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In Moon Alumni interviews, we hear from entrepreneurs who have worked with Moon Creative Lab on their innovative ideas for new businesses and incubating new startup ventures. This time, we talked with Takayuki Yamanaka, General Manager of Innovation &amp; Corporate Development Div. of Mitsui &amp; Co. India Pvt, Ltd. Mumbai Branch.In this story:<ul><li>Supporting overseas expansion of domestic IP businesses&nbsp;</li><li>Using Twitter to gain traction</li><li>Personal experiences benefit businesses</li></ul><h3>Supporting Overseas Expansion of Domestic IP Businesses</h3>Takayuki Yamanaka has an incredibly diverse background. Since joining Mitsui &amp; Co. in 1999 having a license of registered customs specialist, he has dealt imports/exports and logistics consultations in Logistics Business Unit, was involved in overseas sales and project management for the Iron &amp; Steel Products Business Unit, served as a COO in the Media Division’s affiliate(at that time) TV Channel “Kids Station”, and is currently the General Manager of Innovation &amp; Corporate Development Div. of Mitsui &amp; Co. India Pvt, Ltd. Mumbai Branch, where he focuses on B2B information and communication technology.Takayuki joined Moon in 2021 to work on his venture, Japan IP Studio, an intellectual property platform to support the global development of content produced in Japan. This idea had been on his mind for a very long time, seeing that Takayuki is an avid domestic anime fan and collector owning a library of around 6,000 books in his basement.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/_62843e0378.jpg" alt="山中さん.jpg"> "I wanted to create an environment that would make it easy to match domestic content creators with companies that wanted to showcase their content overseas by making all kinds of IP and creative data related to domestic content searchable,” Takayuki explained.Japan IP Studio would provide domestic content creators with marketing data that would help them determine the value of overseas expansion, while also helping international companies search for Japanese content. By acting as a mediary to handle business and IP between Japan and other countries, Japan IP Studio would have hopefully helped the supply of content meeting overseas demand.According to Takayuki’s research, there were at least 40,000 manga, anime, games, novels, and other types of content in Japan. Though the language barrier was a large challenge, cultural differences in content creation also presented a hurdle. In Japan, content is often created before a marketing strategy is put in place. With global companies, however, art is created to tailor to existing market data. As a result, Takayuki says, foreign companies would often only see popular content, while lesser-known creators remained overlooked.To counterbalance the disparate domains, Takayuki collected data on each piece of content existing in Japan and made it, for the first time ever, searchable. He also managed the information in intricate detail so that other countries could determine if the content fit its cultural background and legal restrictions.Takayuki collected and compiled data on approximately 5,000 pieces of Japanese content into a singular database. With the help of a data scientist, he worked with domestic IP owners and overseas companies to customize the search results. But setbacks with time, resources, and the pandemic slowed the Japan IP Studio project down. "I remember it was like a game of messages. Later, with advice from Moon members, we decided to pivot. At first, we were aiming to develop a matching platform for B2B, collecting data on works and systematically connecting content and companies. But then we realized that it is consumers who support the foundation of the IP business. As a result, we came to the conclusion that we must first understand the fans in each region, such as what fans in the U.S. were looking for, or what fans in Southeast Asia are searching for. It seemed faster to take the data I had in my head on domestic content and link it to international fans. For example, trends in games can be generated from Discord conversations, and content can generate buzz without any marketing. I thought it would be faster for me to create such things by sending out information myself, rather than collecting data and creating a platform.”