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<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_1874_23552297c7.jpg" alt="DSCF1874.jpg">On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, a startup pitch and networking event called "Boost PITCH &amp; CONNECT" was held at Moon’s Tokyo Studio. The event was held in a hybrid format (on site and via Zoom webinar) and attracted over 200 participants including in-person and online. At the event, 15 startups from the Spring ‘24 cohort of Moon's Boost startup support program presented their pitches.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_2095_f6835a3253.jpg" alt="DSCF2095.jpg"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_2220_0f50a42164.jpg" alt="DSCF2220.jpg"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_2337_cbd7f5653a.jpg" alt="DSCF2337.jpg"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_2041_657ff6d67b.jpg" alt="DSCF2041.jpg"><h3>15 Startups</h3><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">From Individual Entrepreneurs</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.babiew.com/">Babiew</a></li></ul>Baby products review &amp; ranking website with purchase option. Founder is Lina Kaneki.<ul><li><a href="https://www.baskit.app/">Baskit</a></li></ul>Help distribution businesses grow with financing &amp; technology. Founder is Yann Schuermans.<ul><li><a href="https://lightroads.co.jp/campusreach.html">Campus Reach</a></li></ul>Internship and career orientation app for university students across Japan. Founder is Ken Taniuchi.<ul><li><a href="https://cofilm.id/">Cofilm</a></li></ul>Health-conscious vegan snacks, gummy vitamins as first product. Founder is Royyan Wafi Pujiyanto.<ul><li><a href="https://drivejapan.co.jp/">Drive Japan Inc.</a></li></ul>Simplifies road trips planning in rural Japan for tourists. Founder is Takujiro Oto.<ul><li>FitVit</li></ul>Health-conscious vegan snacks, gummy vitamins as first product. Founder is Siward Ludin.<ul><li><a href="https://www.loovic.co.jp/">LOOVIC</a></li></ul>Guide/navigate visitors in local environments, voice-based. Founder is Toru Yamanaka.<ul><li><a href="https://www.mallsampah.com/">Mallsampah</a></li></ul>Circular economy tech provider, digitizing the traditional collection system. Founder is Adi Saifullah Putra.<ul><li><a href="https://mechlynx.com/">Mechlynx</a></li></ul>Small bicycle shop management platform with logistics capabilities. Founder is Jordan Scott.<ul><li><a href="https://www.moovby.com/jp/en/">Moovby</a></li></ul>Car-sharing marketplace where drivers can book cars from owners. Founder is Nik Muhammad Amin.<ul><li><a href="https://www.neufast.com/">Neufast</a></li></ul>AI video interview for screeners and mock interviews. Founder is Agnes Wun.<ul><li><a href="https://sellou.com/">Sellou</a></li></ul>Short-form video-based marketplace for local products. Founder is Salman Aljimeely.<ul><li><a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/Lokasoka.com">SnapTap</a></li></ul>Custom gift marketplace via smartphone keyboard extension app. Founder is Tito Guntur Safirda.<ul><li><a href="https://tekeya.io/">Tekeya Global</a></li></ul>Marketplace for food products close to expiration date, at discounted prices. Founder is Maxim Haartsen.<ul><li>V-bay</li></ul>Online auction platform focused on imported used car from Japan. Founder is Noreen Nawaz.<h3>Looking back on Boost PITCH &amp; CONNECT</h3><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:1165/1790;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_0675_1_2_f5d0a7abde.jpg" alt="DSCF0675 (1) 2.jpg" width="1165" height="1790"><figcaption>Davide Petrillo, Boost Director, Moon Creative Lab.</figcaption></figure>Davide "We wrapped up the Spring ‘24 cohort of Boost – Moon’s 3-month startup support program – with an exciting event that showcased the progress of our participants. Boost’s mission is to help early-stage startups refine their product ideas towards product-market fit, offering them access to mentorship from Moon and industry experts, a supportive entrepreneurial community, and hands-on guidance from Moon’s product team.&nbsp;Selected startups also have the opportunity to receive investment support. The event was filled with energy and innovation, as 15 of the 28 startups involved in Boost’s Spring '24 program pitched their products and services in front of a panel that included members of Moon’s leadership and investment teams. This hybrid event, attended both in-person and online, featured startups from various regions, with 50% of the startups from Japan and 50% from the APAC area.&nbsp;The pitch event was packed with diverse ideas and different entrepreneurial spirits, as our Boost participants ranged from industries like food &amp; beverage, digital retail, AI-based HRTech, family wealth, and more. Following the pitch presentations,two panel discussions were held with former Boost participants, providing insights into the growth and evolution of startups after completing the program.&nbsp;We concluded the event with a lively networking session, accompanied by food and drinks, where Boost startups had the chance to connect with representatives from Moon, Mitsui, and other industry leaders.&nbsp;A particularly exciting moment for startups in the recruitment sector was when established Moon startups, current Boost participants, and even applicants for the upcoming cohort – all from different countries – held lively discussions about the future of work. It was a powerful exchange, planting the seeds for potential partnerships and mutual support on the path to success.&nbsp;With the Spring '24 cohort concluded, we are now gearing up for the Summer '24 cohort, set to begin on September 10. Applications are also open for the following cohort starting in November. We look forward to continuing our mission of supporting early-stage startups and we can't wait to see what their future holds."<h3>Learnings from Talk Session</h3><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:3248/1202;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Group_2155_1_f17d40f49f.png" alt="Group 2155 1.png" width="3248" height="1202"><figcaption>(Left) Ms. Ikumi Narui, CEO, Inter Holdings, Inc. (Right) Mr. Shohei Horiguchi, Suup founder, Moon Creative Lab Investment Team</figcaption></figure>The pitch was followed by two panels. In the first, serial entrepreneur Ikumi Narui, who sold her company just one year after starting it and now represents Inter Holdings, Inc., which works to transform food logistics and achieve carbon neutrality through patented vacuum technology, and Shohei Horiguchi, former EIR of Moon, founder of Suup, a service that converts vacant space into unmanned coworking space, and currently a member of the Moon’s investment team after the business transfer, They shared their experiences and perspectives on a wide range of topics, from business creation to transfers and other progress. The two particularly empathized with each other when Ms. Narui reflected on the difference between her past experience in the media business and starting her current business, and how the learning that comes from experiencing the process of starting and transferring a business can increase the options for the next step in business creation. The topic also expanded to various worries and struggles related to starting a business, such as the disadvantage that in-house entrepreneurs feel towards individual entrepreneurs and the fact that female entrepreneurs are easily pointed out for the small market size of their businesses. Many stories were shared to encourage the entrepreneurs, such as real-life experiences that showed how the fear they felt was just a misunderstanding, and how small achievements paved the way for the next step.<blockquote>Horiguchi: If I were to give advice to myself at the time of starting a business, I would just say how important it is to act quickly, verify, and repeat the necessary pivots. And in starting a business, it is important to just aim high and find excellent colleagues. Those two things interact with each other, so I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that's the only thing that matters.</blockquote><blockquote>Narui: I was fortunate to experience business creation, product development, organizational development, and M&amp;A with the help of various people early on. This experience allowed me to focus more on scalability in the next steps. The experience, results, and connections I gained from my first startup give me unlimited options for my second one.</blockquote><blockquote>Horiguchi: I am currently in the investment business, and the five years of experience I gained from starting my own business has been very helpful in understanding the stories of entrepreneurs when making startup investments. If I were asked whether I am an entrepreneur or an investor, I would say the former. Someday I would like to try my hand at starting a business for the second time.</blockquote><blockquote>Narui: It is said that there are not many female entrepreneurs, but this can be seen as a tailwind because they attract more attention than their male counterparts. Even if the market is small, it is important to produce results and use those results to attract the next opportunity. I think it is important to create your own environment.</blockquote><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:3248/1079;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Group_2156_1_b972aca11b.png" alt="Group 2156 1.png" width="3248" height="1079"><figcaption>From left to right, moderator Yuki Saito, Founder CEO, FUKURY.LLC; Kotaro Takahashi, COO, Sustainable Lab Inc.; Hiroyuki Ano, Co-Founder and CEO, DELIGHT Inc.; Kiminori Yamaguchi, CEO, Atsumell Inc.</figcaption></figure>The second panel was about building an organization for a startup that determines business results and the speed of growth.&nbsp;Four speakers shared their experiences in finding co-founders and founding members and what they learned from their experiences.&nbsp;Mr. Anno of DELIGHT Inc. gave advice on the co-founder matching tool provided by Y Combinator, as well as support from the government and accelerators. Anno said, “Japan has money, Tokyo is large and has an inexhaustible support program, and there are many large companies. That kind of environment is hard to find. I think it is a good idea to take full advantage of this environment.” He also talked about his experience in searching for co-founders, saying that he was satisfied with the results of his search after interviewing people he met through the matching tool, having them take an entrepreneurial aptitude test, and choosing someone different from himself.&nbsp;Mr. Yamaguchi of Atsumell Inc. also had an experience where a founding member moved to another company when the company pivoted, and he said, "It's easy to find a co-founder if you focus on empathy for the product. However, pivots are common in startups and it is difficult to maintain a common motivation. It is necessary to share a vision at a high level."<blockquote>Follow up with people you met at the pitch</blockquote><blockquote>Use matching tools</blockquote><blockquote>Take an entrepreneurial aptitude test</blockquote><blockquote>Meet people who share a common vision</blockquote><blockquote>Invite people with different personalities to be co-founders</blockquote><blockquote>Continually promote your vision on social networking sites</blockquote><blockquote>Take full advantage of government, Tokyo, and accelerator support for entrepreneurship</blockquote>For more detail, Please check <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/boost?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=LP_en&amp;utm_id=boost2-report">Boost page</a>.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/BOOST_GRAPHICS_FLAT_5_7a480cad8f.png" alt="BOOST_GRAPHICS_FLAT 5.png">

