Now booking Fall 2026 delegations

IR Pitch consulting for Korea's global startup programs.

Without global pitch standards, startups fail to convince international investors and miss opportunities abroad. I help your delegation deliver what they expect.

Book a discovery call

Trusted by Korean institutional partners

KISED NIPA KTO Innopolis KOCCA KITA GBSA KVCA KB Holding Korea Sports Promotion Foundation Daejeon CCEI Gyeongbuk CCEI Chungnam CCEI KERI
200+
Korean startups coached
20+
Korean partners
13+
Years in global business
4
Countries operated from
Paris · Singapore · Seoul · Tokyo

Track record

Programs live and delivered.

2026 · Live
51
Korean startups in active 1:1 IR consulting cycles
Target markets 🇫🇷 🇸🇬 🇨🇳
Programs from
KISED KTO Korea Sports Promotion Foundation GBSA Chungnam CCEI
2022 – 2025 · Delivered
131
Korean startups received 1:1 IR pitch consulting
Markets reached 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇸🇬 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇹🇭 🇻🇳 🇦🇪 🇺🇸 🇦🇺
Partner organisations
KISED NIPA Innopolis KTO KOCCA KERI GBSA Daejeon CCEI Gyeongbuk CCEI KITA KB Holding Korea Investment Accelerator KVCA

Official recognition

Official roles, MOUs, and media appearances.

Sofian at Daejeon CCEI Global Committee
Daejeon CCEI
2024

Global Committee Member, Daejeon CCEI

Read article
MOU signing with Gyeongbuk CCEI
Gyeongbuk CCEI
2024

MOU, Gyeongbuk CCEI

TBS interview on Global Business Etiquettes
TBS
2023

TBS interview on Global Business Etiquettes

Listen to interview
World Business Angels Investors Week, Seoul Chapter
WBAF
2023

World Business Angels Investors Week, Seoul Chapter

Pitch Coach introduction

Sofian Meguellati.

$2.5M+
raised in pre-seed with global VCs
by startups I have coached over the last 12 months
Sofian Meguellati, international pitch consultant Chat on KakaoTalk Connect on LinkedIn

CEO of Hack40, a global startup accelerator

Founder of Hack40, active in Paris, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo. 13+ years building and running multi-million dollar businesses across these markets (3 years living in Korea).

Bridges Korean and global business styles

I bridge what Korean startups actually pitch with what global investors are expecting.

Global network of 100+ international VCs, 50+ corporates, and judges I work with monthly

Active across Paris, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and beyond.

Speaking, lectures & advisory

Sungkyunkwan University
2023 Lecture at Sungkyunkwan University MBA Program
CJ Foods
2022 Open Innovation seminar at CJ Foods
GS Holding
2022 Open Innovation seminar at GS Holding
Shinhan Future's Lab
2022 Global Partner, Shinhan Future's Lab
Korea Investment Accelerator
2022 MOU, Korea Investment Accelerator
Hanyang University
2019 MOU, Hanyang University Startup Support Foundation

How a 1:1 session works

The session structure.

30 to 60 minutes per session, 1 to 3 sessions per startup. Built for clear improvement before the next pitch in global markets.

01
01

Live pitch review

10 min

Startup pitches live with a timer. I track timing, structure, content gaps, and slide weaknesses in real time.

02
02

Pitch structure review

10 min

Agree on the right pitch shape for their stage and audience (VC, business development, corporate, demo day). Remove what weakens the pitch.

03
03

Content, slides, delivery feedback

20 min

Slide by slide review: opening, problem, growth numbers, market size, the ask, layout.

04
04

Q&A live practice

15 min

Startup defends the pitch under investor-style questioning. We rebuild weak answers and prepare strong ones.

05
05

Action items & next steps

5 min

Startup leaves with a written list of fixes for the next pitch.

Global pitch deck standards

A global pitch deck follows different conventions than a Korean IR document. The standards below cover what matters most to international investors.

  • A tagline that defines you in 1 second
  • Open with context, problem, solution
  • Plain language over technical jargon
  • One slide, one message
  • Embed the message in the slide title
  • Big text, especially for numbers
  • Clear go-to-market for the target region
  • Beat the biggest competitor on one specific metric
  • All traction on one strong slide
  • Funding ask: amount, use of funds, milestones
  • Appendix slides for Q&A defense

Seminar

Global Pitch Seminar.

How to build a pitch for global audiences. Localized for the market your delegation targets, whether Europe, Singapore, US, or beyond. A 1 to 2 hour session for the whole group, before each startup starts 1:1 consulting.

The 10-slide pitch framework

The 4 main parts, slide by slide, from start to end.

What hooks vs. what loses an audience

Interest is earned every 30 seconds: what hooks them, what loses them.

Slide design and the 2-deck rule

One slide, one message, plus the live deck vs. email attachment deck rule.

Q&A live practice and appendix slides

One-sentence answers, redirect, and what to keep in the appendix.

10 techniques to become a great pitcher

From “pitch like the first time” to stage rules: body, voice, eye contact.

Cultural calibration: Korean startup style vs. global investor expectations

Business etiquette differences and how to connect Korean style with global VC expectations.

As featured at Google for Startups
Group pitch workshop, example session
Watch on YouTube

Format notes

  • Duration: 1 to 2 hours
  • Group size: 10 to 40 startups per session
  • Delivery: in-person in Seoul, hybrid, or fully remote
  • Working language: English
  • Works alongside 1:1 IR consulting
  • Each participant receives my free global pitch deck e-book (87 pages in Korean)

Testimonials

What startups say.

Sofian provided invaluable insights on how to approach the European market.
Chiwon Yi CEO, Bottless
That 1-hour session was priceless and really helped us build our global strategy.
Ellie Lee CMO, apoc
The coaching is practical, insightful, and really helps transform a pitch. I felt more confident presenting to investors.
Jeong-Im CEO, ATEMs
The coaching helped me understand that improvement comes not from adding more, but from “subtracting” and refining.
Yeong-Chan Ahn Director, SML Biopharm
Recommendable and efficient way to make immediate impact to improve pitching.
Jason Bae CEO, GeneMedicine
Expect one of the best coaching sessions in building the most convincing pitch decks.
Eun Shin CEO, Voinosis

Let's plan your next program.

Book a 30-minute call to align on your program timeline and the IR consulting that fits. Let's get your next delegation ready.

Book the 30-min call Connect on Kakao

FAQ

Common questions.

Will sessions be in English? Will Korean founders follow?
Yes. I have delivered 20+ seminars and 200+ 1:1 sessions in English with Korean founders, without translation issues. Working in English is also part of preparing your delegation for the global stage. International investors will not switch to Korean for them.
Why work with a non-Korean coach?
Korean startups already know how to pitch domestically. The gap is what global investors actually look for, and that is hard to see from inside Korea. I bring 13+ years across Paris, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Can you issue Korean tax invoices for government programs?
Yes. Carte Blanche SAS invoices are accepted by all accelerator partners I have worked with since 2019.
Do you specialize in specific industries or stages?
Sector-agnostic, pre-seed to Series B. Coached startups across medtech, deep tech, hardware, consumer brands, AI/gaming, food tech, and B2B SaaS. The pitch deck fundamentals are the same. What changes is the target market angle, which I adapt per session.
Can you deliver in person in Seoul, or only remotely?
Both. I am in Seoul 3 to 4 times per year for in-person delegations. Remote sessions work just as well, proven across 200+ startups since 2019.