The Kookmin Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (K-GEB) was held in the Auditorium of Kookmin University last July 29th and was participated in by 32 students from 16 countries. The student participants, after undergoing intense competition, were selected from different countries all over the world. K-GEB is supervised by the Small and Medium Business Administration as part of the University Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. The camp’s opening ceremony was attended by Director Si-woo Kang of Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development, staff of OAS, staff of major organizations, and officials from the embassies of U.S.A., China, Vietnam, India, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico.
In the K-GEB program held for seven weeks, the students’ startup ideas were conceived based on the lean startup process, a startup technique that aimed to minimize business failure. The students were divided into groups consisting of 5-6 persons per group. Focusing on the representative idea of each team, a prototype was manufactured to come up with a minimum viable product. This product went through a pre-testing conducted by potential buyers. At each stage of the production process, the students were mentored by local and international field experts and professionals from essential fields for startups and business development (such as marketing, investment, and presentation). Their ultimate goal was the completion of a business model for startups.
In his welcome remarks, Kookmin University President Ji-soo Yu said, “This K-GEB program is a catalyst for the advancement of startups of today and may this event provide an opportunity for the development of world-class products and services that are globally-competitive.”