My Odyssey at Moon Creative Lab: Connecting, Innovating, and Transforming Beyond Boundaries

_{Author: Khairil Azmi is Moon Creative Lab’s Program Manager for Asia-Pacific, based at the Mitsui & Co.’s Asia-Pacific regional HQ in Singapore. A Mitsui employee originally from Mitsui Indonesia, he joined Moon Creative Lab in October 2021, responsible for business development across the region.  At Mitsui, he concurrently handled strategic planning’s diverse and dynamic activities for the region in 2021-2024.}

My journey at Moon Creative Lab has been nothing short of transformative. As a Program Manager for the thriving Asia Pacific region, I have had the privilege of connecting people, ideas, and opportunities: helping creative thinkers become founders and supporting startups as they grow. Whether it was sourcing new collaborations, bridging corporate and entrepreneurial worlds, or supporting them through the innovation process, every step reinforced the power of experimentation, resilience, and strategic networking. Working in Moon’s dynamic, human-centered environment has not only sharpened my ability to navigate ambiguity and think entrepreneurially, but has also deepened my belief in the impact of bold ideas and meaningful connections.

I would like to share key insights and reflections from this journey, lessons that have shaped my perspective on innovation, collaboration, and personal growth. Here, you can read about the experiences navigating the intersection of corporate and startup ecosystems, the skills developed, and the impact on Moon Creative Lab’s efforts in fostering entrepreneurial mindsets.

Starting the Journey

During my tenure at Mitsui Indonesia, due to Mitsui’s efforts in exploring collaboration and investment opportunities with startups in 2018-2019, I found myself deeply immersed in the startup ecosystem. One of the key milestones was proposing, initiating, and bringing to life a partnership with an accelerator from Japan that focused on supporting early-stage startups in Indonesia. This initiative became a platform for actively engaging with startups, including serving as a judge at pitch events. My team and I connected with over 120 startups, venture capitalists, incubators, and accelerators, forging strong relationships and immersing ourselves in Indonesia’s vibrant innovation ecosystem, the second-largest in Asia, second only to India. 

These interactions offered a front-row seat to the unfiltered passion of founders, their innovative ideas, and their relentless drive. However, it also exposed a harsh reality: many of these startups failed to survive, their dreams fading before they could fully take flight.

Meanwhile, within Mitsui, I was surrounded by brilliant colleagues brimming with creative ideas. Yet, these ideas often remained untapped, disconnected from their organization's immediate business priorities. This disconnect was a missed opportunity, both for the individuals and for Mitsui.

When Mitsui announced the establishment of Moon Creative Lab in 2018 to channel internal ideas into actionable ventures, I recognized it as the perfect solution to bridge this gap and was able to join Moon in 2021.

Initially, Moon focused solely on ideas from Mitsui employees. While this aligned perfectly with my enthusiasm for unlocking internal potential, I quietly nurtured a dream that Moon would one day open its doors also to external startups. Little did I know that this vision would soon become a reality.

Setting My Own Course at Moon

Joining Moon Creative Lab gave me the opportunity to blend my previous experiences with a larger purpose: empowering idea owners to turn bold ideas into reality. My role allowed me to contribute to an ecosystem where creativity meets execution, enabling individuals to navigate challenges, refine their ideas, and eventually build ventures with real-world impact. 

As Moon evolved to include external startups, my prior engagements with the innovation ecosystem became invaluable. Leveraging my network of startups, accelerators, and venture capitalists, I helped bring in diverse participants for Moon’s educational and incubation programs and workshops, which created a vibrant mix of perspectives and creativity and strengthened cross-border collaboration. 

At the same time, I maintained my role at Mitsui & Co. (Asia Pacific). Balancing the corporate and startup worlds required constant adaptability, navigating structured processes while embracing the fast-paced, iterative nature of innovation. This unique dual perspective allowed me to bridge corporate strategy with entrepreneurial thinking, reinforcing the value of agility, cross-sector collaboration, and bold execution in driving meaningful change. 

