“Startup” means a start-up company that was first used in Silicon Valley in the U.S. It usually refers to a venture company that has innovative technologies and ideas. There is a student at Kyonggi University who founded a “startup.” The Pharos met with Kim Joon-yong, who has been receiving a lot of awards in various contests

and start-up competitions for his start-up business under the name of “social enterprise.”

Please introduce yourself.

Hello, I’m Kim Joon-yong, CEO of CareforU, class of 14 in the Department of Industrial Design at Kyonggi University. I am currently running a startup that develops toilet collection products for nursing patients through government support

projects.

Were you always interested in starting a business?

I didn’t think much about starting a business until last year. However, while working as an intern for a cosmetics container startup called “Innerbottle,” I learned about the ecosystem of start-ups in Korea. As a result, I felt a great interest in starting a business and started thinking about creating a startup that provides solutions for everyday inconveniences.

Please introduce your company.

We are a company that makes toilet collection and treatment products for convalescent patients, and our company was launched in July 2019. Our company is located in Hyangnam and we have 3 employees who are my friends. The reason why our product came out was my grandfather had a hard time with presbyopia before he died. My grandmother, a caregiver, had a hard time with my grandfather’s toilet treatment. After seeing this, I thought there was no way to treat urine alone, and I made a simple urine treatment product. Even though the quality of the product was not high, I saw that my grandmother used it with case, and I thought about making this product more business-friendly. Currently, we have secured intellectual property rights and have entered the KOSME School for Young Future Venturers to study more complete products.

Is there a reason you chose “elder care” among many possible fields?

My choice of care for the elderly was largely due to my grandfather, who was mentioned earlier. Secondly, when you take education related to start-ups, the response to items and the size of the market have a significant impact on the success of the start-up. Therefore, I thought that the silver market was suitable because it was growing in size around the world and our product has been well received by consumers.

Were there any programs that helped you with the start-up program at Kyonggi University?

Unfortunately, I took a leave of absence from school and started my own business through the Technology Guarantee Fund, so I didn’t get any support from the Kyonggi University start-up support group. However, it was very helpful for the professors to enthusiastically coach the actual flow or practice of running a start-up through the start-up marketing class that I took last year or the introductory course of start-up studies that I am currently taking. There are no quantified indicators for selecting start-up items. However, there are common items such as criteria for item selection, size of market, needs of consumers, and issues of the times, so I could see how to focus our business. Also, it was very helpful to select virtual items and continue to run simulations.

You are currently attending the Youth Startup Academy hosted by the Small and Medium Venture Business Corporation. Can you explain this?

This is a government-funded project and there are three major stages of support for youth start-ups. Stage 1 is called the “Preparation Start-up Package.” The second stage is the “Initial Startup Package or Youth Startup Academy,” and the third stage is the “Startup Jump Package.” I went through the first stage last year and am currently proceeding with the second stage. The reason why I chose the Youth Startup Academy is because it is run directly by the Small and Medium

Venture Business Corporation, and I select students through screening every year. Advantages can be funded by the government in terms of cost. The Young Entrepreneurship Academy is a school, so you have to take 80 credits. It teaches field workers what they need in the field, such as marketing, real global trade, and intellectual property rights. Unlike regular university start-up classes, it’s more professional because we actually learn what's happening in the field. And networking with graduates is also good, so getting information from graduates and listening to their experiences are also strong points.

Have you had any hard and happy moments as a CEO of a venture company?

The first rewarding moment was when we won the gold medal at the “INA 2019 International Inventions Exhibition” in Germany last year. I was happy to go to Europe to explain the strength of our products to people all over the world and to acknowledge theirs. The difficulty is that in the era of the fourth industrial platform, our company relies on The fundamental manufacturing sector, so it was difficult to make it inexoensive in the early stages due to the nature of the manufacturing

industry.

Do you have any personal goals?

Personal goals are also important to make money, but our primary goal is to make it easier for nursing patients. The second goal is to be a company that offers the best solutions to find everyday inconveniences in other areas besides the silver industry, in line with our mission of “better thinking for a better life.”

Please say a word to your colleagues at Kyonggi University who are dreaming of starting a business.

First of all, I recommend that you reduce the risk of starting a business by getting a good understanding of government support projects through the K-Startup website and receiving a program suitable for your own start-up. Also, I think that start-ups should suit your aptitude. You need to judge whether you want to start a business because you’re afraid of getting a job or if you really like it. If you start a business that suits your aptitude, I think you can overcome any difficulties in the start-up process.

Through an interview with Kim Joon-yong, CEO of “careforU” we were able to see the path that college student founder Kim Joon-yong has taken. I hope it can be helpful to many students at Kyonggi University who dream of starting a business and we thank CEO Kim Joon-yong for giving us the latest information on the front line of their start-ups. The Pharos will cheer for the future of Care For You and CEO Kim Joon-yong.