[2021 Startup Station Lecture Series #3] BE THE SEED – “Startups are our companion”

The third round of the 2021 Startup Station Lecture Series, hosted by KUBS (Dean=Jongseok Bae) Startup Station (Director=Hojung Shin), was held on May 4^th. The Lecture Series is a program organized by the Entrepreneurship Academy of Seung Myung-ho Entrepreneurship Education Center, the educational department of Startup Station. Various Startup mentors are invited to give lectures in this series of events.

In this event, CEO Yuhwan Lee of BE THE SEED gave a lecture on the topic “Startup Accelerating and Investment Environment.” The lecture was broadcasted online due to Covid19.

BE THE SEED is a Company Builder that discovers, commercializes, and accelerates competent business ideas designed by entrepreneurs. Before joining BE THE SEED, CEO Yuhwan Lee had been working for a major company and went through two times of failure in starting a business. However, he mentioned that he was not interested in the stratup at the time he was a student at Korea University. He stated, “After graduation, I jumped into the world of startups while working for a company. As a result of several twists and turns, I finally joined BE THE SEED.”

CEO Lee added, “As a ‘Company Builder,’ BE THE SEED considers investment as a part of the whole development process. In other words, Company Builder doesn’t only invest money, but is more like a ‘companion’ to startups.” BE THE SEED discovers competent early-stage startups, thereby providing them customized development consulting in business areas such as branding, networking, advertisement, and operation. This enables them to attract seed investments that will help the startup gain stability. The major source of profit of BE THE SEED is the compensation for management and achievement that occurs in this process.

CEO Lee also introduced cases of failure and success that he experienced while he was involved in Company Building. He explained how in one case, the absence of a leader and conflicting ideas among members caused a failure even before they started operating. On the other hand, “Hong Madam,” a brand of BE THE SEED, was introduced as a successful case where they were able to gain profit and benefit from advertisement effect through Instagram Live.

As a startup mentor, CEO Lee advised on what to expect when starting a business. He mentioned the pros and cons of partnership, as well as how hierarchy is organized in a team. Also, he stated that startups should think about why they need to start a business, and how they will operate a business.

Moreover, he explained the factors to consider when choosing a business item, the difference between a general business and a startup, and the point of differentiation of BE THE SEED. A Q&A session followed. CEO Lee concluded the lecture by comparing business to a “fight,” stating that “It’s not that the stronger one survives; the one who survives is the stronger.”

Article | Sunwoo Lee (School of Media & Communication 18^th)

Photo | KUBS Startup Station