2024.5.28
Column
Our association is dedicated to enhancing Japan’s angel investment environment and supporting the growth of startups. We regularly share various information related to angel investment, including activity reports, the latest news, and pitch event reports, on a monthly basis.
In May 2024, we finally managed to organize a “kick-off meeting” with our advisory members. (It took three months to coordinate schedules with our busy members.) During this meeting, our representative director, Yamamoto, reported on our activities, shared the visions and strategies of each advisor, and confirmed the future direction of our association. We kindly ask for your continued support and cooperation.
Our advisory members possess exceptional knowledge and experience in their respective fields. With their cooperation, we aim to create an environment that fosters the growth of many entrepreneurs. Below, we reintroduce our advisory members along with comments from Toshi Yamamoto.
From left to right: Chikako Morimoto, Yuki Shibahara, Kunihisa Miyamoto, Masayuki Tadokoro, Minoru Moriya, Toshiyuki Yamamoto
SunBridge Group CEO
As the founding representative of Oracle Japan, he contributed to the company’s launch, laying the foundation for its remarkable growth today. In 1999, he founded SunBridge Corporation with his own funds and has been involved in numerous venture investments, including the establishment of joint ventures in Japan for overseas cloud vendors such as Salesforce.com. In 2007, he was the first venture capitalist focused on Japan to be selected for Forbes’ “Midas List.” He is a founding member and current advisor of the Japan Venture Capital Association.
He is also the author of “I Bet on Japan.”
【From Toshi】I first met Allen when visiting his incubation facility in Silicon Valley. After his successful investment in Salesforce, he is undoubtedly a legendary angel investor globally. Having Allen actively engaged in Japan is a tremendous asset for our startup ecosystem!
FUNDINNO CEO
Graduated from the University of California in 2009 and completed a master’s degree in Global Business at Meiji University in 2012. His research theme in graduate school was “Valuation of Unlisted Companies.” In 2012, he founded a system development and management consulting company. Driven by a desire to enhance Japan’s startup environment, he co-founded Nippon Crowd Capital Inc. in 2015 with Daiki Oura and became its CEO. They launched Japan’s first equity-based crowdfunding service, “FUNDINNO.”
He serves as the secretary company for the “Practical Application Study Group for Blockchain Technology in the Financial Sector,” which consists of five financial companies and experts in the field.
【From Toshi】In the angel investment community, he is known as a pioneer of equity crowdfunding and is aiming to go public himself. He envisions supporting platform members’ listings by securing their own public offering without relying on traditional VC funding, embodying the spirit of “democratizing fundraising.” He has also created new markets through legislative reforms like Loop.
Unicorn Farm CEO
A serial entrepreneur who has founded five companies in Japan and Silicon Valley. He served as a venture partner at a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Currently, as the CEO of Unicorn Farm Inc., he serves as a strategic advisor and board member for several startups domestically and internationally, while also being an outside director at Blue Marine Partners, a business creation company. He is the author of the best-selling book “The Science of Entrepreneurship,” which has sold over 250,000 copies.
【From Toshi] This year, he published a new book titled “Strategic Handbook for Startups.” He excels in logically organizing and explaining materials, and his book explains all the startup logic he has accumulated. Japan has a significant shortage of strategic advisors, and he believes that having such advisors accompany startups would significantly increase their success rates. To cultivate these supporters, he runs the SAA (Startup Advisor Academy).
Angel Investor
Graduated from Keio University with a degree in Policy Management and joined Nissho Iwai (now Sojitz). In 2000, he transferred to ITX, a venture capital firm spun off from the company. In 2004, he founded Net Marketing Inc., became its CEO, and led it to a listing on the TSE First Section and an acquisition by Bain Capital. In 2022, he stepped down as CEO to focus on angel investing. He specializes in the IT/WEB services sector.
【From Toshi】 An experienced founder of a listed company from the Mothers market. He listed and sold “Omiai,” a serious matchmaking app, via TOB. He meets with 200 entrepreneurs annually for 90-120 minutes each and provides detailed feedback through comprehensive reports. His ideal candidate is a 30-something graduate of Waseda University with experience at Recruit or Accenture. He studies exited entrepreneurs daily to identify those with unicorn potential.
morich CEO
After graduating from Dokkyo University, she joined Recruit Human Resources Center (now Recruit). As a career agent, she has supported the recruitment of CxO-class personnel, earning over 30 awards, including company MVPs. She currently heads three companies—morich Inc., morich-To Inc., and and morich Inc.—and is involved in various roles, including external director, advisor, and NPO board member. She has appeared on NHK’s “Professional—The Way of Work” and TV Tokyo’s “Gaia no Yoake,” and writes for various media outlets. She is the author of several books, including “The Work Habits Trusted by 1,000 Executives” and “Serious Job Change.” She is a mother of two sons.
【From Toshi】Known as the goddess of the startup industry for her expertise in recruiting CxO-level talent, especially for later-stage startups. Famous for her role in recruiting for Yahoo! Japan at the request of Masayoshi Son. Her angel investment criteria are simple: “Must be a McKinsey or ex-McKinsey” (lol).
New Business Developer
After joining MISUMI (now MISUMI Group Headquarters) in 1992, he was involved in launching the medical business in the New Market Development Department. In 2002, he co-founded M-Out, a specialist new business company, with MISUMI’s founder Mr. Taguchi, launching and selling multiple businesses. In 2010, he established Minoru Moriya Office. He has participated in the establishment of several companies, including Raksul and CarePro, and served as vice president. He has held numerous roles, including director, advisor, and fellow at various companies and organizations. In April 2018, he led the IPOs of Butix and Raksul in consecutive months.
He is the author of “Management That Always Produces New Businesses,” “Entrepreneurship is 90% Will,” “DX Startup Revolution,” and “Let’s Take a New Step Forward!”
【From Toshi】He has invested in 60 companies, eight of which have already gone public. He expects 15 companies to go public and another 15 to be acquired, making his investment record impressive. His investment criteria are based on “businesses he wants to do” or “interests him,” and he is deeply involved until the startup is established. He invests time and money in fields and businesses he understands well, sometimes spending over a decade searching for entrepreneurs to invest in.
Minoru is known for being a homebody and rarely attends evening dinners. This meeting was a rare occasion.
This concludes the introduction of the advisory members of the Japan Angel Investor Association and comments from our representative director, Toshiyuki Yamamoto. We will continue our efforts to develop angel investing and support startup companies.
The Japan Angel Investor Association is recruiting “Angel Members” for angel investors and “Partner Members” for municipalities, companies, and organizations supporting startups.
Membership is free.Would you like to join us in supporting the growth of startups?
For more details, visit here.
