Expat Startups

Today we Pankaj Agarwal on the show with us. Pankaj is the founder of Taghive, a tech company which bridges the gap between physical and digital worlds to provide interactive play & learning experiences for kids. Their flagship product is the Class Saathi which is an Affordable Classroom Clicker Solution to combat the dropout rate of kids in primary schools across India. Taghive is based in South Korea with operations in India and the startup is seed-Funded by Samsung Ventures. Pankaj has helped to successfully launch 2 additional toy products and has also filed 21 IPs of which 9 are already registered. Pankaj is originally from India, where he received his engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and also holds an MBA degree from Harvard.  You can check out http://tag-hive.com/ to learn more about Pankaj's startup and also subscribe to ExpatStartups.com and tune in to more stories. In today's episode we discuss the following:  Originally business idea before forming Taghive Creating a hardware and software solution Building the solution: Class Saathi (Saathi in Indian is Friend) Targeting India as core market Identifying business partners to sell to schools in Korea Differences between the two markets served Pricing products strategically against competitors To do a business you need  people, money, and the right Idea Offline solution is necessary in India Majority of startup costs were development costs Working with an Indian Marketing Agency Education differences in Korea / India / US Emphasis on Academys in Korea vs. global Challenges of running a business as an expat in Korea Comfort zone shrinks everyday Learn by trial and error Understand the industry that you operate in  THANKS FOR LISTENING! If you liked what you heard, please give us your feedback and review on your favorite podcast platform, it would mean so much. Check us out at ExpatStartups.com or get in touch with us on FB: fb.com/ExpatStartups Expat Startups is brought to you and hosted by Jun Yoon.

Ryu Dang is the co-founder of Bitgosu, one of the largest cryptocurrency media platforms in Korea. His cofounder is one of Korea's biggest social media influencers in the cryptocurrency + blockchain space, who goes by the name of Spunky. Together Ryu and Spunky founded Bitgosu delivering content related to blockchain through Youtube and 2 of the largest financial TV channels in Korea with a reach of over 15 million korean viewers. Bitgosu also offers seminars on how to trade cryptocurrency and hosts many events around blockchain at their studio and headquarter in Gangnam.  Ryu was born in Vietnam and is a Belgian citizen. He founded several businesses in Europe and Asia prior to launching Bitgosu. In this episode we discuss why Ryu chose to start the business in Korea, the business model of Bitgosu, and all things related to crypto market trends along with the challenges of running his business.  In this episode, we discuss the following: How and why Ryu came to Korea How Bitgosu was formed Events offered at Bitgosu and Spunky’s live Youtube streams, technical Analysts, updates on ICOs and acclerating projects (Nexo, Coinbit) Cost of Seminars are free Business model for Bitgosu Crypto market trends from 2017-present Founder roles and managing staff of 20 employees Macro perspective of Bitcoin and why BTC will do well in 2020 (1st-2nd-3rd bitcoin halving) Predictions, opportunities, and concerns for crypto market Possible effects of Bitcoin Halving Challenges of running a business as an Expat 2020 plans: Become the crypto landmark of Korea Due diligence team during listing (never below ICO price) Crypto space is still in infancy THANKS FOR LISTENING! If you liked what you heard, please give us your feedback and review on your favorite podcast platform, it would mean so much. Check us out at ExpatStartups.com or get in touch with us on FB: fb.com/ExpatStartups Expat Startups is brought to you and hosted by Jun Yoon.

Learn how Tai Kersten works in the decentralized asset space to build tools, smart contracts, and products for companies looking to adopt blockchain technology into their business model. Together with his co-founders Mike De’Shazer and David VanIsacker, Tai is working with Quorum, a technology introduced by JP Morgan, to build out concepts for trade financing, education, and developer quality of life.  Tai is an American expat originally from Montana and is an avid supporter and fan of cryptocurrencies and its underlying tech, Tai hopes to help bring the next generation of decentralized finance to South Korea.  In this episode, we discuss the following: What is a smart contract and how does it work? Definition and purpose of D-apps (Decentralized apps) and D-fi (decentralized finance) Introduction to the gateway application (Tau) How does Proof generate revenue? (fee structure, messenger free) Opening the code on Github for developers, designers Participating in events (Hackathans, Devcon) to interface and gain insight with people in the space Founding team members Possible recession in 2020 Looking back at how etrade/scottrrade was perceived vs. Ethereum/bitcoin Regulatory, financial, and technologist viewpoints of blockchain technology Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies by Andreas Antonopoulos “South Korea doesn’t need Blockchain” - Andreas Antonopoulos Less presence of D-fi/d-apps in Korea Quick adoption and quick abandoning trends in Korea San Francisco as global tech leader in blockchain Blockchain events: Block Show, Dev Con, Korea Blockchain Week Pros and cons of being an expat in Korea Don’t just take advice - learn by doing. THANKS FOR LISTENING! If you liked what you heard, please give us your feedback and review on your favorite podcast platform, it would mean so much. Check us out at ExpatStartups.com or get in touch with us on FB: fb.com/ExpatStartups Expat Startups is brought to you and hosted by Jun Yoon.

Learn how Thomas Sommer launched a K-pop entertainment agency in Korea, combining a creative arts academy with a music production studio that helps incubate, train, and manage creators.  Thomas is originally from Strasbourg, France and has over 8 years of experience in startups, mobile, and adtech.  In this episode, we discuss the following: How the academy business was formed in Korea Challenges in forming and launching the business Business model of entertainment agency Curriculums and classes available Monetizing the business from the beginning Revenue stream opportunities Expenses and startup capital required Life as an expat in Seoul THANKS FOR LISTENING! If you liked what you heard, please give us your feedback and review on your favorite podcast platform, it would mean so much. Check us out at ExpatStartups.com or get in touch with us on FB: fb.com/ExpatStartups Expat Startups is brought to you and hosted by Jun Yoon.

Learn how Hindson and Robbie started one of the biggest recreational sports communities for expats in Korea. They are building a business to become the hub of sports in Korea by offering a variety of sports including basketball, volleyball, and dodgeball events with over 3000+ members from over 30 different nations. let’s jump right in to hear how they started their business in Korea. They also operate Project Ball Academy, working directly with international schools and local businesses providing sports training classes for students while helping students to develop fundamental skills on-and-off the courts. In this episode, we discuss the following: * Hiring and staffing for team * Oasis visa (D-8 visa - $100-$200K investment) enrolled in program (classes, info, IP, etc.) * Monetizing business through memberships, sponsorships, partnerships * Forming the YMCA of Korea * Forming the team process for sports events * Meetups, Using Naver (Google of Korea) for Marketing, partnering with Classting * Doing what you love * Tips for running business in Korea THANKS FOR LISTENING! If you liked what you heard, please give us your feedback and review on your favorite podcast platform, it would mean so much. Check us out at ExpatStartups.com or get in touch with us on FB: fb.com/ExpatStartups Expat Startups is brought to you and hosted by Jun Yoon.