YU Start-up Incubation Center teams up with consulting company to help enter ‘start-up’ markets
Implemented ‘YU-VPT’ program… Online sales of virtual products to ‘pre-confirm marketability’
Participated by 12 companies to launch new products and succeeded in increasing clients... Some companies increase sales
[December 18, 2017]
<‘Nuri T&P’, a precision parts production technology start-up, participated in YU’s Start-up Incubation Center’s YU-VPT and succeeded in the commercialization of ‘Metal Powder Jettison Technology’.>
Start-ups pursuing industry-academic cooperation with YU successfully entered the market one after the other. Many start-ups successfully launched new products or increased their client based. Some companies even recorded 150% growth in sales compared to the previous half year and are showing signs of hitting the jackpot.
The common denominator of these companies are that they are start-ups that entered the market by applying the ‘YU-VPT (Yeungnam University-Value Proposition Test’ designed by the YU Start-up Incubation Center. The ‘YU-VPT’ is a ‘customer value verification test’ for new venture companies being pursued by the YU Start-up Incubation Center together with Insightors, a business model innovation consulting company.
YU Start-up Incubation Center Director Park Chang-hyun said, “According to a press release by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, 85% of start-up companies closed down within three years. The major cause of this is because it does not launch products wanted by the market. Through the YU-VPT, it is possible to find out what products customers want and whether they will actually purchase the product.”
A total of 12 start-ups participated in the ‘YU-VPT’ that was implemented for the first time this year. The YU Start-up Incubation Center and Insightors made virtual images and advertises of products that companies are developing and made online sales tests through social media platforms, etc. Test results were very successful. Among them, eight companies had extremely good outcomes.
Major start-ups with outcomes through the YU Start-up Incubation Center’s ‘YU-VPT’
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no
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Company
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CEO
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Product
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Performance (first half of 2017 compared to second half of 2016)
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1
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S.Melin
|
Shin Ah-young
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Heated hair-roll
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Developed new client base and increased sales by 60%
|
|
2
|
Nuri T&P
|
Kim Dong-woo
|
Metal powder jettison process
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Developed new client base and increased sales by 20%
|
|
3
|
Haga
|
Ryu Sook-hee
|
Multi IQ test application
|
Improved app service
|
|
4
|
Hall N Tech
|
Seo Jong-yeol
|
Garlic and vegetable mincer
|
Came up with ideas to improve new products and applied in new products
|
|
5
|
Freshville
|
Kim Geun-hwa
|
Vegetable and fruit and oriental herbs beverage for children
|
Developed new product and successfully supplied PB products for 150% increase in sales
|
|
6
|
MR Industries
|
Kim Tae-gyo
|
Light-weight concrete using recycled aggregate
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Improved product leading to 15% increase in sales
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|
7
|
Gennolab
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Kim Young-hoon
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Functional cosmetics
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Procured sales channel for foreign markets
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|
8
|
Dreams and Pine Trees
|
Jang Yeon-hee
|
Adult diapers
|
Developed new core client base leading to 4% increase in sales
|
Insightors CEO Hwang Hyun-cheol said, “Through tests, we were able to procure the actual behavior data of customers such as number of clicks compared to advertisement exposures and purchasing ratio after reviewing advertisements.” He added, “Participating companies were able to reflect information obtained through ‘YU-VPT’ such as ‘Who is interested in this product’, ‘What is the motive for purchasing this product’, ‘Is the price appropriate’, etc. to be effective in the market.”
Unlike conglomerates that can utilize various marketing tools before launching their product, most start-ups launch their products without verification procedures due to money, time and personnel issues. ‘YU-VPT’ is anticipated to be a program that will enhance success possibilities for new companies. This has become a representative success case of industry-academic cooperation that supports start-ups by college students and fostering of venture companies.
S.Melin, a women’s hair-roll manufacturing company started up by YU students participated in the YU-VPT and recently launched a new product to expand their customer base.
S.Melin CEO Shin Ah-young (24, YU Department of International Trade, senior, photo on right) said, “The biggest concern of our company was that our clients were limited to teenagers. We wanted to know the answer to the question on who in their 20s are our customers and what product do they want.” She added, “We tested a number of variables such as size of the hair roll, materials and commercial model through YU-VPT. In result we made various attempts for change such as thickness of the hair roll, improving the image, changing materials, and changing the age of the model, which led to the successful launching of a new product.”
‘Freshville (CEO Kim Geun-hwa)’, a baby juice manufacturing company located in Gyeongbuk, developed a functional beverage and after the ‘YU-VPT’, it signed a contract with a supermarket and began delivering its products. ‘YU-VPT’ was also successfully applied in the industrial materials market as well. The precision parts production technology start-up ‘Nuri T&P (CEO Kim Dong-woo, Yeo Hang-hyun)’ checked the difficulties and purchase intent of small precision parts companies, which are its main clients, and has successfully began pursuing the commercialization of the ‘metal powder jettison technology’, which is a new parts production technology.
YU Industry-Academic Cooperation Team Director Park Yong-wan said, “A systematic and scientific approach is needed for the success of start-ups. However, small start-ups lacking expertise has limitations in gaining confidence on what products customers want and whether they would purchase the product even if they run around interviewing customers.” He added, “From the perspective of start-ups, YU-VPT will be a program that tests customer reactions in actual market environments to make products that customers truly want.”
