Breaking Preconceptions To Reach the Core of the Challenge

_{This article shares the experience of a participant in the two-day Moon Open Workshops, where they brought a business idea to life. They share their concrete experiences and what they learned about overcoming the challenges of business development.}

Introduction: What are Moon Open Workshops?

Moon Open Workshops is a two-day workshop program held at the Moon Creative Lab Tokyo studio in Omotesando. It brings together members from the Mitsui & Co. group, partner companies, and individual entrepreneurs to receive feedback from diverse perspectives and refine ideas into highly feasible business concepts.

Participants design solutions to their own business challenges using a human-centered approach. Over the two days, they utilize various frameworks and tools to transform their ideas into concrete concepts.

Why I Decided To Participate

Having experienced 0-to-1 business development in an internal project at Mitsui, I had a strong desire to delve deeper into venture-style approaches, techniques, and mentality to expand my own business development toolkit. A personal issue I was facing also aligned with the participation criteria, which further encouraged me to join.

Until then, my career had primarily focused on business investment and launching ventures in the consumer-related industry. However, most of this involved evaluating business value or replicating and scaling success based on established models.

A turning point came during the year and a half I spent on an internal project creating a new business, which concluded in March 2025. It was a daily process of identifying issues, forming hypotheses, and experimenting repeatedly to find a way into the market. In the process of creating a new business where no one had gone before, past success patterns were useless. I keenly felt the importance of forging my own path. Rather than spending time perfecting a plan, it was crucial to first identify the ultimate goal—the problem to be solved—then formulate hypotheses and take numerous actions toward it, quickly discerning which paths were promising and which were not.

This experience was a valuable opportunity for me to touch upon the venture-style approach—the "Fail fast, fail cheap" spirit—and to master the method of shaping a business through trial and error.

In today's world, the ability to define a problem yourself and combine technology and resources to build a business to solve it is becoming increasingly essential. I feel that for large corporations rich in technology and management resources, this venture-style approach is truly adding strength to strength.

I expected the Moon workshop to be a perfect opportunity for me to systematically organize the framework and mentality of this venture-style thinking and to re-examine my own experiences and understanding.

Unforgettable Moments

There were countless stimulating moments over the two days. What left a particularly strong impression was a role-playing exercise where I presented my idea to various people of different nationalities, professions, and backgrounds. In response, I heard:

"I can really relate to that!"

"I would definitely want this service! If possible, maybe you could add this feature..."

"There's a similar service in the U.S. You should check this out."

The empathetic feedback from participants, the words affirming the need for the service, and the concrete reference information—all of it was incredibly encouraging, making me feel that my idea might be more than just a whim and could be worth bringing to life.

Of course, in the process of refining my ideas within a limited time, the mountain of things to research piled up, and I sometimes felt lost, not knowing where to start. But at those times, the Moon facilitators were there to consult with, asking great questions that served as shortcuts to refining my thoughts.

Seeing the other participants, who were just as dedicated and immersed in their own challenges, also gave me the courage to push forward. A strange, strong sense of camaraderie bloomed with these peers who were struggling through the same process and approach but remained positive and determined.

I've heard that the venture world has strong horizontal connections and a culture of mutual help. Through this workshop, I feel like I got a taste of that. It truly was two days of feeling that "There's a mountain of things to do, and my thoughts are still jumbled... but I'm definitely not alone. There's always someone watching over me, encouraging me, and supporting me."

A New Step

My biggest takeaway is the attitude of "not fearing uncertainty and boldly challenging the problem in front of you."

Even in this modern era where science and technology like medicine and AI are advancing daily, many people around us still live with frustrations and inconveniences. Many of these issues exist in an invisible form, neither visualized nor quantified. However, there are certainly earnest needs that can only be noticed by those who are directly affected or have deeply experienced these problems.

People can suddenly face serious life challenges like a severe illness or caring for a parent. It's their first time, they don't know what to do, and they have to spend an enormous amount of time and effort gathering information through trial and error.

I want to launch a service that organizes reliable information (explicit knowledge) and the voices of those with experience (tacit knowledge) and provides it in a way that anyone can easily access and compare, allowing them to quickly find the necessary solutions. By doing so, I aim for a future where people can recover no matter what life challenges they face. I hope to create a sort of shelter that accepts us when we are feeling down and helps us prepare to start over with renewed energy.

From now on, using the small hints gained from my own experience, I want to contribute to social progress by visualizing and quantifying these often-overlooked issues and developing universal solutions. I now feel this strongly.

To You Who Are Hesitating

New challenges are always accompanied by uncertainty and anxiety. It's only natural to hesitate before taking the first step. If you are currently hesitating to try something new, try asking yourself this:

"What do I lose by not taking a step?" versus "What do I lose if I take a step and fail?" Which is greater?

By asking myself this, my vague anxieties often transform into concrete images, and the path forward becomes clear. If you feel that you would lose more new experiences and possibilities by not taking that step, your heart should naturally lean towards taking the step.

If you can't ignore the "I want to try this" feeling welling up from the bottom of your heart, then muster your courage and take that first step. You might find that a greater reward than you imagined awaits you. And as for what comes after that first step, leave it to your future self.

I believe that the me of tomorrow will not betray the me of today. I trust that she will see it through.
 

Join the Moon Open Workshops!
 

Learn more about the program here.
 

2025 Schedule:

• Summer: 8/21 (Thu) – 22 (Fri)
• Fall: 11/13 (Thu) – 14 (Fri)
• Winter: 2/19 (Thu) – 20 (Fri)