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<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://vimeo.com/962799539?share=copy"></oembed></figure>A panel discussion event "Nordic Talks" was held on Tuesday, June 11 at Moon Tokyo Studio. 60+ people from the startup community gathered to discuss how to increase startup success with a large audience of 150+ people watching online via Zoom.&nbsp;Pitch event organizers, VCs, and entrepreneurs shared their experiences and prospects from a variety of perspectives. The entire event was recorded, and you can watch the archive on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuR0u4pmDY">YouTube</a>.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1600/820;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_7329_1_1_e7c9c68387.jpg" alt="DSCF7329 1 (1).jpg" width="1600" height="820"><figcaption>From left to right: Niklas Karvonen, Antti Sonninen, Tobias Mathiasen, Amina Sugimoto, Shintaro Ishida.</figcaption></figure>Speakers included Niklas Karvonen (Community Director, Nordic Innovation House Tokyo), Antti Sonninen (Co-founder and CEO, Takeoff Tokyo), Tobias Mathiasen (Founding Partner, SKB.vc), Amina Sugimoto (Public Health Phd, CEO of fermata KK), and Shintaro Ishida (COO of Uninomics KK). In addition, many participants, including guests from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), discussed and exchanged opinions on Tokyo's startup environment. &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1600/818;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_0607_1_b3931b7f7f.jpg" alt="DSCF0607 1.jpg" width="1600" height="818"><figcaption>At the center in this photo: Yuki Obata (Moon Creative Lab), founder of ISSHO, a Work Tech SaaS tool that visualizes each person's valuable contributions, asked about the expectations and ideals for the startup environment 10 years from now.</figcaption></figure>“We believe that the Nordic startup infrastructure and the Japanese ambition are a match made in heaven." said Reetta Purontakanen, Press Counselor, Finnish Embassy in Tokyo. The discussion heated up, focusing on how the startup environment in Japan has improved so far, and the differences between the global and Tokyo startup environment in terms of the relationship between investors and entrepreneurs. The importance of direct support for seed and early-stage startups when considering global expansion was also a focus of attention.<hr>Moon Creative Lab also hosts many other events. Please check our <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/ja/stories/page/1">Moon Stories Blog</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/moon-creative-lab/">Official LinkedIn Account</a> for latest news!

