アメリカで「Dark Horse」とは、競馬で誰も賭けてない馬が予想外にレースに勝つ馬の事。スタンフォードで行われている「Design Thinking」の授業では「Dark Horse Prototype」と言うやり方でイノベーティブなソリューションを作る手法を教えている。

“Dark Horse Prototype”とは

Challenge the assumptions you have previously made. Build a prototype that from an outside perspective is unlikely to win. This is the phase where the team takes extreme approaches.
(Design Thinking | University of St. Gallen)

今までの想定を覆すような方法で問題を解決する。今まで作ってきたプロダクトやプロトタイプをいったん保留して。全く違うクレイジーと思われる方法で同じ問題を解決するプロダクトを一からプロトタイプする。

スタンフォードで授業を受けてた友人がその「Dark Horse Prototype」が今まで作ったプロトタイプより効率良く問題解決していて、結果それがそのまま製品になったケースがあったと言う。

アプリやプロダクトを作っている会社はチームは一旦すべてを保留にして、２日や３日のハッカソンで「Dark Horse Prototype」を作ってみてはどうでしょう？思いがけない結果になるかも！

私が事務局として入っているスタートアップ短期育成プログラム「Open Network Lab」は今第三期の募集中です。「Open Network Lab」は非常に競争が激しく、ここ一年で約１００チームが応募して１１チームが通過しました。通過率だけで言うと米国のMIT(マサチューセッツ工科大学)やブラウン大学と同じくらいです（１１％ – ２００９年現在）。

最近「どうすれば通過する確率をあげられるの？」と言う問い合わせが沢山きていたので、ブログに書く事にしました。

注意：以下はあくまでもでも私個人の意見で、審査員会には私以外にも９名ほどいます。よって、通過を保証する物ではありません！

バランスの良いチームを作る事：特にスタートアップ時に重要なのはサービスを開発する力、そしてターゲット顧客の開拓やコミュニケーションがとれるビジネスデベロプメントする力です。最低二人で一人は開発を担当しもう一人はビジネスを担当する役割分担をする事をお勧めする。チームでスタートアップした方が良い理由がもう一つあり、それは単純に一人だと寂しいからです。起業する事は非常に孤独なので一緒にビジョンを共感する仲間がいた方が楽しくなるのです。私は個人的に最強のスタートアップチームはハッカー、ハスラー、デザイナーの３人だと思う。以前私が書いた「無敵のスタートアップチームの構成とは?」を読むといい。

自分以外の誰かが抱えている問題を解決するサービスだという事：人が使いたいと思うサービスを作る事が一番大事。ユーザーがサービスを使う理由の大半は自分が抱えている課題を解決しているからです。

サービスを実現する力がある事を証明する：応募する時はアイディアやサービスの開発と展開ができる事を証明する事が大事。応募フォームには、あなたのチームがスタートアップを立ち上げるための十分な経験、モチベーションを持っている事など、出来る限り多くの事を書いてください。もし以前、サービスを構築した経験があるようでしたら、そのサービスについても書いてください。その他、スタートアップに役立つ特別な専門知識や経験があるようでしたら、それらも是非書いてください。ちなみに通過したチームの大半がすでにサービスのプロトタイプが出来上がっていた。

最後に、Do More Faster： アイディアがあるのであれば今すぐに開発を開始すればいい。サービスができていない状態でも建物を出てターゲット顧客とコミュニケーションを取り、作れば使ってくれる事を確認しよう。もっとも重要な財産は時間。一人で考えても時間の無駄だ。サービスを出してみないと、ターゲット顧客と話してみないと分からない事が沢山ある。とにかくスピィーディーの行動しよう。

質問や相談があればいつでも@djtokyo宛にツィートしてください。

応募フォームはこちらです。（締め切りは６月１２日）
沢山のご応募お待ちしてます！

P.S.
こちらの記事も読んでみてくださいー＞　「シリコンバレーで3回起業して学んだ3つのレッスン」

日本語をチェックしてくれた@tsugi2009にspecial thanks！

Life is just so much better when you are pursuing your passion. However, many people struggle to identify it. Here is something you can try that may help you find your passion.

