We wrapped the first edition of the “Road To USA” program with our partner Hanyang University, one of the leading universities in South Korean and we are thrilled to share the results. 

ERA Global in New York and Hanyang University in Seoul launched the completely virtual Road to USA program to help startups build momentum and learn about the US market during the pandemic, when in-person meetings became impossible.

The four-week program combined live workshops with the ERA Global team and expert one-on-one mentoring covering a variety of topics.

The three participants were:

• Paywork, an end-to-end solution for hiring, managing and paying gig workers  
• Whatssub, a subscription management consumer mobile application
• Zenerate, a platform for architects and real estate developers to design and visualise properties 

During the program, the companies participated in workshops covering topics including: “Fundraising During COVID-19”, “Decoding Cultural and Business Differences Between the USA and South Korea”, or “Setting up a US Go-To-Market Strategy”. The startups also had the opportunity to improve their pitching skills during our dedicated pitch practice sessions.  

To complement the group sessions, each startup met with our team during one-on-one office hours to discuss topics specific to their companies. The discussions were as varied as product pricing in Korea versus the US, to customer discovery strategy or revenue model pivot from one-time licensing fee to SaaS monthly subscription model.  

Company feedback was extremely positive. Here’s what  Bongjai Shin, founder and CEO of Zenerate, had to say: “The program was very hands-on and rich in terms of content especially given the length (four weeks). It was the perfect balance between the group sessions where we were able to learn from one another, and one-on-one meetings during which I got incredible advice on how to bring Zenerate to the US market. Despite my knowledge of the US, having lived and acquired customers there, I learned a new side of doing business there.”

We look forward to a second edition of the Road to USA online program with Hanyang University. And we cannot wait to welcome our partners and fantastic companies to our New York City offices.

If you are interested in learning more about and/or working with ERA Global, please reach out: partners@eranycglobal.com ‍