KOISRA Co., Ltd

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and co-CEO of TransBiodiesel. In the beginning, we focused on the use of our enzymatic process to produce second-generation biodiesel using low-quality feedstocks. We’ve since changed our strategy to produce diesel on our own and to partner with other companies abroad to produce biodiesel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with KOISRA Co., Ltd?

One of our clients is based in Seoul, South Korea. KOISRA Co., Ltd has helped facilitate an agreement between both parties.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

KOISRA Co., Ltd introduced us to a client for producing biodiesel using second-generation feedstock. They then facilitated the contact between both parties. They accompanied the client to visit us in Israel in order to meet us and discuss the possibility of a collaboration. They assisted in providing samples to the Korean company and trained them on how to use the technology.
 
Before signing an agreement, we also visited the client in Seoul to see their facilities and assist them in using our products. KOISRA Co., Ltd accompanied us, given that it was a different culture and a very different language. They helped us close the agreement between both parties within a relatively short time—one year of exchanging terms.
 
It wasn’t only a matter of concluding the agreement; KOISRA Co., Ltd also worked to strengthen our relationship with the Korean partner by approaching a binational fund between Israel and the Korean government. Fortunately, we got the grant, which gave us the opportunity to facilitate our relationship and give them any technical assistance they needed along the way for using our enzyme technology.
 
The year-long process would’ve been very difficult for us to manage without KOISRA Co., Ltd’s help.
 
What is the team composition?

We were in contact with three people: Eyal (Founder and CEO, KOISRA Co., Ltd), David (Founder, KOISRA Co., Ltd), and an administrative assistant.

How did you come to work with KOISRA Co., Ltd?

Someone introduced me to David to discuss the possibility of using our technology by Korean firms. By that time, we knew there was a lot of interest in Israeli technology from the Korean government. After we discussed it, he started to look for clients in Korea and managed to find one. There were two other candidates, but they didn’t fit with our applications.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of their services was around $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with KOISRA Co., Ltd around 2014. We still have discussions from time to time, especially during the last few months, to explore new opportunities in the Korean market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Starting the first commercial biodiesel plant in Korea was a very important event for us. Our company was a small startup. We’d developed the technology, and, by 2012, we didn’t have any commercial applications for it. The fact that we started a partnership with a Korean company impacted the progress of our company a lot. 

Biodiesel is a very competitive field, and regulations for the use of biofuels change every year. Third-generation biodiesel plants, in particular, lose a lot of money every year, and they’re very much dependent on government subsidies. This is why we focused on second-generation biodiesel, where we can use low-cost feedstock. However, it proved challenging to find a fit for us. 

David and Eyal helped a lot in bringing trust between both parties. When used that plant as a demo unit to show groups how our technology worked at a commercial scale, they assisted us in bringing visitors and showing them the Korean plant. It was a lot of work for them, and it was very successful for our company.

How did KOISRA Co., Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

The fact that David and Eyal speak both Korean and Hebrew was very valuable. They brought the Israeli and Korean parties together and built trust between both companies. I know that two other companies in Israel are in contact with KOISRA Co., Ltd to do the same thing. They are very much satisfied with their service of bringing partnerships between Israeli and Korean parties.

What did you find most impressive about them?

KOISRA Co., Ltd made our lives very easy, especially during our visit to Korea. They stayed with us the whole time so that we wouldn’t miss any issues during our stay, no matter whether we were in talks with the Korean partner, at the hotel, or around the city. It was very nice to be in contact with them during their stay in Israel and Korea.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Both David and Eyal did their job excellently. They’re very friendly people with solid technical knowledge. Eyal, in particular, is very technical. They’re not from the field, but they can understand its more complex nuances. I don’t have any recommendations for them to strengthen any part of their business.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’m in contact with two companies, and I always recommend that they involve Eyal in future collaborations. He’s very much familiar with the industry in Israel and has lived in Korea for a long time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of sales at eTeacher Group Ltd., an e-learning platform. We offer live lessons with teachers and everything is recorded so that users can go back and review. The main method, however, is to learn with a teacher. It’s mostly biblical Hebrew and biblical Greek, Aramaic, and some panoramic courses with Christian roots that build the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. We also teach English and have taught Chinese in the past. For the last four years, we've been venturing into the STEM field. We’re focusing on coding for children and are dealing with several markets with seven or eight languages all over the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with KOISRA Co., Ltd?

