Upright Consulting

What Upright Consulting does

Upright Consulting (업라이트컨설팅) is a Seoul-based, founder-owned consulting firm that provides investor relations (IR) and pitch deck consulting services to Korean startups and the government-backed institutions that support them. The company operates against the problem that promising Korean startups fail to secure investment because their value proposition is not communicated in investor-understandable language and structure, rather than because their underlying technology or market is weak. Its service architecture is built around three tiered packages — Package 01: Pitch Deck Optimization, Package 02: Technology Commercialization IR, and Package 03: Global IR & Exhibition Pitch — supported by four core consulting modules (IR Diagnostic, IR In-Depth Consulting, IR Deck Design, IR Pitch Consulting) and full end-to-end demo day and event operations. All visual design work is delivered through its wholly-owned sub-brand, rightup design studio, which handles IR pitch deck and presentation materials visualization.

The company's proprietary technology is its HSO (Hook-Storytelling-Offer) methodology for structuring investor narratives, applied to IR story redesign, story flow construction, and pitch deck design. HSO connects problem definition with quantitative data, growth narrative with technical defensibility and traction metrics, and investment offer with ROI rationale and use of funds. Upright does not sell a SaaS product; its IP is a consulting methodology refined across 4,000+ startup engagements, 2,000+ IR documents produced, and 500+ completed package programs, with a 97% reported customer satisfaction rate. The company also offers 1:1 mentoring, IR training programs, and global IR support for exhibitions such as CES and SWITCH.

Upright generates revenue through project-based professional services fees, with budget tiers ranging from under 1M KRW to over 30M KRW per engagement (and up to 100M+ KRW per public pricing notes). The company runs a sales-led and event-driven go-to-market: clients reach out via a website contact form with a same-day response guarantee, or are acquired through partnerships with accelerators and government-backed startup programs. The company reports multi-year institutional relationships with IBK Innovation Center (IBK창공) and five regional Chambit Creative Economy Innovation Centers (Gangwon, Gwangju, Gyeongnam, Incheon, Chungbuk), and operates nationwide from Seoul and Daejeon offices. The company is registered as a women-owned business (여성기업) and is bootstrapped and founder-owned, with no external funding rounds disclosed.

Name

Upright Consulting

Legal name

Upright Consulting

Website

https://upright.co.kr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Upright Consulting is a Seoul-based, founder-owned IR consulting firm serving Korean startups and startup support institutions. It offers pitch deck design, technology-to-investor narrative translation, and demo day operations via its proprietary HSO methodology and rightup design studio sub-brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investor Relations Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

Keywords

• IR consulting services
• Pitch deck design
• Startup investor relations
• Demo day operations
• Fundraising narrative consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services Consulting: Project-based professional services fees for IR consulting, pitch deck design, education programs, demo day operations, and global IR support. Revenue is generated per engagement with clients including startups and institutional programs. Budget ranges provided on inquiry form range from under 1M KRW to over 30M KRW.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Upright Consulting is a Korean startup investor relations consulting firm that helps early-stage companies articulate and present their value proposition to investors. Core deliverables include pitch deck design, IR strategy advisory, demo day event operations, and a dedicated startup design sub-brand, sold as three service packages and four core IR modules.

Product overview

Upright Consulting (업라이트컨설팅) offers a multi-package service architecture for startup IR (Investor Relations) and pitch deck consulting. The core offerings consist of three service packages — Package 01: 피치덱 고도화 (Pitch Deck Optimization), Package 02: 기술특화 IR 고도화 (Technology IR), and Package 03: 글로벌 IR·전시회 피칭 (Global IR & Exhibition Pitch) — supported by four core consulting modules: IR 진단 컨설팅 (IR Diagnostic), IR 심층 컨설팅 (IR In-Depth Consulting), IR Deck 디자인 (Design), and IR 피칭 컨설팅 (Pitch Coaching). These are complemented by demo day and event operations services. All visual design is delivered through the dedicated sub-brand rightup design studio. The company also provides IR materials (proposals, business plans, company profiles), startup education programs, and 1:1 mentoring, operating from Seoul and Daejeon offices for nationwide coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• rightup design studio: Professional design brand specializing in IR pitch deck and presentation materials visualization, launched from Upright Consulting.

