500 Korea’s Seed Program
We believe in great founders. We help them thrive.
Since 2015, the 500 Korea family of funds has invested in 50+ startups. We aim to make active seed investments in Korean companies so that Korean entrepreneurs can grow in the global market. Among the Korean portfolio companies are Spoon Radio, People Fund, Finda, Dano, OP.GG, Catch Fashion, Closet Share, Saib & Co., Newneek, Veluga, Payple, Dive Studio, Storicity, Sankun, Wonder Weeks Company, and Big Wavv.
What do startups get out of the program?
Mentorship & Network
You'll receive 3 weeks of 1:1 mentoring led by 500's global mentors, as well as the opportunity to attend 500 Korea's exclusive lectures and networking events. You will have access to the 500 team, seasoned entrepreneurs, and experienced industry experts to give feedback and offer guidance.
Money
Selected companies may receive investment of up to USD $250,000. We charge KRW5 million (~US $4,150) to participate.
Additional Perks
We offer our portfolio companies a variety of perks from companies we've partnered with. You'll have access to perks and credits from companies like Salesforce, Airtable, Notion, Google Cloud, AWS, Hubspot, Azure, IBM, Intercom, and more may be available from time to time.
Timeline Overview
What you should expect
1-8 weeks
Open applications
Once companies have submitted their applications, we review each of them individually on a first come first served basis.
1 week
Finding the right fit
After the initial application review, selected applicants will be asked to attend a face-to-face session with the team. We’ll then narrow down our top picks and the remaining applications will have a private interview with a 500 Korea partner.
2 weeks
Deep-dive sessions
Two pre-program sessions are held before the program begins to diagnose and understand the current situation of each participating company. Founders will be able to connect with the 500 Korea team members and a lead mentor, focusing on their product/service and their goals for the program.
These sessions allow us to make tweaks and customise our program curriculum to ensure companies get the most out of the program.
3 weeks
Learn from the best
Apply Today →Participating companies will receive mentoring on a variety of topics, which may include target customer analysis, sales funnel, growth marketing, product launch strategies, profit models, and capital attraction strategies. The bootcamp-style training program focuses on KPIs to achieve the next stage (from Seed to Pre-Series A) and is designed with the aim to achieve positive results for startups in a short period.
Peggy
Collectiv CEO
During the 3 weeks of Seed Program, Collectiv team dealt with customer behavior tracking, data analysis, and hypothesis verification with the goal of finding the PMF with three mentors.
Kate
Pawdly CEO
During the 3 weeks, the Pawdly team was able to interview various business partners to determine the key feature to enter the market, and signed important partnerships with pet workplaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are looking for early-stage startups with 2 or more team members from all sectors. We strive to be sector-agnostic. Teams are able to apply even if they have been invested, incubated, or accelerated elsewhere. Selection criteria include your team’s composition and capabilities, market opportunities, and overall growth potential. Teams have to be headquartered in Korea or be run by a Korean founder to be eligible.