Launching a startup with support from headquarters? It may sound like a “hot iced Americano,” but it’s how a change in thinking can lead to a new path. Hyundai Motor Group’s “ZER01NE” startup support program provides everything Hyundai Group employees need to unleash their professional imagination. SURFF Company, founded by Hyundai Glovis employees, is proof of this.
Let your professional imagination run wild! Zer01ne Program
ZER01NE is a startup support program for employees of Hyundai Motor Group, including its affiliates. In short, it is a program for employees to create startup companies with the support of the company. It is open to employees of 15 Hyundai Group companies, including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Glovis, and Hyundai Mobis, and anyone who has been employed for at least two years as of the application deadline is eligible to apply. Of course, not just any business idea will be selected. Projects must be related to Hyundai/Kia and participating group companies (80%), promising new industries with high business potential and worthy of investment (10%), and projects proposed by the Hyundai Motor Group (10%). ZER01NE, which is held annually, accepted submissions from May 7 to June 3 to find the next generation of startups.
Business plan is free writing, reinstatement within 3 years
Applications are divided into two tracks: Leader Track and Team Member Track. Up to 10 teams will be selected to receive up to 300 million won in development funds and dedicated mentoring from external experts (accelerators) during the one-year internal incubation period. The concept of quitting your job to start your own business is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. However, the Zer01ne program has a safety net that allows you to return to the company if it goes out of business within three years. All you need is the right items and pictures to show what you can do. The business plan can be written freely in PPT format with a maximum of 12 pages including the required content. For more information, please contact the official Zer01ne Company Builder email account at zer01necb@hyundai.com.
Founded by Glovis employee at Zer01ne
Surff company, a smart vessel trading platform
Hyundai Glovis began as an internal startup pilot program in November 2021, when a team’s business plan was approved. It was officially spun off in February 2023 and officially set sail as a company with its own business website. The so-called ‘Surff Company’ is a trading platform for shipboards.
Surff Company, founded by Hyundai Glovis employees, is a start-up company that brokers and trades import and export cargo space, or “freight space,” based on shipping data. The domestic freight space market has been caused by price inflation due to the indiscriminate flow of freight space information and instability due to the number of business closures and new registrations. The analog trading method has also been cited as a cause of logistical disruptions and deterioration in the quality of international transportation services in Korea, the world’s sixth largest exporter. Surff company is a smart freight space trading platform that identifies the number of ships based on shipping data, connects shipowners and shippers, improves the existing problems, and leads the smart shipping market.
Surff Company, founded by employees of Hyundai Glovis, Korea’s No. 1 logistics company, has developed a solution to the opaque and closed shipping market by building a shipping data map and freight space trading platform. Through the Shipping Data Map, the company provides a transparent shipping data curation service, digitizing and simplifying the existing complicated shipping transactions. The Shipping Data Map collects and analyzes data on approximately 95% of domestic export container volumes in real time, and shares core data such as shipping prices by route, export company data, forwarder information, shipping line information, volume information by route, export items, and container information on a route-by-route basis. Based on the customers secured through the shipping data MAP, the trading platform provides customized services such as real-time dynamic pricing of freight space according to the increase and decrease in demand for freight space by route, and an automatic matching system that categorizes and serves customer groups.
SURFF Company is the result of a business idea submitted to the 2021 Zer01ne program by Manager Choi Sun-jin and Manager Han Ji-sung when they were in charge of global freight forwarding at Hyundai Glovis. As logisticians with eight years of experience, they understand the importance of freight space more than anyone else and have combined their experience, data, and ideas to build SURFF Company into a leading freight space trading platform company. We met with Choi Sun-jin, CEO of SURFF Company, which became an independent company in February 2023.
What motivated you to apply for the Zer01ne Program?
At first, I didn’t know much about the Zer01ne program, but I joined it because Hyundai Glovis had an internal learning organization program, and my team was named the best learning organization in that program, and as a reward for being the best team, we were automatically entered into the final round of the Zer01ne program.
How did you come up with the idea of a trading platform for ships?
During the COVID 19 pandemic, we faced a shortage of cargo space throughout the country, making it difficult to import and export. However, there were often cases where freight space contracted by Hyundai Glovis were suddenly left behind due to semiconductor problems or factory shutdowns. These leftover freight spaces were a resource that someone really needed, but we had no choice but to return them to the shipowner. So we came up with the idea of a platform that would share information about leftover ships and make it easy for companies that really need them to trade them.
When you applied, did you expect to end up changing affiliations and starting a company?
We didn’t expect it at all. A total of 10 teams were selected to participate in the Hyundai Motor Group Zero One program, and we were told that only four or five of them could eventually spin off. Most of the other teams’ ideas were on topics that are popular in the startup market, such as automotive industry technology, AI, and robotics, so we didn’t expect to be selected.
What are SURFF company’s strengths as a freight trading platform?
While there are a few platforms that compare comprehensive logistics services, it’s hard to get price transparency because logistics services are a mix of inland transportation, customs clearance, and ocean shipping. SURFF company specializes in freight space and we collect freight space data faster than any other company in the world. This gives us an advantage over competing platforms in transparency and data reliability by providing not only the information needed in the field, but also the raw data that makes up the resulting values.
SURFF company employees in a meeting
You became an independent company in February last year. That must have been both exciting and worrying.
I remember feeling a stronger sense of accomplishment than ever that my idea had been recognized against so much competition, but as I looked forward to leaving and becoming independent, I could barely sleep a week before because of the anxiety and fear of leaving a large, stable company and being on my own.
How is the staff of the SURFF company organized?
We currently have 9 employees: 8 full-time employees and 1 intern. I am the only one who came from Hyundai Glovis.
Han Ji-sung, who left Hyundai Glovis to start SURFF Company with CEO Choi Sun-jin.
What was the biggest challenge from joining the Zer01ne program to the spin-off?
The most challenging part was meeting customers face-to-face to introduce and convince them of the new service in a closed shipping market. There were many people who were unhappy with the idea of a shipping logistics platform that deviated from the existing system, and there were many customers who rejected SURFF Company. However, it was necessary to listen to various customer opinions and get feedback to improve the service to make it perfect. To this day, I think that meeting each customer is the most difficult, but also the most important thing.
What are the future plans and ambitions of the SURFF company?
In the future, we plan to accelerate the digitization of the shipping logistics industry and increase the transparency of the shipping business by efficiently collecting, organizing, and providing large amounts of shipping data. We will optimize the user experience and improve the platform so that small and medium-sized enterprises can access the logistics services of large enterprises. We will also enter the global market and become a global leader by providing services that reflect global shipping data.
CEO Choi Sun-jin and Director Han Ji-sung
This column will be the first time I’ve seen with the people of Hyundai Glovis in a while. so please say a word to them.
Hello, this is Choi Sun-jin and Han Ji-sung, who enjoyed working at Hyundai Glovis until February last year. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues, juniors and seniors who always welcomed and supported me when I visited the company for business meetings. I didn’t know it when I was inside Hyundai Glovis, but when I stepped outside, I realized that Hyundai Glovis’ position in the global forwarding market is overwhelmingly stronger than any other logistics company. With this background, we have been able to win various government-backed projects as well as external investments simply by being a logistics platform created by former Hyundai Glovis employees. In particular, we are providing better services through the feedback we have received from the Global Logistics Division. The shipping market is becoming more unpredictable due to the rapidly changing logistics environment. If you have a shortage or surplus of vessels, please feel free to contact SURFF Company at any time. We’re here to help!
By Editorial Department
2024.05.24