"Can B2G also be translated?"… This place connects the 170th trillion won public market with startups

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"Startups are overwhelmed because they don't know how to approach public institutional investors, while public institutional investors are frustrated because they cannot find startups that communicate well. Every year, many institutional investors pour energy into open innovation, yet there are no results. That is why I wanted to correct the situation so that public funds that were previously leaking away meaninglessly could be used properly."

Kwon Woo-sil, CEO of Start Portfolio, who founded a startup after working for more than 20 years at the National Pension Service (NPS), has the phrase "Public Innovation Planner" engraved on her business card. Even with the background of leaving Korea's largest public institutional investor that guarantees tenure, there is a recurring mismatch in demand and supply in the public market (B2G) that repeats every year.

Kwon Woo-sil recently stated in an interview with Money Today's startup media platform "Unicorn Factory" that "public institutional investors and startups differ not only in terminology but also in their entire worldview," adding, "A platform that accurately understands both sides' languages and enables collaboration is absolutely necessary."

Kwon Woo-sil is a public sector expert who has handled everything from external cooperation including ESG, social contribution, and public relations to practical matters such as pensions, retirement, and contracts at NPS. In 2017, she also received the Gi Hoek-hae (President) Award and the National Pension Service's Outstanding Employee Award for her "Writer Creation Project" targeting seniors preparing for their second act in life.

The direct catalyst that turned a successful "pension man" into a startup CEO was the 2021 announcement of an internal venture by the National Pension Service. It was a golden opportunity to put into practice her inner concern: "Is there no way to use public funds more effectively?" Kwon Woo-sil, leading with the strategy of creating jobs for career-disrupted women in pension blind spots and serving as a gateway to help early-stage startups that have not found a breakthrough, broke through a 4-to-1 competition ratio to secure the title of "the first internal venture of the National Pension Service."

It took less than three years to decide on spinning off from the National Pension Service. Start Portfolio was established in 2023 by Kwon Woo-sil, who joined forces with one senior colleague (Jeong Tae-wook, COO) whose hands and feet worked well together during their time as an internal venture. Kwon Woo-sil said, "During our time as an internal venture, we witnessed how many public institutional investors struggled to find startups for collaboration, and how many startups were frustrated because they could not break through the B2G market. We strongly felt that if we, who know the mechanisms of public institutional investors best, step forward, we can change the landscape of the B2G market."

Institutional investors who recognized the value of the new market created by Start Portfolio and helped it grow also appeared. The Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center selected Start Portfolio as a company to be supported under the Early Startup Package program last year. This became a solid support team for Start Portfolio, which has been operating without raising external investment since its founding.

The core service of Start Portfolio, 'GovFit,' allows startups to upload company profiles or IR materials, after which AI analyzes them to produce a public institutional investor suitability report. It goes beyond simple matching by automatically generating proposal drafts and supporting documents at a level that public institutional investor staff can review immediately. This is a solution combining the know-how of experts who have accumulated more than 20 years of practical experience in public institutional investors with AI technology.

Kwon Woo-sil emphasized, "The competitiveness unique to Start Portfolio lies in translating the innovative technologies and ideas held by startups into the language of public institutional investors, such as national agenda items or management evaluation indicators." She added, "The domestic public procurement market size is 170 trillion won (as of 2024), and at least 8% of this must be purchased from companies founded within seven years. Therefore, B2G is a field that startups must definitely challenge."

It also provides a two-track service that matches capable startups with public institutional investors thirsty for mutual growth and innovation. The 'K-Innovation Project,' which has been underway since 2024, is a representative example. Last year, over 20 public-private enterprises, including NPS, the Korea Electric Safety Corporation, and National Suncheon University, participated in this program.

Kwon Woo-sil stated, "There are many public institutional investors who want to place orders but struggle because they cannot find suitable companies." She added, "We provide innovation strategy projects directly linked to public management evaluations, and the satisfaction level among institutional investors is very high." As of March this year, Start Portfolio's customers total around 250, including startups and public institutional investors.

Start Portfolio plans to further enhance its platform through AI optimization this year. Next year, it aims to expand cooperation with overseas public institutional investors through global procurement processes, including multilingual services. Kwon Woo-sil said, "Building on domestic public institutional investor empirical data, we will transform into a platform that helps Korean startups and public institutional investors enter overseas public markets."

[Money Today startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']