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After a successful launch of Moon Media’s first feature film, "<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/moon-media-launch">Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas</a>", comes its second story, "<a href="https://www.kinmi.mooncreativelab.com/">KINMI: Brewing the Future of Sake</a>." Different from "Kamiyama," which focused on the revitalization of an aging town, "KINMI" puts the traditional Japanese industry of sake brewing in the limelight and highlights how the brand is bringing new brewing methods to an industry that hasn’t changed much over the years. Stories like these are often tucked within Japan, but Moon Media knows that these stories could both inform and inspire people on a global scale. &nbsp;The Kamiyama and KINMI films both aspire to tell compelling stories of people and places that meet at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship within Japan. There’s no better person to tell us more about Moon Media’s second film than the executive producer and Moon’s Chief Creative Officer, Mike Peng.&nbsp;<hr><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_3_ce607b8ae6.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake_3.jpg"></figure>How did you identify the story of KINMI sake? What made you decide that this story, in particular, should be shared on a global scale?&nbsp;Mike Peng: I met Nao Kohara when I first moved to Tokyo in 2011. He was still working at a venture capital firm then and I remember talking to him about his love for sake. It was only a few years later when I learned that he had left his job to start a new sake brand! In fact, I remember I used to go to the Farmer’s Market over the weekend to visit his booth.I knew that one day, I wanted to tell the story of Nao and KINMI. First of all, for someone like Nao — an incredibly successful Japanese business person who graduated from Tokyo University and Stanford Business School — to quit his job and pursue his passion was incredibly rare, especially in Japan. Not to mention, creating a new sake brand in an industry that’s steeped in traditions must have been really tough.How did he do it? Why did he do it? How was KINMI going to be different? What was he trying to achieve?I felt that trying to uncover the answer to these questions could inspire many people around the world looking to start something new.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_1_d597ccdf1c.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake_1.jpg"></figure>What did you learn while making this film?&nbsp;While filming "KINMI," I was really struck by how deep the relationships were between Nao, the sake breweries, the brew masters, the rice farmers, the local fisheries, the restaurants, and everyone else within the ecosystem. There was a sense of shared purpose and camaraderie — we all care so much about what we do and we want to create the best product or experience that we can. That pride in the craft is something that I feel is harder and harder to find these days in business, and it was so palpable while making this film.&nbsp;&nbsp;Is there a particular moment or idea that resonated with you when filming "KINMI"? I’m sure you have great behind-the-scenes stories too!&nbsp;I don’t know if it’s one singular moment, but throughout the filming, I kept thinking to myself, “Wow, everything needs to be so precise!” To make unpasteurized or unfiltered sake is no small task. Everything needs to be done at the right “fill in the blank” — the right temperature, the right humidity, the right timing, etc. And if it’s not, the sake will not live up to its full potential. As with many behind-the-scenes videos, your appreciation and understanding for the craft definitely elevates all aspects of the final product.<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_copy_05e93730c9.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake_copy.jpg"></figure>If you could have a conversation with someone who watches the film for the very first time, what would you want to discuss with them?Even though Moon Media has only created two films so far, I’m already starting to see some common themes that really excite and interest me. In both the Kamiyama and KINMI films, I feel that there’s another way to do business — it doesn’t have to be just for money and it doesn’t have to just be “do good” charity work. There exists a “third way” where there’s harmony in profit and purpose, leadership and community, business and creativity, humanity and nature. Although I’m sure this exists all around the world, I find that there’s a higher percentage of this happening in Japan. I’m hoping that these stories can not only inspire the rest of the world, but also spark a conversation on how we might do this in our own parts of the world.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kinmi_sake_f1ad038571.jpg" alt="kinmi_sake.jpg"></figure>What action do you want the audience to take after watching "KINMI"?&nbsp;From an organizational perspective, I hope that people and businesses will really think deeply about what their purpose is in the world (beyond making money) and how they can collaborate more with other parties who share that same purpose.From a personal perspective, I know that entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, but I hope that everyone spends at least some time in their life thinking about what new value they can create in the world that is purposeful and brings joy to their life.&nbsp;<blockquote>"I hope that everyone spends at least some time in their life thinking about what new value they can create in the world that is purposeful and brings joy to their life."</blockquote>What’s next for Moon Media? Do you have any updates about "Kamiyama"? Is there another film in the works?&nbsp;I’m excited to share that we submitted "<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/stories/moon-media-launch">Kamiyama</a>" to several film festivals and it was the Official Selection to many of them including: <a href="https://hollywoodshortsfest.com/">The Hollywood Shortsfest</a>, the <a href="the San Jose International Film Festival">San Jose International Film Festival</a>, <a href="https://docswithoutbordersfilmfest.com/">Documentary Without Borders</a>, and the <a href="http://sfshorts.com/">San Francisco Short Film Festival</a>!We have several ideas for future films and are beginning the planning process for them. As of now, we’ve focused a lot on the intersection of business x creativity x Japan, but we also want to add “sustainability” to that intersection and have a few stories that we think will be incredibly inspiring!&nbsp;---We hope that our second Moon Media film, "KINMI: Brewing the Future of Sake," inspires you as much as it did the Moon team. Continue to share the gift of storytelling and inspiration within Japan with your friends and family, too. We hope you all enjoy it! <a href="https://www.kinmi.mooncreativelab.com/">Watch "KINMI: Brewing the Future of Sake" here.&nbsp;</a> &nbsp; *Editor’s note:&nbsp; One of the regions featured in "KINMI" is Noto, a small coastal town located on a peninsula projecting north into the Sea of Japan. At the heart of Noto lies its well-known fisheries and fishing villages, which are so significant that Nao partnered with the region’s oldest fish market to create a box set including KINMI’s Noto sake. The film credits Japan’s unique regions for “creating” its own sake, with food and environment contributing to the sake’s flavor. Noto is a perfect example of that as the community’s livelihood, culture, and most integral product is weaved into its distinctive sake.Sadly, the Noto Peninsula has been heavily impacted by the multiple earthquakes that occurred in early January. It is one of the worst affected areas and much of it has been destroyed. To show your support for the Noto communities, please consider donating to the <a href="https://www.jrc.or.jp/english/donate/">Japanese Red Cross Society</a> or <a href="https://www-pref-ishikawa-lg-jp.translate.goog/suitou/gienkinr0601.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&amp;_x_tr_tl=en&amp;_x_tr_hl=ja">Ishikawa Prefecture’s official website</a> to help with relief efforts. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<hr>Moon Media is a division of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/">Moon Creative Lab Inc</a>., a venture studio that powers the creation of new businesses for Mitsui &amp; Co., Ltd. and beyond. Moon Media was created to help showcase inspiring stories of people and places that fall at the intersection of creativity x entrepreneurship within Japan. We know that many of these inspiring stories exist throughout Japan, but they are often difficult to find and hard to access. Our goal is to uncover these hidden gems so that we all can nourish our creative souls and begin turning inspiration into innovation.

