I got in touch with some of our top speakers in the run-up to beLAUNCH next week and was quite blown away by their enthusiasm for coming to Seoul to see for themselves why Korea is blowing up in the global startup consciousness. Below are a few of these quotations:
Eric Migicovsky, CEO Pebble
"It has been interesting to see the emergence of Korea as one of the most important high-tech nations over the last few years and I am exited to be part of everything here at beLAUNCH. Pebble is on an amazing run around the world and I'm excited by the opportunities I see beginning to emerge in Asia."
Tyler Winklevoss, Founder Winklevoss Capital
“It is my first time in Korea and I am very excited to be here. I have heard a lot of great things about Seoul's startup ecosystem and I’m looking forward to learning more and meeting with promising entrepreneurs.”
Cameron Winklevoss, Founder Winklevoss Capital
“Seoul's startups have built a strong global reputation, so it makes sense that it is home to beSUCCESS and the beLAUNCH conference, which helps bring entrepreneurs together from all over the world. As an investor, I feel that it is important for me to understand more about Seoul's thriving tech scene and its growing and innovative Bitcoin sector.” – Cameron Winklevoss
Ben Huh, CEO Cheezburger
"It'll be my first time returning to Korea in almost 25 years. I'm excited to see all the entrepreneurship and energy and the future looks exciting. I am also happy to see beLAUNCH being the glue that ties the world-wide community of entrepreneurs together."
Naval Ravikant, CEO Angel List
"It has been amazing seeing the rapid development of entrepreneurship and angel investing across the globe in the last decade. Korea in particular is becoming something of a regional hub for startups in Asia. beLAUNCH seems to be a great opportunity to get a snap-shot of the Asian scene and I'm glad to be a part of everything here at beLAUNCH."
Joe Lonsdale, Founder Formation 8
"I am glad to participate beLAUNCH this year. The Korean startup scene is heating up and all the signs point to even greater things in the coming years - I look forward to a time when Korea becomes a big player in the global technology world not just for the partnerships our leading Formation 8 US technology companies are making with players like Samsung and LG, but because of its new technology companies as well. Also, kudos to the team at beSUCCESS, who have done a great job bringing this great event together."
Sonny Vu, CEO Misfit Wearables
"I have been to Seoul many times over the years and I am amazed at how quickly the entrepreneurial ecosystem is developing here. Of course the rise of companies like Samsung and LG have been impressive, but it's also great to see startups flourishing now. There is so much going on these days in Asia and I think that for companies like Misfit that are based in the West it is vital to keep our finger on the pulse of change in this region. It's an honor to have been invited to be a part of the third beLAUNCH and I'm looking forward to learning a lot and hopefully giving something back to these great startups here in Korea."
Mike Cannon-Brookes, CEO Atlassian
"From the start, Atlassian set out to be a global company with a mission to help teams everywhere build better software faster. Today, we have helped more than 35,000 companies around the world collaborate better and faster on software projects. And we’re just getting started,” said Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-CEO and co-Founder of Atlassian. “Korea is a very important market for us. And we’re thrilled to participate in BeLAUNCH and meet with some of our customers as well as some of today’s emerging Korean entrepreneurs.”
