Korea’s Harvard Business School alumni to invest in early startups

Harvard Business School [Photo captured from HBS]

An angel investment association, which consists of alumni of Harvard Business School in Korea, was recently formed and is actively engaged in investing in early-stage startups, drawing much attention.

An angel investor is literally an investor like an “angel” for startups. The association helps startups with ideas and technology but no money to survive and grow by providing not only funds but also a variety of support from management advice to actual business assistance in their early stages.

According to multiple sources from the venture investment industry on Thursday, the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels (HBSAA) of Korea was launched in February after receiving official approval from Harvard Business School as an alumni organization.

HBSAA was established in 2011 with four associations in New York, Silicon Valley, the U.K. and France, and has since expanded to 19 associations around the world, including Korea. It has invested in companies across the world, including in North America and Europe, India, Brazil and the Middle East. The association currently has 1,100 members across the world. Over the past 12 years, it has invested in a total of 400 startups and the amount of investment directly made by its members has reached more than $100 million.

The Korean association currently consists of about 40 alumni members, including founding members of decacorn companies, or private companies with more than a $10 billion valuation, such as Ko Jae-woo, co-founder of Korea’s e-commerce giant Coupang Corp., chief executive officers of private equity funds and former and current executives of the country’s top 10 companies. Joon S. Hyon of Complement Capital, who has a lot of experience in angel investment, serves as the chairman of the HBSAA Korea. The association plans to help companies grow globally by utilizing professional management know-how and a global network of Harvard Business School alumni around the world.

Given the investments made by HBSAA around the world so far, the Korean association is expected to make an annual investment of 1 billion won ($765,605).

“The association will provide an opportunity for startups to obtain an assistant who can give advice on business expansion as well as raising funds for their initial growth,” said Hyon. “We will invest in companies with high growth potential and technological prowess, regardless of industry.”