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Illuminating the value of entrepreneurship in Japan has long been one of our core drivers at Moon Creative Lab.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Monju_scaled_e1648775947520_1da5461d0e.jpg" alt="Moon_Creative_Lab_Monju">We realize that there is so much untapped creative potential that just needs a great place to flourish. To help foster a society of innovation and entrepreneurship, we’ve recently partnered with the <a href="https://waseda-keio-business-union.com/">Monju Business Contest</a>, an event organized by students from top Japanese universities like Waseda University and Keio University. From February 12 to March 12, 125 students in the fields of business, art, and tech experienced various aspects of creating a business and sparked their entrepreneurial spirit.Students were divided into four leagues that each had their own challenge, with five different teams in each league. Our challenge for the teams in the Moon league was to create new, mission-driven businesses that are built on ethical consumption. As we help build and launch new business for Mitsui &amp; Co. and beyond, it is embedded in our purpose that good business should be good for the world, too – human-centered and focused on making life, society, and the earth better in some way.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSC_3031_1_768x512_f4d2a10b31.jpg" alt="DSC3031-1-768x512.jpg"><figcaption>Students kick off the Monju Business Contest.</figcaption></figure>Students in the Moon league participated in working sessions at our Spring Terrace studio in Tokyo to develop their ideas. We even had the head of our Tokyo studio, Mr. Tomoyuki Takada, teach students on how to make an effective, memorable pitch to prepare them for their upcoming pitch event, the final part of the Monju Business Contest.The lesson was well received by the students. “It was very helpful to understand the tips for making a clear pitch. It was very persuasive,” said one student. Another added, “the lectures were very intensive in a short time, so I was able to concentrate and absorb a lot of the content.”Throughout the contest, Moon Creative Lab helped students unlock their creativity and guided them through the many stages of entrepreneurship. They got a first-hand look into what building a business looks like from different perspectives and learned everything it takes to turn an idea into a venture, from creating and managing to prototyping and pitching an idea.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/DSC_3159_768x512_8d779bf542.jpg" alt="DSC3159-768x512.jpg"><figcaption>Conceptualizing and developing ideas at Moon’s Spring Terrace studio in Tokyo.</figcaption></figure>After developing their business ideas, all teams pitched their ideas to a panel of judges. After two rounds of pitch presentations, two teams from the Moon league made it to the final round but, unfortunately, were not picked as the final winner. They did, however, present their pitches to the entire Moon Creative Lab team, which were met with enthusiasm, encouragement, and positive feedback.The Monju Business Contest was an incredible opportunity to not only help Japan’s future entrepreneurs create the next world-changing idea, but to also encourage and drive creativity and entrepreneurship in Japanese society. We at Moon Creative Lab were deeply honored to be a part of this contest and we can’t wait to see the terrific work these young entrepreneurs will do in the future.See the press release <a href="https://www.value-press.com/pressrelease/289847">here</a> (in Japanese).

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Moon Creative Lab continuously honors the incredible women around us who connect, create, and inspire us every day, but on International Women’s Day, we joined the world in celebrating women everywhere.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Womens_Day_2022_1_B_100_e1649126417814_31ce2a0edc.jpg" alt="MoonCreativeLab_Womens_Day_2022">Much like the groundbreaking first footsteps on the moon set the path for progress, women have been pioneering and paving their own way towards equality across the world. And as March comes to a close, we can’t forget to mention that not only was it Women’s History Month, but International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Woman_resized_356deef08b.jpeg" alt="Striking the “break the bias” pose for International Women’s Day."><figcaption>Striking the “break the bias” pose for International Women’s Day.</figcaption></figure>Throughout the second week of March, we collaborated with our parent company to organize an interactive booth and fun workshops, which resulted in over 200 participants in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to wearing purple clothes and purple masks to align with the official color of International Women’s Day (IWD), taking photos with the IWD #breakthebias pose, and displaying the names of women who actively inspire and contribute to a better world, we held workshops that promoted the awareness of bias through interactive quizzes, games, and thoughtful discussions.We celebrated all the wonderful and brave women across the globe by adding our favorite songs from female artists to a <a href="https://old-site.mooncreativelab.com/2022/04/moon-creative-lab-celebrates-women-around-the-world/#:~:text=artists%20to%20a-,Spotify%20playlist,-%2C%20sharing%20objects%20that">Spotify playlist</a>, sharing objects that remind of us women we admire, learning about bias and how we can help accelerate women’s equality, and getting inspired by Ari Horie, founder and CEO of <a href="https://womenstartuplab.com/">Women’s Startup Lab</a>, who shared her experience in increasing women’s contribution to the growth of business and entrepreneurial success.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/08mlu0zcgFW5bLbjpaiZ4E?si=00741a5b2afe406f&amp;nd=1"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/IWD_spotify_768x540_154bc72bfb.jpg" alt="Spotify playlist"></a><figcaption>We created a playlist full of our favorite women in music. Follow along!</figcaption></figure>International Women’s Day was also a great opportunity to hear from some of our women Entrepreneurs-in-Residence here at Moon. We talked to Guihua Hong, the founder of audible learning platform <a href="https://www.voox.me/">VOOX</a>, and Grace Aldas and Dell Delatorre, who have recently joined Moon as founders of MOM247, a platform and community for mothers. (*Answers have been edited for clarity.)What advice would you give to others who are experiencing bias?Dell: As a woman, empower yourself so companies can see your worth as a woman. If you’re accepted to do admin work, go out of your way to improve yourself and learn new skills so the company would see that you are also fit or have the potential to be capable of a different skilled role. Having dialogue with HR about gender shouldn’t be the main concern in job qualification, even in smaller roles.Grace: Accept that there will always be different perspectives, but also help promote self-awareness and mindfulness about our own unconscious biases.Hong: Anyone may have bias. We need to be more kind and tolerant, listen to different voices by having more open-minded conversations, and try to understand different sides. Do more and deliver the outcomes by actions rather than talking or explaining about the standpoint as a woman. If the bias is still there after you’ve made all the efforts you can, then leave it without any regret.<hr>The week of International Women’s Day was an influential one. We celebrated the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements women have contributed to our society, and learned about and honored women in our lives, around the world, and throughout history. We can’t help but to be moved by these admirable women and acknowledge the significant impact they have on us every day.

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Our Programs

About Moon

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Moon Partners With Monju Business Contest

Celebrating Women's International Day

In The News

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Our Programs

About Moon

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Moon Stories Blog - Page 8

Moon Partners With Monju Business Contest

Celebrating Women's International Day

In The News

Moon Venture Variloom™ Wins ISPO 2024 Award in Collaboration With Rip Curl

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

Moon Opens Doors to Palo Alto Startup Community