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<h3>Meet the 16 global startups that joined our incubation program in Fall 2023.</h3><hr><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Boost_group_89f5006e5a.png" alt="Boost group.png"></figure>&nbsp;In July 2023, Moon Creative Lab launched three new programs: <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/spark">Spark</a>, <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/boost">Boost</a>, and <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/orbit">Orbit</a> to help organizations and individuals unlock their creative potential to start new businesses. For the first time, we opened our doors to entrepreneurs around the world, inviting participants to join our in-person 3-6 month intensive early-stage incubation program, Boost.We received applications from a range of industries and spanning more than 10 different countries. After a rigorous review and interview process with Moon leadership, we selected 16 startups to leverage Moon’s talent, and each other, to help build for traction, receive real feedback from customers as quickly as possible, and potentially earn funding at Moon’s Demo Day in April 2024.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Moon Welcomes Boost’s Fall 2023 Participants&nbsp;&nbsp;</h3>Since October, Boost participants have worked together with Moon Mates to build on their ventures and develop their skills as founders. We’ve seen product pivots, company rebrands, customer discovery, and countless other experiments to find market traction and build products that customers love.&nbsp;As we prepare for the end of this Boost cycle, Moon will be offering select teams the option to extend their incubation period with us for another 3 months as a prerequisite for Demo Day in April.&nbsp;We want to extend a sincere congratulations to all of the entrepreneurs, ideas, and startups that have been a part of the first Boost cohort:&nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>From Individual Entrepreneurs</h3><a href="https://delight.fit/">Delight</a> is a call center automation and personalization service with a multilingual phone bot. Delight launched in October 2022 by its founder Hiroyuki Anno.DEW is an eco-friendly cleaning supplies subscription service. Founder Yuka Usami launched its first product, aq, in September 2023.&nbsp;<a href="https://dotsfor.com/">Dots for Inc.</a> offers information access to rural Africa. Dots for Inc. was established in October 2021 by its founder Carlos Oba.Fankey/ Xylocopa is a fan activity data management system. Founded in September 2022 by Yamaguchi Kiminori.&nbsp;<a href=" https://www.hyouka-ai.com/en/top">Hyouka</a> is an AI and camera based survey using hand gestures. Founder Aki Kutvonen launched Hyouka in 2021 and moved to working on this project fulltime in 2023.Loyal (formerly known as MCM) is blockchain based music copyright management. MCM is founded by Yusuke Sunakane.&nbsp;<a href="https://matchhat.com/landing">MatchHa</a>t is a platform to help filmmakers find talent and collaborators . The idea for MatchHat began in 2017 and development began a few years later together with teammates in 2020. MatchHat is founded by Soraya Umewaka, CEO, together with co-founder Sheenan Tenepre, Tech Lead.<a href="https://www.menux.jp/">MenuX</a> is a digital platform for sports and entertainment merchandise. Founder Eri Koyano has been working on MenuX together with her cofounder since 2022.&nbsp;Minute Style is a marketplace that curates daily outfits suggested by personal stylists using their existing wardrobes. Founder Eri Kobayashi has been working on Minute Style since December 2019 and launched the beta in 2020.<a href="https://voice-ping.com/">VoicePing</a> is a virtual office with real time translation. VoicePing is founded by CEO Nakajima Akinori, CEO, and Jack Nguyen, COO. VoicePing has been in production over the past 18 months and has gained over 2,000+ daily active users.WhyMe/Insaight is an AI based consulting platform. Founder Takayuki Suzuki has been working on WhyMe/Insaight since early 2022.&nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Entrepreneurs From Mitsui</h3>Carbon Mileage is an awards program for energy efficient airline travel. Founder Junya Fukui joins us from the Americas Energy BU.Eureka is an educational program focused on space. Founder Naoya Shiraishi was a previous Spark participant and encouraged to apply to our Boost program. Shiraishi joins us from the Educational Tech BU. &nbsp;<a href="https://yukiobata.wixsite.com/my-site">ISSHO</a> is a software platform for employee engagement. Founder Yuki Obata has been working closely with Moon in the months leading up to the Boost application after successfully pitching the idea during Moon’s Design Challenge for Mitsui x Moon.&nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Ideas and Startups From Mitsui Business Units (BUs)</h3>Agritech is a sensor tech to help sustainable farming. Agritech’s team includes Alberto Takayama and Yoshihiro Katsuyama deriving from the Mobility I &amp; II &amp; Food BU.UpWaste is a digitized waste management platform. Founder Aris Munandar was a previous Spark participant and encouraged to apply to our Boost program. Munandar joins us from the Mitsui Indonesia BU. &nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>From Boost to our Orbit</h3>No matter how far founders travel with Moon, they will always be a part of our Orbit! We believe that building a thriving startup takes ongoing support from a network of supportive individuals, and that’s why we built our entrepreneur community, Orbit. All Boost alumni will be invited to develop their skills at our networking events and encouraged to participate in Orbit, even if they are not selected to continue their incubation period at Moon.Be sure to check out <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/en/orbit">www.mooncreativelab.com/orbit</a> for the most up to date events! &nbsp;&nbsp;*These were the idea/business descriptions at the time of writing this article. Entrepreneurship and new ventures, by nature, are constantly evolving, so these descriptions may change along the journey.* &nbsp;

