12/09/2026
Q1. Building bridges between ecosystems
Moderator: You have worked to facilitate startup investment and market entry
between ecosystems that have relatively little history of working together. Why are
these bridges so difficult to build, and what needs to be in place before capital and
companies begin moving between them?
Derik:
Yes, that's a very good question.
From my experience working across , , Central Asia, and
America, I would say the biggest challenge is actually not money, and it's not
even a lack of . It's .
When two don't have much experience working with each other, people
simply don't know each other well enough.
An investor may ask, “Can I trust this startup? Can I understand the market? What
are the real risks?”
And on the other side, the startup may be asking, “Does this really
understand my business? Can this partner actually help me enter the market?”
So there is a lot of uncertainty on both sides.
Let me give you a simple example.
If a Korean investor looks at a startup in or , they may see an
interesting company, but they may not really understand the local market, the
business culture, or the investment environment.
And it works both ways. A Croatian or Hungarian startup may know that Korea is
a strong technology market, but may not know how to approach Korean investors,
corporations, or customers.
So, before money and companies actually start moving, I think we need three
things.First, trusted people or organizations that can work as bridges.
It could be an accelerator, an investor, a university, a corporation, or a governmentsupported organization.
The important thing is that they understand both sides.
Second, we need evidence.
A warm introduction is helpful, but it's not enough.
We need to see a real customer, a pilot project, some market validation, or perhaps
an early investment.
Once you have one or two success stories, people's perception changes very quickly.
And third, we need repeated interaction.
One conference doesn't create an ecosystem.
One delegation doesn't create an ecosystem either.
You need to keep bringing people together through soft-landing programs,
corporate pilots, investor meetings, joint acceleration programs, and eventually
even co-investment.
So, for me, the process is quite simple:
Connect people, build trust, create evidence, and then generate transactions.
Once those transactions happen again and again, we no longer have just a
relationship.
We have the beginning of a real ecosystem bridge.
And that's why I really appreciate organizations such as i-Sclae, which try to play
that bridging role between ecosystems.
Q2. Helping startups look beyond familiar markets
Moderator: Startups often gravitate towards familiar international destinations. For
example, startups frequently prioritise the United or over
markets such as South Korea. How can ecosystem builders help founders seriously
evaluate less obvious markets where the strategic fit may actually be stronger?
Derik:
Yes, and I think this is very closely connected to the first question.
Startups naturally go where they feel comfortable.
If you are a Taiwanese startup, for example, the or Japan may be the first markets
that come to mind. And that's perfectly understandable.
But I think we have to be careful about one thing:
Familiarity doesn't always mean fit.
The most famous market is not necessarily the best market for a particular startup.
So, I wouldn't tell a Taiwanese founder,
“Don't go to the US or Japan. Come to .”
That would just be another form of marketing.
Instead, I would ask the founder:
“What does your company actually need?”
Then we can compare markets based on that.
For example, who are your customers?
Are there potential corporate partners?
Is there a strong supply chain?
Can you find the technology or talent you need?
Are there investors who understand your industry?And perhaps most importantly:
Where can you validate your business fastest?
Because a startup doesn't always need the biggest market first.
Sometimes it needs the best test market first.
Let me put it this way.
Instead of telling a startup,
“Korea is a great place for startups,”
I would rather say:
“Here is a Korean company that could become your customer.
Here is a potential partner.
Here is an investor who understands your sector.
And here is a pilot program where you can test your product.”
That's a much stronger proposition.
And I think this is an important lesson for Korea as well.
Korea shouldn't try to become another .
That's probably not realistic, and it's not necessary.
Instead, Korea should understand where it has a specific advantage — technology,
manufacturing, major corporations, digital infrastructure, sophisticated consumers
— and connect those strengths to the specific needs of foreign startups.
So, my message to ecosystem builders is very simple:
Don't sell the ecosystem. Demonstrate the fit.
If we can demonstrate the fit with real customers, real partners and real
opportunities, founders can make the decision based on evidence rather than
simply following the most familiar destination.
Q3. Turning personal relationships into institutional partnerships
Moderator: Cross-border partnerships often depend on one well-connected
individual and weaken when that person leaves the organization. How can
ecosystem builders turn these personal relationships into institutional partnerships
that survive changes in personnel?
Derik:
Yes. This is actually something I've seen many times in international ecosystem
projects.
Sometimes one person is incredibly well connected.
They know the investors.
They know the government.
They know the universities.
They know the startup founders.
And everything works very well.
But then that person changes jobs.
And suddenly, the relationship becomes much weaker.
So I think we have to make a very important distinction between personal
relationship capital and institutional capital.
Personal relationships are extremely important at the beginning.
In fact, that's often how the bridge starts.
But we shouldn't stop there.
I like to think of personal relationships as seed capital.
You use that seed to build something much bigger.
The goal is to move from:“I know someone.”
to:
“Our organizations work together.”
How do we do that?
First, we need some formal structure — clear objectives, responsibilities, and
activities.
But an sitting in a drawer doesn't solve the problem.
Second, we need multiple connections.
If Organization A only knows one person in Organization B, the relationship is
fragile.
Instead, investors should know investors, universities should know universities,
corporations should know corporations, and government agencies should also be
connected.
Third, we need recurring programs.
For example, an annual startup exchange, a joint accelerator, a corporate pilot, a
market-entry program, or a co-investment initiative.
When you do something together every year, the relationship becomes part of the
organization's memory.
And fourth, we need to keep the knowledge.
Who did we meet?
What startups did we introduce?
What pilots did we run?
What worked and what didn't?
That information should belong to the organization, not just to one individual.Finally, and probably most importantly, both sides need to get real value from
the relationship.
If only one side benefits, the partnership won't last.
I usually think about it in three stages.
Stage one:
“We know each other.”
Stage two:
“We work together.”
And the final stage:
“Our organizations actually need each other.”
That's the point we want to reach.
Closing – Bringing the three questions together
So, if I connect these three questions, I think there is a simple message from my
experience.
First, you need trust to build the bridge.
Second, you need strategic fit to create real value.
And third, you need institutions to make the bridge sustainable.
So, I would put it very simply:
Trust creates the connection.
Evidence creates the transaction.
Institutions create sustainability.
And I think this is particularly important today.
We don't need more international ecosystems that only organize conferences, delegations, and networking events.
We need ecosystems where people, knowledge, technology, customers, and
capital actually move across borders.
And perhaps the most important question for an ecosystem builder is not:
“How many people do I know?”
It's:
“What will continue to work after I am no longer there?”
If the people change, but the partnership continues — the programs continue, the
investments continue, the startups continue to move between the ecosystems —
then I think we've really built something.
We've built an ecosystem bridge.