<h3> Using Twitter To Gain Traction</h3><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/2023_06_29_20_08_43_f466459c96.png" alt="スクリーンショット 2023-06-29 20.08.43.png">Takayuki decided to pivot to a business model using SNS. Japan IP Studio used Twitter to not only communicate with fans to identify and forecast trends, but also used that information to provide planning proposals to Japanese content creators and introduce content to overseas companies.&nbsp;However, building a fan-based business takes time. Though Takayuki was able to gain valuable data by using Twitter, it was difficult to show results in a short time frame. He decided to end his time at Moon after one year.The project was unfortunately terminated, but Takayuki decided to continue the operation on his own. He devoted his personal time to his blog and Twitter, promoting the account at his own expense and continuing to introduce Japanese productions to overseas users in English. Japan IP Studio’s Twitter account now has a following of over 10,000 international anime fans.<h3>Personal Experiences Benefit Businesses</h3>Takayki emphasizes that he learned the importance of personal growth through his research at Moon and his Twitter operation. "I took advice from consultants and actually tried it out, but there were few successful social networking strategies that could be applied directly to what I had heard. I had to try it myself."Takayuki explains further, "If you advertise too much, you are likely to lose followers rapidly afterwards. So, how much is just right?” He says that subtle adjustments to the strategy, like trying to find the right amount of advertising, would have been difficult to understand without actually trying it, and would have been something that no one could teach him.&nbsp;He believes that an individual’s hands-on experience brings the greatest benefits to a business group or organization. "Right now, I'm using my personal time to increase my social influence as much as possible through the Japan IP Studio account… I think it is better for individuals to first gain experience and then apply it to their own business where it will be mutually beneficial. That alone has the potential to create great synergy."Takayuki, who also holds an MBA from the University of Wales and a PLD (Program for Leadership Development) from Harvard Business School, shares that creating connections, such as the personal ties of alumni, can also help build business. "Harvard Business School has an alumni association called HBS Alumni. Everyone has left for their own paths, but the concept of alumni is to loosely unite them… in five or ten years, if the internal entrepreneurs at Mitsui and Moon can create synergies within their networks, the relationship between them should be a great asset.”&nbsp;He explains the necessity of networking, sharing information, and receiving feedback in order to make a business successful, and how a collaborative environment is beneficial for innovation. “It is similar to checking out of a hotel. ‘How was your stay? Please let us know if there is anything we can improve on, and please come back and have a nice trip!’ I think Moon is playing an important role in promoting such an environment within the Mitsui &amp; Co. group.”&nbsp;Learn more about Japan IP Studio on their&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Japan_IP_Studio">Twitter account</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://japanipstudio.hatenablog.com/">blog</a>. Alumni Interview<ul><li><a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/interview-hiraoka">"Experiment Fast and Take Control" Anna Hiraoka</a></li><li><a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/interview-tatsumi">"Be the target user" Yoshinori Tatsumi</a>&nbsp;</li></ul>

