From service to solution

GroundK carries multiple "first" distinctions: it was the first to digitise the manual, phone-based work of event protocol and transport through a self-developed online solution, and the first MICE-tech company to raise a KRW 2 billion investment. It has since entered Singapore and Thailand, the two largest tourism markets in Southeast Asia.

In a recent interview, CEO Jang said the company's portfolio had broadened from protocol and transport into transport-operations solutions, and that its character had shifted from a service company to a technology company. He added that, following KRW 5 billion in revenue last year, the target for this year is KRW 8 billion.

Six years from idea to launch

Jang, a hotelier by background who spent more than 15 years in protocol and transport before founding GroundK in 2017, spent six years — from initial concept through technical development — before launching the first service in 2019. The inspiration came from Uber.

"There was a fixed belief that dense, meticulous service had to pass through human hands. Then by chance I saw Uber's real-time dispatch and routing, and it opened my eyes completely."

The AI- and GPS-based real-time vehicle dispatch and control system generated immediate demand on launch. The 2019 ASEAN-Korea Summit proved a defining moment for the company's credibility: Jang installed a large monitor at the secretariat to demonstrate the advantages of the real-time system, and personally purchased 50 smartphones to distribute to drivers as a safeguard against any communication failures.

Covid as an accelerator

The Covid pandemic that followed became an opportunity to deepen the technology. GroundK expanded its development team during the shutdown and upgraded its real-time dispatch and control system into a cloud-based SaaS platform. That groundwork allowed the company to launch two products ahead of the market's reopening: T-RiseUp, a transport-operations solution for logistics operators, hotels, resorts, theme parks, and corporates; and RIDEUS, a B2C platform combining travel and transport. Jang describes T-RiseUp, which customers subscribe to, as the company's cash-cow business.

Growth and overseas expansion

With more than half of its 35 employees working in development, the investment in technology translated into a strong run of event contracts. Last year alone GroundK handled transport for the Louis Vuitton pre-fall show, the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit, the ADB Annual Meeting, and the Sakyadhita World Conference; it also managed protocol and transport for the 2024 World Table Tennis Championships held in Busan in February.

The protocol and transport service, previously centred on discrete events, has expanded into a year-round offering through the addition of the Kakao T Business event and protocol channel. With its two flagship businesses now firmly established, Jang said the company plans to pursue overseas markets aggressively — starting with Japan this year, following its earlier entries into Singapore and Thailand.

▸ View original: Edaily