[Startup Institute Lecture Series #5] ‘Impact Investment and Advice for Entrepreneurs’ – Sopoong Ventures Co., Ltd. CEO Han Sang-yeop 

The fifth lecture of the Lecture Series, organized by Korea University Business School (Dean=Jae Wook Kim) Startup Institute (Director: Hojung Shin), was held on October 13^th  (Tue). The Lecture Series is part of the Seung Myung-Ho Center for Entrepreneurship Education, an educational institution within the Startup Institute, and is a lecture by start-up mentors who actively work in the field.

The special lecture titled "Impact Investment and Advice for Entrepreneurs" by CEO of Soopoong Ventures Han Sang-yeop, was conducted as a real-time online lecture due to the COVID-19.
 

Sopoong Ventures Co., Ltd., which CEO Han Sang-yeop has been a representative partner since 2016, makes ‘impact investments.’ Impact investments are investments that focus on social values and takes the form of an existing financial investment but considers what kind social value is created by the firm that receives the investment. CEO Han claims that the identity of Sopoong Venture Co., Ltd isan ‘impact accelerator’. This means that it will not only provide financial investments but also provide support for companies that have received investments to grow and "accelerate."
 

CEO Han explained that impact investment does not just mean 'good investment'. Impact investments are located above the spectrum between financial and social values, thus setting the balance between the two values can be different for each investor. Also, paying attention to social values does not mean that the rate of returns is falling. The return of return on impact investment is said to be higher than the market average. Due to the characteristics of millennials and Z generation that put high value on social values, impact investment has been growing rapidly not only globally but also in Korea for the recent 1~2 years.

As an investor with start-up experience, CEO Han offered advice for prospective entrepreneurs, such as △define the problems and solutions, △set short-term goals, and understand the competitive environment. He then wrapped up his lecture by introducing investment processes that students need to know as a prospective entrepreneur, and standards for evaluating entrepreneurs from the perspective of an impact investor.