Products and services

• IR Consulting (3 service packages)
• Core IR Modules (4 modules)
• Pitch Deck Design
• Demo Day Operations
• Startup Design Sub-brand

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% customer satisfaction rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IBK창공 (IBK Innovation Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOngoing strategic partnership with IBK Innovation Center (IBK기업은행 창업지원控股). Upright Consulting provides IR consulting, pitch deck redesign, and event operations for IBK창공 demo days. The partnership has been sustained over multiple years (at least 2024–2025), with Upright attending IBK창공 demo days annually to support represented companies. IBK창공 operates programs in Seoul, Daejeon, and Busan locations, with Upright engaged across all regions.
• 창조경제혁신센터 강원 (Gangwon Creative Economy Innovation Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOne of five regional Chambit (창조경제혁신센터) centers partnered with Upright Consulting for the 2025 창업-BuS 연합 IR program. Upright provides full program operations including IR consulting, startup mentoring, presentation coaching, and event management for startups affiliated with the center.
• 창조경제혁신센터 광주 (Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOne of five regional Chambit (창조경제혁신센터) centers partnered with Upright Consulting for the 2025 창업-BuS 연합 IR program. Contributed startups from the Gwangju region to the national IR event co-hosted with Upright.
• 창조경제혁신센터 경남 (Gyeongnam Creative Economy Innovation Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOne of five regional Chambit (창조경제혁신센터) centers partnered with Upright Consulting for the 2025 창업-BuS 연합 IR program. Upright handled consulting, design, and operations for participating startups.
• 창조경제혁신센터 인천 (Incheon Creative Economy Innovation Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOne of five regional Chambit (창조경제혁신센터) centers partnered with Upright Consulting for the 2025 창업-BuS 연합 IR program. Had previously contracted Upright for the 2024 인천창조경제센터 창업 BuS 연합 IR event.
• 창조경제혁신센터 충북 (Chungbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOne of five regional Chambit (창조경제혁신센터) centers partnered with Upright Consulting for the 2025 창업-BuS 연합 IR program. Had previously contracted Upright for the 2024 충북창조경제센터 창업 BuS 연합 IR event.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Beautiful.ai: Beautiful.ai is an AI-powered presentation platform that helps startups build investor and sales decks faster through smart templates. It competes with Upright on the design execution layer of IR materials, particularly for startups with constrained budgets.
• Superside: Superside is a subscription-based design service that delivers pitch decks, brand materials, and presentation design for startups and growth-stage companies. It overlaps with Upright on the design execution of investor materials and competes on speed, price, and on-demand access.
• Penji: Penji is an unlimited design subscription service that produces pitch decks, presentations, and marketing collateral for startups and SMBs. It represents a lower-cost, technology-mediated alternative to Upright's design-and-consulting integrated offering.
• Pitch: Pitch is a collaborative presentation software platform used by startups, investors, and corporate strategy teams. As a software-led alternative to consulting-driven pitch deck production, it represents a structural competitor that could compress the addressable market for boutique IR design services.

Direct peers

• Slidebean: Slidebean is a pitch deck creation platform that combines AI-assisted design with consulting services for startups preparing investor presentations. Like Upright, it targets early-stage founders needing structured investor narrative support, though Upright's offering is fully human-delivered and Korean-market focused.
• Visible.vc: Visible.vc is an investor relations and fundraising platform that helps startups manage investor communications, updates, and pitch workflows. While software-led, it addresses the same IR pain point Upright targets—helping startups communicate effectively with investors.
• Prezent: Prezent is an AI-powered enterprise presentation platform with a services overlay that helps business teams build investor-grade and executive presentations. It overlaps with Upright in delivering structured, audience-tailored presentations, but at enterprise scale rather than early-stage startup focus.
• Tactile: Tactile (formerly SlideGenius) is a presentation design agency specializing in pitch decks and corporate presentations for startups and enterprises. It competes directly with Upright's rightup design studio in the outsourced pitch deck production market, though Tactile operates primarily in the US.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Edelman is a global PR and communications firm with investor relations and corporate narrative practices serving high-growth and publicly-listed companies. It is a broader incumbent that addresses the same IR communications function Upright performs, but for enterprise-level clients rather than early-stage Korean startups.

Regional players

• beSUCCESS: beSUCCESS is a Korean startup media and event platform that produces demo days, startup conferences, and ecosystem content. It operates in an adjacent GTM lane to Upright's event operations and demo day services, sharing the same Korean startup ecosystem audience and accelerator partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/nara-kim-346945174
• Instagraminstagram.com/upright_consulting?igsh=MWowdHg3NGg2MHVoaQ==
• Facebookfacebook.com/upright0227

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Upright Consulting