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This article was written by our intern, Chanwoong Park, who has worked with us for the past six months.
Chanwoong led the college student support project with genuine passion for entrepreneurship, and his thoughtful research always impressed not only us, but also the startup teams working with us. We sincerely thank Chanwoong Park for the tremendous help he gave us.
Chanwoong led the college student support project with genuine passion for entrepreneurship, and his thoughtful research always impressed not only us, but also the startup teams working with us. We sincerely thank Chanwoong Park for the tremendous help he gave us.
Does that make sense? Can you really do it?
This is what someone once said to me, when I was dreaming of starting my own business. I’ve had ambitions and goals for entrepreneurship since high school. During my military service, I formed a team with five fellow KAIST students and spent a year and a half taking on a startup challenge. I used every bit of free time—personal breaks, holidays, going out, overnight leaves—to develop a construction equipment sharing platform and technology, and even tested it in the real market. But the things people said to me during that process cut deep. As I kept wondering, 'Am I really able to do this right now?', my confidence gradually faded.
But what I heard at Base was different.
1.
More important than a startup item is who does it and how.
2.
More important than your current ability is how big a dream you have, and how relentlessly you chase after it.
The words of CEO Yunho Shin from Base struck a deep chord with me. Working with an organization like Base convinced me that I could really grow, so I applied for an internship. Thankfully, I joined the investment team as an intern right after completing my military service. What meant the most to me over the past six months was having the initiative and leading the <University Student Entrepreneur Support Project>.
What we believe
Base believes that even greater college student entrepreneurs will emerge from Korea going forward.
College entrepreneurs might lack hands-on experience, organizational background, and social capital. It's an inherent disadvantage. But what they have in abundance is passion and energy. They pursue challenges outside conventional wisdom. They're instinctively attuned to new trends. Most of all, they dare to have big dreams, dreams that may seem unrealistic to others. And they can immerse themselves with persistence to achieve those ambitious goals. From the perspective of ‘who does it and how’, Base believes that college entrepreneurs have the potential for tremendous growth.
College entrepreneurs might lack hands-on experience, organizational background, and social capital. It's an inherent disadvantage. But what they have in abundance is passion and energy. They pursue challenges outside conventional wisdom. They're instinctively attuned to new trends. Most of all, they dare to have big dreams, dreams that may seem unrealistic to others. And they can immerse themselves with persistence to achieve those ambitious goals. From the perspective of ‘who does it and how’, Base believes that college entrepreneurs have the potential for tremendous growth.
Base wants to be there from the very first step with college entrepreneurs, and grow alongside them.
Just as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had Sheryl Sandberg (a working mom of two who introduced the ad business model to Facebook when it had no revenue model, and turned it into a profitable company), and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had Eric Schmidt (the guiding adult who helped transform Google from a small startup into the world’s top mobile firm), we want to become a social asset and a strong supporter to college entrepreneurs, helping where they're lacking.
Just as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had Sheryl Sandberg (a working mom of two who introduced the ad business model to Facebook when it had no revenue model, and turned it into a profitable company), and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had Eric Schmidt (the guiding adult who helped transform Google from a small startup into the world’s top mobile firm), we want to become a social asset and a strong supporter to college entrepreneurs, helping where they're lacking.
What we do
Since 2022, Base has been working to become 'social capital' for college entrepreneurs. We’ve collaborated on 30 projects in total—through lectures, office hours, judging panels, and event sponsorships—for 12 university startup clubs. It was like ‘preparing the soil’ so college entrepreneurs could grow. In 2023, we shifted to 'watering that soil and letting the sun shine on it.' A prime example is the 'Base Investment Open Session' held on July 1.
Base is surrounded by many outstanding founders. These include Taeyang Lee, co-founder of Toss and Growth Partner at Base; Ji-hyun Won, co-founder of Watcha and Growth Advisor to Base; and Hee-min Choi, CEO of Lapo Labs, whom Base has invested in four times. Here’s what they share in common: (1) they took on startups while still in college and (2) they've each experienced the sting of failure as well as the exhilaration of explosive growth. We thought, “If anyone can offer real help to college students dreaming of startups, it’s them.” (We’d like to take this chance to thank all three for generously sharing their time.)
Base Investment Open Session Speaker
What we found
On Saturday, July 1, over 150 college students dreaming of entrepreneurship and three founders gathered in one place. Since it was our first open session (and a bit of an experiment for us), we hosted lectures for four student startup organizations we were supporting: SNUSV.NET at Seoul National University, INSIDERS at Yonsei and Korea Universities, FOUNDERS (an alliance of several university startup clubs), and NEXT at Korea University. We initially expected about 50 to 60 attendees, but with more than 180 signing up after our survey, the event turned out much bigger than planned.
Open session site
The topic of the open session was <What I Would Tell My College Self Just Starting Out in Entrepreneurship>. Speed is important, but going in the right direction is even more crucial. We tried our best to share, based on the experiences of the three speakers, how to set the right direction. The main points were as follows.
1.
Taeyang Lee (Toss Co-founder & Base Growth Partner):
“There’s no magic formula for a successful startup. These days, you can study any methodology online, but there’s so much information that it’s even harder to focus on the essence. Don’t get lost in flashy extra features—focus on the core of your market and your product.”
“There’s no magic formula for a successful startup. These days, you can study any methodology online, but there’s so much information that it’s even harder to focus on the essence. Don’t get lost in flashy extra features—focus on the core of your market and your product.”
2.
Ji-hyun Won (Watcha Co-founder & Base Growth Advisor):
“It’s the doers that make the difference. Only those moving forward are really in competition. If you’re sure about starting a business, take the leap and choose a playing field that’s big—something with real scale—and take on that challenge.”
“It’s the doers that make the difference. Only those moving forward are really in competition. If you’re sure about starting a business, take the leap and choose a playing field that’s big—something with real scale—and take on that challenge.”
3.
Hee-min Choi (Lapo Labs Founder & CEO): “To minimize trial and error in early startups, you’ve got to keep experimenting, even if the experiments aren’t perfect. The real key is customer experience based on retention and conversion rates. Early-stage startups are guaranteed to struggle. That’s why you need a strong, resilient team that can weather the storm.”
Lecture by CEO Hee-min Choi of Lapo Labs
Even though it was over 34 degrees, the atmosphere was even more heated. For five hours, students’ eyes sparkled, hands shot up for questions, and people sought out speakers even during breaks. After the event, everyone was discussing the lecture content together. Witnessing all this, I could really feel the passion and energy of these college entrepreneurs.
Advisor Ji-hyun Won and College Entrepreneurs
The reaction from the college students who attended the open session was truly amazing. The satisfaction score (NPS) hit a remarkable 80 points. According to Bain & Company, who first introduced NPS, a score above 80 is considered world-class. Comments included, “That was a crazy lecture,” “It almost felt wrong to get this much value for free,” and “I’ve attended a lot of talks, but never one as jam-packed with legendary speakers and content as this one.”
Open Session Feedback Collection
Knock on our door
Base’s support project for college entrepreneurs has only just begun. When student entrepreneurs set out on their journey, Base will be right there by their side. We hope to be the trigger that helps them grow. I’m truly grateful that, during my internship, I was able to be part of a process that gave real, practical help to student entrepreneurs. To every college entrepreneur out there—please, knock on our door at Base.
Together with college entrepreneurs
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