Korean Startup Packative, Led by Austrian CEO, Aims for Global Expansion

"I was drawn to Korea's 'can-do' culture and tech-friendliness, which led me to start a business here. Within the next two years, we plan to advance into Southeast Asia and accelerate our global market entry using our upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) platform."

Dominik Danninger, co-founder of Packative, is a startup CEO who has taken root in unfamiliar territory, Korea. Although he is from Austria, he has lived in Korea since 2013. In 2018, he discovered problems in the Korean packaging industry through his work on regional resource procurement for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and founded Packative to innovate the industry.

CEO Danninger said, "I moved to Korea in 2013 at the age of 23, following an Australian software company that was planning to establish a Korean corporation, and I have fond memories of spending most of my 20s in Korea." He added, "While going through the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, I realized the importance of the packaging industry and started this business."

Packative focuses on digitally transforming the traditional packaging industry. It provides a service that allows users to easily design and produce packages online, as well as the industry's first real-time quote function. Since its launch in 2021, it has recorded an annual growth rate of over 450%.

Every moment from starting a business to the present has not been rosy. There are still barriers for foreign entrepreneurs in Korea.

CEO Danninger said, "It is relatively easy for foreigners to start a business in Korea, but there are many difficulties in growing the company beyond the initial stage." He added, "The biggest difficulty was handling complex administrative tasks or understanding legal regulations without the help of experts."

Government support, material support, and abundant human resources helped him overcome these challenges.

CEO Daenninger explained, "Korea has a solid government support infrastructure compared to other countries, and I thought it would be easy to start a business in Korea because of this." He also said, "Government support projects such as the Preliminary Startup Package, TIPS, and the new Global TIPS, as well as R&D funds, were of great help, and there was plenty of workspace support, so I was able to use space for free and build a team."

As they achieved results, they also succeeded in attracting investment. Following 2021, they attracted pre-A stage investment last year.

Source: ET News

Image Credit: Packative