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<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://vimeo.com/950982923?share=copy"></oembed></figure>28 ventures have been selected to participate in the second cohort of Boost, a business support program offered by Moon Creative Lab.Boost is an intensive 3 month program that provides early-stage startups with support for business expansion from Moon's experts in a variety of fields. After participating in the program, businesses will also have the opportunity to pitch to Moon's investment committee for funding. In the first cohort of the program, a total of 16 startups from 10 countries participated. This year's program similarly attracted a variety of startups from Japan and abroad who underwent a rigorous screening and interview process.&nbsp;<h3>From Individual Entrepreneurs</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.babiew.com/">Babiew</a></li></ul>Baby products review &amp; ranking website with purchase option. Founder is Lina Kaneki.<ul><li><a href="https://www.baskit.app/">Baskit</a></li></ul>Help distribution businesses grow with financing &amp; technology. Founder is Yann Schuermans.<ul><li><a href="https://lightroads.co.jp/campusreach.html">Campus Reach</a></li></ul>Internship and career orientation app for university students across Japan. Founder is Ken Taniuchi.<ul><li><a href="https://cofilm.id/">Cofilm</a></li></ul>Health-conscious vegan snacks, gummy vitamins as first product. Founder is Royyan Wafi Pujiyanto.<ul><li><a href="https://drivejapan.co.jp/">Drive Japan Inc.</a></li></ul>Simplifies road trips planning in rural Japan for tourists. Founder is Takujiro Oto.<ul><li><a href="https://educourse.id/">Educourse.id</a></li></ul>Help teachers simplify STEM courses, track and manage them. Founder is Mutiara Hikma Mahendradatta.<ul><li>FitVit</li></ul>Health-conscious vegan snacks, gummy vitamins as first product. Founder is Siward Ludin.<ul><li>Furious Green</li></ul>Advanced AI technology training and consulting services. Founder is Francisco Dalla Rosa Soares.<ul><li>LESS &amp; CO</li></ul>Beers made from surplus bread and sodas made from fruit &amp; vegetables loss. Founder is Travinder Singh.<ul><li><a href="https://www.loovic.co.jp/">LOOVIC</a></li></ul>Guide/navigate visitors in local environments, voice-based. Founder is Toru Yamanaka.<ul><li><a href="https://www.mallsampah.com/">Mallsampah</a></li></ul>Circular economy tech provider, digitizing the traditional collection system. Founder is Adi Saifullah Putra.<ul><li><a href="https://mechlynx.com/">Mechlynx</a></li></ul>Small bicycle shop management platform with logistics capabilities. Founder is Jordan Scott.<ul><li><a href="https://www.menopeer.com/">Menopeer</a></li></ul>Menstrual &amp; symptom tracker app and at home hormone test kit. Founder is Kotoko Kimura.<ul><li><a href="https://www.moovby.com/jp/en/">Moovby</a></li></ul>Car-sharing marketplace where drivers can book cars from owners. Founder is Nik Muhammad Amin.<ul><li><a href="https://mycl.bio/">MYCL</a></li></ul>Eco-friendly and high-performance mycelium leather. Founder is Adi Reza Nugroho.<ul><li><a href="https://www.neufast.com/">Neufast</a></li></ul>AI video interview for screeners and mock interviews. Founder is Agnes Wun.<ul><li><a href="https://qocolor.jp/">Qocolor</a></li></ul>Project management tool for freelancers juggling multiple projects. Founder is Reina Stott.<ul><li><a href="https://www.qolaba.ai/">Qolaba</a></li></ul>Multimodal gen-AI ecosystem with content management and monetization. Founder is Prakhar Aggarwal.<ul><li><a href="https://medical-literacy.com/runners-dock/">Runners Dock</a></li></ul>Running assistant with risk factor alerts and feedback. Founder is Shuhei Kobayashi.<ul><li><a href="https://sellou.com/">Sellou</a></li></ul>Short-form video-based marketplace for local products. Founder is Salman Aljimeely.<ul><li><a href="Lokasoka.com">SnapTap</a></li></ul>Custom gift marketplace via smartphone keyboard extension app. Founder is Tito Guntur Safirda.<ul><li><a href="https://tekeya.io/">Tekeya Global</a></li></ul>Marketplace for food products close to expiration date, at discounted prices. Founder is Maxim Haartsen.&nbsp;<h3>Entrepreneurs From Mitsui</h3><ul><li>VitalGrit</li></ul>Personalized fitness content platform with qualified trainers. Founder is Serene Li.&nbsp;<ul><li>V-bay</li></ul>Online auction platform focused on imported used car from Japan. Founder is Noreen Nawaz.<ul><li>Buddy</li></ul>Supports expats new to Japan with onboarding and professional networking. Founder is Maryam Fallah.&nbsp;<h3>Ideas and Startups From Mitsui Business Units (BUs)</h3><ul><li>Robot As A Service</li></ul>Fully automated robotics hands for food manufacturing and processing. Founder is Kurata Miyashita.&nbsp;<ul><li>Agritech</li></ul>Agritech is a sensor tech for improving their productivity toward sustainable farming. Team includes Alberto Takayama and Yoshihiro Katsuyama from the Mobility I &amp; II &amp; Food BU.<ul><li><a href="https://www.marimari.eco/en/about">Marimari</a></li></ul>Waste recycling service for residents and brands in Greater Jakarta. Founder is Aris Munandar who was a previous Spark participant and encouraged to apply to our Boost program. Munandar joins us from the Mitsui Indonesia BU.<hr>*These were the idea/business descriptions at the time of writing this article. Entrepreneurship and new ventures, by nature, are constantly evolving, so these descriptions may change along the journey. For more info, Please refer <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/boost">"Boost"</a> Page.

