Tell me who you want to meet, or where you want to grow.
I reply within one business day with the most useful next step: an introduction, a Fit Check or a LinkedIn session.
Brian JY Yoo, CEO of Founders Lab, Seoul
Founders Lab · Services and pricing
Three ways to work with Founders Lab: meet Korean startups, enter Korea, or get found abroad through LinkedIn. Results, scope, pricing and the meeting guarantee are all on this page.
For Korean startups and exporters
Korean startups often have a good product and no way into the right investor or distributor abroad. I find them on LinkedIn, open the conversation, and join the important meetings with you.
Track record: Korean companies I worked with closed deals worth KRW 200 million or more in Taiwan, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia, and I have local partners in Europe, the US and Dubai.
Monthly consulting starts from KRW 1,000,000. Scope and number of meetings are agreed after a short call. For one-time training, sessions start from KRW 200,000 per hour. Written in English for Korean teams, in Korean on the Korean site.
Results
The first six are work I did myself. Client names are withheld. Reference calls are available on request after an initial conversation.
While consulting an AI solutions company, I ran the outbound myself and contacted a professor at a Swiss university directly.
Result: a KRW 600 million R&D POC contract
Joined at the early stage as the company's Korea manager and built the market from zero. Ran pilot tests with all of Korea's Big 5 tertiary hospitals, then expanded to labs and regional hospitals through a partner network.
Result: $200,000 in revenue and 80 customer accounts in the first year
Mapped Korea's defense supply chain and identified Korean partners able to represent and integrate the company's components. Restructured the delivery process with the local partner to shorten lead times.
Result: delivery lead time cut by 30 days, saving $100,000
Set up a proof of concept with a Korean university, then used the POC results to test the product with Korean B2B buyers.
Result: 5 POCs and 2 signed contracts in the first 3 months
Built the Korean B2B marketing strategy and ran it: positioning for Korean buyers, LinkedIn content and outreach in Korean, and an offline seminar for Korean business leaders.
Result: first 10 client companies, and 150 attendees at the offline seminar
Worked as the company's part-time consultant in Korea: partner search, distributor selection and first hospital introductions.
Result: product tests and first sales at 10+ hospitals
An independent profile of a Korean AI company that builds its own engine to run without a GPU or internet. Funding history from KRW 2 billion in 2023 to about KRW 41 billion cumulative in 2026, core technology, customers and CEO quotes from published interviews.
Read the profile →
For foreign startups
Two goals, one starting point: a short call about your product, your stage and what Korea could do for you.
I do not guarantee funding. I prepare you, open the conversations and attend the meetings. The decision always belongs to the investor.
Also from Founders Lab
If you are a foreign startup or company that wants customers and partners in Korea, these are the services behind the Fit Check.
What I focus on
Most foreign companies get a market report and a list of names. Then nothing happens. I work on the two parts that turn a list into revenue.
Who buys your product in Korea, which title signs the PO, what they need to hear in the first email, and how long the cycle really takes.
Distributors, resellers, system integrators, hospitals, universities and enterprise buyers. Introduced by someone they already know on LinkedIn.
How I deliver it
Demand, competitors, regulation and buyer map, written as a go or no-go decision, not a 60-page report.
Qualified meetings with Korean companies that match your target profile. Online or in person in Seoul.
Your deck and proposal rebuilt for Korean buyers: structure, proof points and wording they expect.
Company page and country manager profile in Korean, with monthly posts aimed at your buyers.
Candidate search, interview design and 90-day onboarding coaching for your first Korea hire.
I attend early-stage meetings for you, so your executives fly in only for decision meetings.
Industries
The method is the same: find the buyer, earn the first meeting, move to a next step. The networks differ, and I have worked in each of these.
Pricing
Test the market for $500, then add a part-time Korea consultant or a full country manager service once you see real Korean buyer reactions.
$500 / one-time, 2 to 3 weeks
$1,200 / month
$3,000 / month
Our specialist pool, 200+ consultants
Company incorporation, tax, labor law, employer of record and visas are handled through vetted specialists in my network. I introduce them and coordinate, so you have one point of contact.
Process
Your product, target buyer, what success in Korea means for you.
Competitors, regulation, and a named list of Korean companies and decision makers.
Personal LinkedIn and email outreach to the shortlist, using a pitch adapted for Korean buyers.
Qualified meeting, my notes in English, and the fit assessment report with a recommended next step.
I reply within one business day with the most useful next step: an introduction, a Fit Check or a LinkedIn session.
Brian JY Yoo, CEO of Founders Lab, Seoul