October 14-16, 2025 | Seoul, South Korea
Dear Founders:
Travel + Network
By Nicolce Social and Made at Dawn
Supported by
We’re taking you to Seoul, South Korea for an unforgettable 3-day experience, learning & traveling with your new biz besties. We’re here to connect, form real relationships, and flourish our businesses.
We are here for
Cultivating friendships for the next generation of founders — where biz besties meet, learn, and flourish.
Dear founders, you’re not the only one searching—in a world where networking can feel impersonal and making friends as an adult is increasingly difficult, we need [a place] to cultivate meaningful relationships.
In celebration of our first event in Seoul, South Korea, we are donating 100% of our net proceeds from the event to support North Korean orphans. Learn more here!
Our Sponsors
Our Mission is Simple…
⌘Find: Your Biz Besties
Whaaat — a super basic and not-that-deep mission statement?
But hear us out. We (Nicole and Hae) started our businesses at 20 and 18, respectively – we spent years figuring it out on our own, spending sleepless nights in our college dorms, parents’ home, working on our dreams. And when we first met each other, we knew we’d become good friends and we constantly helped and referred one another to help grow and flourish our businesses.
In fact, we became best friends.
And we wanted to make something more out of this. Not just keep this wonderful friendship we have between us, but to bring it to others who are seeking it as well. And thus, Dear Founders was born!
Fun fact: We always end our calls by expressing gratitude (x4) with one another, and this is a core memory for us. We poured everything to creating this event for you and can’t wait to meet you in-person 🩵
Mark the Dates:
October 14-16, 2025
Dear Founders is for…
Freelancers
Brand Founders
Content Creators
Solopreneurs
Whether you are a seasoned founder or freelancer, just starting out, or planning to start, you are welcome to join!
how we’re making a difference
100% of Net Proceeds Are Donated to Support Orphans in North Korea.
In celebration of our first IRL event, all net proceeds from the event will be donated to provide winter clothes, food & medicine for children in North Korea to survive the winter. Close to 10% of children die in North Korea each year due to the winter famine, and we’re donating 100% of our net proceeds from this event to help in any way we can.
Redefining Traditional Networking Events Through Field Trips.
We identified the biggest issue with modern networking: lack of personal touch. So we though, what if we incorporate small field trips through the event that allows everyone to get on a bus & explore the city? Just imagine all the connections you’ll make and meaningful conversations you’ll have at the dinner table. We can’t wait to see you IRL!
Speakers + Sessions
More speakers to be announced!
If you’re interested in speaking, please reach out to us here.
Session Topic
Social Media Content Made Easy
Nicole is the founder of Nicolce Social, a social media content agency that creates scroll-stopping content for brands & businesses. Our passion lies in creating content that are fun, fresh and engaging in the lifestyle, beauty, fashion and wellness niche.
Nicolce Social now creates for luxury product-based brands internationally to help them improve their social media presence and aesthetic.
Event activity I’m most excited about:
Meeting new people around the world to connect and chat with! I hardly get time to make new connections as I’m always working so I really can’t wait!
Session Topic
Shift+Enter: Your Dream Website Era
Hae is the founder of Made at Dawn, a website template shop and development studio for founders who believe in hard work AND hardcover novels by the pool. With years of experience as a developer and technical specialist in email marketing & SEO, Made at Dawn helps founders reclaim their daylight and live life beyond the screens.
Event activity I’m most excited about:
I think going on a lunch picnic (at the Han River!) would be such a core memory to make with everyone.
Session Topic
Prosperity Archetype & Brand Foundations
Erika Brechtel is an L.A.-based brand builder for women leaders and founders for over 20 years, featured on Forbes, HuffPost, Popsugar, Today.com and SELF.
Erika speaks for organizations such as UCLA Anderson, Junior League, Bumble Bizz, and Fabletics, and is a volunteer and non-profit board member for over 30 years committed to the empowerment of women and girls globally.
We’re super excited to see you in Seoul! Join the waitlist to get an exclusive early-bird discount when we open tickets this fall.
TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS — THE PLACES WE’LL EXPLORE!
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Hongdae
On our first day, we’ll head go Hongdae (known for street food, urban arts, and music) in the afternoon to spend some time shopping and hanging out, followed by a Welcome Dinner.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
We have a field trip to the Gyeongbokgung Palace on our second day. Your Hanbok rental (traditional dress) is included, and we’ll spend an afternoon exploring the palace, built in 1395.
Han River Picnic
Enjoy a picnic on the Han River for lunch on the last day! We set aside a good two hours for us to connect, hang out, listen to music, and walk around to make the most out of our time together.
Myeong-dong
On our last day, we will go to Myeong-dong for our afterparty. This is one of the main shopping districts in Seoul, so you’re welcome to come in and out of the restaurant while we’re there!
Your Itinerary
We put together an schedule that
Tuesday
Day One, October 14th
Event Registration at 10am
Breakfast
Welcome Session
Prosperity Archetype Workshop
Introductions & Lunch
Keynote with Erika Brechtel
Workshop TBD
Dinner in Hongdae
Wednesday
Day Two, October 15th
Breakfast at 9am
Workshop | Social Media with Nicole Lee
Workshop TBD
Networking & Headshots
Lunch
Change to Hanbok
Gyeongbokgung Palace Tour
Dinner
Thursday
Day Three, October 16th
Breakfast at 9am
Workshop | Your Dream Website Era with Hae Park
Networking & Headshots
Picnic Lunch in Han River
Workshop TBD
After-Party in Myeong-Dong
Your ticket includes
All Breakfast & Lunch
Lunch Picnic in Han River
Keynote with Erika Brechtel
6 Expert Workshop Sessions
Professional Headshot Sessions
Field Trip to Gyeongbokgung Palace
Hanbok Rental
All Transportation to Detours & Dinners
*flights, hotels, transportation to/from hotels to the event, additional drinks/snacks/dishes aside from provided, dinners/afterparty meals, and transportation after dinners are not included
Get Your Tickets
Ready to ⌘Find Your Biz Besties and Spend Three Days Exploring Korea?