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<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://vimeo.com/959892266?share=copy"></oembed></figure>Moon Creative Lab's Spark Spring 2024 program just wrapped up its third iteration with tremendous success. The event brought together 42 diverse participants from 11 countries and expatriates in Japan from Canada, the US, and the UK. The cohort included entrepreneurs, individuals, and corporate participants from Mazda, Kanazawa University, Modec, Mitsui, and Toyo Engineering.Over five days, participants explored problem spaces and ended by publishing business websites using no-code tools. The innovations ranged from vehicle lifecycle improvements and disruptive donation platforms to rejuvenation practices in agriculture and engaging millennials in farming. The next "Spark Summer 2024" is scheduled to Kick off on Wednesday, August 28. If you are interested in transforming your own business idea and growth, <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/spark?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=CTA&amp;utm_id=sparkLP">please join us!</a><h3>About Spark</h3><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/2_MB_DSCF_7329_1_2351ee2384.jpg" alt="2MB_DSCF7329-1.jpg">Spark is Moon's practical 1-week intensive program for 0 to 1 business creation. Participants from various regions, industries, companies, and departments come together to participate in a dynamic program to develop their business ideas.Participants are divided into several groups to quickly shape their ideas through a mix of self-driven work, lectures, and advice from facilitators. In the end they pitch their ideas using a landing page created with no-code tools.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1115/2780;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/B_Group_2138_7edb04d494.jpg" alt="B_Group-2138.jpg" width="1115" height="2780"></figure><h3>Hear from Participant's</h3><blockquote>“The experience of thinking through a design thinking, human-centered approach alone while getting feedback. Knowing and experiencing were two different things.”</blockquote><blockquote>“I was impressed by the fact that it forced the participants to have the experience of creating and pitching an landing page within a short period of one week.”</blockquote><blockquote>“Participants came from a diverse group of companies and generated a wide variety of ideas. Not only was there diversity, but also candid feedback.”</blockquote>&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Group_2137_18d729792d.jpg" alt="Group 2137.jpg">”Javier, looking back on Spark Spring 2024, what was the highlight for you?”<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:1300/2300;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSCF_6407_2_0163242854.jpg" alt="DSCF6407 2.jpg" width="1300" height="2300"></figure>“This Spark marked our first fully in-person, five-day intensive program. Transitioning from a hybrid model to all in-person posed new challenges but offered significant benefits. Enhanced networking among participants was a standout feature. Constant interaction through problem-space exploration, design research, solution ideation, business modeling, and final pitching transformed their ability to communicate ideas.This led to some of the best early-stage idea pitching we've seen, reflecting a significant psychological shift. The impressive business ideas wowed visitors from Moon and Mitsui, as well as invited external guests. The passion and energy were palpable, showcasing the transformative power of the Spark experience.”&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Group_2121_34ee4cbddd.jpg" alt="Group 2121.jpg">One idea transformed from a generic travel app to focus on the safety and needs of solo female travelers, driven by real user feedback.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Group_2122_fdf0bc3b6a.jpg" alt="Group 2122.jpg">One team shifted from addressing vehicle recycling costs to exploring three new solutions after AI feedback showed user indifference. This led them to split up and tackle multiple approaches instead of working as a single unit.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Group_2121_1_5f0066a274.jpg" alt="Group 2121 (1).jpg">One person pivoted from developing a Mars rover energy generator to designing a unique GPS collar for dogs, showcasing their innovative spirit.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>“Passion and persistence promise transformative impact, driving meaningful change in their respective spaces.”</h3>Javier: Spark ignited with a profound problem-exploration phase. Participants arrived with dreams of solving societal issues through business innovation. As they dived deeper, many had to pivot, embracing new directions. They repeatedly asked, "Why?" to uncover root causes, leading to profound insights. Some discovered they hadn't pinpointed the right stakeholders, while others realized their initial problems were just the tip of the iceberg. Their passion and persistence promise transformative impact, driving meaningful change in their respective spaces.<hr>Transform your business idea at "Spark Summer 2024," starting Wednesday, August 28. Spaces are limited, so apply now to secure your spot. Learn more on the <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/spark?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=CTA&amp;utm_id=sparkLP">"Spark"</a> page at Moon Creative Lab.&nbsp;Don’t miss this opportunity to ignite your creativity and growth!