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In recent years, with the strengthening of international efforts to address global warming and achieve carbon neutrality, green transformation (GX) startups have emerged to the point where there are an estimated 3,000 climate-focused companies today.In a recent episode of Moon Creative Lab's regular online event, "Moon Talk!,” we asked Toma Yamasaki of <a href="https://e-dash.io/">e-dash Corporation</a> and Yusuke Toyoda of <a href="https://www.digitalgrid.com/">Digital Grid Corporation</a> about the secrets to building successful GX-focused products and organizations.<h3>Key Learnings</h3><ul><li>Focusing on the decarbonization domain</li><li>Overcoming challenges in product development</li><li>How to realize a big vision and involve stakeholders</li><li>Funding and hiring</li></ul><hr><figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image6_8c7e31356f.jpg" alt="image6.jpg"><figcaption>President of e-dash Corporation, Toma Yamasaki (left) and president of Digital Grid Corporation, Yusuke Toyoda (right).</figcaption></figure>Yusuke Toyoda joined Digital Grid in 2018 as a founding member and has served as president since 2019. He previously worked at a securities company after graduating from university, where he was involved in financial product structuring and mega solar development and investment.Toma Yamasaki was stationed in Silicon Valley after working for Mitsui &amp; Co., on the development and mergers &amp; acquisitions of electric power and other infrastructure businesses. After spending about five years in Silicon Valley, Yamasaki was in charge of venture investment and business development in the clean tech field there.Facilitated by Masahiro Kunieda, Business Lead for sustainability at Moon, this Moon Talk! provides unique perspectives from both Toyoda and Yamasaki as entrepreneurs and in-house entrepreneurs, or “intrapreneurs.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Focusing on decarbonization as an entrepreneur and intrapreneur</h3>Kunieda: You both are working in the decarbonization area as an entrepreneur and an internal entrepreneur. Why did you decide to focus on this field?Toyoda: I had been focusing on the field of renewable energy since I was in a university research lab, and I had been conducting research with the idea that it would be interesting if, in the future, electricity could be colored (for the purpose of identifying the electricity to be used) and exchanged freely.I wondered if the same kind of rapid evolution that occurred in the field of telecommunications would also occur in the energy field. I was focused on the enormous potential of renewable energy, which is said to be 200,000 times the amount of electricity generated on Earth, and was conducting research with the goal of creating a world where people do not have to worry about energy.My mentor Dr. Abe started the company with me. When he was a student, he enthusiastically promoted research on digital grids as a specially-appointed professor in the Social Cooperation Course. Currently, he is engaged in hardware development, etc. while serving as Representative Director and CEO at DG Capital Group Inc. I deeply sympathized with the vision of "supporting renewable energy to create the future 30 years from now," which President Toyoda had been talking about for years with a twinkle in his eye. So, it was a natural progression for me to get involved in GX.<blockquote>"I want to enjoy new things and work towards winning because it is an immature industry.” -Yusuke Toyoda&nbsp;</blockquote>Yamasaki: Since joining Mitsui, I have been involved in power-related business development within the Project Division, where I have the opportunity to notice major trend changes.I was stationed in Silicon Valley for five years starting in 2015, where I invested in and developed joint ventures with startups in the green tech and climate-related fields. This was a major catalyst for starting a business within the GX field. &nbsp;<h3>Overcoming challenges in product development</h3>Kunieda: Although we are in the same field, our starting points for product development are slightly different, one from the deep-tech side and the other from the software side. Can you tell us about the challenges you faced in product development and how you overcame them?Toyoda: Currently, we are developing software that will deliver weather-sensitive renewable energy to various companies, but at the beginning of product development, we were making hardware to control electricity in order to freely exchange power. We have developed hardware that can use electricity from storage batteries, and have also worked on demonstration projects for the Ministry of the Environment.Around 2016, blockchain became a hot topic, and we expanded our efforts, believing that if we could combine blockchain technology with hardware to track and control it, we could realize our ideal vision.Later on, we experienced a situation where our resources were dispersed among products that included all the functions of hardware, blockchain, and AI, but we did not have enough resources to push through each of these areas. Based on this process, we are now focusing on AI and software development.Yamasaki: Since the initial conception of the product, we have developed the product without changing much from the theme of "energy consumption data management" as the main framework.President Toyoda might say that we are following the textbook (laughs), but we are proceeding with development by receiving <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/ja/boost">support from Moon</a>, creating prototypes, listening to user feedback, and continuously developing the product while facing the pain points of customers. <img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image4_567d28b84a.jpg" alt="image4.jpg"> &nbsp;Kunieda: In one word, what is the secret to overcoming barriers in product development? We asked you to write it down on the flipboard. President Toyoda, please begin.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image5_ca94fc9900.jpg" alt="image5.jpg"> Toyoda: I wrote “calmness and passion.” We are proceeding with our business with a strong passion to realize a world in which people can freely exchange electricity. To create innovation, we certainly need to push the accelerator to the limit with such passion.On the other hand, it is also necessary to judge logically whether or not it is feasible as a business, separating it from our passion, and we feel that the level of difficulty is extremely high. In fact, there was a time several years ago when I could not find the right balance. Even now, I am trying to figure out how to create innovations that become businesses while maintaining the conflicting attitudes of passion and practicality.One thing I try to do to keep my composure is to listen to the opinions of trusted colleagues. I try to listen to objective opinions while keeping my own vision unwavering.Kunieda: Thank you very much. President Yamasaki, your turn.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image2_c9dca46cf5.jpg" alt="image2.jpg"> Yamasaki: I wrote “confirmation bias,” a perfect match for President Toyoda (laughs)!When starting a new business from scratch, I think there is a lot that can be driven by the strong belief that there must be a need.On the other hand, once I start running vigorously, I try to calmly look at the situation and verify it, even though I have my own conflicts. It is challenging, but it is something I still cherish.&nbsp;Whatever it is, I want to do it! I feel that it is difficult because it starts with "I want to do it!” &nbsp;<h3>How to realize a big vision… and involve stakeholders</h3>Kunieda: President Yamasaki, as an operating company under Mitsui, and President Toyoda, as a corporate organization receiving numerous investments, how do you involve stakeholders in order to realize your big vision?Yamasaki: We operate as a subsidiary wholly owned by Mitsui &amp; Co and are working with various partners through internal connections to develop our clientele.We have the support of an established company as Mitsui &amp; Co., and are receiving back-office support in the areas of personnel systems, accounting, and settlement of accounts.On the other hand, as a trading company, we did not have personnel specializing in product development, so we are hiring people who can write code. Also, due to the nature of SaaS, we are managing our organization by gathering people who can handle customer success, field sales, and other tasks.<blockquote>"This is the most interesting industry and I want to make it exciting together.” -Toma Yamasaki</blockquote>Toyoda: In the case of Digital Grit, we have a total of 60 shareholders, of which only one is a venture capital company and the majority are large corporations. We have a very large number of stakeholders, and sometimes nearly 100 people gather at shareholder meetings!With regard to the diversity of our stakeholders, to become the one and only platform of its kind in Japan, we have a policy of having multiple companies participate rather than just one company within one industry.In addition, we gave those who invested in the project access to our code, logic, and other information at the time, and adopted an open innovation approach in which we received opinions as we proceeded.Kunieda: Now, what do you feel are the advantages of both startups and in-house startups from each other's point of view? We asked you to write on the same flipboard. President Yamasaki, please begin. <img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image3_92e0f87458.jpg" alt="image3.jpg"> Yamasaki: "Partners.” Seeing the way President Toyoda is proceeding, I feel that it is a great advantage that large corporations, as shareholders, can be both customers and partners in building businesses.As written in Practical Theory of New Business by Yoichi Aso, the founder of Alpha Drive, the difficulty in spinning out from a large corporation to create a business is fundraising. From this point of view, I feel that having the support of many partners is a very big advantage for us.Kunieda: Thank you very much. Now, President Toyoda, please begin. <img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/image1_83d4330a7c.jpg" alt="image1.jpg">Toyoda: "Strong and new game.” In talking with President Yamasaki, I think that starting a new business from a company with a long history is like a game where you can start the battle with a high-level weapon from the beginning.For example, we can develop products with Moon's support and deploy back-office know-how. I feel that the ability to utilize and customize such assets is a great strength.For people who create something from zero to one in a startup, there are some inefficiencies, and even a single HR system needs to be built over time. If we can take the know-how we have developed over our long history and turn it into something optimal, it would be a great weapon.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>On fundraising and hiring</h3>Below are questions from the audience that the panel answered.What is the best way to hire reliable engineers? Yamasaki: It is important to hire the first excellent product manager. From there, it will be easier to hire all the way through.Do you have any advice on fundraising for each stage? Toyoda: It is important to fulfill the promises and milestones at each stage, one by one, and even if stage advancement is not always possible, it is important to explain the causes and next steps to be taken and proceed. &nbsp;&nbsp;Moon Talk! will continue to deliver information on innovation in companies, stories of startup founders, and deep-dives into design and technology, all of which will be useful for future business strategies and new business creation. Check out upcoming events from Moon at <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/orbit">https://www.mooncreativelab.com/orbit</a>.&nbsp;

