Friday, January 20, 2017

Week 1_Anya Reames


Have Startups made Korea what it is today?

In today’s socioeconomic times, startups are creating a big movement. They are defining our lives and influencing our culture in a rapid manner. They have become more than simple business opportunities, they have become a part of our lives. On a financial side, startups are becoming increasingly appealing and we constantly hear about people’s success. They have motivated a whole new generation of entrepreneurs. To create a startup, one must understand what they are getting into. A startup is a newly established business. However, this is a very simply explanation. As stated by co-CEO of Warby Parker Mr. Blumenthal, “A startup is a company working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed.”(1) Warby Parker itself fulfilled a need by providing quality glasses at an affordable rate. The key in this is that it is working to solve a problem. Many people might create a business simply in hopes of taking some of an already existent market but not solving a problem. This may or may not fall under people’s definition of a startup, but in this case, it seems to fall short. However, startups, if successful, often do provide great financial abundance. This is something that allowed Korea to have such a mark on the world.

Korea, after the war with the United States, had a somewhat negative image. In time, it could remake its image and achieve a higher level of comfort for their people by investing in technical and pop cultural innovations. (2) The country has become so famous for both reasons mentioned that they have begun to influence the world. If Korea wanted to ramp up its image even more it could provide aid to struggling countries by Korean brand startups or aid. This would increase the positive image others have of it worldwide. Korea has already made a move towards this by creating an accelerator program for international startups to make its tech industry more diverse. (3)

Question: Do you think that Startups will eventually diminish as problems are solved?
(Evolution of a StartUp)

Citations
2)      Hong, Eung. 2014. The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture. Picador: New York




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