one of the ‘G-Star Dreamers’ as part of Samsung’s C-Lab Outside.

Based on the lessons he learned from program mentors that included Samsung Electronics employees with relevant expertise, Hwang has been able to enhance the durability and safety of his products. Looking ahead, the start-up founder’s next goal is to expand his company’s supply chain globally. Check out the video below to see how the ‘G-Star Dreamers’ program has helped Hwang revitalize his business and continue striving towards his dream.

[Video] How Samsung Helped a Promising Startup Find New Life

Samsung Newsroom — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 10:28:58 +0000

A lot can change in a year and a half. Just ask NaHyeon Lee, CEO of the groundbreaking pharmacy management platform eBlue Channel. Eighteen months after a shortage of funds had pushed eBlue Channel to the brink of closure, the startup was reborn as one of the most promising venture companies in South Korea’s Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

When she established eBlue Channel in 2016, Lee’s biggest concern was her lack of experience. Before starting her startup, she was the owner of a “gukbap” (rice soup) restaurant, and later, a convenience store. Even with a brilliant idea for streamlining the management of pharmacies’ drug inventories, not to mention boundless passion, for Lee, getting the business off the ground was an exercise in trial and error.

Facing increasing expenses and stagnant sales, the firm was nearly on the verge of emptying its office when G-Star Dreamers, a Samsung C-lab Outside program run by the Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI), caught Lee’s eye. Created specifically to discover and nurture startups, the program provides promising businesses with necessary funding from both Gyeongsangbuk-do’s provincial government and Samsung.

Through its participation in the program, eBlue Channel received six months of one-on-one training with Samsung experts, as well as a year of follow-up consultations covering everything from software development to on-site and organizational management. The program ultimately enabled eBlue Channel to increase its customer base by 15 times, and boost its projected sales figure to KRW 1.4 billion – 10 times higher than last year.

Check out the video below to see how Samsung and CCEI helped a passionate entrepreneur make her brilliant idea a reality.

G-Star Dreamers – Samsung Global Newsroom

[Video] From Fitness Trainer to Start-up Mentee

[Video] How Samsung Helped a Promising Startup Find New Life