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At Moon Creative Lab, we’ve always been focused on unlocking people’s creative potential to create new businesses, and we are always looking for ways to support as many entrepreneurs and startups as we can. And now, with our <a href="https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/501861/moon-creative-lab-expands-venture-programming-to-turn-brilliant-ideas-into-rockstar-businesses">recently announced three new program offerings</a>, we are broadening our reach more than ever!Our new program, <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/boost">Boost</a>, is an incubation program to help startup teams and corporations gain traction for new businesses.&nbsp;Since we were founded in 2018, Moon Creative Lab has been a venture studio for powering the creation of new businesses globally for individuals, teams, and business units within Mitsui &amp; Co. Our new programs will expand our support for Mitsui &amp; Co as well as outside corporations and startup teams that want to incubate their early stage business.&nbsp;&nbsp;Boost Your Early-Stage New Business&nbsp; Our Boost program is an intensive 3-6 month incubation program that will help new businesses build traction and potentially earn $300,000 USD in funding.* Boost focuses on a human-centered approach to new business creation with expertise in user research and testing and prototype creation. By joining our Boost program, participants will receive:<ul><li>Hands-on support and mentorship from our diverse and creative team of global experts in design, engineering, product, marketing, and more.</li><li>Help finding co-founders, team members, or strategic partners.</li><li>Working space at Moon’s Silicon Valley or Tokyo studio.&nbsp;</li><li>Potential collaboration with Mitsui &amp; Co. and its global network.</li><li>Helpful SaaS tools to build your business.&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;Earn Funding After completing the Boost program, participants may compete in Moon’s Demo Day where they can pitch their business to Moon’s Investment Committee to earn $300,000 USD* of seed funding from Moon.&nbsp;The Many Ways We Can Work Together If you, your team, or your company have started working on a new business idea and are looking for additional support in building and testing prototypes with real customers, we’d love to help bring your innovative ideas to life! <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/boost">Head here to learn more and apply for Boost.</a>Haven’t yet started working on that “crazy” idea but want to learn more about new business creation? Check out our hands-on learning program, <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/spark">Spark</a>. And if you’d like to connect with others and become part of our diverse, creative, and fun community, check out <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/orbit">Orbit</a>, our series of in-person events.&nbsp; *Participating startups will be able to pitch for an investment of $300,000 USD on a post-money KISS/J-KISS at a $3M valuation cap – 10% of your company prior to dilution. <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/boost">Click here for details.</a>

