11th “Guamegi Startup Competition” Held at CHANGeUP Ground
11th “Guamegi Startup Competition” Held at CHANGeUP Ground
  • Reporter Lee Ji-Hwan
  • 승인 2021.12.14 01:29
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▲All participants and judges of the 11th “Guamegi startup competition” / POSTECH Gallery
▲All participants and judges of the 11th “Guamegi startup competition” / POSTECH Gallery

 

The 11th “Guamegi startup competition” was held on Nov. 12 at the POSTECH CHANGeUP Ground. The Guamegi startup competition is an annual contest held by POSTECH’s Research and Business Development Foundation (PRBDF). Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only participants and judges could attend the contest in person and the audience attended online. A total of 21 teams participated this year. Before the final presentation, in which teams gave a five-minute presentation to explain their business model to the judges, the teams had to submit a brief introduction of their project and the presentation file that would later be used. Out of the 21 teams, 10 teams earned the opportunity to introduce their business idea and model at the final presentation. 
All 10 teams were very unique; as the teams ranged from freshman students to Ph. D. students. Some teams had made small prototypes and a user interface or launched a beta version of their applications to receive feedback from the users. Other teams had not yet created a sample product but had concrete plans on how they would develop their product if they received investment. Ideas included developing a more effective method to create artificial meat, a website where students could ask questions that were related to their major studies, and a substitute good for styrofoam made of mushrooms. 
The Postech Times interviewed EcoTect, a team that had developed the idea of using mushrooms to create a substitute for styrofoam packaging. The team stated that their main goal was to make a greener world by replacing styrofoam with an eco-friendly material while improving the current problems in styrofoam packaging. Issues regarding the current styrofoam packaging include the possibility of causing health problems like cancer. EcoTect first started at an alternative competition held by the POSTECH APGC Lab. Mushroom packaging is just one of many ideas they plan on developing. They also participated in another program held by APGC Lab called CD player, which helped them interview different consumer groups and receive mentoring from teachers and seniors in the field of entrepreneurship. EcoTect mentioned that they received a great deal of help while creating a prototype, which included the process of cultivating mycelium, from teaching assistants of the “experiments for general chemistry  (CHEM102)” class. Lastly, they said “participating in the Guamegi startup competition allowed us to experience startup pitching and learn that developing a new area of business is not only creating new technology but also using the newly developed technology to continue improving our product and business. The prototype manufacturing process and the presentation preparation made me realize the importance of dividing roles and collaboration once more. We also gained a better insight into product development while listening to the presentations of other teams that were further developed and had better results.”
The winner of this year’s Guamegi startup competition was team “TissenBioFarm” and they received 10 million KRW as the prize. The second and third teams received five million KRW and three million KRW respectively. One team from the POSTECH undergraduate team was awarded. The PRBDF also allowed the audience to participate by sending links to a Google form where they could choose how much they would like to invest in each team after the presentation. Prizes including an iPad were given to the participants through a raffle. The team that was most invested in by the audience received 100 thousand KRW.