“Driving Innovation Through Entrepreneurship”, Presentation and Q&A by Mr. Akira Kurabayashi, Managing Partner and Head of Japan at DNX Ventures

“Entrepreneurship” mindset and skills are not something that only those interested in starting a company should have.

-Whether you work for a company or continue your research in the academia, “entrepreneurship” is the source of your value.
-Establishing a company is not the only form of entrepreneurship, but understanding why people establish a company is related to fostering your entrepreneurial mindset.

On Friday, January 31, Mr. Akira Kurabayashi, Managing Partner and Head of Japan of DNX Ventures, will come to Ookayama Campus to speak on “Driving Innovation Through Entrepreneurship” and answer questions from the participants. This event will be held in Japanese with supporting English materials.

This is a rare opportunity to come in contact with a world-class venture capitalist! We hope that you will use this opportunity to understand what is happening at the forefront of innovation creation and new business launches, and to cultivate your “entrepreneurial spirit”.

*This is also an excellent opportunity to experience the essence of “entrepreneurship” as an introduction to the Entrepreneurship course “Bachelor’s Fundamental Group Work for Value Creation B (ENT.V202)” which will be offered in the second semester of next academic year (AY 2025). For graduate students, this class will be counted as a content of this semester’s course of “Professionals and Value Creation B/D”.

DNX VENTURES is a premier venture capital firm based in Japan and the U.S., with a proven track record of successful ventures in both Japan and the United States.

Mr. Akira Kurabayashi (PhD) has been involved in venture capital investments in Japan and Silicon Valley as well as business development of investee companies at Fujitsu Ltd. and Mitsui & Co. , Ltd. After studying abroad for his MBA, Mr. Kurabayashi served as the Japan Representative of Globespan Capital Partners and Salesforce Ventures. In March 2015, Mr. Kurabayashi joined DNX Ventures (formerly Draper Nexus Ventures) as Managing Director, and became Managing Partner and Head of Japan in September 2020.

Mr. Kurabayashi holds a BA in Commerce and Ph.D in Technology and Innovation Management from Doshisha University, MBA from Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, and MA in Law from Hitotsubashi University. He completed the General Management Program at the Harvard Business School (GMP36) and the Executive Management Program at the University of Tokyo (17th term).

He is a published author of “The Corporate Venture Capital Handbook”. (Chuokeizai-sha)