On January 2023, 1 (Monday), the Tokyo Consortium held an event titled "How to PR the Tokyo area's startup ecosystem to the world" at the Shibuya Solasta Conference. On the day of the event, Ms. Ayumi Fujimoto of Plug and Play will be on stage to talk about the issues faced by the Japanese startup ecosystem, including those in the Tokyo area, and how to promote the Japanese startup ecosystem to solve these problems.・He gave an explanation based on examples of ecosystem PR. Afterwards, participants divided into small groups and held a workshop on how to promote the startup ecosystem in the Tokyo area.
First, Mr. Fujimoto introduced examples of startup ecosystem PR from around the world.
Issues faced by the Japanese startup ecosystem include ``a small number of people working at startups and low liquidity,'' and ``a lack of exit options,'' but in particular, ``the ecosystem is scattered.'' This has become a major issue. Although Japan has many ecosystems across the country, there is not much horizontal collaboration between ecosystems, making it difficult to access information, such as having to obtain information from each ecosystem. A problem is being caused. As a result, there are cases in which overseas startup companies interested in expanding into Japan give up because they are unable to obtain sufficient information about the Japanese startup environment.
In order for Japan's startup ecosystem, including the Tokyo area, to further strengthen its ability to disseminate information to the world, it is necessary to aggregate scattered information and disseminate it regularly. Specifically, if there is an opportunity to disseminate information to the world, make the most of it, narrow down the information that you want to convey, and disseminate it regularly and frequently, and when disseminating information, do so in an appropriate manner. It is important to utilize a suitable platform. In addition, participants will participate in conferences such as Startup Blink Online Summit*1 and Ecosystem Player Meetup*2, which bring together startup ecosystem cities and startup companies from overseas, to communicate their own startup ecosystem and learn about the efforts of other cities. , it is also useful to widen the antenna.
When using SNS to promote the startup ecosystem, it is necessary to choose which SNS to utilize to determine which type of SNS can be used to appropriately deliver information to the target audience. Looking at the PR methods used in startup ecosystems overseas, we find that they often use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc., and that they often use platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, and that they vary the target of information dissemination, the language used, and the content of the dissemination depending on the type of SNS. You can see the ingenuity.
Startup entrepreneurs collaborate with many stakeholders such as the government, administration, experts, venture capital, accelerators, major companies, academia, etc., and determine what kind of state the startup ecosystem ultimately aims for by strengthening PR. It is also important to set KPIs to determine what you are going to do.
*1: A summit where the world's leading experts and leaders in ecosystem development gather to share knowledge and discuss creating an environment where entrepreneurship flourishes. It is held quarterly.
*2: Global event held by Startup Genome. The 2022 event was held in Portugal, with approximately 60 cities participating. At the event, each city discussed its own startup ecosystem initiatives and the possibility of collaboration with other cities.
In order to strengthen the PR of Tokyo's startup ecosystem to the world, it is important to have a concrete picture of the ideal situation where PR is being done properly. Therefore, the workshop focused on two themes: ``The desired state of Japan's startup ecosystem'' and ``A declaration of action starting tomorrow to make Tokyo's startup ecosystem known to the world.'' We divided into teams and had a discussion.
テーマ①：日本のスタートアップ・エコシステムの目指す状態について
First, we had a discussion about the state of PR of Japan's startup ecosystem and the ideal form of Japan's startup ecosystem. Participants said that the state Japan's startup ecosystem should aim for is a state in which outbound business is expanding, such as an increase in the number of Japanese startups IPOing overseas, and a state in which Japan's entrepreneurial environment is well-developed and a state in which overseas startups are Opinions raised include the expansion of business expansion into Japan. Additionally, we are of the opinion that it is important to overcome the language barrier and communicate the appeal of Japan's startup ecosystem not only in Japanese but also in multiple languages such as English, and to proactively access all kinds of information domestically and internationally. There was also.
テーマ②：東京のスタートアップ・エコシステムを世界に周知するために明日から始める行動宣言
Finally, we asked some of the participants to make a declaration of action regarding what they would like to start doing in order to expand Japan's startup ecosystem to the world. The main contents of the declaration are to open an SNS for your startup company and begin disseminating information in English, to support Japanese startup companies while incorporating a global perspective such as introducing overseas initiatives, and to support Japanese startups by introducing overseas initiatives. The idea was to convey to companies the appeal of Japan's startup market.
