Connecting Japan and the US Through Innovation. Why Do Startups Target Global Markets?

​Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Time: 7:30 - 9:00
Venue: Tokyo American Club, Manhattan 1
Speakers: Naomi Kurahara, co-founder and CEO, Infostellar;
Masami Takahashi, General Manager of WeWork Japan 
Moderator: Tim Romero, Host of Disrupting Japan podcast, Investor, Entrepreneur, Teacher, and Writer
Hosting Committee: Alternative Investment
Member Fee: ¥4,500
Guest Fee: ¥7,900
Meal: Plated Breakfast
Registration/Cancellation Deadline: Thursday, April 4, 12:00 Noon

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​Event Overview:

This program is part of the ACCJ Alternative Investment Committee (AIC) Quarterly Venture Capital Series and the Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC) Innovation Program.

For the past eight years, the JSNC, in cooperation with Stanford University’s US–Asia Technology Management Center, has hosted the Japan–US Innovation Awards Symposium (http://www.usjinnovate.org). The purpose of the symposium is to nurture close ties between Japan and the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Each year, the symposium recognizes one Japanese and one US company with the Emerging Leaders Award and five Japanese startups as Innovation Showcase Companies.

On April 9, the AIC will host this special program featuring three exciting speakers who have direct experience taking startups global. Drawing on their experience working at the nexus of collaboration between Japan and Silicon Valley, they will talk about what drives founders to look at global markets at such an early stage, the challenges they have faced when going global as a small startup, and some of the ways in which they address those challenges.

Please join us for this exciting and educational program.

About the Panel:

Naomi Kurahara
Co-founder and CEO of Infostellar Inc., a Tokyo-based space communications company that was named an Innovation Showcase Company in 2018.

Masami Takahashi
General Manager of WeWork Japan, Previously, he served as President of Uber Japan, spearheading the Japanese operations while launching various lines of business, including UberEATS in Tokyo and pilot programs in rural areas.

Tim Romero (Moderator)
Host of the podcast Disrupting Japan, Romero is an entrepreneur, investor, and keen observer of Japanese startups. He is also a member of the JSNC Innovation Advisory Council.


Frank Packard, Chair
Christopher Wells, Jenifer Rogers, Pieter Franken, Vice Chairs
ACCJ Alternative Investment Committee


NOTE 1: This event is ON THE RECORD.

NOTE 2: If you cancel after the stated deadline, the full meeting fee will be charged to your account. Sorry, no substitutions or walk-ins.

NOTE 3: If you are driving to Tokyo American Club, please inform the ACCJ in advance as arrangements must be made and a 2,200 yen parking fee will apply.

NOTE 4: 500 yen of each participant's attendance fee will be deposited into the Alternative Investment Committee Fund.