At 'FIRST CVC,' we regularly hold a meetup event called 'CVC Office Hour,' where startups can meet with CVCs.

From the perspective of startups, there are voices saying, "I don't know where to meet CVCs or corporate investors," or "It's difficult to arrange meetings before we have a clear collaboration topic." The lack of opportunities to meet is one of the barriers to open innovation in Japan.

As the largest CVC community in Japan, FIRST CVC aims to solve this problem by providing casual opportunities for startups and CVCs to meet before fully exploring collaboration or investment. This is the purpose of our meetup event series, 'CVC Office Hour.'

It is a unique networking event where multiple CVC capitalists and startup CEOs gather in an intimate setting to have discussions about collaboration.

The 6th edition of the event, held on May 24, 2023, featured a 'Regional Economy CVC Special.' We had 18 CVCs, mainly from regional banks and regional economy-related CVCs, 13 startups interested in CVCs, as well as representatives from local governments and media joining us to engage in lively discussions about collaboration.

‍

[CVC Capitalists in Attendance]

NOBUNAGA Capital Village Co., Ltd.
FFG Venture Business Partners Co., Ltd.
NTT Docomo Ventures, Inc.
Zenrin Future Partners Co., Ltd.
Benesse Holdings, Inc.
Iwate Bank, Ltd.
Joyo Bank, Ltd.
Hiroshima Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.
Yamaguchi Capital Co., Ltd.
Shizuoka Capital Co., Ltd.
Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.
Nanto Capital Partners
FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
Human, Dream, Technology Group, Inc.
Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.
West Japan Plant Industry Co., Ltd.
Norinchukin Bank

‍

[Startups in Attendance]

Original Life Co., Ltd.
Smart Bank Co., Ltd.
Sotas Co., Ltd.
APTO Co., Ltd.
PR Table Co., Ltd.
FairyDevices Co., Ltd.
Cocoo Co., Ltd.
Zene Co., Ltd.
SORABITO Co., Ltd.
3rdcompass Co., Ltd.
SPeak Co., Ltd.
RUN.EDGE Co., Ltd.

‍

[Supporting Members and Other Attendees]

EY ShinNihon LLC
Finance Produce
Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.
So-Sato Law Offices
Kobe City Hall
Hyogo Kobe Startup Fund
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs
Hiroshima Prefectural Government Innovation Promotion Team
For Startups, Inc.
Street Smart, Inc.
The Nikkei, Inc.
Forbes JAPAN
PREQIN

‍

‍

The venue for the event was, once again, generously provided by Tokyu Corporation at the "SOIL (Shibuya Open Innovation Lab)" located in Shibuya. The space was ideal for discussions between CVCs and startups, as it specializes in "social implementation" in open innovation. A big thank you to everyone at Tokyu for this wonderful venue.

‍

Event Report

‍

In the 'Office Hour' format, not only were there CVC x startup discussions, but also in-depth conversations between CVCs and between startups themselves. This report will provide an overview of the event and share some feedback from participants.

‍

‍The program for the event was as follows:

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

‍

Part 1 - Roundtable Session: Large Companies x Startups

‍

We had many CVCs and startups participating in this session as well. The attendees were divided into five tables, with each table consisting of three CVCs and three startups. Discussions were held at each table.

‍

‍

Part 2 - Networking

‍

After Part 1, there was a networking time for about an hour.

As an opportunity to speak directly with multiple CVCs at once, there were lively greetings from those who felt they hadn't finished their discussions in Part 1. Conversations between startups and CVC capitalists, as well as between startups themselves, were also very active.

‍

‍

The next event will be in July: Deep Tech Special.

‍