MentorMe Co., Ltd.
Young entrepreneurs in their teens save Japan!? Co-sponsoring and supporting a pitch event!
～Supporting Rocket Pitch Koshien U-18 as a co-sponsor/supporter and appearing as a commentator～
MentorMe Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Keiji Ito, hereinafter referred to as the Company) co-sponsors “Rocket Pitch Koshien U-18” held by Venture Cafe Tokyo, a non-profit organization that operates in 6 cities and 11 countries around the world. / I will inform you that I will support you. On the day of the pitch, our representative director Ito will be on stage as a commentator.
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The pitch event “Rocket Pitch” for all challengers who start the journey as an entrepreneur, such as entrepreneurs and new business managers, will be held only for those under the age of 18 this time. Its name is “Rocket Pitch Koshien U-18”!
In order to support young entrepreneurs who will lead the future of Japan, we will also support the event as a co-sponsor / supporter & representative Ito will participate as a commentator on the day of the pitch event.
▼Event Details for Rocket Pitch Koshien U-18
・Date and time: November 24, 2022 (Thursday) 4:00 – 6:00 pm JST ・Venue: Hybrid (local participation & online viewing)
・ Co-sponsor / Supporters: Showa Gakuin High School, Tactopia, MIRAIing, Hatarakubu, Qulii, MentorMe
・Support: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) ・Detail page: https://rocket-pitch-u-18-20221124-application.peatix.com/ ▼About Rocket Pitch
It is an event that will be the first step for all challengers (entrepreneurs, in-house entrepreneurs = new business managers, social entrepreneurs) who are about to start their journey as entrepreneurs. Venture Cafe Tokyo Peatix page
Whether you are about to start your journey as an entrepreneur (entrepreneur, start-up, corporate new business manager, NPO etc…) or have already started, we can help you make your journey even better. To do so, it is necessary to involve many people, including future investors, co-founders, and employees (or perhaps that is the essence of entrepreneurial activity).
With that in mind, Rocket Pitch:
Based on a 3-minute pitch (= short presentation) format, speakers will be given the opportunity to ask the world about their business ideas, get people involved, or simply take the first step toward starting a business. .
On the day of the event, we will provide an opportunity to receive feedback from experienced commentators and the audience. There is no doubt that we will support your activities!
At the same time, we will provide the audience who visit us on the day of the event with the opportunity to meet new ideas and talents that can change the world.
It’s hard to change the world alone. On the day of the event, let’s find friends who can change the world at Venture Cafe Tokyo. ▼If things go on like this, the Japanese economy will be bad. Nurturing entrepreneurs and startups is extremely important when considering the future
Almost zero growth over the last 30 years. Wages have not risen, and there are examples of young people going overseas to work.
Entrepreneurs and startups will play a very important role when considering the future of the global economy, not just the Japanese economy. For example, in the market capitalization ranking, companies such as Apple, Amazon, and Tesla, which were startups until a while ago, dominated the top. [1] The presence or absence of entrepreneurs and startups that create new industries is directly linked to national and economic power.
Unfortunately, compared to the rest of the world, the number of leading startups in Japan is overwhelmingly small. For example, there are 489 unlisted unicorns with a market capitalization of more than $1 billion in the US, 170 in China, and 6 in Japan. The total market capitalization of each company is also overwhelmingly small, with the United States at $1.5455 trillion and Japan at $8.8 billion. [1] ▼Background of our support for young entrepreneurs: Young Japanese people have an overwhelmingly low entrepreneurial mindset. But if you’re interested, the ability to take action is amazing. That’s why we want to create an environment where people are interested in starting a business.
There are still not many entrepreneurs in Japan, not just unicorns. According to a survey by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, 22.9% of people in the United States have no interest in starting a business, while 77.3% in Japan are very high. In fact, the percentage of those who are engaged in entrepreneurial activities is 9.0% in the United States, but in Japan it is extremely low at 2.7%. [2] On the other hand, it can be seen that Japan’s “proportion of entrepreneurial activity among those interested in starting a business” is high internationally. 20.0% in the US, 19.0% in Japan. This is higher than France at 9.0%, the UK at 13.0% and Germany at 15.0%. [2]
In other words, although few people are interested in starting a business, they are highly motivated to take action after becoming interested. The first step is to get people interested in starting a business, but unfortunately, the environment that makes it easy to get interested in starting a business is not yet in place. For example, in recent years there has been a gradual increase in measures and mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurs, but not all challengers can still access them, such as having investment conditions or targeting unicorn candidates.
In particular, young entrepreneurs such as students and female entrepreneurs, managers who are active with their own funds, new business development & DX of small and medium-sized enterprises, new business development of listed companies, existing VCs and accelerator programs There are many challengers who are difficult to be supported by measures. In order to make entrepreneurship feel closer, more interesting, and easier to take on challenges, we believe it is important to create an environment that makes it easy for all challengers, not just unicorn candidates.
