Business development is INSPiRE’s core practice. Since its founding in 2000, we have consistently worked alongside entrepreneurs who leverage innovative ideas to create new values that have yet to penetrate the global market. Our side-by-side support for those entrepreneurs has enabled their diverse businesses to emerge and grow.
The key to promoting innovation is solving problems together – through collaborative efforts between entrepreneurs and our teams. That applies regardless of the nature of the problem, e.g., management challenges or workplace incidents. That remains the same for startups or in-house entrepreneurs who are striving to develop businesses at major or long-established companies that play pivotal roles in their local economy.
The first step of our approach is closely observing shifts in social trends.
Then we construct business growth scenario hypotheses and develop finance plans, which are fundamental for healthy business growth.
Arranging capital and business partnerships between venture companies and large corporations can be effective, since it provides the former with enhanced business resources and revenue while offering the latter solutions to business issues. That is another example of how INSPiRE catalyzes the creation of mutually beneficial relationships, constructing an organic network of symbiosis that continuously generates new ventures.
a major company or a long-established firm that leads regional economies, INSPIRE’s members are the cornerstone of innovation across industries.
INSPiRE has made business development our core business. Since its establishment in 2000, we have consistently worked alongside entrepreneurs who aim to create innovative ideas that have yet to expand to the world, helping to bring various businesses to fruition and expand them.An entrepreneur building a startup or an intrapreneur responsible for new business development at
What makes others shy away can be something that makes the world exciting. Based on that idea, we are ready to walk alongside innovative-minded entrepreneurs who strive to create new values. Our timely and tailored support includes essential management resources to ensure that groundbreaking ventures succeed.
For example, the provision of risk money (Money), one of the three essential management resources along with People and Goods, comprises two types of financing: our principle investment to support the seed, and early stages of business and dedicated funds to cover the growth stage.
INSPiRE only provides funds when it determines that internal resources are inadequate to capitalize on opportunities that it has identified and that are aligned with societal trends. While the number of funds created since its inception is limited, those established are often the first of their kind in Japan. That reflects INSPiRE’s ongoing commitment to innovation, even in capital sharing.
The PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1, established by INSPiRE in 2014, aims to leverage Southeast Asia’s growth to stimulate the Japanese economy. Our initiatives include supporting Japanese companies’ overseas expansion and creating new companies, thus helping the nation progress toward an even higher level of economic development.
To ensure the success of our initiatives, we collaborate with ten regional banks across Japan – our fund investors. Through their referring us to leading local companies to engage in potential overseas business development opportunities, we have been able to clear up the inaccurate impression of funds in general, helping us deepen our relationships with the managers of those companies.
INSPiRE has established unique collaborations with universities and research institutions that are at the forefront of innovative ideas. Academic societies can help us identify entrepreneurs and business ideas focused on bringing new values to the world. By integrating the perspectives of researchers and international students in Japan, INSPiRE offers its corporate partners unique opportunities to discover new business avenues, while providing researchers with tangible research themes. This interaction fosters a mutually beneficial relationship between industry and academia, which has evolved into a mechanism that accelerates innovation.
INSPiRE’s financing is more than mere investment. It should manifest our commitment to accompany and support investees — entrepreneurs, companies, or institutions — who strive to create new global values. Therefore, our financial framework is flexible and carefully aligned with specific business plans. From establishing strategic subsidiaries in specific business areas, through joint ventures and creating spin-offs to leverage more flexible financial policies independent from the parent companies, to forming global joint ventures between specialized Japanese companies and overseas enterprises, our approach is diverse and innovative.
INSPiRE’s guidance and support for entrepreneurs, corporations, and institutions aspiring to bring new global values are meticulous and thorough. Therefore, we focus on management and operation levels by attending board meetings, hosting regular meetings with executive officers and employees, and conducting timely online conferences and instant group chats to share information. Through such close communication, we can provide support, including market observation-based management hints, cultivation of domestic and international strategic partnerships and sales opportunities, negotiations with financial institutions, and reinforcement of management departments. Our intensive commitment is reflected in the daily nudges and complete guide provided by Ryosuke Takatsuki, our CEO for 15 years, for the CEOs of our portfolio companies.