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I’m excited to announce the biggest change we’ve made at Moon Creative Lab. Today, we’re launching three new Moon programs –&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/en/spark">Spark</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/en/boost">Boost</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/en/orbit">Orbit</a> – that will help organizations and startup teams unlock their creative potential to start new businesses.&nbsp;Since Moon was founded in 2018, we have been working closely with Mitsui &amp; Co. to transform our people and businesses globally. We hosted eight pitch events (in person and online), supported 150+ idea owners, and launched 10 successful ventures into the market – among many other achievements – and I’m so proud of the work we have accomplished together over the past five years.With today’s announcement, we’re enhancing our support for Mitsui &amp; Co. employees while broadening our reach to individuals, startups, and corporations outside the company, which will expand our community to make an even bigger impact through brilliant ideas and entrepreneurship.<h3>Why now?&nbsp;</h3>I often spend my time thinking about how to make a greater impact at Moon through books, in-depth conversations, and listening to thought leaders’ personal experiences and stories. One quote in particular that has stood out to me through and through comes from the wise Mark Twain, which reads, “Name the greatest of all the inventors. Accident.”&nbsp;Within our two studios, I’ve witnessed accidental connections blossom into meaningful conversations and even deeper collaborations, all of which happens not by design, but by happenstance. The effects we have on our expanded network of entrepreneurs, founders, and creatives have been an outcome of the environment we’ve created and the impact of our activities.Of course, we always start with a general course of action for every individual. But as every entrepreneur knows, the road to success is never straight or narrow, and there will be many detours along the way. These detours just might end up being better than the main thoroughfare. In fact, they might be the best road of all: happy accidents that lead to successful business outcomes.&nbsp;<h3>Nurturing more happy accidents&nbsp;</h3>Our new program offerings invite individuals to work in a unique environment with people from different backgrounds, careers, industries, cultures, and passions to work, learn, and transform – together. Mitsui &amp; Co. employees, anyone curious about entrepreneurship, employees from outside corporations, and first-time founders are invited to leverage Moon’s resources through our new Spark, Boost, and Orbit experiences.&nbsp;Our Moon programs are for anyone who would like to:<ul><li>Learn about human-centered new business creation.</li><li>Build new businesses with a diverse and creative team of global experts in design, engineering, product, marketing, and more.</li><li>Find co-founders and build a team.</li><li>Find potential joint venture partners to accelerate and scale their business.</li><li>Potential collaboration with Mitsui &amp; Co. and its global network.</li><li>Earn $300,000 USD in funding to scale early-stage startups quickly.</li></ul>Beyond expanding our efforts to create an even bigger impact, I am most excited about watching the transformation of people and businesses that will take place at Moon. You never know what happy accident at Moon might lead to the next greatest invention.&nbsp;Kaichi Yokoyama President &amp; CEO of Moon Creative Lab&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Moon Media launched in the summer of 2022 with a vision to tell inspiring stories of people and places that fall at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship within Japan. With the release of Moon Media’s first film, <a href="https://www.kamiyama.mooncreativelab.com/">“Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas”</a> coming this month, we talked to Moon Creative Lab’s Chief Creative Officer, <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/our-leadership/mike-peng">Mike Peng</a>, to learn more about the vision of Moon Media and what’s to come.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://vimeo.com/783114702"></oembed></figure><hr>If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting Mike and chatting with him for even just a few minutes, you know how much of a storyteller he is at heart. Ask him about where he’s traveled or the people he’s met along the way and you’ll see Mike light up with infectious enthusiasm, painting detailed memories so vividly, it’s as if you were there experiencing it all with him. It makes sense that Mike would be spearheading an entire division for Moon around storytelling through films.&nbsp;&nbsp;Congratulations on launching the first feature film for Moon Media! Where did the inspiration to start this division of Moon Creative Lab come from?&nbsp;Mike Peng: We have two main goals at Moon: 1) Help build and launch successful ventures for Mitsui &amp; Co., and 2) Help transform its workforce. The telling of stories has played a critical role in our ability to achieve both.&nbsp;In chatting with <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/our-leadership/kaichi-yokoyama">Kaichi Yokoyama</a>, Moon’s CEO, and <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/our-leadership/mary-ann-gallo">Mary Ann Gallo</a>, Moon’s CMO, I had expressed the desire to tell more evocative stories of creativity and entrepreneurship for Japan. My feeling was that if we can share more examples of how others are doing it (in a beautiful and compelling way), we would all get more inspired. And the more inspired we become, the better ability we have to help build and launch successful ventures and help transform the people we’re working with.&nbsp;But it wouldn’t have to stop there. We also felt that if successful, these stories could transcend beyond Mitsui and help inspire an even larger audience domestically and abroad. Thus, we set up Moon Media to explore this potential.&nbsp;&nbsp;How did you come to identify the story in Kamiyama as the first Moon Media story?&nbsp;I had noticed that a few of my close friends from Japan were visiting Kamiyama and posting amazing stories and images of the town. The name of the town was new to me, so I messaged all of them asking about their experience there. Each one of them told me how inspired they were by what the town was trying to achieve — using a creative and entrepreneurial mindset to tackle the growing issue of an aging population. I felt that this was a story that needed to be told and shared. So many countries, cities, and towns are all facing the same challenge. Could the story of Kamiyama help jumpstart the conversation and provide all of us new ideas on what we might be able to do? This made Kamiyama a perfect subject for the first Moon Media story.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Media_Kamiyama_Film_8e3c0ce59d.jpeg" alt="Moon-Media-Kamiyama-Film">What type of stories are you looking to showcase on Moon Media going forward?&nbsp;For me, Moon Media stories should highlight people and places that sit at the intersection of entrepreneurship and creativity and Japan — the same intersection that makes up Moon Creative Lab.&nbsp;For entrepreneurship: Did the subject launch something from zero? Did they apply an entrepreneurial mindset to whatever it is they are creating? Was the chance of risk or failure high? Are there a lot of learnings to be shared along the journey?&nbsp;About creativity: Did the subject apply “out-of-the-box” thinking to create something new? Is the concept novel and innovative to the context at hand? Were the subjects inspired by something, somewhere, or someone that led them to this new concept?&nbsp;On Japan: Does the subject matter resonate with people in Japan? Are there elements of the story that reflect the values of Japanese culture (beyond stereotypes)? Does the subject offer ideas, perspectives, or philosophies that can help push Japan forward?&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Media_Kamiyama_Mike_Peng_2bae65a2fb.jpeg" alt="Moon-Media-Kamiyama-Mike-Peng"><figcaption>CCO Mike Peng behind-the-scenes for the film Kamiyama</figcaption></figure>What all went into the making of this film? What does it take to create a captivating story?Like all great non-fiction storytelling, the goal is to achieve true authenticity. This means trying to capture the essence of what we saw, what we heard, and what we felt into an edited package of sound and visuals. You can imagine the hours of footage that we took during these multi-day shoots! How do you slim that down into a 10-15 minute film and still have it tell a clear and compelling story? That is where I suppose the magic really happens. Thankfully, we have an amazing film and editing crew that oozes magic from their pores!&nbsp;For our inaugural film on Kamiyama, we filmed for six days, had nearly 10 hours of footage, and spent approximately 82 hours of editing to get the film to the final length of 14 minutes.&nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Kamiyama_Moon_Media_3be43baca6.jpeg" alt="Kamiyama-Moon-Media">How would you like to see storytelling evolve?&nbsp;As a designer, I’ve been trained to create and appreciate beautiful things, so I want to make sure each one of our films is beautiful in its own way. But for me, beauty is only one facet of storytelling that we want to achieve for Moon Media. My hope is for these films to be thought-provoking and elicit conversation. I don’t want people to just copy what’s been done by the subjects of the film, but I hope that it does provide inspiration and ideas for people to do&nbsp;something.&nbsp;I’ve even been thinking about creating a set of reflection questions as part of each film to help get the conversation started and get us all thinking in a more action-inducing way. Stay tuned!&nbsp; <img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Filming_Kamiyama_Moon_Media_e049abcd66.jpeg" alt="Filming-Kamiyama-Moon-Media">What can we look forward to in the coming months?&nbsp;Like with all “firsts,” there is so much pressure in getting it “perfect,” whatever that means! However, in the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship, we tried to not overthink with this first film and to just “do.” In the coming months, we’re going to try and get as many people to watch our film and collect any thoughts and feedback people might have on the film (so please&nbsp;do send me any thoughts if you have them: moonmedia@mooncreativelab.com)!We are currently filming the second film (I’m so excited to share it with you all!) and will be heading into post-production in April. Our hope is to launch this next film some time in early May 2023, so be on the lookout!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Moon_Media_team_bdd126e785.jpeg" alt="Moon-Media-team"><figcaption>Clockwise from Left to Right: Kaichi Yokoyama (Executive Producer), Masataka Namazu (Photography), Ted Ko (Co-Producer), Mike Peng (Executive Producer), Marco Lui (Director &amp; Writer), Kohei Watanabe (Director, Filming, Editing, Music), Akari Yagura (Filming)</figcaption></figure>Watch the full length film at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kamiyama.mooncreativelab.com/">https://www.kamiyama.mooncreativelab.com/</a> and subscribe to our newsletter for updates regarding upcoming films from Moon Media!If you would like to get in touch with Mike and the Moon Media team directly, please contact: <a href="mailto:moonmedia@mooncreativelab.com">moonmedia@mooncreativelab.com</a><hr>Moon Media is a division of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/">Moon Creative Lab Inc</a>., a venture studio that powers the creation of new businesses for Mitsui &amp; Co., Ltd. and beyond. Moon Media was created to help showcase inspiring stories of people and places that fall at the intersection of creativity x entrepreneurship within Japan. We know that many of these inspiring stories exist throughout Japan, but they are often difficult to find and hard to access. Our goal is to uncover these hidden gems so that we all can nourish our creative souls and begin turning inspiration into innovation.