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In a world buzzing with discussions on sustainability, Tommy Sekiguchi stands out with his mission to transform Japan's coffee scene into a beacon of sustainability, challenging consumers to rethink their purchasing habits.Key Learnings:<ul><li>Starting With a Spark</li><li>Diving Deep With Learning Labs</li><li>Innovating Through the Think Coffee Experiment</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image4_1d4862472d.jpg" alt="image4.jpg"><figcaption>Picture of Tommy graduating from Spark</figcaption></figure><h3>Starting With a Spark</h3>Leveraging his background of over 20 years in the Food &amp; Beverage industry, Tommy Sekiguchi embarked on his sustainable journey in Fall 2023 during Spark, Moon’s intensive educational program that guides entrepreneurs through the process of human-centered innovative business design. His current research at the Center for Global Commons (CGC) of the University of Tokyo fueled his quest to tackle the problem of Japanese consumers’ lack of motivation to buy sustainable food products. He thoroughly examined this issue and developed various solutions and an accompanying business model to see it through. His efforts culminated in a landing page that vividly presented his innovative approach to enhancing the customer experience and boosting interest in sustainable purchases, using coffee shops as a model case.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image1_dba085542b.jpg" alt="image1.jpg"><figcaption>Picture of Tommy in the Learning Lab</figcaption></figure><h3>Diving Deep With Moon Learning Labs</h3>Post-Spark, Tommy delved into the consumer psyche with Moon’s Learning Labs, hands-on, interactive workshops dedicated to the generation and refinement of business, product, or service concepts. He crafted personas such as Sustainers, who are focused on environmental impact; Tasters, who are in pursuit of quality; Trenders, those that are driven by social trends; and Neighbors, the local community members around coffee shops. Using these personas, Tommy and his team, along with Moon Mates, dissected the current customer journey and brainstormed ways to run experiments with it, hoping to change the journey and highlight pathways for sustainable awareness and purchasing.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image2_606f83d552.jpg" alt="image2.jpg"><figcaption>Moon’s People Transformation Team visiting think coffee Japan</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image3_1174952f1f.jpg" alt="image3.jpg"><figcaption>Picture of the experiment at think coffee Japan</figcaption></figure><h3>Innovating Through the “Think Coffee” Experiment</h3>Tommy selected "Think Coffee Japan" in Kanda, Tokyo as the initial site for his experiment. This location is a mere 5-minute walk from Mitsui &amp; Co.’s headquarters, his career stomping grounds. Based on his learnings from the Learning Lab, he and his team designed an engaging sustainable journey for customers, who were presented with two choices upon entering: embark on a sustainable path to learn about coffee and its sustainable practices, or proceed directly to the register.&nbsp;The sustainable path that Tommy implemented comprised four distinct steps:&nbsp;1. Feel: Customers were presented with visual stories of the farms on a large display, offering an immersive experience.2. Meet: This step provided a hands-on experience with the coffee beans, alongside digital displays showing detailed information about the farms and images of the farmers.3. Think: During this phase, customers received one of five sustainability-related messages, labeled as “Simple,” “Negative,” “Positive,” “Fun,” and “Quiz.” These messages aimed to engage customers in considering various sustainability challenges.4. Decide: Finally, participants took a survey and decided whether to make a donation or receive 100 yen as a reward for joining the experiment.&nbsp;During the experiment, held from March 8 to 20, Tommy collected 155 responses. Of these, 22 participants chose to receive 100 yen, while 133 opted to donate to farmers in Nicaragua, Colombia, and Ethiopia. He is currently analyzing this data to refine his future experiments and further develop his business model idea. This work is part of his research at the CGC and aims to explore how businesses can encourage more ethical consumption among consumers.Tommy's ongoing journey is more than an experiment; it's a movement towards embedding sustainability in Japanese food culture and beyond. His work underscores the power of thoughtful innovation in transforming everyday habits into impactful, sustainable actions - one sip at a time!<hr>If you’re interested in our educational Spark program or Learning Lab workshops for your or your organization, check out our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/">website</a> or reach us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:hello@mooncreativelab.com">hello@mooncreativelab.com</a>.&nbsp;

