[Kyung Hee University's Campus Town Startups 2025] Rounder, a Company that Runs Reborner, a Solution to Recycle Waste at Short-Term Events

Hong Yuri, CEO of Rounder

Developed a platform that collects single-use items and auctions or reprocesses them for redistribution
Focused on resource recycling across venues, beyond replacing disposable cups

"After adopting reusable cups at several of our events to reduce disposable cups, we noticed a much larger waste problem on site. For every kilogram of plastic saved by reducing disposable cups at venues, over three tons of waste was generated at the end of the event. To solve this problem, we now use Reborner, a solution that recycles waste from short-term events."

Rounder is a startup that provides an ESG solution "Reborner" that reprocesses resources from short-term venues to create value. It was founded by CEO Hong Yuri (27).

Reborner is a platform that collects one-time-use items such as furniture and props from pop-up stores and other short-term events, and then auctions or reprocesses them for redistribution. Rounder is focused on resource recycling for the entire venues beyond replacing disposable cups.

"The pop-up store market is growing rapidly, but it is facing a serious problem of huge waste generated during its short-term operation. When a single pop-up store closes, hundreds to thousands of resources are thrown away, including furniture, props, promotional materials, etc. In some cases, a single event can generate up to three tons or more of waste. Yet it is difficult to find solutions that directly address this waste problem."

Reborner is a platform that selectively collects some of the waste that can be recycled from pop-up stores, re-processes them (enhancing or removing brand image), and re-distributes them through auctions or general sales. The platform sorts about 10-20% of the total waste into recyclable products. This will enable the company to return an average of about 300 kilograms of resources back to the market on a per-event basis.

"It allows brands to reduce their burden of disposal and ESG risks, and consumers to keep or reuse products with unique brand value. Reborner achieves the triple value of "reducing waste," "protecting brand value," and "spreading sustainable consumption" simultaneously. It aims to become a new solution that practically solves the environmental issues that arise after pop-up stores. We will collect data on our specific performance in resource recycling from now on. This will prove the effectiveness and market potential of the Reborner."

Reborner is pioneering its initial outreach by directly proposing to brands, agencies, and large event organizers that run pop-up stores. "In line with the needs of companies looking to strengthen their ESG management, we are conducting pilot projects with brands looking for resource recycling solutions," says CEO Hong. "Through expanded partnerships with major agencies that organize and run pop-up stores, we are proposing solutions that take waste reduction into account from the event planning stage."

"We are currently building our portfolio and track record through pilot projects and plan to expand our collaboration with more brands over time based on the accumulated data and results."

Reborner's top priority this year is to validate its marketability and business model through pilot projects. Based on this, the company is preparing to attract seed-stage investment in the second half of 2025.

"We want to grow in the market and seek investment by validating our clear social value of solving the waste problem of pop-up stores and our diversified revenue model through reprocessing."

Rounder has four core members, including CEO Hong. "Our strength lies in our fast execution and flexible collaboration structure. We are also building an external collaboration system to prepare for the growth of the reprocessing part. We also plan to gradually increase the number of team members by hiring the vulnerable, such as elderly people, to work in the reprocessing process."

"In 2025, we will receive market validation and build a foundation," said Hong. "This year, we aim to run more than 30 pilot projects for resource recycling at short-term venues to concretely demonstrate the effectiveness and marketability of our business model."

Founded: May 2024
Key business areas: ‘Reborner’, an ESG solution that reprocesses short-term event venue resources to continue creating value
Achievements: Won the 2023 Minister of Employment and Labor Award. Won the 2024 Minister of Environment Award. Selected as the Best Company in the First-Time Youth Entrepreneurship Support Project in 2024. Selected as the Best Company in the 2024 Interim Evaluation by the Kyunghee University Campus Town. Included in the 2024 Promising Student Startup Team U300. Advanced to the 2024 Challenge K-Startup Finals. Admitted to the 2024 Youth Entrepreneurship Academy.

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com