JOIN THE WAITLIST TO SAVE $400 on your ticket WHEN WE LAUNCH!
Founder Pass
$900 with Early Bird Discount
Most Affordable
Secure your early-bird seat and save $400 on your ticket.
What’s Included
Pay Over Time
$100 to Enroll Today with Early-Bird Discount
Most Accessible
Save $400 on your first payment with a payment plan.
What’s Included
Need a more flexible plan?
We want our confernece to be accessible to as many people as possible. If you need a payment plan that goes beyond three installments, please send us an email at hi@dearfounders.co so we can discuss with you.
Interested in Speaking or Sponsoring? (or both!)
We’re always grateful to hear from you about your interest in speaking at Dear Founders or sponsoring us. If you’d like to sponsor and speak,
More Info/Details
If you haven’t heard already, we’re donating 100% of our net proceeds from this event to support North Korean orphans through the winter.
Once the donation is made & we hear back from the secret service agents who are making the magic happen, we’ll send an update via email.
Our Venue
We are currently working on securing our venue! Stay tuned 🙂
Breakfast & Lunch
Breakfast & lunch will be provided during the event. Snacks and drinks apart from the provided meals may be purchased directly at the venue, which is a cafe.
For dinners and the after-party, we will be taking the bus from our venue to transport the group to a designated places. However, the meals will not be included and purchased individually. Dinner and after-party attendance is optional.
Additional Costs
Here are potential costs that you may consider:
- Airline ticket
- Hotel stays
- Airport/hotel transfers
- Transportation to venue
- Transportation from dinner/after-party
- Dinners/drinks
Our rough estimate of additional costs above (excluding airline tickets) total to $850, if you arrive in Korea one day before the event and leave one day after the event.
If you want to further discuss, feel free to get in touch via email at hi@dearfounders.co!
How should I plan my travel?
Timezone conversions are definitely confusing!
For flights, we recommend using WorldTimeBuddy where we already included the Seoul timezone and the date you should arrive (October 13, in Korean time), the day before the event. From there, add your city, and calculate the departure & arrival time from there!
Here’s a link for October 17, which is the day after the last day of our event. You will likely leave on this day, unless you are staying longer to explore Korea.
For hotels, we will update this section & send an email to our attendees once our venue is confirmed so that you can refer to the location.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this an in-person event? Do I have to travel? Where is the location?
This is an in-person traveling & networking event for female founders. You do have to travel to the event (to Korea) and stay at a hotel, but the traveling part during the event (palace, Han river, etc.) are provided by us.
The location will be in Seoul, South Korea. The specific venue will be announced once it is confirmed.
How many founders will be there?
As much as we wish we could invite everyone, we have a limited capacity of 40 founders, excluding our team and speakers.
Can I join, even if I’m not a “founder“?
Yes, of course!! Dear Founders is for current, new, and aspiring founders and we welcome freelancers, brand founders, content creators, solopreneurs, side hustlers, and yet-to-be founders.
From aspiring entrepreneurs to established founders, our sessions are curated to provide actionable insights that will help you wherever you are in your business journey. Whether it’s building your brand foundations, mastering social media, or creating your dream website, there’s something here for everyone.
.What if everyone already knows each other? Will I be out of place?
First of all—that’s a totally valid hestitation. Networking events can be intimidating, especially when you don’t know anyone. We want you to be excited about the idea of making new friends! So to kick off the event, Erika, one of our speakers, will lead us through a Prosperity Archetype Workshop and we’ll group everyone by archetype to get to know one another but still have one common discussion point to open things up with.
I’m just starting out. Is this for me?
No matter where you are in your founder journey—whether you’re just starting out or have been in the game for years—we’ve designed this event to ensure everyone finds their place and their people. Our workshops and group activities are tailored to help you build genuine connections from day one.
Additionally, our events are designed to go beyond the traditional networking of exchanging business cards—we aim to create experiences that build personal relationships so that it leads to collaborations beyond our events!
Are tickets non-refundable?
We do not offer refunds at this time.
Are there any payment plans available?
Yes! We offer a pay-in-full option which is the most affordable, and a 3-month payment plan which is more accessible. You can view our payment plans here.
Is there a virtual ticket?
As the purpose of our event is to travel and network, it involves many in-person interactions and activities. For these reasons, we have decided not to offer a virtual ticket for this event.
Can I access the replays of the speakers’ workshops?
We will be filing the full workshop for our speakers and will provide them as replays in our attendee dashboard once the event is over.
Can you connect me with someone to room with?
We do not have a roomie connection opportunity at this time.
Is there a group rate if I want to purchase more than one ticket?
We do want to be mindful of who attends and how many people attend, as we have limited capacity at 40 founders. Additionally, we want to be careful of having a handful of people who already know each other well that could create a different dynamic between the group, especially as many attendees may be nervous and excited to meet new people. (including us!)
Feel free to reach out to us at hi@dearfounders.co and we will be happy to discuss further about your situation.