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Hear from a Moon Design Lead on how language plays a key role in managing projects, and the importance of creating spaces that take diverse languages into consideration.<hr><h3>Key Learnings</h3><ul><li>Be considerate of multiple languages used across a team.&nbsp;</li><li>Diversity produces more powerful conversations and outcomes.</li><li>Connecting through language creates empathy amongst team members.</li></ul><hr><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/PXL_20230426_092649278_2_1578932014.jpg" alt="PXL_20230426_092649278~2.jpg">I have never joined a project that departed from a specific business unit but had the aim to aggregate not only different departments but also a very complex system of stakeholders and project partners. But that changed with my recent experience with Agritech, a project that was born inside the Mobility Business team at Mitsui &amp; Co.’s headquarters. When the project arrived at Moon through a workshop, it was already formed by professionals from Logistics, DX, Machinery, and Food Business Units. Not only that, but the team had members from Mitsui &amp; Co. Japan and Mitsui &amp; Co. São Paulo, Brazil. The project was born from a unique business opportunity to collaborate with a development team from a partner (a large Japanese electronics manufacturer) that had been developing solutions in global connectivity and smart sensing on a planetary scale.&nbsp;&nbsp;As Moon, our initial challenge was to facilitate conversations among such a diverse team, and also support possible paths where the technologies developed by the partner could be applied to generate business in Brazil – while also improving the quality of processes in areas where Mitsui &amp; Co. is active in South America.&nbsp;&nbsp;Because Moon has its headquarters in Palo Alto, and a big part of our team and structure work on an English-speaking basis, English tends to become the main language used when we host workshops or work on projects with teams coming from different backgrounds. This is also common for Mitsui &amp; Co. since the company is present in more than 60 countries globally.&nbsp;&nbsp;For me, this project was especially exciting, not only because I was familiar with the Brazilian context and would work with a product targeting the place where I lived for a big part of my life, but also because I was in the middle of a large group of professionals who could speak three languages I am fluent in Portuguese, English, and Japanese. In the beginning, I was excited thinking about how that would be advantageous to me since I was leading the project. However, what came after was the realization of how language plays a key role in efficiently managing projects, as well as generating successful business. But this realization also came with learning about how to create spaces, frameworks, and processes that consider that.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/IMG_0050_9fd9d55fb5.jpg" alt="IMG_0050.jpg">It is important to remember that English is a useful, global&nbsp;lingua franca, but it also presents as a hegemonic power that can affect a professional’s confidence and work quality when we get lost in translation. The key learning I had was that the language barrier might cover up creativity. Many professionals who might have brilliant insights might step back, afraid of attempting to speak up in English which they might feel is insufficient. This was a common comment we received from professionals in Japan while running user interviews for&nbsp;<a href="https://goril.jp/">GORIL</a>, a language-learning app and former Moon venture that I also worked on. When people have to communicate in a language in which they aren’t fluent, defending their point of view or presenting a proposal might be negatively affected. In other words, the rhetoric might lack its full potential. Lastly, miscommunication also happens when people are listening. When information is being passed verbally in a language that one is not 100% fluent in, interpretation might be difficult, hence, reacting or responding to it might also be compromised.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/GORIL_285e5dfa13.jpeg" alt="GORIL.jpeg">I could list a dozen more aspects of miscommunication issues. Still, instead, I want to bring up some key learning tactics to improve communication and efficiency when two or more languages are being used in a project work environment.&nbsp;1. The Ones Who Get It All Make sure your team has an individual who can fluently deal with the languages involved in the project. This person can step in to clarify lost in translation moments and additionally might have cultural insights into each language, which can be helpful for conflict handling.2. Plain Language No matter if the language is English or another, if the other team members speak the language that is being used but is not 100% fluent, make sure to speak slowly and with seamless breaks between words – this is a classic podcast technique, by the way. Do not bring many expressions, figurative language, or highly complex vocabulary.3. Read People's Reactions and Add ComplementsNot just the facilitator, but also other team members should have the role of checking on everyone’s reactions and complementing conversations, statements, or questions that might sound too complex to be interpreted. They could even rephrase sentences for someone who could not fully communicate in the language being used, helping to close any gaps. Rephrasing is a great tool, and to be honest, sometimes it happens even if you do speak the same language. It is not always that we can be 100% clear using words.&nbsp;4. Allow Plurality Create teams who can speak multiple languages. The more bilingual or trilingual members you have, the more powerful the conversations and outcomes will be. And if some of the members do not speak a certain language, support them in learning it, even if they don’t become fluent or use it in daily life. Connecting with the language of their colleagues or business partners is an important tool for increasing empathy.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/PXL_20230320_163413890_41462b4011.jpg" alt="PXL_20230320_163413890.jpg">In our project with Mitsui &amp; Co., our partner, and many Brazilian stakeholders, we live within three languages. Of course, sometimes things become more complex, but what we try to avoid by all means is criticism and team members behaving with an air of superiority due to their language capabilities. But more important than anything, we make sure that all the information, coming from whichever of the three languages, is easily translated as context to all members so everyone can always be on the same page, at all times.&nbsp;Machi Rezende, Design Lead<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Creative_Lab_Machi_1_da27c89ed0.jpg" alt="Moon Creative Lab_Machi_1.jpg">

