Blockchain investment company “Hashid” is strengthening its “Value-add” work through its new in-house organization, “Platform Team.” Beyond simply investing in startups, the intention is to support recruitment and business development and help enhance corporate value.

According to related industries on the 6th, Hashid has established a “platform team” in the first half of the year to complete the organization and is speeding up the expansion of the blockchain ecosystem.

To this end, Lee Kyung-rok, a former Meritz Securities Co., was recruited as a platform manager in the first half of last year as a major human resource. The manager was in charge of overseas alternative investment at Meritz Securities, and in Hashed, he oversees portfolio management and business development.

Hashed also recruited Han Sang-woo from Spark Lab as a community lead. SparkLab is the first place to introduce the concept of an “accelerator” that fosters startups in Korea, and is a famous startup investment company called the “Korean version of Y Combinator.” Han Reed was in charge of business development at SparkLab, and Hashed oversees community strategies by connecting partners and portfolio companies.

They are all members of the platform team, a new organization. The main role of the platform team is ‘Value Ad’ of portfolio companies.

Value Add is a term originally used in the real estate market, and refers to increasing the value of assets through strategies such as remodeling or expansion. Applying this to startups increases corporate value by supporting startups’ recruitment or business development.

Hashed plans to support the growth of portfolio companies through platform teams. The platform team’s main task is to support recruitment links and support PR communication and business development through Hashid’s talent training program “Protocol Camp.” Currently, the platform team consists of two existing Hashed personnel, manager Lee, and four people, including Han Reed.

Although it is an unfamiliar model in Korea, overseas blockchain investors are actually operating this model. For example, famous venture capital (VC) Andrison Horowitz (a16z) has more than 100 people who support portfolio companies’ market strategies and marketing.

This recruitment of manpower is interpreted as Hashed’s strategy to bring VC’s Value-Ad model into Korea. It is an attempt to grow the domestic blockchain ecosystem by growing startups beyond simple investments and restore the credibility of Hashed, which has fallen due to the so-called “Tara incident.”

An official from Hashed said, “Existing VCs often want to invest as FI (financial investors),” adding, “VC recruited manpower in the first half to support the recruitment and business development of startups.”