Today we will meet the Grand Prize winner of 2019 Fall E*5 KAIST, HUGy!

HUGy is a startup as well as a social enterprise that started from the interest on underprivileged classes in the society and provides an integrated solution for children with developmental disabilities. HUGy helps people with developmental disabilities using technology and works to create a world where the disabled can coexist. Let’s meet the CEO of HUGy, Jihun Kim ????

Hello, I am the CEO of HUGy, Jihun Kim. I started HUGy with co-CEO Dong Yup Han who is also attending KAIST. We create vests that relieves the symptoms of children with developmental disabilities. We aim to provide the best treatment at the best moment for children using the data collected from vests and a remote treatment education service. Simply put, we introduce ourselves as the ‘integrated solution provider for children with developmental disabilities.

HUGy comes from the word HUG, and we wanted to create vests that could hug children with developmental disabilities. While establishing our corporation we changed our name to ‘DolbomDream’ and are considering using HUGy as our product name.

A vest that hugs children is really touching ????

What does it mean to be an integrated solution provider for developmental disabilities?

Our description of an integrated solution provider for developmental disabilities holds? Our vision to not only provide vests but also to provide all necessities and services that the children need as they grow up. Yongkeon Kim, VP of Bluepoint Partners, recommended this name and we decided to use it because the meaning matched our vision.

Co-CEO Dong Yup Han worked at a general social welfare center as a social service worker for 2 years. While working there, he felt that there was a lack of support from the Korean government for people with disabilities as well as related private companies. In most developed countries, more than 70% of the welfare budget is used for children and the market for private companies related to developmental disabilities is very activated. Compared to these countries, children with developmental disabilities in Korea grow up in a limited environment.

If there is a case of a successful startup with an item related to developmental disabilities, the market will be activated and the lives of the children will improve as companies compete in the market. I strongly agreed with his idea and this is how we decided on an item for children with developmental disabilities.

So your product is based on experience. There is no better asset than experience. Developing an item for developmental disabilities shows how startups can socially contribute. I heard there are other social ventures related to developmental disabilities like ‘Donggubat’.

We believe that the biggest difference between us and pre-existing startups is that our item is a must-have item for children with developmental disabilities and their families. Most related startups develop treatment games or diagnostic programs, but these services are just an option for the families, because children already receive treatment from care teachers in development support centers or health centers.

However, children who want to receive treatment in those centers need to wait for more than 2 years. Our item is a must-have because it solves this issue.

Our initial strategy is to target treatment education institutions like development treatment centers of health centers. Families of children with developmental disabilities tend to be very closed and resistant to external approaches, but very open to treatment centers and teachers. Based on this, we decided to initially target treatment centers to effectively enter the market and promote our product to consumers.

I didn’t consider the families who care for children with developmental disabilities..! I hope this must have item becomes wide spread! If this product is used in development support centers, children and their families will become more open to the product and be able to get effective treatment.

In my case, I participated in E*5 KAIST 3 times in 2015, 2018, and 2019. The first time I participated, I wasn’t serious about startups. I was amazed by the winning teams and wondered if I could be like them.

Through E*5 KAIST, I learned a lot about startups and constantly wondered how I could be the winning team. After participating 3 times, I gained some know-hows and realized why I want to start this business. As a result, I was selected to participate in the 2019 Fall E*5 KAIST, and became the Grand Prize winner. This became an opportunity for me to solidify my decision to start HUGy and gain confidence in pursuing this business.

Your passion for E*5 KAIST is amazing! People usually try out E*5 KAIST twice, but you never gave up. I believe this passion led HUGy to become the Grand Prize winner.

We are planning to move from Daejeon to Seoul to prepare investments and various government support programs to create a prototype and conduct field tests. We had already developed a prototype, but we realized that there were some issues after conducting field tests. So, we are currently creating various vests using different methods that incorporate Deep Touch Pressure to test and verify which product is most effective for children with developmental disabilities.

Our short-term goal is to repeat the above process to develop and produce the most practical product that we can provide to child development support centers and clinics. After this, we will try to maximize profits through developing B2C products, launching related services, and expanding to the global market.

You have a very detailed plan. We look forward to meeting HUGy in all places, not only in Daejeon ????

To students who are hesitant in whether they should participate in E*5 KAIST, E*5 KAIST is not just a competition but a program where you can foster entrepreneur capabilities. You can learn from well-known mentors and coaches, so rather than worrying about the results, realize your startup dream! Even if you don’t actually start a business, you can learn a lot and understand the startup ecosystem. E*5 KAIST will definitely be helpful in choosing a career in the future.

In my case, I entered KAIST in 2013, became the freshmen president, and graduated in 2019 with a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In this process, I met various people and gained valuable experiences. Especially, it was a great honor to win the Grand Prize in E*5 KAIST. I hope to meet amazing KAIST alumni in various startups and communities.

As you said, E*5 KAIST is a great time to learn from senior entrepreneurs, not just to compete. We hope many teams participate in 2020 Spring E*5 KAIST and learn a lot!

We started HUGy for children with developmental disabilities in Korea, but we have a vision to become a global brand that gives hopes and dreams to children with disabilities around the world.

Your vision to give hopes and dreams to people with disabilities is beautiful. We hope that HUGy provides a solution for developmental disabilities and create a world where everyone can coexist. This ends our meeting with HUGy’s CEO Jihun Kim!