MentorMe is a service that supports challenges such as
entrepreneurship by matching challengers and mentors. We aim to “accelerate the evolution of the world by accelerating game changers”, and have supported challengers who have difficulty receiving the above support. Although it has been less than a year and a half since the service was released, more than 1,000 mentors have provided more than 4,000 hours of sessions. (As of September 2022)
For our company, supporting young challengers, including high school students, is a focus theme. Representative Ito has been involved in multiple new businesses and startups so far, and has also experienced the founding and management of two companies himself. I would like to support the young challengers as much as possible with the experience, achievements, know-how, etc. cultivated from that experience, and I will participate as a co-sponsor/supporter and as a commentator this time.
▼Commentator profile
MentorMe Co., Ltd. Representative Director Keiji Ito
Born in the United States in 1989. After being involved in a new ad tech business at Recruit, he embarked on a round-the-world trip to find ways to solve social issues through business. While working locally, he felt the potential of crowdsource and the sharing economy, and learned about crowdsource while engaging in business development at gengo, a cloud translation startup from Silicon Valley. After that, he joined Selan, a global human resource education startup for children, as COO. Selected for the Google Accelerator Program. In 2019, MentorMe was launched as the first angle. We are striving to “accelerate the evolution of the world by accelerating game changers”. As the second angle, we are preparing to launch an environmental protection business.
In addition, he is in charge of the selection committee of the Yamada Nagamitsu Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships to high school, university, and graduate students.
▼ What is “MentorMe”?
It is a service that increases the success rate of challenges by providing a place where challengers who want to change the world or solve social issues can meet with the best counselors = mentors. Troubles and consultations that always come out regardless of before / after entrepreneurship. We aim to solve them by consulting experienced mentors. Compatibility is also important in meeting the mentor who receives the consultation and the mentee who consults. “MentorMe” introduces the most suitable mentors based not only on the content of the consultation, but also on various aspects such as personality, interests, and strengths.
▼ More than 1,000 mentors support
More than 1,000 registered mentors. Professional human resources in each field, such as entrepreneurs, managers, marketers, and engineers, will support you.
▼Support content
Mentoring and advisors at spots
Ongoing mentoring and advisory support
Hands-on business support (1-5 days a week operation)
New business program design support, planning and operation of events and training
▼Introduction of examples of mentors
A serial entrepreneur who has experience in starting multiple businesses and has experience in starting businesses overseas and selling businesses to unicorn companies.
A manager who grew sales to 8 billion yen in a short period of time after starting a business
Former chairman of a listed company
An in-house entrepreneur = intrapreneur who has been in charge of new business development at a major company and currently serves as a representative of a subsidiary.
▼Consultation example
I want to start a business, but I don’t know where to start
I have a business idea, but I can’t draw a good business model, so I want your support
I want to consult about financing and exit plans
I want to discuss management concerns that are difficult to discuss with employees
I was selected as a person in charge of DX and new business, but I don’t know where to start
In-house new business is not going well, lack of manpower
▼Reasons why mentors are necessary
The success rate of entrepreneurship and new businesses is very low, and according to Nikkei Business, the five-year survival rate is around 15%. [3] One way to overcome such barriers is to have the right mentors. Every successful startup or company has a mentor or coach. According to Forbes, entrepreneurs who are mentored by top-performing entrepreneurs are three times more likely to be top-performing. [Four] However, finding a mentor is not easy. VC and accelerator programs have set conditions, and most challengers are not eligible. According to a survey by Servcorp Japan Co., Ltd., more than 50% of people find mentors through referrals [5] , and young entrepreneurs with limited personal connections are having a hard time.
In addition, support measures for challengers are still insufficient. In particular, existing measures such as VC and accelerator programs such as young entrepreneurs who are active with their own funds as shown above, women’s weekend entrepreneurship, new business
development / DX of small and medium-sized enterprises, new business development of some listed companies, etc. There are many things that are not supported.
Therefore, we have launched this service so that you can easily meet mentors, increase your business success rate, and as a result accelerate the evolution of the world.
▼Benefits of becoming a mentor or mentee with MentorMe
One of the features of our community is that users can be both mentors and mentees. While consulting with senior challengers who are 2-3 steps ahead of me, I support challengers who are 2-3 steps ahead of me. By doing so, you can pass on the challenges, experiences, and knowledge of your predecessors.
▼ MentorMe Co., Ltd. Company Profile
Head office location: Toranomon Hills Business Tower 15th floor, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Keiji Ito, Representative Director
Established: December 17, 2019 (service release: February 2021) Business description: Operation of a matching platform for challengers and mentors
Homepage: https://mentorme.co.jp/
▼Contact information
[Inquiries from customers]
E-mail: info@mentorme.co.jp
▼ Reference materials
[1] NEWS PICKS (https://newspicks.com/news/7722677?ref=search&ref_q=%E5%A4%A7%E4%BC%81%E6%A5%AD&ref_t=top) [2] Small and Medium Enterprise Agency 2017 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises (https://www.chusho.meti.go.jp/pamflet/hakusyo/) [3] Nikkei Business
(https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/report/15/280921/022200058/ )
[4] US Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateharrison/2018/10/30/new-study-reveals-entrepreneurs-need-more-mentoring/?sh=75197c4d7819) [5] Servcorp Japan K.K.
(https://www.servcorp.co.jp/blog/archives/survey_300_mentor.html) Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000014.000071473.html
