STANDARD
kunokim@gmail.com

From business plan to first buyer.

Most consultants hand over a market report and stop there. We build the entry strategy into your business plan, then open the doors — distributors, agents and industry figures in the market you are entering.

Japan
Digital memorial service
Brand strategy · partnership contact map
United States
Sports lesson marketplace
Market structure · entry scenarios
Singapore & Vietnam
Education technology app
Market sizing · segmentation · positioning
Europe
Industrial waste heat recovery
Value chain · regulation · route to market
Container terminal at dusk
Core service

Market entry, built to be executed

Research reports are easy to buy. What usually goes missing is everything after: who to meet, in what order to enter, and what has to happen in the first six months. Without that, the report ends up in a drawer. That is the part we take on.

Start at the business plan

We come in before the decision is made, not after.

  • Product–market fit tested against the target country — including whether now is the right time
  • Business plan and revenue model rebuilt around the entry
  • Resource requirements, investment scale and payback timing
  • Delivered in a form you can put straight into an investor deck or a government grant application

Entry and penetration strategy

Not just what to do, but in what order.

  • Market sizing, competitive structure, regulation and distribution analysis
  • Segmentation, positioning, local brand message and marketing mix
  • Entry mode — direct export, distributor, joint venture or local entity
  • Channel sequence, first-year budget allocation and a twelve-month execution calendar
  • Checkpoints, review metrics and clear conditions for pivoting or pulling out

Introductions on the ground

This is where we differ most. We connect you to people, not to a list.

  • Distributors, retail buyers, agents and importers identified and approached
  • Industry associations, trade fairs and sector opinion leaders
  • Meetings arranged and attended, negotiation support, follow-up managed
  • Partner candidates vetted; advice on terms before you sign
  • Drawing on a network built across Europe, the US and Japan over four decades at Samsung, Sony and Kodak
Meeting room prepared for a first introduction
How we work

Four stages

1

Assess

We look at the product, the target market and your internal capacity first. If it is too early to go, we say so.

2

Design

Business plan and entry strategy come together as one executable plan, delivered as a report with a working session.

3

Connect

We approach distributors and industry figures on the ground and set up the meetings, attending where it helps.

4

Stay on

We remain through the early operating period, and can take on channel management and marketing execution.

New service

AI-assisted social media marketing

Once you are in a market, the brand has to be built there. We run content and paid media as two tracks, and apply AI to the repetitive production work to cut both turnaround and cost.

Ceramic and linen still life

Content

Decide how the brand should look in this market, then fill the channel accordingly.

  • Brand tone of voice and content pillars
  • Product shoot direction; image, video and copy production
  • Instagram and blog channel operation and publishing
  • Launch and seasonal campaign content
  • Categories: food and beverage, home living, beauty, fashion, industrial goods

Performance

Judged on what the spend actually returned.

  • Meta, Google and Naver campaign setup and management
  • Audience and creative testing, budget reallocation
  • Crowdfunding and direct-to-consumer launch campaigns
  • Monthly reporting on ROAS and cost per acquisition
  • Landing page and product page recommendations

Where the AI actually goes

Not everywhere. We use it for the high-volume, repetitive work — image variations, copy alternates, first-cut video, performance data cleanup — which is where it saves real time and money. Anything that requires brand judgement is still reviewed by a person.

Monthly retainerOngoing content publishing and paid media management
Single campaignA launch or seasonal push with a defined start and end
With market entrySetting up and running local channels as part of an entry project
Selected work

Recent projects

Japan
Digital memorial and posthumous message service Market receptivity analysis, primary and secondary target definition, brand marketing mix, partnership contact map and phased entry plan
2022
United States
Tennis lesson and court booking marketplace Lesson pricing structure and coach certification landscape, pain point definition, entry scenarios
2022
Singapore & Vietnam
Mathematics learning app Market sizing and customer segmentation for both countries, competitor benchmarking, positioning, business and financial plan
2022
Europe
Industrial waste heat recovery equipment Industry and technology definition, upstream and downstream value chain, entry case built on carbon regulation trends
[Year]

Client names withheld. Named case studies available on request.

Principal

Who does the work

Kunho Kim

Over ten years posted in Europe with Samsung Electronics, working in product planning, marketing and corporate brand strategy. Later CMO of Sony Korea, CEO of Kodak Korea and of iriver, and COO of the Mirae N Group.

Having run a full manufacturing value chain and both domestic and overseas distribution — and having built the relationships that came with it — is what this practice rests on.

Current
Chief Executive Officer, Seller-bridge.com — 2022 to present
Mirae N Group
Chief Operating Officer, Senior Executive Vice President
iriver
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kodak Korea
President, Country Manager & General Manager
Sony Korea
Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Consumer Company
Samsung Electronics
Head of Corporate Brand Strategy; product planning and marketing at European HQ, London and Frankfurt
Education
MBA, Korea University · BS Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University
Get in touch

If you are considering a market

Tell us the product and the country you have in mind. The first conversation ends with a defined scope and a fee.

Email
kunokim@gmail.com
Based in
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Registration
203-13-11523