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This is the blog of an interview series featuring employees from Mitsui &amp; Co. Ltd., who were seconded to Moon Creative Lab to work on new business ventures. These Moon alumni share their experiences as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) while at Moon and the knowledge they’ve brought back to Mitsui.This interview is with Anna Hiraoka, who has been successfully managing a series of Diversity and Inclusion (D&amp;I) initiatives at Mitsui. Anna shares her experience:&nbsp;<ul><li>Discovering strength through design research</li><li>Connecting team members with a coloring book project&nbsp;</li><li>Using visualization to foster culture with acknowledgement</li><li>Gaining driving force after experiencing pivots&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;<h3>Discovering strength through design research</h3>Anna is currently a member of the Diversity Management Dept. of Mitsui's Human Resources &amp; General Affairs Division (HR), where she has been initiating various types of in-house initiatives. After working on hospital investment projects within the Wellness Business Unit (BU) at Mitsui, she was seconded to Moon from October 2018 to September 2021 to focus on a healthcare venture. Due to the business pivot and the pandemic, her own venture eventually folded and her time at Moon came to an end. Anna returned to Mitsui and transferred to HR in April 2022.While at Moon, Anna began working on design research for business creation in collaboration with IDEO, a design consulting firm. In her very first working session, she realized that visualization is her strength.&nbsp;"At IDEO, drawing pictures and visualizing ideas as they discuss is very common, but that was not the case in the past experience at Mitsui. That’s why I was surprised to find myself being comfortable with that practice. That’s when I realized this might be my strength."&nbsp; -A.H.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anna says she always had a habit of taking notes with some drawings and putting them on her desk even before coming to Moon. She even has a vision board at home to put ideas together and organize what’s on her mind.After working with IDEO, she has honed her visualization skills even further. Now, she practices graphic recordings* to compile information at meetings, structure web pages using design tools, and design a sticker of her own vision. She has learned to use visualization in a variety of ways to help team members communicate intuitively.*Graphic recording: a method of discovering insights and stimulating discussion by translating conversations or presentations into text and pictures in real-time.<h3>Connecting team members with a coloring book project</h3>One of the successful examples of Anna’s visual communication was "Color Our Vision," which she started when she returned to Mitsui's Wellness BU. Due to the pandemic, team members had fewer opportunities of working together, making it difficult to get to know each other and share the same core values and strategies.To tackle this challenge, she proposed to print out the graphic image of BU strategy on a huge paper, asking everyone to color it during their break. Since most people worked from home, the office was fairly empty and turned it into a small gathering corner. Over the course of a month, the poster was coloured by many people, showcasing their unique personalities through how they colored. This initiative created an opportunity for team members to spontaneously connect and talk to one another. Everyone loved this project and it continued to be a success.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Microsoft_Teams_image_37_f7eace07a5.jpg" alt="MicrosoftTeams-image (37).jpg"><figcaption>Team members colored and added drawings to the BU strategy poster.</figcaption></figure>Anna also came up with "Acknowledge Month" which recognizes members who understand and practice the core values of the BU. She designed stickers representing five core values, and members were encouraged to give out the stickers to those who embodied each value with a handwritten acknowledgement message on its back.This was an easy way to participate and created many new conversations amongst the BU.These initiatives using visualization created a positive impact on other activities as well. For example, at a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pechakucha.com/">Pecha-Kucha</a> meet-up, Anna invited members she had met through the coloring book project, creating another opportunity for colleagues to connect outside of work by sharing their passions such as drawing and flower arrangement.Since Anna was coming up with a series of unique projects, her manager asked her if she was interested in expanding the work she had been doing beyond BU. Anna’s ability to foster a culture was recognized as an essential skill that the company would continue to need, and she started to consider moving to HR where she thought may lead her to expand her expertise.Anna’s greatest vision is to design an inclusive and creative environment where people can thrive on a global scale. In December 2021, she pitched herself to the Human Resources and General Affairs Division, just like how she pitched her project to Moon. In April of the following year, she was offered a position at Diversity Management Dept. within HR.<h3>Using visualization to foster culture</h3>In March 2022, just before her transfer to HR, Anna organized an event to embrace International Women's Day with team members from Moon. During the event, she set up a booth and asked supporters to put stickers on a poster with a jar drawn which she called an allyship jar, if they believed in supporting gender equality in this world. This created a quick visual of how many supporters also known as allies of gender equality there were in the company.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Image_from_i_OS_12_2_632c9ac36e.jpg" alt="Image from iOS (12) 2.jpg"><figcaption>For International Women's Day, Anna visualized the number of supporters in the company with stickers.