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Mateus Rezende, Senior Design Lead at Moon Creative Lab, reports on a recent meetup event held in February 2023 in collaboration with&nbsp;<a href="http://canvas.co.com">Canvas Tokyo</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.figma.com/">Figma</a>. What can someone do in three minutes? What about in three hours? In early February this year, Moon was happy to host our first public event directed at the creative and entrepreneurial communities in Tokyo. The formula was simple. We had a three-hour gathering, where the entire Moon team and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence could commingle with other designers, artists, developers, and entrepreneurs who live and work around Tokyo. The core of the event was an open mic session where anyone could present their portfolio, their personal projects, or pitch their startup in three minutes on stage. This gave presenters the opportunity to quickly share their passion to the entire audience for further collaboration and gather potential feedback.&nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/machi_event_4700c763cf.jpg" alt="machi event.jpg"> This event was organized in partnership with&nbsp;<a href="http://canvas.co.com/">Canvas Tokyo</a>, an online platform where creatives can share their work, create discussions on an online forum, and find work on their recently launched Jobs page. We also had support from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.figma.com/">Figma Japan</a>, a widely known tool for UX and UI design. While Canvas Tokyo invited their community of creatives to bring physical works to be displayed on a gallery wall during the event, Figma gifted swag to those who were brave enough to take the mic for three minutes on stage. On the opposite wall from the gallery with displayed artwork there was a six-meter wide projection screen with an online white-board powered by FigJam where creators could place the digital version of their artwork. This wall contained lots of different real-time interaction which created an even greater engagement and unforgettable experience for attendees! &nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/PXL_20230203_113522584_2_4e996a721f.jpg" alt="PXL_20230203_113522584 2.jpg"> Overall, it was an evening full of great conversation, endless laughter, and networking opportunities. Everyone had an opportunity to talk and meet with someone new.&nbsp;The only moment there was&nbsp;silence was when the open mic session had started. We heard from one of our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Satoshi Yoshida, presenting his venture GORIL, and even&nbsp; professionals&nbsp;in the business world who are also artists. Using only one illustrated image and a microphone in hand, those who did choose to present inspired the crowd at the event. &nbsp;<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Event_photo_c6fc8854c6.jpg" alt="Event photo.jpg"> This Open Creative Night was the first public event that Moon hosted, in partnership with Canvas Tokyo and Figma, hosted. The intention is to make this event into an ongoing series of gatherings. Our goal is to create a space in the heart of Omotesando where creatives, entrepreneurs and all ofMoon can commingle, learn, become inspired, and connect with people old and new.&nbsp; Be sure to check out our <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/ja/stories/page/1">Moon Stories</a> for upcoming events!&nbsp;Matheus Rezende Senior Design Lead&nbsp; <a href="mailto:mateus@mooncreativelab.com">mateus@mooncreativelab.com</a>

