K-STARTUP

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the modern workplace in numerous ways. One of the biggest impacts is a striking increase in the number of meetings. Studies indicate that individuals now participate in roughly 13% more meetings than they did prior to the pandemic. HR consulting firm Leaderonomics estimates a staggering 55 million meetings held daily in the U.S. alone. Such an influx has significantly intensified the scheduling responsibilities for those in executive, HR, sales roles and more. The same report highlights that planners devote nearly 15% of their week, or six hours, merely to manage activities around meetings.Splab, a Korean startup that operates the scheduling automation solution Sendtime, aims to take this burden off of planners and revolutionize the meeting scheduling process. Launched in 2022, the B2B SaaS solution drastically cuts down the time spent organizing individual or team meetings, effectively reducing communication overheads and the manual efforts typically associated with scheduling.What sets Sendtime apart from other scheduling applications is its user-centric design. Unlike traditional platforms that prioritize the organizer, Sendtime focuses on the invitee(s). When someone gets an invite, they can view others’ schedules in real time and pick the three most convenient slots. After all responses are submitted, the organizer can finalize the time that works for all parties. The app’s versatility extends to team and company-wide scheduling, where multiple schedules can be synchronized to pinpoint the perfect meeting slot.

As the old saying goes, dogs are man’s best friend. In keeping with this adage, dog and pet ownership more broadly has been on the rise in recent years. According to the non-profit American Veterinary Medical Association, out of the 122 million households in the US, some 56%, or around 69 million, owned a dog in 2021, up from 36.5% (43 million) in 2012. Equally, an increasing number of people are caring for other animals, including cats, birds, fish, and reptiles. In 2021, a staggering 70% of US households owned a pet.Due in part to this trend, the shortage of vet offices in the US is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. Currently, a pet owner must make an appointment with a vet at least 3 weeks in advance, with clinics being few and far between. What’s more, medical care for pets is far from cheap.In its pursuit of a solution to these issues, the South Korean start-up Dr. Tail has gone all out with its remote veterinary consultation service.“Vets usually work to a tight schedule, which can leave some pet owners waiting multiple weeks to address an issue that may not have even needed medical attention,” said Daehwa Lee, CEO of Dr. Tail.“Our remote vet consultancy service saves both the time and energy of pet owners, while also preventing unnecessary spending.”In imitation of models of medical healthcare systems, which consist of primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care, Dr. Tail hopes to provide pet owners with the earliest stage of veterinary consultancy. Launched in 2020, the mobile app has attracted a total of 130,000 users, and offers around 500 consultations per day.

Roh Jungseok, CEO of the cosmetics startup B Factory, is seen as somewhat of a maverick by the cosmetics industry. He is neither a seasoned marketer nor a beauty expert; he did not major in chemistry, which is widely considered an essential foundation for a career in cosmetics. Having spent the last two decades in software engineering, he lacks connections within the cosmetics industry. Perhaps more notably, he has set himself apart from existing cosmetics firms by choosing to entirely bypass costly marketing gimmicks that increase sales and brand awareness, and rather focus solely on developing products that he claims are genuinely able to improve the skin and protect it from aging. Though it may sound counterintuitive to some, he seeks to apply lessons learned from his background in software to cosmetics. “I felt the tail was wagging the dog within the existing cosmetics industry, as legacy players placed far too much emphasis on trivial concerns, such as packaging and customer experience, rather than prioritizing actual quality ingredients and tangible benefits,” said Roh in an interview with The Miilk. He added “These industry stalwarts have grown complacent within their outdated business practices, which has prevented them from venturing into new areas.”