Second Round of 'Everyone's Startup' Applicants: 51.8% in Their Teens and Twenties… Will Actual Startups Follow?

[For more diverse corporate information on startups mentioned in this article, please visit the Unicorn Factory big data platform 'Data Lab'.]

A total of 92,838 people applied for the second project of the national startup audition program "Everyone's Startup," which opened recruitment on the 20th last month. This represents a 47.5% (29,894) increase compared to the final applicant count of 62,944 from the first round in the first half of the year.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 20th, these figures were confirmed following the closure of applications for the second round of "Everyone's Startup" on the previous day (17th). Although the recruitment period for the second round was shorter at 29 days compared to the first round's 51 days, the number of final applicants was higher. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups evaluated this as "even hotter startup enthusiasm."

A key feature of the second recruitment drive was an increase in entrepreneurial challenges among young people. In particular, the number of applicants aged 19 and under rose to 14,320, a 2.5-fold increase from the first round's 5,731. The proportion of teenagers among all applicants also increased by 6.3 percentage points to 15.4%, up from 9.1% in the first round.

Applications from those in their twenties, who accounted for the largest share of applicants, also saw a significant rise. The number of applicants reached 33,837, a 1.6-fold increase from the first round's 29,000, and their proportion grew to 36.4%, up from 33.2% in the first round. Together, those in their teens and twenties accounted for 51.8%, surpassing half of all applicants.

Regarding these results, positive evaluations citing an expansion of the entrepreneurial base among youth aged 29 and under are being raised simultaneously with negative assessments noting that the proportion of people in their 30s and 40s—the core age group for actual startups—is disappointingly small.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' report on startup trends released last month (August) covering the first half of the year, more than half of domestic tech startup founders are in their 30s and 40s. Specifically, 29.1% are in their 30s and 27.4% are in their 40s. In contrast, those aged 29 and under account for only 13.7%. Even during the first round of "Everyone's Startup," while applicants aged 29 and under comprised 42.3%, this proportion dropped to 28.5% among those who passed screening and advanced to the second round.

In the second round of applications for "Everyone's Startup," the absolute number of applicants in their 30s and 40s did increase, but their proportion declined due to being overshadowed by the surge in applicants aged 29 and under.

An industry official stated, "From the perspective of increasing interest in entrepreneurship across all age groups, it is positive that interest has risen among younger generations. However, since this is the largest program within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' pre-startup and early-stage support initiatives, there are concerns that the actual effect of supporting startups may be diminishing."

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is emphasizing the spread of startup enthusiasm. Cho Kyung-won, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry, said, "Startup enthusiasm has spread nationwide across all age groups. Even with a short recruitment period of 29 days, more than 90,000 citizens participated, surpassing the first round's 51-day period." He added, "We will support these challenges so they lead to actual startups and growth, thereby nurturing the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs."

Meanwhile, the second round of "Everyone's Startup" will select 10,000 candidates in the preliminary round, double the number from the first round. As the recruitment quota increased, the competition ratio for the second-round preliminaries dropped to 9.3-to-1 from the first round's 12.6-to-1. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to select 10,000 candidates who pass the preliminary screening by October through its selection process.

[MoneyToday Startup Media Platform Unicorn Factory]