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Moon Creative Lab, Canvas Tokyo, Figma event 

Problem definition is the first step in creating a business. At Moon Creative Lab, we emphasize the importance of first delving into problem definitions from multiple angles. In the business incubation process, it is only after a problem is defined that a vision or concept can be created.In this article, we introduce essential tips that can be applied to problem definition and user-research preparation. Table of Contents<ul><li>Four essential tips in problem definition&nbsp;</li><li>Tennis Bear as an example&nbsp;</li><li>Necessary rules in brainstorming</li><li>How to check your bias&nbsp;</li><li>Preparation for user research&nbsp;</li></ul><hr><h3>Four essential tips in problem definition</h3>Defining a problem is the first step needed before creating a project vision or concept. It is necessary to consider various factors such as what are the users' problems, who are the people in need and whether there are competitors.There are four points we analyze at Moon to help us define the problem we are looking to solve.&nbsp;①&nbsp;Pain Points + AspirationsTo make problem definitions more concrete, we need to know the challenges people are facing. We try to identify the problem by answering the following questions:What needs currently exist? &nbsp; What are the unfulfilled needs? Are there any needs that people aren't aware of?&nbsp; ②&nbsp;Problem Scale + Opportunity&nbsp;Analyzing the problem with statistics and other data can help better understand the scale and severity of needs. The results of further investigation can help provide hints for identifying solutions. If there is no data found, we can conduct simple research such as interviews to help identify the specific solutions needed. &nbsp;③&nbsp;User ExplorationIdentify ideas that could have potential solutions and start thinking about the end users.&nbsp;Identifying both the users and related stakeholders can help better understand the overall structure of the business. It is important to identify all stakeholders as clearly as possible and visualize them on a map. <img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/_ff3826e98e.jpg" alt="ユーザーエクスプロレーション.jpg">④ Can We Test?We need to understand the current market and user behavior, confirm how they are currently dealing with problems, what competitive services are available, whether they can be solved with existing services, etc., and examine whether new solutions are needed.<h3>Tennis Bear as an example</h3><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Tennis_Bear_9bafde6d4d_5dc583f819.jpeg" alt="Tennis_Bear_9bafde6d4d.jpeg">Let's look at <a href="https://www.mooncreativelab.com/ja/ventures/tennis-bear">Tennis Bear</a> which is part of Moon's venture portfolio. Tennis Bear is a digital sports platform that brings recreational players together in Japan that allows users to search and make reservations at local tennis courts. Tennis Bear also allows users to search for players of the similar level as themselves.&nbsp; Below we apply the four essential tips in problem definition for Tennis Bear.&nbsp;① Pain Points + Aspiration.&nbsp; Before there was no way to check court availability online. Finding players at a similar skill level was a struggle among tennis players and these factors became important insights in finding what was needed as a service.② Problem Scale + Opportunity.&nbsp; The team identified the size of the tennis population, the number of courts, how many players are having troubles finding other players and how serious it is for users who love tennis.③ User Exploration.&nbsp; The Tennis Bear team examined various user scenarios such as experienced or inexperienced players, whether they play at a tennis club or whether they are tennis court owners or instructors.④ Can We Test?&nbsp; Tennis Bear searched for an online website that allowed users to check courts’ reservation status. What they found was that there was no service to make a reservation by searching for the availability of tennis courts. Based on this finding the team developed a function that allows users to search and reserve courts all at once.&nbsp; After the service was launched, Tennis Bear realized users were having a hard time finding training partners of a similar level. The team then added a function that allowed users to search for players of a similar level.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/_be63be5dbe.jpg" alt="ポストイットはる.jpg"><figcaption>Brainstorming session using Post-its</figcaption></figure><h3> Necessary rules in brainstorming</h3>Quantity Over Quality&nbsp;Before starting a discussion on your initial problem space, realize this is just the starting point. A single idea often leads to many more ideas in a brainstorming session. The best brainstorming sessions thrive when they are open discussions valuing any and all ideas, and opinions. Remember that quantity is encouraged over quality here!&nbsp;Don't Judge Ideas Right AwayYou might want to judge some of the ideas shared right away which is natural. It's important to have an open mind and consider various possibilities without jumping to conclusions.&nbsp;Steps for a successful brainstorming session.<ol><li>At first, try to come up with ideas by yourself&nbsp;</li><li>Share and discuss ideas with others&nbsp;</li><li>Group similar ideas together &nbsp;</li><li>Vote and pick ideas to prioritize&nbsp;</li></ol>Prioritization can be discussed and decided over time but voting is more effective especially when time is limited.&nbsp;After identifying your problem definition and running a proper brainstorm you'll next need to identify any biases.&nbsp;<h3>How to check your bias</h3>Doing a bias check after sharing honest opinions during a brainstorm session is important to make sure you have seen all perspectives of an idea (not just your own).&nbsp;After the brainstorming session you'll want to separate the hypotheses from the questions. Hypotheses are statements that seem to be true about the ideas where as questions ask whether there is prejudice or risk against that hypothesis.<img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/_dd80ad9d12.jpg" alt="バイアスチェック.jpg">By analyzing the hypotheses and questions you are able to identify speculation and potential risks. Often times if you are unsure about a hypothesis you will need to consider more research or asking an expert. &nbsp;<h3>Research Preparation</h3><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Design_research_thumbnail_7d739434e4.jpg" alt="Design research thumbnail.jpg">After narrowing our focus through the bias check process the next step is preparing for research. There are two items that are required in order to proceed: a strong vision and a game plan.&nbsp;Clarifying the vision plays a big role in deepening the shared goal and solutions among project members. Think about what needs to be shared to properly communicate your idea to others. Some questions you might ask include:What kind of influence would this create on people, and on whom? What kind of world do you want to create?&nbsp; What is the motivation?&nbsp; What are the barriers?&nbsp;Next, you'll want to develop a game plan which outlines the research plan and concept design. Start by identifying these questions:&nbsp;Who should we talk to?&nbsp; What are the risks?&nbsp; How serious is each risk?&nbsp;Based on the content identified through the brainstorming, we can easily answer these questions with confidence to create a shared vision among team members and develop a game plan.&nbsp;<h3>Next steps after Problem Definition&nbsp;</h3>Moon's incubation process moves from problem definition is just the first step to building a business idea. The next steps include clarification of vision, concept design, user research, prototyping, and product launch.This process is based on the design research methodology. Be sure to learn about the next steps here on Moon Stories!

