What Outstanding does

Outstanding is a Seoul-based digital media company founded in January 2015 that publishes reader-first IT news, analysis, and data products targeting the Korean startup and venture ecosystem. Founded by former traditional-media journalists, the company operates a content-led model that distributes coverage of Korean startups, venture capital activity, M&A, and technology trends through its owned website (outstanding.kr), an email newsletter reaching approximately 44,000 subscribers with 10-15% open rates, a Facebook channel of roughly 48,000 followers, 16 KakaoTalk group chat rooms totaling around 14,000 participants, and a YouTube channel. The editorial philosophy explicitly rejects pre-editing/desking and emphasizes online-native storytelling and journalist voice, differentiating the outlet from mainstream Korean financial press.

The product portfolio centers on a tiered subscription membership (Premium at 13,900 KRW/month and Premium Plus at 139,900 KRW/month), three tiers of advertising/sponsorship products distributed across newsletter, social, and KakaoTalk channels, the annual "Startup 880" (스타트업 880) e-book covering financial performance of 700+ Korean startups across 56+ industry categories, and approximately 10 offline events per year. The company has no proprietary technology platform disclosed beyond its publishing website and content distribution channels.

Business model revenue is split across subscription recurring revenue, advertising/sponsorship, event-driven revenue, and one-time e-book sales. The customer base is fragmented across Korean startup founders and CEOs, venture capital and angel investors, corporate innovation teams, and general tech-curious professionals. Outstanding was acquired by Ridibooks in December 2018, regained independence in September 2021, re-acquired its SampoTV YouTube channel in May 2022, and launched YouTube operations in January 2023. The company is privately held and founder-controlled, operates with 11-50 employees, and is headquartered at Park Tower 1 in Yeouido, Seoul.

Name

Outstanding

Legal name

주식회사 아웃스탠딩 컴퍼니

Website

https://outstanding.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Outstanding is a Seoul-based digital media company (founded 2015) that publishes reader-first IT news, analysis, and an annual e-book covering 700+ Korean startups, serving founders, venture investors, and corporate innovation teams via subscription, advertising, and KakaoTalk community channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Media Publishing (Korean IT & Startup News)

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD), Creator Publishing & Membership Platforms (Writer-Centric) (MPACAIAD), Digital Content & Media Subscriptions (CRAFAIAA)

Keywords

• Korean startup news
• Premium membership media
• Venture capital coverage
• Startup financial data
• Online journalism platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Premium Membership Subscriptions: Two-tier monthly subscription model. Premium Membership priced at 13,900 KRW/month; Premium Membership Plus at 139,900 KRW/month. Both auto-renew monthly. Provides access to hundreds of new articles and thousands of archived articles per month. Primary recurring revenue engine.
2. Advertising / Sponsorship Products: Three branded content/advertising tiers: Sponsorship (newsletter only), Sponsorship Plus (newsletter + Facebook + KakaoTalk), and Sponsorship VIP (newsletter + social + dedicated banner placement). Also produces branded content via articles and YouTube. Historically the company's main business model alongside membership.
3. Offline Events: Runs approximately 10 offline events per year (currently paused/scaled due to COVID-19 era impacts). Provides additional revenue and community engagement.
4. E-book Sales: Publishes annual e-books aggregating performance data on hundreds of Korean startups (e.g., '스타트업 880곳 실적 모아보기'). Sold as premium content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Outstanding is a Korean digital media company that publishes reader-first online journalism on the Korean IT, startup, and venture capital ecosystem. Its core offerings are paid Premium Membership subscriptions (13,900 KRW/month and 139,900 KRW/month Premium Plus tiers) granting access to gated articles and archives, an annual Startup 880 e-book analyzing financial performance of 700+ Korean startups, multi-tier advertising/sponsorship products distributed via newsletter, Facebook, and KakaoTalk, and community-building offline events. The company distributes content through its owned website, email newsletter, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and 16 KakaoTalk group chat rooms.

Product overview

Outstanding operates a tech startup news platform with a tiered premium membership model (Premium at 13,900 KRW/month and Premium Plus at 139,900 KRW/month), a newsletter with ~44,000 subscribers, and an annual e-book (Startup 880) analyzing 700+ startups. The company also offers three tiers of advertising products (Basic, Standard, Premium) distributed across newsletter, Facebook, and KakaoTalk channels with access to 16 community chat rooms totaling ~14,000 participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Three consecutive years of annual e-book publication covering 500+ then 700+ startups
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 삼프로TVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Outstanding operates the 삼프로TV YouTube channel (reacquired in May 2022 after prior sale). The channel is used for video content, interviews, and event coverage. Outstanding and 삼프로TV co-produce the '앙트러프러너십 칼리지' entrepreneurship education program, with Outstanding serving as media partner for PR activities.
• Ridi Select (리디셀렉트)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2019Outstanding's e-books were distributed through Ridi Select from December 2019 until approximately September 2021 when Outstanding re-independent and moved to its own platform.
• Ridi (리디)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2018Outstanding was acquired by Ridi in December 2018 and operated as a subsidiary under Ridi's e-book ecosystem. Ridi Select distribution partnership began in December 2019. Outstanding regained independence around September 2021 as the company sought to build its own platform and direct reader relationships.
• Kakao (카카오)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2015Early crowdfunding campaign '스타트업은 드라마다' was conducted via Kakao Story Funding in March 2015. Kakao Talk channels are used for community distribution (16 group rooms with ~14,000 participants).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Platum: Korean startup-focused media outlet covering venture funding, founders, and ecosystem news. Closely comparable to Outstanding in audience (Korean founders and investors) and content format (digital-first startup journalism).
• VentureSquare: Korean startup and venture media publishing Korean startup news, interviews, and analysis. Direct competitor for the same founder/VC audience and a similar subscription-supported business model.
• The Startup (thestartup): Korean tech/startup news platform covering Korean startups and ecosystem developments. Comparable in target audience, content niche, and digital news distribution model.
• Bloter: Korean IT and tech media outlet with broad tech-industry coverage. Comparable as a Korean digital-first tech news competitor pursuing overlapping founder/enterprise advertising dollars.
• The Information: Subscription-based, premium tech/startup news outlet with deep reporting and proprietary data products. Comparable as a niche, high-priced subscription news product targeting founders and investors.

Broad incumbents

• Chosun Biz: Major Korean business/tech news outlet with paid digital subscription tiers. Comparable as a larger Korean news publisher with subscription, newsletter, and sponsorship monetization that overlaps with Outstanding's enterprise audience.
• Korea Economic Daily (Hankyung): One of Korea's leading business newspapers with substantial digital subscription and newsletter products. Comparable as a broad incumbent in Korean business/tech publishing that competes for the same enterprise and investor readers.
• TechCrunch: Global startup/tech news outlet with newsletter, events, and subscription products. Comparable in editorial approach (startup-first, reader-led coverage) and audience overlap with Korean founders/investors who consume global startup media.

Regional players

• 36Kr: Leading Chinese-language tech and startup media platform with newsletter, data products, and events. Comparable in multi-channel startup media + proprietary data approach, though serving the China market rather than Korea.

Others

• Ridi (Ridibooks): Korean digital content/e-book platform that previously owned Outstanding and distributed its e-books via Ridi Select. Comparable as an adjacent digital publishing/distribution platform with overlapping e-book and subscription products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@outstanding_kr
• Xx.com/outstandcrew
• Facebookfacebook.com/outstandingcrew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/outstandcrew

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Outstanding