The Founder Institute, the world's largest startup accelerator, is proud to announce that it is launching its first Japanese chapter in Kansai. The first ever semester in Kansai begins this Spring and is currently accepting applications. With plans to run two semesters annually, the program aims to launch over 20 meaningful and enduring home-grown technology companies per year in Japan.
The news of the Kansai Founder Institute launch was covered by Ken Nishimura of TechCrunch Japan in an article titled, 会社を辞めずに参加可能、アクセラレータ「Founder Institute」が日本初の支部を関西に設立.
In the Founder Institute's four-month, part-time program, promising startup entrepreneurs “learn by doing” and launch a company through structured training courses, practical business-building assignments, and expert feedback from a large network of business mentors. Plus, aspiring founders are not required to quit their day job to participate, so they can begin building a business around their ideas without putting their livelihood at risk.
Leading the Founder Institute’s efforts in Kansai are Ichiro Yasui, Narimasa Makino, and Kenshin Fujiwara. Ichiro Yasui is the Founder and Managing Director of HIG Associates Ltd, which specialized in the strategic management and investment consulting for early stage companies in Japan and beyond. Narimasa Makino is a manager at Sunbridge StartUps LLP, where he invests in IT and service companies. Kenshin Fujiwara is a Venture Partner at Miyako Capital, a university-backed VC fund based in Kyoto, Japan, is a founder of coworking space search engine Coworkify, and a chairman of StartupKyoto.com.
In Kansai, I see three major issues working against startups. First, people don't know the best practices for building a startup company. Second, there is cultural fear of failure. Third, there is no supporting ecosystem in the city. I believe the Founder Institute can solve all of these problems in Kansai." - Ichiro Yasui
If you would like to learn more, then please join us for a free, upcoming event:
- Startup Ideation Bootcamp
2014-04-03, 06:30 PM
- Founder Institute Information Session
2014-04-09, 06:30 PM
- Startup Pitch Bootcamp
2014-04-16, 06:30 PM
- Founder Institute Information Session
2014-04-23, 06:30 PM
- Founder Night Out
2014-04-23, 09:00 PM - See all upcoming events
In only 15 years of operation, over 7,500 graduate companies across 200 cities have used the Founder Institute to validate their idea, develop their plans, refine their product, build an advisory board, prepare for seed funding, and more.
(Kansai photo via Shutterstock)
We hope you will join us in Kansai and launch a company in 2014.
