How is Kakaoventures, Korea’s early stage Venture Capital, envisioning the future in 2019? One of the big surprises of attending YC Demo Day last March was seeing how international the YC batch has become. They have , although 76.8% of the companies do come from the states. However, this serves as a sign of what’s to come — instead of exclusively having a few from US and China dominate the startup scene. funded startups from 53 countries to date we will begin to see the rise of unicorns from the international community YC Alumni Map ( ) source Hence, the natural question that arises is ? What are the innovations being funded in smaller countries, such as Korea, that what is happening in countries outside of US currently boasts 9 unicorns so far? To answer this question, I composed what a typical day will look like if Kakaoventures’ 2019 investments all succeeded. Kakaoventures was selected because it lead the way in 2018 with 43 new investments. For non-Koreans, I hope that this could help one see what problems Koreans are trying to solve to create a better future. The , not for a specific subset of the world population ( ). difference in culture leads to different interpretations of the problem, which I believe will help tech to be built for all i.e. 23andme used to struggle with genes of people of color For Koreans, I hope that this could serve as a way to see if there is a fit with Kakaoventures, who are working towards changing how VCs work by and . co-piloting the founders’ journey to accelerate the future of technology ensure that everyone on the plane enjoys the ride Shina, the CEO of Kakaoventures, is creating a new culture of how VCs work in Korea ( ) source Imagine waking up with a text from your workout buddies ( ) that instead of working out indoors, it will be taken outdoors thanks to the great weather. So you open up the curtains and see the clear skies with no one wearing a mask, as if pollution never existed ( ). butfit AweXome Ray As you walk out, you get a text from your workout buddies that one of the new members has just been diagnosed with cancer. To brighten up your group, you call and recite the to order breakfast that is good for those who are recovering from cancer. By setting the delivery time to when the workout ends, you gift everyone with a pleasant surprise! Open The Table recipes from Dr. Kitchen After a solid exercise with your crew, you see a really cute bento box on your way back, so you decide to buy one and store your daughter’s breakfast in that box ( ). And once she sees it, she writes her name all over it so that the whale bento box will forever be hers :) Social Bean It’s an actual whale bento box! ( ) source After eating, you tell your daughter that a new teacher will be coming in later today. You forward her the ‘matched’ message you received from the app and wander what she will learn from an Oxford grad who studied contemporary literature major ( ). Knowing that the teacher you matched with is trending right now, you are excited to see what your daughter will learn from the 1:1 session. Jaranda Once you get to work, you meet with your fellow influencers who are ready to broadcast to all their fans today without opening a bunch of live streaming sites ( ). They start their day playing Project N1, which has become the next Fortnite and began a new streak of Korean games topping the charts. restream As the day goes by, some of your influencers lead a new game intro session thanks to the P.C. room partnership, which amasses a new gaming crowd that makes your company go viral that day ( ). As you celebrate, you get a text from your daughter that she has written a new story for you on . Luni Media Chatie You freak out after she tells you that its a horror story, as that is one genre you can’t handle. However, as it is your daughter’s story, you gently go to the restroom holding your breath and almost faint reading it, wandering if she’s the . second coming of Mary Shelley Future stories may be written with a bunch of chat bubbles ( ) source Your mother than sends you a text that she received a notification from her car app, along with a cute message, “help, I don’t know what to do.” ( ) You gently smile and message her back that you have ordered her car to get to the closest repair shop, as you attached its self driving radar last week ( ). Macarong smart radar system After a crazy day of work, you go to a nearby restaurant, where the Kakaoventures family awaits you and other founders. As you debrief with your family members (what Kakaoventures calls other founders who received their investment), you learn that your workout buddy is actually one of the 140 family members and that he spread the rumor of your good deed. So the dinner ends up becoming a party, where you are rewarded with one of the “Family Awards,” as “the caring soul.” You then leave with a speech about how the generosity that you felt at these family days is what inspired you to do what you did and get smacked by a cake to celebrate it ( ). yes, that’s how we actually celebrate in Korea There goes the cake! ( ) source After the party, your team congratulates you and tells you to take a day off, as it is actually your birthday tomorrow. Elated, you tell your daughter to find the place she wants to go through , as you never had the time to plan out your trip. Your daughter chooses Hong Kong because she likes how the name rhymes (after all, she is the second coming of Mary Shelley). Tripstore Once you arrive at HK the next day, you are greeted at the airport by people who not only give you cash exchanged at best rates for a minimal fee (less than 1%), but also a local card connected to your phone ( ). Then you wear your smart glasses with your daughter to have a local guide in Korea lead you throughout Hong Kong so that you could have your best trip! ( ) Mobile toong Spatial From a story made from Kakaoventures’ investments this year, one could see that each startup is solving a clear need that will make our future better. Despite the limited number of venture capitalists in Korea, founders are working relentlessly to push their creative ideas into fruition. I hope that this encourages those from the states to look at international startups more to encourage . This will not only encourage competition, but also serve more diverse needs so that more people will be empowered to do what they couldn’t do through technology and solutions unconventional to those in the valley hopefully make technology inclusive for all.

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How is Korea’s early stage VC, KakaoVentures, envisioning the future in 2019?

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