We understood several years ago that in the current market, the Jewish method of learning about the Bible was done in groups. It’s a popular learning method in the whole world, actually. In Korea specifically, there’s a lot of people that have a lot of interest in learning the scripts in English/Jewish traditional methods. In this Christian market in Korea, we understood that there are a lot of people that are willing to learn the original language of the bible in order to better understand the original meaning of names, for example.

We wanted to sell to the Korean market, which is very different from other markets. They have really tough procedures surrounding the service-level agreements you have to provide, billing, etc. We were looking for someone that could be a middleman, to guide us in everything that concerns business by Korean law and also handle PR for us in Korea. We needed to translate campaigns, create marketing copy, and help with selling and providing services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

KOISRA Co. helped us establish our presence in the Korean market. First, they assigned Korean representatives. Two or three of them were salespeople and the other is for service and tech support and also client retention. Additionally, they provided translations and other services while also charging students.

We used to handle all the marketing campaigns, including PPC, social media management, etc. In the last two years, we changed our working model and assigned all the marketing efforts to KOISRA Co. because they know the market better than us. They became in charge of bringing in leads, handling email marketing, and even setting up conferences in churches or Christian organizations in Korea. They also managed the storehouse for our study books, bibles, etc. If someone placed an order, they delivered it in up to 48 hours inside Korea.

What is the team composition?

I only worked with Eyal (Founder & CEO, KOISRA Co., Ltd) and one other person. Then there were five representatives in total.

How did you come to work with KOISRA Co., Ltd?

Eyal had a partner in the past who is Korean and studied in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He was really interested in developing our courses and to operate them for the Korean market, so he approached us. We chose them because they specialize in helping Israelian companies set up their services in the Korean markets.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $250,000–$500,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2012 until November 2019. We recently stopped our activity in Korea.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We felt that we were in good hands the whole time with KOISRA Co. and they helped us establish a functioning office in Korea. Our legal department worked with them in order to fix some business terms in order to match the Korean market. They advised us and gave us what we needed, acting independently from us and doing things that we wouldn’t normally do in order to better grasp the Korean market.

How did KOISRA Co., Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

We handled management most of the time that we worked together. We met with them, gave guidance and feedback, and monitored all their activities. After handing over all marketing to them, they became more like a provider and all the management was done by them. We met with the KOISRA Co. team on a weekly basis and sometimes daily through video conferences to share reports and feedback.

The time zone difference made us narrow down a time that we could speak with each other. All Korean activity was overseen by our English desk team leader. He and his trainers worked with the sales representatives in Korea, who all spoke fluent English. They’d share their reports, which I would analyze and give feedback on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

KOISRA Co. was a really good partner. Their team was really approachable and quick to answer even if it was nighttime there. Their leaders are intelligent and have a deep understanding of dealing with Israelian companies. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to operate in Korea, since it’s a totally different mentality that’s very traditional.

Several things in the sales scripts had to be changed in order to cater to the Korean population. The majority of students we had were of an older generation, which didn’t know any English and have very high expectations when it comes to business. For example, they want everything delivered within 48 hours directly to their door. KOISRA Co. handled deliveries on time and created a smooth business relationship with us. They were a friendly team and everything was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t succeed in the end. We had some very good years, but we felt that we couldn’t get more than we had already gotten. In other words, we couldn’t grow in this market anymore.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

KOISRA Co. can be very helpful, not only for Israel-based companies but to other companies in Europe or the US.