Kento & Egor (Japan’s Venture Academy)

Japan's Venture Academy (JVA) is an organization managed mainly with a focus on Tokyo students, with support from Shibuya City, aiming to cultivate entrepreneurship through a student-oriented 3-month fellowship. We spoke with core members Kento Akiyama and Egor Sheverev about why they launched JVA and the details of their activities.

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Please tell us about yourself, Egor. 

My name is Egor Sheverev and I come from Russia, where I majored in Japanese at Saint Petersburg State University. Later, when I worked as an intern at a consulting company connecting Russian startups with Japanese enterprises, I became interested in Japan’s startup scene and decided to go and study in Japan.I received a scholarship from the Japanese government and was accepted as a research student at the University of Tokyo.I wanted to get in to the Japanese startup scene, which led me to discover JVA. Since then, I have had the opportunity to contribute to the Japanese startup scene and expand my network. 

Kento, please could you introduce yourself?

My name is Kento Akiyama. Both of my parents are Japanese, but they moved to Germany for work and I was born close to Frankfurt, Germany, and was raised like a German person. My parents were very entrepreneurial: my dad went independent and launched his own company after working at an insurance company, and my mum started her own business independently.
I moved to Munich to study and began attending university, where I became interested in startups and took part in various student-run organizations. I then became interested in starting a business when I participated in a startup education program, and I was inspired by the highly entrepreneurial ecosystem. After graduating university, I moved to Japan with the aim of taking on new challenges. My aim was to create a place where students could come together to learn about startups and enhance their entrepreneurial spirit, just as I had experienced, so I decided to launch a startup study program, and that became JVA.

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How did JVA become connected with Shibuya City?

Kento:

Immediately after moving to Japan, I started with zero startup connections. So I took part in various events to network with people connected to startups. One of the challenges in managing JVA was securing a location, but after getting to know the members of Shibuya Start Up Support’s community team, I found out that the co-working facilities in Shibuya City might be available. That’s where our ties with Shibuya City began.
While preparing to hold an event, I was introduced to Tasaka-san, the Head of Shibuya Start Up Support, and we were able to explore the possibilities of linkage between Shibuya City and JVA. Tasaka-san had the desire to make Shibuya City a hotbed of internationally active startups, so that tied in nicely with JVA’s approach and made me think we would be able to contribute in this regard. These days, we are working with an official support member designation from Shibuya City. I’m really grateful to Tasaka-san and everyone else who is involved.

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Is JVA basically managed using English? What kinds of programs does JVA run?

Egor:

Yes, JVA’s common language is basically English. However, we don’t need to be using high-level English and some members speak Japanese.We’re actively inviting Japanese students, but we don’t have that many at the moment. 
At JVA, we hold two 3-month programs each year. While the programs are being held, there are weekly lectures and students are split into several teams with product development goals. Students use the knowledge they learn from the lectures in their own projects, and they present pitches of their developed products and solutions in front of a professional judging panel. Strictly speaking, their pitches aren’t judged - it’s more like feedback is given. The programs are based on the idea of startup-related study and actual business launches.

How are preparations going for the next program?

Kento:

We’re now getting ready for the next program, which begins in April (note: this interview was held in March). So at the moment, we’re recruiting members and program lecturers. The main objective of this program is to get students interested in entrepreneurship. Starting one’s own business might seem mentally challenging, but I feel that taking the first step is the most difficult thing. So we want to bring together like minded students and provide them with opportunities to receive inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and professionals, enhancing their entrepreneurial self efficacy by the time they complete the program. 
In this program, not only do students receive inspiration from others, but they also have opportunities to up skill and enjoy exchanges. We want to provide a program that makes students feel confident about their ability to contribute thanks to an exciting environment where they can interact with students of the same generation. Ultimately, we want the program to help participants actively take the steps toward launching their own startups.

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Do you have any particularly good memories from the events you have held so far?

Egor:

Among the various programs, I think the best thing is how communication expands. Inevitably, the programs generate many opportunities for matching. JVA provides opportunities for exchanges among various students (not just university students) and seasoned entrepreneurs.

Kento:

Looking back on the events we’ve held so far, there have been several really positive outcomes. Firstly, there’s the expansion of communication that Egor mentioned. A like minded community is essential when thinking about starting a business, and it becomes difficult to implement ideas without their close support. We’ve seen successful examples where people have been connected to their co-founders through the JVA network, and there are also cases where JVA graduates have become Shibuya City Startup Visa holders by applying for that program after completing the JVA program.
Next, there are the opportunities for up skilling. By taking part in JVA programs, I think the students can acquire skills that will serve them well in their careers even if they don’t go on to start their own businesses.For example, there are students who have become interested in working as product designers after learning how to use Figma. Through experiences such as these, I think the students can find direction in their own careers and develop confidence.
Lastly, I think the participants can also improve their business mentality. By taking part in events and programs through JVA, they can obtain new experiences and mindsets. For example, we’ve had feedback from students saying that their perspective has been broadened through exchanges with people of other study backgrounds, nationalities and ways of thinking when participating in international events, while others have said that hands-on product building has been a great experience for them. 
Hearing these stories reassures me about the value of JVA’s, events and programs.

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What is it about starting a business in Japan that you find appealing?

Kento:

There are many positive aspects to starting a business in Japan, first of which is the potential of the rapidly growing startup ecosystem. Compared with other countries, startup culture hasn’t really permeated Japan to the same extent, so I think there are many chances in terms of undeveloped markets and ignored needs. This kind of environment is a particularly big opportunity for entrepreneurs who bring a different perspective or approach.
Also, in Japanese society, great importance tends to be attached to following defined processes and protocol. While this is connected to Japan’s strength in obtaining efficient results by sticking to set processes, flexibility and critical thinking is required when assumptions change. So I think that entrepreneurs who can handle change by bringing in new ideas and methodologies will be able to achieve great things.
I believe that starting a business in Japan has huge appeal in terms of chances for exploring undeveloped markets and needs as well as the potential of innovative approaches that transform existing processes.

Egor, what was it about Japan that first made you interested in the country?

Egor:

I liked Japanese anime and music, so I was really interested in Japan even before I had the opportunity to visit. I had a Japanese guitar, too. Having actually lived here, Japan has recently been offering a lot of opportunities for foreigners in both career development and entrepreneurship and I wanted to use this opportunity and decided to start my career in Japan. 

Kento, as someone who was brought up in Germany, please could you tell us about the differences between Germany and Japan in terms of lifestyle and culture?

Kento: Well, Japan and Germany certainly have different methods of communication [laughs]. German people typically prefer to communicate clearly and directly. When asking for something or expressing opinions, they usually speak openly. On the other hand, Japan is quite different. The norm here is to express opinions in an indirect way while considering the feelings and position of the other person. In other words, it’s normal to take a more indirect approach so as not to hurt the feelings of the other person.

For example, interviews are obviously different. In Japan, one needs to answer using appropriate wording while guessing the expectations or feelings of the other person, but in Germany, straightforward answers are required. Rather than speaking about what lies behind feelings, the norm is to speak the facts in a very straight manner. While these cultural differences also invite misunderstanding and confusion, I think it’s important that we understand and deal flexibly with each other’s cultures.

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Japan's Venture Academy (JVA) : https://www.japansventureacademy.com/

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