While serving as the strategic planning PIC for several countries in Mitsui’s Asia Pacific region, I ensured ideas from Mitsui colleagues aligned with long-term goals. When ideas advanced from learning programs to incubation, we translated corporate objectives into actionable startup methodologies with Moon's expert support. Through this collaboration, we also learned from each other. I gained firsthand experience in the concrete, hands-on application of design thinking from Moon’s teams, embracing a true ‘learning by doing’ approach. At the same time, Moon’s teams deepened their understanding of corporate strategy, including how large organizations leverage their extensive networks, vast business portfolio, and structured decision-making processes to drive long-term growth and impact.

Key Lessons from My Time at Moon

My time at Moon has also equipped me with skills that transcend traditional corporate boundaries:

• Strategic networking: Engaging with over 300 startups, VCs, and founders and participating in events across Asia-Pacific provided me with the opportunity to foster collaboration, making connections between Mitsui and promising startups, incubators, accelerators, and VCs, and identifying new business opportunities. For instance, during the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF) 2023, I connected with numerous startups, and brought them into our program. This led to exploratory discussions on potential collaborations, including pilot projects to test the startups’ solutions within Mitsui’s network. This was not a one-time occurrence. I consistently leveraged Mitsui's network and portfolio to expand our engagement beyond Moon’s programs, exploring potential collaborations.
   
• Design thinking: Before joining Moon, I often jumped straight into ideas without fully understanding the real problems that customers faced, relying mostly on creativity and desk research. Through my experience at Moon, I learned to initiate new business creation by first identifying genuine pain points, ensuring solutions were rooted in real needs rather than assumptions. In my second year at Moon, one of the ideas I developed with a colleague followed this approach and was selected for Moon’s incubation program. I worked closely between the co-founder and Moon's team, revisiting the problems, conducting stakeholder interviews, refining solution concepts, and progressing through PoC and beyond. In addition to applying these principles, I spearheaded workshops to help teams refine ideas based on customer insights and brought Mitsui’s regional employees into Moon’s learning and incubation programs, immersing them in the design thinking process firsthand. 
   
• Cross-cultural collaboration: Managing initiatives with teams across 15 countries allowed me to collaborate with diverse groups of people from different backgrounds and regions, opening new perspectives and solutions. During my time at Mitsui Indonesia, my interactions with colleagues from other countries were mostly limited to emails and involved only a few countries. However, at Moon, while generating leads across 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, I had the opportunity to engage with them in person, especially through learning programs. This direct, first-hand interaction with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, languages, perspectives, and problem-solving approaches, greatly enriched my own outlook. It broadened my perspective, deepened my understanding of different ways of thinking, and ultimately helped me grow both personally and professionally, enhancing my inclusivity and openness.

As mentioned above, I have learned a lot at Moon. However, in closing, I would like to share one of the most valuable lessons I learned during my time at Moon. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is the importance of starting with real problems before jumping to solutions. True innovation is not just about generating ideas. It is about deeply understanding unmet needs, iterating based on real-world insights, and identifying opportunities and solutions through continuous learning.

Whether in a corporate setting or an entrepreneurial venture, the ability to challenge assumptions, engage stakeholders, and test ideas systematically makes all the difference. By embracing design thinking, strategic networking, and cross-cultural collaboration, we can bridge the gap between vision and execution, transforming abstract ideas into practical, validated solutions.

Transformation Never Stops

Equally important, this journey has connected me with an incredible network of forward-thinking colleagues, founders, and innovators who challenge assumptions, push boundaries, and bring diverse perspectives to solving problems. The relationships I have built along the way are not just part of my past. They will continue to shape how I approach new opportunities, collaborations, and challenges in the future.

No matter where you are in your journey, the potential to create meaningful change is always in your hands. Take that first step, connect with the right people, and let the journey unfold.