Gangwon Startups Meet Directly with Investors… 17 Companies Assess 'Growth Potential'

For local startups, the first hurdle in attracting investment is securing opportunities to meet investors. Even with strong business performance and technological capabilities, a lack of contact with investment institutions makes it difficult to objectively assess market potential and growth possibilities or to advance to the next investment stage. This is especially true for early-stage companies, where not only the investment funds themselves but also the process of validating the business model from an investor's perspective and concretizing strategies for market entry and fundraising is crucial.

To provide such opportunities, the Gangwon Innovation Center for Creative Economy (CEO Lee Hae-jeong, hereinafter the Gangwon Innovation Center) organized a venue to connect local companies with investors. On the 31st, the Center held the 'August LIPS Investor Day' at Commons Field Chuncheon to enhance the investment attraction capabilities of startups in the province and support their connection with investment institutions.

LIPS Investor Day is a regular investment attraction program where promising small business owners and startups in the Gangwon region meet directly with investment institutions, such as private accelerators (ACs) and venture capital firms (VCs), to assess business viability and discuss investment possibilities.

Approximately 30 people participated in the event, including 17 promising companies from the Gangwon region and representatives from professional investment institutions. The participating companies held one-on-one consultations with investment analysts to review their current business models and growth potential, and discussed market entry strategies and financing plans.

Seven specialized investment firms participated in this Investor Day, including the Gangwon Creative Economy Innovation Center, Gangwon National University Technology Holdings, Company X, Sopung Ventures, Digital Healthcare Partners (DHP), Star Ventures, and the Impact Foundation.

Investment institutions reviewed the technological capabilities, marketability, and growth potential of each company and proposed scale-up strategies tailored to their specific business stage and circumstances. For the companies, the event was designed to go beyond one-sided IR presentations and allow them to individually review their business models with investment managers, thereby identifying the key factors evaluated during the actual investment review process.

In particular, this program focused on diagnosing the investment potential of companies and concretizing future growth strategies, rather than on one-off meetings between local businesses and investment institutions. The Gangwon Innovation Center regularly operates LIPS Investor Day to support local startups and small business owners in establishing connections with the private investment market.

Lee Hae-jeong, CEO of the Gangwon Creative Economy Innovation Center, stated, “LIPS Investor Day serves as a key channel for outstanding companies in the province to communicate with investment experts on-site and secure subsequent growth engines,” adding, “We will further revitalize the investment ecosystem in the Gangwon region through continuous follow-up support.”