SMEs ministry launches startup community to connect founders

The SMEs ministry held a launching ceremony Wednesday for All of Us Startup Community, a program connecting founders with experienced mentors and peers. The event took place at the Seoul Startup Venture Campus in Mapo-gu.

About 100 attendees, including government officials and senior entrepreneurs, gathered to outline operational plans and appoint club leaders. The ministry structured the community into three programs: a mentorship club where veterans transfer practical know-how, a peer feedback group for active challengers, and regional events to build local networks.

Kim Jae-won, chief executive of Ellis and chair of the Korea Startup Forum, shared his experiences of overcoming early crises through industry connections. The ministry formally appointed Kim along with Kwon Sung-taek of T.O.ther and Yoo Jeong-soo of Glow Seoul as club leaders to support pre-stage and early-stage startups.

Participants broke into small groups during roundtable sessions to discuss specific business concerns, allowing senior and junior founders to establish direct lines of communication.

Following the Seoul launch, the ministry will hold regional community events in Daejeon, Gwangju and Busan from Friday through Sunday. Additional mentorship sessions featuring leaders from Happy Monday and My Real Trip are scheduled for later this month, with broader programming set to expand in October through the All of Us Startup Platform website.

"This launching ceremony is a precious first step in laying the foundation for exchange between senior and junior entrepreneurs," said Cho Kyung-won, the ministry's director general for startup policy. He added that the department aims to establish a culture of continuous communication among diverse ecosystem members so that starting a business becomes recognized as a challenge undertaken together.