Category
- Opinions on the bass
Written by
Empty
Date
Mar 9, 2026
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a forum for sharing and discussing the fund's investment performance, portfolio status, fund strategy, and market outlook with investors.
On the morning of March 5th, the curtain rose on this year's BASS Ventures AGM (Annual General Meeting) as participants began to gather in front of the registration desk at The Great Hall in Chosun Palace Gangnam.
BASS Ventures's AGM is an annual gathering for our fund's contributors. In addition to sharing our achievements for the year, we also explain our current perspective on the world and where we're headed. And most importantly, we also introduce ourselves to the crazy entrepreneurs who are currently working with us.
Opening: Why, of all things, does it have to be a crazy dream?
With approximately 150 people in attendance, this AGM opened with the opening of BASS Ventures Karl Shin (CEO).
Launched in 2018, we've invested over 180 billion won in over 180 startups. There's one truth we've personally experienced: the fund's performance is ultimately driven by a vastly smaller portfolio, and those few are always driven by crazy entrepreneurs with crazy dreams. This was a time to reaffirm that our mission—to identify those individuals first and help them achieve their vision—is not just a slogan, but the very reason for our existence.
Band Announcement: The Story of Six People Making Crazy Dreams Great
The most anticipated event at the AGM is undoubtedly the band presentations, and this year, six teams took to the stage. (We call these portfolios "bands.")
Ad-Shield CEO Yoo Joo-won and Pickle CEO Park Chae-geun joined us online from the United States, while Gravity Labs CEO Kim Un-yeon, V1C CEO Do Eun-wook, Bone CEO Lee Do-kyung, and Boosters CEO Choi Yun-ho attended in person and each gave a 10-minute presentation on the following topics.
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Ad-Shield: 4 billion won in revenue per user, global adblock recovery
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Pickle: A Memory-Based AI Ecosystem That Understands My Life
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Gravity Labs: The Future of Global Healthcare
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V1C: Clobe, a finance, accounting, and banking OS for businesses
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Bone: Building the Backbone of 21st Century Industry
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Boosters: A New Standard in Commerce
While their fields and approaches varied, they all had one thing in common: no one talked about "moderate success." It was an incredibly rare and wonderful opportunity to hear from the most accomplished founders in Korea's startup ecosystem, all in one place, each striving to become the world's best or set new standards in their respective fields. Even in just ten minutes, the ambition and tenacity of these incredible founders was clearly conveyed, and I believe it truly conveyed why Base is working with these founders.
Keynote: Silicon Valley and Early-Stage Korean Startups
Following the band's presentation, EO CEO Kim Tae-yong delivered the keynote. EO, a bass band, is Korea's largest startup media company and a partner with us in co-operating the global pre-seed fund, Patriot Fund. Through his experience running EO House in San Francisco and closely observing numerous global entrepreneurs, CEO Kim shared his perspective on the current status of Korean early-stage startups in Silicon Valley, the potential they are creating, and the types of entrepreneurs Patriot Fund seeks to invest in.
Closing: What is BASS Focusing on in the AI Era?
Karl Shin (CEO), which came up again in the closing session, started with one question.
"What Does the AI Era Mean for Early-Stage VC Investments?"
We don't view AI as simply a hot sector. The structural gaps created by established companies' path-oriented approach and their lack of AI literacy within their organizations are opening up entirely new starting points for startups, and this, in turn, presents a tremendous opportunity for early-stage investors. The AI era is truly the age of the crazy entrepreneur. Now that the disruptive power that a small number of people can unleash is greater than ever, the task at hand has become even clearer.
So, we're narrowing our base and focusing more. Over the past year, approximately 90% of our new investments have been first-time institutional investments. We've said we'll focus on the very early seed stage, dedicating all our resources to identifying the most exceptional founders first. This means we're not just wholesalers who select products off the shelf, but rather, we're dedicated to being the go-to experts, directly digging for the best in the field.
Lunch and Networking
After all the presentations, a luncheon and networking session followed. As a token of our appreciation for your participation and contributions, we presented a commemorative package featuring the bass bands' products. While sharing the current state of bass is certainly important, the trust between individuals, beyond the investment numbers, is what makes this event so special every year.
(This year's souvenirs include Boosters' Equalberry skincare products and a key ring imbued with Lerici's craftsmanship.)
In conclusion
It's already been nearly eight years since BASS Ventures was founded. It was a truly special occasion this year, and I'm so grateful to have been able to share with the 150 or so people who have supported and cheered us on for so long, the thoughts and direction our base holds, and the stories of the teams who are dreaming crazy dreams and making them 100 times greater. I would also like to once again express my gratitude to everyone who worked hard to prepare this event.
We hope you will continue to watch over us as our crazy dreams become great!
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