</figcaption></figure>The team asked visitors to share the names of the women in their life that inspire them most by writing them on a board and taking pictures with a crossed-hand pose that embodied the "BreakTheBias" theme of that year's International Women's Day. They posted nearly 100 pictures with booth visitors on the wall. Booth visitors also received a purple mask, which was the event's theme color. These masks gathered people's attention in the office and helped spread the word quickly and widely.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/2_4aed161d2b.jpg" alt="写真 2.jpg"><figcaption>International Women’s Day event organizers.</figcaption></figure>At the same time, the team took pictures at the booth and shared them on internal SNS along with #BreakTheBias to share the importance of recognizing our prejudices.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/197anna_a676c646fa.jpg" alt="197anna.jpg"><figcaption>Sticker designed by Anna, representing her vision. Different shapes in seven colors are put together to shape a dinosaur which represents human’s unique and crucial skill of curiosity.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>In June, Anna hosted another event with team members from Moon to talk about LGBTQIA+ allyship and what can we do as allies during Pride Month.&nbsp;Anna designed stickers with rainbow-colored dinosaurs for this special event, as she picked up a voice from the audience that they wanted something visual to show that they are allies, and she explained why she initially created the sticker.&nbsp;&nbsp;"It is important to make things visible to be recognized and to be remembered" -A.H.&nbsp;In September, Anna led the planning and hosting of a company-wide Diversity &amp; Inclusion (D&amp;I) Week event, partnering with Moon to host a workshop on the theme of "Shared Leadership” to promote D&amp;I.&nbsp;Around 500 participants from 25 countries attended the event virtually. For this event, Anna created a dedicated internal web page where she shared research findings by Rikkyo University and interview articles of Mitsui employees.In the workshop, Anna helped participants to deepen their understanding of shared leadership by posting their personal experiences as examples online using an interactive tool. This was another way for Anna to help visualize complex ideas that cannot be explained simply.With her visualization skills, Anna has made her ideas come to life and at the same time, empowered those around her. She credits the core values and learning how to pivot at Moon as her driving force.&nbsp;<h3>Gaining driving force after experiencing pivots</h3>Anna was very excited when she was first seconded to Moon. She was involved in the development of a service that would enable AI-based early detection of cancer and worked with experts in various fields in a fast-paced environment, where she had to continue researching and reporting to pass an project assessment every three months.At Moon, Anna experienced not only design thinking but also a pivot in business direction.While at Moon, Anna proposed a new online consultation platform for pets to expand her business model. However, despite confirming user needs through research in the United States and gaining support from academic societies and veterinarians, she and her team were unable to conduct online consultation tests with veterinarians and pet owners due to legal restrictions. And the immediate impact of the pandemic made it even more difficult to continue the project.After that, the team made the decision to focus on the development of AI-based early detection of cancer services for humans and looked for what they could do remotely. They built an operation and management system needed to continue the research from Japan, but there was still a limit on things that could be done online. “I couldn’t do anything even if I wanted to,” which Anna said was the hardest thing at the time.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/L1500342_retouched_c84da9cef6.jpg" alt="L1500342 retouched.jpg">The loneliness and psychological burden Anna felt when leading the project as a solo Idea Owner made her more aware of the need to support everyone in the company. Anna realized the importance of organizational development and promoting inclusion and pitched her vision to strengthen her expertise in HR.Anna says it was only after she was transferred to her current department that she started seeing the positive side of a series of challenges.&nbsp;"When I look back on myself having a hard time, I think I was too focused on one ideal scenario from the beginning. It's important to instead focus on your vision and&nbsp;celebrate what you have learned from the unexpected outcomes, and connecting it to the next step is even more important. I couldn’t realize that even after one or two pivots, but now I feel that my experience at Moon is giving me the driving force. Maybe I've grown up a little bit."&nbsp;Anna says, “The more you want to achieve the goal, the more painful it is when your ideas are not recognized. Your ideas and approach might not always be the company's priorities.”&nbsp; However, Anna says, “I try to think that there are always allies who will support me, and people are not criticizing you for being a great artist. It is more directed towards your art piece that might need more work, so embrace others’ ideas too, and turn the feedback into making your art piece an even better one.”&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm always keeping Moon's<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/ja/about"> five values</a> in my mind. Take ‘experiment fast’ for example. It's important to start small and fast. If it seems like it’s working, you can scale that up. And then there's ‘stretch your comfort zone.’ I feel that our company is constantly evolving, and I want to be that driving force. I want to aim for a culture-add, not a culture fit." -A.H.&nbsp;

