FY24

Our Programs

This past year we expanded our offerings to help even more startup teams and corporations inside and outside of Mitsui learn about entrepreneurship, get hands-on help to scale their businesses and join a new community of innovators. Our new programs – Spark, Boost, and Orbit – were created to help organizations and startup teams everywhere unlock their creative potential to build innovative businesses.

Our 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. They are built for anyone who is ready to learn about human-centered business creation, develop businesses with a diverse and creative team of global experts, meet potential co-founders and new teammates, and find potential joint venture partners to accelerate and scale their business.

Here’s what Spark participants had to say:

“I am excited! I actually came up with ideas and conducted design research that I had never thought of before!”

“Spark infused passion and made us believe that ideas can become real businesses. Spark provided structure and also inspiration.”

“[Spark] was very practical. It helped give me a framework of how to think about my business idea. It forced me to dedicate time to actually think my idea through, and I got to work with a lot of talented people.”

Our Spark program enables creative professionals who are curious about entrepreneurship to take the necessary steps towards building a new business idea. In this eight-week, hands-on program, participants learn how to turn problems into tangible ideas that they can share with potential customers. Open to any individual, team, or corporation, Spark participants will leave the program with:

• A clarified business/product concept that has been validated with real customers.
• A business plan with initial go-to-market strategy.
• A compelling pitch deck.
• A real, live website or landing page to show the idea to the world.
• Membership in a dynamic community of founders and innovators.

In the past year, Spark has received 87 applications and had two cohorts with 81 participants from 12 countries including Japan, Philippines, Singapore, India, Malaysia, and the United States.

It’s been exciting to watch budding entrepreneurs set their own course towards creating new business ideas from the ground up. Many Spark graduates have even gone on to join our Boost incubation program, where Moon’s team of designers, engineers, product experts and marketers work hands-on with founders to help them launch and scale their businesses.

“A lot of eye opening findings, especially considering that my business idea was merely a concept. Having the concept examined and challenged by members with completely different backgrounds…sure was fruitful.”

-Carbon Mileage

“Moon's support is really helpful. Unlike other programs…we spend time building and working together. We are now in the middle of the sprint, and we love it!”

-VoicePing

Made for startup teams and corporations with an early-stage new business, Boost is Moon’s intensive three- to six-month incubation program. With Boost, Moon provides support and mentorship from a diverse and creative team of global experts in design, engineering, product, marketing, and more. Participants also receive support finding co-founders, additional team members, and/or strategic partners. Individuals within the Boost program have the option to work alongside the Moon team in our Moon studios located in Silicon Valley and Tokyo. Boost participants will also have the opportunity to pitch for an investment upon completing the program and potentially connect and collaborate with Mitsui’s global network across industries.

To date, we’ve had over 20 participants from 8 different locations including Japan, Canada, Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia. We’ve worked with 16 ventures at all different stages and ran over 12 sprints to get them where they wanted to be. Check out some of the ventures in Boost here. 

“I was nervous about having to pitch… but it was good practice for my pitch and I was glad to receive good feedback. It was also good to make connections with entrepreneurs who are in the same phase of business verification.”

-Kiminori Yamaguchi

“Events like this are impactful for people connecting in meaningful ways to recognize the challenges of the startup process.”

-Jimi Okelana

A global community of founders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and others in the startup ecosystem, Orbit provides an opportunity for participants to connect through in-person networking events. Free of charge and open to everyone, Orbit events allow those who are passionate about new business creation to connect and learn through shared experiences. Through open discussions, facilitated panels, and curated workshops, Orbit event topics can range from business strategies, common startup challenges, the latest in corporate innovation, founder stories, deep dives into design and technology, pitch practice, and much more. These events are also a great place for individuals to meet their future co-founders, team members, partners, and customers.

This past year, Orbit held 15 events, had almost 500 attendees, and heard from 53 guest speakers. Events are regularly occurring, so those numbers will continue to grow!

Here’s what participants thought about Learning Labs:

“Innovative way of interacting with the audience. The best workshop I attended in the last 2 years!”

“When you try to create a new business, the greatest enemy is yourself and being able to turn off the critical function was great!”

“The opportunity to play and let that play become a vision that becomes a sound business. Personal passions were directed towards solving genuine problems. It’s hopeful and collaborative.”

This year, Moon began offering Moon Learning Labs, which are hands-on, interactive workshops dedicated to the collaborative generation and refinement of business, product, or service concepts. They serve as a foundation for cultivating business mindsets and methodologies, and support participants in unlocking their creativity in a safe, encouraging environment. Covering topics such as Corporate Innovation, Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and more, Learning Labs act as the initial step in fostering true collaborative business-building engagements.

Learning Labs are catered to individuals and teams embarking on their first entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial journey. They are specifically designed for:

• Leaders seeking to unleash creativity and inspire fresh business ideas.
• Individuals seeking hands-on experience with various business methodologies.
• Individuals looking to refine and pitch their initial business concepts.
• Teams aspiring to collaborate with each other to foster new business ideas.

While each Learning Lab is specially tailored, participants will generally achieve:

• A well-defined problem statement addressing the need for the new business, product, or service.
• An initial Proof-of-Concept sketch outlining the idea's value proposition, key features, and differentiation.
• A visual or tangible representation of the business idea in the form of a low-fidelity prototype.
• An initial business model sketch indicating the first go-to-market strategy.
• A concise elevator pitch utilizing powerful storytelling techniques.

Many Learning Labs participants will often expand on their ideas further in our Spark and Boost programs, taking the next steps to realizing their vision.

​​Over the past year, Moon successfully conducted 26 immersive sessions in collaboration with Mitsui & Co. and its partners such as Mitsui Chemicals Inc., Mazda, Vale, Tokyo University, Sony, Hakuhodo, and JICA, in locations across Japan and China.