Hello. This is Kamiyama.
I create and sell businesses.

My current vision is to 'create an infrastructure where everyone living in Japan can own a business'. Behind those words, there are various wishes, such as for a society where innovation happens more easily, a 'let's try it' mindset like in Silicon Valley, and for people across Japan to have problem-solving abilities.

That's why, in 2016, I launched a school called OPNESEED. And we launched it with the aim of bringing and conveying Silicon Valley's way of thinking, methods, and atmosphere to Japan.

Indeed, we received many inquiries. More than we imagined, in fact. However, what we learned by actually doing it was that this method wouldn't create an infrastructure where everyone could start a business.

There is one reason.

Because many opportunities are given 'only' to those who received a good education and were able to form high-level connections. It's the same as in previous societies. It creates a structure where many 'opportunities' are given to people who had good family environments, money, studied diligently, and achieved good grades.

Why this happens will be explained later as today's main point.

By the way, you shouldn't think, 'Oh, that's fine, isn't it?' here.

When it comes to opportunities and possibilities, a rebellious spirit cannot be underestimated. In fact, people who have lived lives full of adversity often rise rapidly, so it doesn't make sense for opportunities to be given only to those who studied diligently, got good grades, had good family environments, and could afford tuition. That's not good enough.

Opportunities should be fair.

What we are aiming for is not that, but rather the opportunity to experience the cutting edge, even if one is 'not cool, not strong, not right, not beautiful, not charming, not pretty, not talented, not smart, not good-natured, a dropout, a stray, or a failure'. Oh, that was a line from a manga. Kumagawa Misogi-kun.

So, why are opportunities given 'only to those who reached a good education'?

Around me, there are many people aiming for Silicon Valley or working hard on businesses there. They are exposed to the world's most advanced mindsets, ways of thinking, and methods, and strive daily to create innovation. However, the reason they can do such things is because they were lucky enough to know that 'such things exist'. Of course, extraordinary effort is required on top of that.

Innovation is demanded by society and is an absolutely crucial activity for Japan right now. The reason one can truly feel that is 'because they knew'.

Because they knew, they could aim for it, and because they understood its value, they could stand on a stage where they could compete. However, to get there, one must first have the opportunity to develop 'interest' and the 'will' to take action.

However, being able to do that, including myself, is a matter of luck.

Why?

Because, to begin with, opportunities to know, to be interested, or to experience are almost non-existent in Japanese homes, kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, universities, and even after becoming working adults.

After university, various activities certainly exist there. Recently, places offering Silicon Valley-style education have even emerged at the high school level.

However, fundamentally, neither parents nor children know about it, and if they don't know, they can't be interested. So, even if it exists, they won't understand its value and will just pass it by. Normally. You don't know the value of something you've never touched. The possibility of even being interested is fifty-fifty.

In today's society, the stages of 'knowing,' 'being interested,' and 'participating' in the process of reaching innovative activities and information are far too lacking. Information is only conveyed at a high, completed level. That's why, even if you talk about innovation, people haven't encountered it before, so it doesn't resonate, and they just shrug it off.

There are too few steps for people to understand how globally valuable it is, and how much value it can bring to themselves.

At the 'common sense' level, it's like, 'What's a startup?' 'What's fundraising?' 'Are investors rich? FX? Suspicious people?' 'Business sounds scary, a scam?' 'San Francisco? Sounds comfortable.'

As for the word 'startup,' even people who teach business sometimes remember it incorrectly. It doesn't just mean a company that just started, you know.

So, if you say, 'Let's do an amazing, cutting-edge startup incubation program in Silicon Valley,' it won't resonate if you go straight to it. It's natural not to understand.

No, of course, those who understand, understand.

However, most of them are 'people who went to good universities.' If you go to a good university, you have more opportunities to be exposed to it. But strangely enough, the people who actually start businesses and can do Silicon Valley-style management are sometimes high school graduates.

In America, activities like Silicon Valley startups are practically right next door to everyone, and there are countless opportunities to learn about them. Including the excitement. For anyone. But in Japan, it's too far to even get to know about them.

I believe there's a fundamental problem there.

And those who managed to step into a high level when they were young often cut ties with 'people who don't know.' They say the conversation doesn't match, there's no interest, the level is low. Then, the gap in awareness widens even further. Well, I think having a mindset to be interested is important. But you might not even have that if you don't know.

Therefore, I felt that simply shouting about Silicon Valley and its affairs wouldn't make everyone understand, and ultimately, we wouldn't be able to reach the stage of 'everyone' that we originally intended.

We need to place programs where more people can easily access them.

We must create a flow where, if people step into what they are interested in, they naturally learn about cutting-edge things and implement them. Like climbing stairs.

To do that, instead of shouting about the cutting edge of Silicon Valley from the start, we must first approach 'common sense' and create the first step of the stairs at a point where it overlaps with 'common sense.'

And eventually, I feel that we need to update 'common sense' so that people become interested in places like OPENSEED and can step into them.

So, I think that's the challenge we need to take on next.

Approaching 'common sense' and creating opportunities to learn.

To create one path where 'even if you're not cool, not strong, not right, not beautiful, not charming, not pretty, not talented, not smart, not good-natured, a dropout, an outcast, or a failure,' you can touch cutting-edge awareness. I feel that here lies the seed to fundamentally change society.

Oh, but that doesn't mean everything is free, you know. It means we need a point of contact that can be provided in a very easy-to-pay form. If we're going to do it, we want to earn properly, not through self-sacrifice. lol

In the first place, even if you make self-sacrifices, it can't become infrastructure. It will just end as a momentary fireworks display.

Even so, the motivations for 'business' in current Japanese society are mostly about wanting to do things freely or wanting to earn money. It's easy to understand.