"FIRST CVC" holds the monthly meetup event "CVC Office Hour," where startups and CVCs (Corporate Venture Capitals) can meet!

As a startup, we often hear voices like "We don't know where we can meet CVCs or corporate venture capitalists" and "It's hard to arrange meetings without a clear collaboration plan." The lack of opportunities to meet has become one of the barriers to open innovation in Japan.

As Japan's largest CVC community, FIRST CVC has created the meetup series "CVC Office Hour" to provide opportunities for startups and CVCs to meet casually, before any serious discussions about collaboration or investment take place. This event series aims to solve the problem of lack of connection and foster collaboration in the early stages.

This unique event allows several CVC capitalists and startup founders to gather in an intimate setting and discuss potential collaborations—something that hasn’t been available before.

For the fourth edition, we held a "Retail CVC Special" on March 16, 2023, where 13 retail CVCs and 14 startups interested in retail CVCs gathered to discuss collaborations enthusiastically.

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【CVC Capitalists Who Participated】

‍Hamee Corporation
J. Front Retailing Co., Ltd.
Z Venture Capital, Inc.
Oricon, Inc.
Rakuten Group, Inc.
Gifty, Inc.
Sazaby League, Inc.
FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
Marui Group Co., Ltd.
Mitsukoshi Isetan Innovations, Inc.
Tokyu Corporation
Toshiba Tec Corporation
MTG Ventures

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【Startups That Participated】

‍Parchie, Inc.
Fanova, Inc.
New World, Inc.
Heritage, Inc.
Orize, Inc.
OniGO, Inc.
Ehon Ink, Inc.
FUNDINNO, Inc.
BONX, Inc.
Tangerine, Inc.
207, Inc.
ONZO, Inc.
Workstyle Tech, Inc.
Dricos, Inc.

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The venue for the day was once again graciously provided by Tokyu Corporation at the "SOIL (Shibuya Open Innovation Lab)" located in Shibuya. As an open innovation lab specializing in "social implementation," it was an ideal space for discussions between CVCs and startups. A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Tokyu!

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Event Report

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In the office hour format, discussions were not only between CVCs and startups, but also between CVCs and among startups themselves. This report will share insights from the day’s events and feedback from participants.

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‍The program for this event was as follows:

• Part 1 - Roundtable Session: Large Corporations x Startups
• Part 2 - Networking

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Part 1 - Roundtable Session: Large Corporations x Startups

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Many CVCs and startups participated in this session, which was divided into four tables, with each table consisting of three CVCs and three startups. The discussions were highly interactive.

As this was the first time we narrowed the theme for the event, some CVCs and startups who had attended previously were able to dive deeper into their discussions.

One of the key points raised in the discussions was that retail companies are looking not only for synergies in using physical stores for things like product development and location leasing, but also seeking more advanced synergies. This desire for deeper collaboration became evident.

One CVC shared that for startups with synergies that align closely with their existing business, collaboration can proceed directly within the core business, but investment in these startups is difficult. They prefer to invest in startups with higher risk and uncertainty, but with the potential for significant breakthroughs.

The opportunity to hear these authentic concerns and perspectives directly from CVCs and startups was one of the most valuable aspects of the office hour format.

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Part 2 - Networking

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After Part 1, a one-hour networking session was held.

As an opportunity to speak directly with multiple CVCs at once, many active conversations took place between participants who wanted to continue discussions from Part 1. There were also lively conversations among startups and CVC capitalists.

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Feedback from Participating CVCs

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Marui Group Co., Ltd.
Moe Takeshita

There were many CVCs and startups I already had contact with, which helped deepen my understanding of the industry.
Such offline events focusing on a specific industry are rare, so it was an extremely valuable experience.

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FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
Masataka Nogami
Takashi Mizuno

We found a D2C startup that seems ready to collaborate on product development, and we are in the process of arranging a meeting.
It was also very meaningful to hear updates from startups we have worked with previously.

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Hamee Corporation
Rie Nakajima

We were able to discuss synergies with a startup providing new e-commerce services and feel the potential for synergy with our "Next Engine" platform.
Additionally, it seems that this could lead to new business opportunities for both corporations and CVCs.

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Feedback from Participating Startups

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Ehon Ink, Inc.
CRO, Shohei Fujiwara

For us, targeting affluent elderly people, having the opportunity to connect with the department store industry was huge.
We are planning to meet with department stores to discuss offering our picture books as gifts for children or grandchildren.

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207, Inc.
CEO, Shin'ya Takayanagi

As a company responsible for the last mile, we feel confident that we can contribute to almost all of the companies present. We were able to arrange meetings with the CVCs we wanted to meet, which was extremely valuable.

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Workstyle Tech, Inc.
CEO, Gustavo Dore

This event allowed me to casually connect with many investors, and I found it highly valuable.
Additionally, we had a fruitful discussion with a startup working on improving on-site communication, which may lead to business progress.

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We sincerely thank all the CVCs and startups who participated!
Going forward, we will continue to set themes for future events to encourage further collaboration synergies and provide clarity for startups.

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April: B2B CVC Special

May: Regional Economy CVC Special

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↓↓↓ You can apply via the form below ↓↓↓

Startups: https://zfrmz.com/BoBasvRmrSzpb3rQqRfj

CVCs: https://zfrmz.com/m0JBSku5WYiHSFod5UfM

* Please note that some sessions are already fully booked.

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