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Problem Definition 

On February 16, 2023, ILLUMINATE was held at Moon Creative Lab's Tokyo studio. This pitch event invited seven select Idea Owners to share their new business idea to the Moon Committee in hopes to be selected for incubation. The event was live-streamed live for Mitsui employees all over the world.<hr><h3>What is ILLUMINATE?</h3>ILLUMINATE is an event series that shines a light on the next generation of business creators to create something that’s never been done before.All Mitsui employees are encouraged to submit their ideas to Moon, and if selected they will get a chance to pitch their ideas at the ILLUMINATE event. If they are chosen by the Moon Committee after the pitch, they are seconded to Moon, where they will become a Entrepreneur-in-Residence to work on creating their business while receiving support from Moon.Since some Idea Owners participated remotely in other countries, the event was held in a hybrid format by connecting Moon's Palo Alto studio, Tokyo studio, and the locations of some Idea Owners.Each team was given five minutes to pitch followed by a Q＆A session with&nbsp; Moon Committee members.&nbsp;<h2><img src="https://moon-website-prod-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/ILLUMINATE_report_1bcda39f3e.jpg" alt="Moon Event Illuminate 2023"> &nbsp;</h2><h3>Discover ideas that will change the world!</h3>Seven individual ideas and their Idea Owners from around the world participated at this ILLUMINATE event.&nbsp;<ul><li>Eureka: an innovative space education program incorporating satellite development.&nbsp;</li><li>EcoTour: allows tourists to find and book ecological experiences in Japan.&nbsp;</li><li>LightningCare: a new choice for in-home care.&nbsp;</li><li>Pandora: uses AI for data visualization of car service diagnoses.&nbsp;</li><li>Artemia: improves the production of aquatic feed to keep up with demand.&nbsp;</li><li>Minutes Database: tracks meeting minutes to help collaboration.&nbsp;</li><li>Fulfiller: a curry-based weight loss meal program.&nbsp;</li></ul>Each team shared their pitch and passion as the event was live-streamed to Mitsui &amp; Co. employees around the world. The event had a very active and in-depth Q&amp;A session, with great questions, words of encouragement and support sent worldwide via the chat.&nbsp;Moon Creative Lab is always looking for new business Idea Owners to participate in the ILLUMINATE event series.

Our Programs

About Moon

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The True Value of Field Research

Moon Media Launches Second Feature Film: KINMI Sake

Moon Creative Lab Congratulates Our First Boost Cohort

Creating the Future of GX: Tips From an Entrepreneur and an Intrapreneur

Starting a New Business? Moon Can Give You the Boost You Need!

Expanding Our Reach: A Message From Our CEO

Moon Media Launches Short Film "Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas"

Moon × Canvas Tokyo × Figma Open Creative Night

Problem Definition When Starting a Business

ILLUMINATE 2023 Pitch Event Report

In The News

Moon Opens Doors to Palo Alto Startup Community

What Does Artificial Life Reveal About Us?

The Optimal Solution Between Remote and Office: Who Chooses Where To Work

Our Programs

About Moon

Our Stories

Moon Stories - Moon Stories Blog

The True Value of Field Research

Moon Media Launches Second Feature Film: KINMI Sake

Moon Creative Lab Congratulates Our First Boost Cohort

Creating the Future of GX: Tips From an Entrepreneur and an Intrapreneur

Starting a New Business? Moon Can Give You the Boost You Need!

Expanding Our Reach: A Message From Our CEO

Moon Media Launches Short Film "Kamiyama: The Little Town With Big Ideas"

Moon × Canvas Tokyo × Figma Open Creative Night

Problem Definition When Starting a Business

ILLUMINATE 2023 Pitch Event Report

In The News

Moon Opens Doors to Palo Alto Startup Community

What Does Artificial Life Reveal About Us?

The Optimal Solution Between Remote and Office: Who Chooses Where To Work