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In this interview series, we talk to employees from Mitsui &amp; Co. Ltd., who were seconded to Moon Creative Lab to work on new business ventures. These Moon alumni share their experiences as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) at Moon and the knowledge they’ve brought back to Mitsui.For this interview we talk with Yoshinori Tatsumi, currently leading the crypto asset Zipang Coin.&nbsp;What did he learn from his experience at Moon?.&nbsp;<ul><li>Importance of staying focused</li><li>Become your target user&nbsp;</li><li>Do it yourself &nbsp;</li></ul><hr><h3>The importance of staying focused</h3>Yoshinori belongs to the Commodity Trading &amp; Risk Management Division of the Corporate Development Business Unit of Mitsui &amp; Co., Ltd. In 2018, he submitted his idea to Moon and was then chosen to work with Moon as an EIR.&nbsp;Initially, the project started as an investment project, but eventually shifted to business development for collaboration. Yoshinori tried to build a service that targets inbound tourists, focusing on mobility and regional revitalization. The idea was named "1 Hour Trip”, which aimed to enhance users' travel time by introducing recommended travel routes rather than the shortest route to their destination.Together with Moon, Yoshinori tried to develop a platform that integrates&nbsp;transfer information for transportation, such as buses and trains. The goal was to then link service information, such as restaurants, tours, and various experiences, with the proposed routes, which may also include walking. There were also benefits for service personnel such as the dispersion of transportation resources and the prevention of tourists from expanding into residential areas.However, due to various challenges such as technical problems and the time required to establish an alliance, the business idea had to pivot repeatedly. Yoshinori says it was difficult to imagine the issues and needs of target users with different living environments and cultural backgrounds.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tatusmi_image2_0c2951dc5e.jpg" alt="tatusmi image2.jpg">&nbsp;"The inbound tourists who were our intended users were very different from me. Interviews were necessary to understand their needs, but the more interviews I conducted and the more user needs I imagined, the more I seemed to lose sight of what was important to me. We couldn't decide what kind of prototype to develop for various reasons, and the repeated pivots had an impact as well. I couldn't say with confidence anymore that we must do this.”A lack of confidence had a significant impact when proposing to the Moon Committee and working with project members. Towards the end of the project, Yoshinori found convincing business potential, but at that time, there was not enough time left for research and the development of that business was postponed even before he could create a monetization mechanism. Yoshinori graduated from Moon in December 2020.<h3>Become your target user</h3>Immediately after returning to Mitsui, Yoshinori participated in the launch of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zipangcoin.com/">Zipang Coin</a>, a crypto asset that aims to be linked to the price of gold. In the long term, it is expected to be used for exchange with gold.From his experience at Moon, Yoshinori learned the importance of having a deep understanding of his target user.&nbsp;"I felt that it was very important for me to be the target user. I remember that other ventures at Moon, in which entrepreneurs themselves were the target users, had something powerful to attract various things, regardless of the size of the market. Especially in marketing, they had an advantage. So, even if I wasn't the target user in the first place, I thought it would be good if I became one."Yoshinori started to embody Moon's values, such as "experiment fast" and "stretch our comfort zone," one after another at Mitsui.&nbsp;"The moment I joined the Zipang Coin project, I turned all my assets into cryptocurrencies and started trading on my own. Since users are investors, I had to become an investor myself. By using my own money to trade, I gained a deeper understanding of certain aspects. This is why I know the value and weaknesses of our products better than anyone else, and I can confidently say I know how our product is seen in the market. I believe we are well known in the market, as investors tend to associate Zipang Coin with my face. This is because I actually practiced what I learned at Moon.”&nbsp;With the start of Zipang Coin's business, Yoshinori created and began managing a website and SNS account on his own. As a result, he was nominated for the "Person of the Year" by the Japan Blockchain Association, even though SNS operations and content marketing were tasks that he had hardly experienced before, even during his time at Moon.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tatsumi_image1_de7a33ea27.jpg" alt="tatsumi image1.jpg"><h3>Do it yourself</h3>"What I learned from Moon’s experts was the importance of doing things yourself instead of outsourcing everything. If you can handle it yourself, you can respond more flexibly and quickly, and it does not cost much nor require approval. You can create a website without writing code, and anyone can create an SNS account right away. I think it's better to release it to the world as soon as possible and observe people’s reactions."&nbsp;For Yoshinori, the use of websites and social media was one of the best ways to allow him to immediately gauge the market’s reaction without spending any money. When he was at Moon, he focused on research, so there were no products developed yet and what he could do was limited. He now acknowledges the value and power of actually creating something with his own hands."I have always kept my distance from social media, but I got to learn the importance of social media, especially in the investor community. Although my reach is limited, connecting with people in the community could lead me to supporters who have millions of followers. In some cases, third-party opinions have a greater impact on investment decisions than press releases. Trustworthy connections between individuals are crucial."Finally, Yoshinori reflected on his experiences at Moon and since returning to Mitsui."Through my experience at Moon, I met people from diverse backgrounds that I had never met before. Without meeting them, I don't think I would have been able to broaden my horizon. It would be ideal to share what I learned at Moon with Mitsui through my work, and as a result, the Moon value would be shared at Mitsui as well.”

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Lessons Learned From Building a Startup | Moon Alumni Interview

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Our Programs

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alumni - Moon Stories Blog

Hands-On: How an Entrepreneur’s Experience Helps Build Better Business

Experiment Fast and Take Control: Lessons Learned From Building a Startup | Moon Alumni Interview

Lessons Learned From Building a Startup | Moon Alumni Interview

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?