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At Moon Creative Lab, we’re lucky to work with an amazing group of women that lead and support everyone in our US and Japan offices.&nbsp;To commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we did a few things to celebrate the wonderful women of Moon and educate ourselves to create a better, more aware, and more equal future:&nbsp;At both of Moon’s offices in Tokyo and Palo Alto, you can meet women of diverse backgrounds and talents. Celebrating International Women's Day is an opportunity to highlight the diverse perspectives of women, and in doing so, we hope to unite all of our employees and continue to move toward a common vision, one in which each of us, regardless of gender, has a sense of belonging. We want to unleash people's creative potential, create new value, and enrich the world. We created a one-minute video highlighting the women who work here and why all of us at Moon believe it is important to celebrate International Women's Day.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://vimeo.com/927801263?share=copy"></oembed></figure>&nbsp;We understand the disparity between men and women in the startup space and love supporting women entrepreneurs. We hosted a workshop with the young women of Mitsui &amp; Co. where we shared our learnings and empowered and inspired them to dream big.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image3_df1baf5976.jpg" alt="image3.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;This year, we also wanted to highlight the amazing women from all walks of life that currently work at Moon. We hosted an online panel discussion with Mary Ann Gallo (CMO), Miki Yamada (Operations Lead), and Yukari Tago (Founder/CEO of Lullaby). In this discussion, we were able to explore the wins and challenges that each of these women have faced, and continue to face, to get to where they are today.One of the panelists shared a powerful comment that resonated with many of us here at Moon:<blockquote>“I say to myself, ‘You're here for a reason!'"&nbsp;</blockquote>"By adopting such a mindset that I'm here for a reason, that I'm expected and called to this discussion, I can't afford not to speak up and disappoint them. Whenever I feel timid that I might say the wrong thing, these words give me a push. I also learned that even people who seem confident now have underestimated themselves at times in the past, which encourages me to think that I might be able to change.”&nbsp;Last but not least, we wanted to do something fun, creative, and in-person with our fellow Moon Mates. We wanted to highlight the future of young people in the world and how we can make incremental changes in our daily lives towards making the world a more equitable place for the next generation. The team held an in-person workshop focused on the environment that we grow up in and how our biases as adults can affect and appear in their lives through the decisions we make for them as adults that can dictate their future.&nbsp;We first did an activity which forced us to think about not how we perceive careers, but how we think our culture would perceive a career. Through this activity, we had productive discussions about how the media and the world has changed so much since 10, 20, or 30 years ago when we were all much younger. For example, previously in Japan, you may have thought of skateboarding as a sport for males and not females, but because of Japan’s recent achievements at the 2020 Tokyo Skateboarding Olympics, skateboarding has become much more popular and accessible for young women.Afterwards, we took a <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html">Gender and Career Implicit Association Test</a> provided by Harvard University. The goal of the Implicit Association Test is to educate the public about bias and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the internet. The test itself was quite standard and is on the older side, but the discussion that it brought up was very relevant to our everyday lives. Some participants that assumed they did not have a strong implicit bias were particularly surprised to have gotten the “Strong Association for Male with Career and Female with Family” result. This led to interesting and productive conversations around the accuracy of the tests, but also about how our perception of ourselves can actually be very different from what is seen by others.In the end, we wanted people to leave the workshop with the intention to create a more positive world for future generations, and we hope that we all can become more and more aware of our influence in the world.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image1_7e33891baa.jpg" alt="image1.jpg"></figure>While we love hosting events and celebrating IWD and Women’s History Month, we recognize that women should be respected and empowered everyday, not just during these times. We hope that by hosting these types of events every year, we are able to encourage other people to support the women in their communities in their own ways, inspired by our stories.

