Beyond Brazil, how one entrepreneur scaled in a market far from home

Contxto – It’s common that the startups we cover here at Contxto scale regionally. On occasion, they’ll grow into other markets like the United States or Europe. What’s more unusual (but an equally welcome sight) is when they expand into Asia. 

And entrepreneur César Noda has shown that success is possible whether it’s in his native Brazil or in South Korea. Last year, as the rep for VRGlass he participated in the K-Startup Grand Challenge.

Through the acceleration program, his startup specializing in virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), and augmented reality (AR) tech was able to connect with this new market and open offices there.

Why it’s a big deal: When founders from Latam “go out into the world,” they forge connections that help draw more attention to the region. Through their activities, they showcase Latam as fertile ground for finding scrappy startups and resilient entrepreneurs.

• Related article: Why should Latam startups apply to Korea’s K-Startup Grand Challenge acceleration program

If you’re interested in applying, check out the program details here. But hurry, the deadline to apply is June 25.

South Korea is keeping its cool amid Covid-crisis

This East Asian country has been hailed for how it’s handled the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, this has brought on the appearance of offering more stability to startups. Particularly in the application process for the latest edition of the K-Startup Grand Challenge.

“Since the start of this year’s program, we have seen an increase in applicants all over the world and I believe that is a testament to how impactful our program is and our uniquely favored location during this pandemic,” notes Taeyeol Kim, VP at the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).

For Brazilian César Noda, South Korea too has been a shelter for these uncertain times.

“While the pandemic has affected our business, we’ve seen firsthand the benefits of having a presence in such a stable country amid the turmoil these past few months,” says Noda.

[wd_hustle id=”InArticleOptin” type=”embedded”/]

The future of VR and AR tech

For the Brazilian entrepreneur, social-distancing and remote work have led to more interest technologies that play with our reality. Consequently, VRGlass plans to expand in the near future.

“In Brazil, our clients are more interested than ever in XR possibilities,” Noda told Contxto. “[Meanwhile] in Korea, as VR/AR are more well-known and already widely deployed in education, smart factories, and entertainment, there’s a rising demand for using these technologies boosted by the 5G network.”

To that end, the startup is currently building partnerships within South Korea and other parts of Asia. And that way, there’s a little more Latam in the world.

Related articles: Tech and startups from Brazil!

-ML