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Carbon Mileage is a venture from Houston, Texas that incentivizes air travelers to make carbon-conscious choices to enable a sustainable aviation ecosystem. Currently incubating at Moon Creative Lab, the Carbon Mileage team underwent a quick sprint to better understand decarbonization within the airline industry and plan their next course of action.&nbsp;<hr><h3>Key Learnings:</h3><ul><li>Defining a problem statement.</li><li>Identifying key users and stakeholders.</li><li>Understanding users through research.</li></ul><hr><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Carbon_mileage_pledge_9f7a3bbd54.png" alt="Carbon mileage pledge.png"></figure>The Moon team recently met with Carbon Mileage, one of the ventures selected to be part of our Boost incubation program. Over the course of two days at our Palo Alto studio, we dug into the problem the team is seeking to solve: incentivizing decarbonization in the airline industry. Two days might seem like a lofty goal, but for us, we thrive in a short-time bound environment. Rather than spending unreasonable amounts of time reworking the same problem over and over again, two days allowed the team to make quicker decisions and confidently map out all necessary steps.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Before the workshop began, the team outlined three main goals they were wanting to achieve during the two days:&nbsp;<ol><li>Define the problem statement.&nbsp;</li><li>Name the biggest assumptions and build a user research plan to de-risk them.</li><li>Commit to a product hypothesis.</li><li>Work on team building to sustain momentum remotely.&nbsp;</li></ol>&nbsp;<h3>Defining a Clear Problem Statement</h3>Before any project starts, it’s important for the team to align on a clear problem statement before identifying a possible solution. By defining a problem statement, this prepares the team to further investigate different solutions through proper research and confidently act on the best proposed solution.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Carbon Mileage defined their clear problem statement as, “How might we engage air travelers in decarbonization efforts?” which evolved from the original statement that fixated on the idea of an incentivisation program. The original problem statement felt narrow and closed-minded to how much broader the team could explore decarbonization efforts. By switching the problem of only having an incentivization program to thinking more broadly towards engaging customers, this allowed the team to think much deeper into possible solutions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Analyzing Target Customers and Stakeholders&nbsp;</h3>After defining the problem statement, it’s important to analyze who the true stakeholders are, also known as the target audience of the Carbon Mileage program and all those who would be involved in Carbon Milage’s solution. The team outlined four main stakeholders: airlines, air travelers, travel organizers, and sustainable fuel suppliers. Beyond identifying stakeholders, it’s important to get to know them even more by determining what motivates them to act a certain way or make specific purchasing decisions. By specifying key motivations, Carbon Mileage can leverage this information as a way to build engagement amongst target users and explore solutions to their problem statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Mapping Out the User Journey To Better Understand the User Experience</h3><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/carbon_mileage_2_d30c966b9b.png" alt="carbon mileage 2.png"></figure>Aligning the user journey with the product hypothesis allowed the team to visually see where in the target audience’s journey it would make the most sense to implement Carbon Mileage.&nbsp;The team first explored, “How might Carbon Mileage reward travelers?” Some ideas included priority boarding, travel status, points redeemable for sustainable merch, and additional airline miles. Then the team explored how this might align with reduced carbon emissions. Ideas included buying carbon credits to compensate for annual travel and traveling with lighter bags to reduce fuel usage.&nbsp;While listing all of these ideas out is important, what makes the ideas even more tangible is creating concept cards to help paint a clearer picture of what direction the team feels is the ideal solution. By creating prototypes of the ideas, the team is able to confidently visualize the possibility of an idea before acting on it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Carbon_Mileage_bd0574516a.png" alt="Carbon Mileage.png">&nbsp;<h3>Name Assumptions and Build a Research Plan to De-Risk Them&nbsp;</h3>With these concept cards, the team then built out a user research guide to de-risk any of their previous assumptions. By gathering early feedback from Moon team members, the Carbon Mileage team was able to commit to a product direction during the workshop.&nbsp;What was unique about this user testing experience was that it was the first time Carbon Mileage team members asked open-ended questions and avoided leading questions about their product. A leading question might look like, “Would you pack lighter if it meant to be rewarded by product credits?” rather than open-ended questions like, “What is the first thing that comes to mind about air travel?” The reason for asking open-ended questions versus leading questions was to widen the knowledge base for the team, unleashing new insights into what potential customers might bring. Many times teams lean on assumptions to answer the root of their problem rather than exploring the truest needs of their users.&nbsp;Taking the exploration even further, the team created a landing page to test the value proposition with users. Why a landing page? It’s quick, it’s tangible, and it’s the first exploration of the product that might speak to potential customers.&nbsp;<h3>What’s Next for Carbon Mileage &nbsp;</h3>The team agreed that there needs to be even more exploration of de-risking the most critical assumptions by engaging further user research with key stakeholders, focusing on travelers and airlines. Additionally, there needs to be a design experiment to test the theory that IF consumers were rewarded for choosing carbon reduction efforts, they would do so.Since this workshop was only two days, the team agreed that this would need to happen at a later time. We look forward to learning more about Carbon Mileage in the coming months as they begin to explore further together with Moon.If a workshop similar to this sounds interesting to you and your team, Moon would love to hear from you. Contact us at <a href="mailto:hello@mooncreativelab.com">hello@mooncreativelab.com</a> to start the conversation of how we can help your organization, team, or startup begin digging deeper into the root of the problem you’re seeking to solve.&nbsp; &nbsp;

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Internal Motivation Is Your Greatest Asset: Why a Career Exploration Map was Needed ｜Career Forth

Brewing Sustainability: Tommy Sekiguchi's Quest for Sustainable Coffee Consumption in Japan

Translating Challenges Through Empathy

The True Value of Field Research

International Women's Day at Moon: Lighting the Way to a Brighter Future

How a Two-Day Workshop Helped a Business Focus on a Better Solution

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Moon Welcomes Community of Individuals, Corporations, and Startup Teams To Build Innovative New Businesses

Moon Opens Doors to Palo Alto Startup Community

What Does Artificial Life Reveal About Us?

Our Programs

About Moon

Our Stories

Moon Stories Blog

Boost #2 “PITCH & CONNECT” Event Report

Nordic Talks Event Report

Moon Creative Lab Congratulates Our Second Boost Cohort

Spark Spring '24 Exploration Report

Internal Motivation Is Your Greatest Asset: Why a Career Exploration Map was Needed ｜Career Forth

Brewing Sustainability: Tommy Sekiguchi's Quest for Sustainable Coffee Consumption in Japan

Translating Challenges Through Empathy

The True Value of Field Research

International Women's Day at Moon: Lighting the Way to a Brighter Future

How a Two-Day Workshop Helped a Business Focus on a Better Solution

In The News

Moon Welcomes Community of Individuals, Corporations, and Startup Teams To Build Innovative New Businesses

Moon Opens Doors to Palo Alto Startup Community

What Does Artificial Life Reveal About Us?

Spark Spring '24 Exploration Report