1. Pick up a newspaper (any newspaper that covers world news, sports, business, tech, politics, etc).
2. Read it and cut out your favorite article (just one).
3. Store the article in a scrapbook and try to categorize the article by industry (eg. Venture Capital, Fashion, Technology, etc).
4. Do this everyday.

After you’ve done this for several weeks and flip through your scrap book, you should be able to identify the industry you are most interested in (hopefully). That’s the industry you should be working in. That’s your passion. PURSUE IT!

Last week Netprice.com, Digital Garage, and Kakaku.com announced the launch of their joint project: Open Network Lab, the first seed acceleration program in Japan. What makes this particular program unique from other programs is its international network of funding and mentors. With the generous help of Japanese evangelist, entrepreneur, and angel investor Joi Ito (someone I truly admire and aspire to become like one day), we were able to form an impressive network of mentors and funding resources from Japan, the United States, and Singapore. You can read Dr. Serkan Toto‘s excellent post to find out more about Open Network Lab.

I love Japan. I love the people, the food, the traditions, and the convenient stores. However the one thing that is lacking in this country, is a startup ecosystem. Japan is a hostile environment for startups. It is very difficult to get funded, it is hard to find advisors and mentors, and there is no community of startup entrepreneurs to meet and support each other.

I believe that Open Network Lab will be the key in building a startup ecosystem in Japan and I am very fortunate to be involved with the project. Here are a few ways I believe Open Network Lab can help build a startup ecosystem:

Mentorship:

Most people can’t get it right the first time. So we have assembled mentors worldwide, who are either active or accomplished entrepreneurs. The mentors will guide the first-time entrepreneurs to success by sharing their experiences and giving feedback/advice.

Multiple Exits:

We aim to produce startups that are “globally competitive.” Meaning, startups that come out of the program would create services that target international markets. Global startups have the advantage to exit in several ways. For example, they can go public in multiple countries (ie. Japan, USA, Singapore), and they can be subject to acquisition by companies from different countries.

Global Funding Network:

In Japan, it is difficult for startups to receive funding. It is especially difficult for early stage startups to get funded. Venture capitalists in Japan are extremely risk averse and there is also a lack of angel investors in Japan (I can count only a few in my head).

However, I believe the root cause of the problem is actually the lack of exit strategies for startups in Japan. If we can create multiple exit strategies for startups, and also increase their chances of an exit with proper mentorship, investing in early stage startups will become much more attractive and will naturally make early stage investing much more active.

In the meantime, Open Network Lab will make an effort to connect Japanese startups with venture capitalists and angel investors from overseas.

Building a Community:

This is probably the most important element for building a startup ecosystem. We need to build a big, strong startup community where entrepreneurs can meet and support one other. Our attempt to build a community is to host monthly events that will bring entrepreneurs together. We had our first event two days ago which brought together 200 people. In future events, we will have to prioritize educating and allowing entrepreneurs to discover each other.

The Biggest Obstacle:

Culture is going to be the biggest obstacle. The Japanese people are extremely risk averse and have the biggest fear of failure. I am probably making this up but I think the origin of the risk averse culture comes from the bushido (samurai) code where warriors perform seppuku (stomach-cutting) when shame is brought to them.

The way to overcome this is to build a strong community. Japanese people show a tendency towards herd mentality, so creating a herd of entrepreneurs will bring more of them together. Also, creating a successful startup role model will also be essential. We will have to create at least one successful startup that will make people go for the startup dream.

Some people have been telling me how it is impossible and how this is a foolish attempt. But we have to try and keep on trying because I believe building a startup-friendly environment in Japan is essential for the country’s survival.

Peace.

In most English speaking nations, Twitter has changed the way people use the Internet. It has changed the way we get the news, communicate, research, and even shop.

I believe Twitter is also going to change Japan. Not only will it change the way Japanese people use the Internet, but it may also change our culture entirely.

As of last October, Twitter users in Japan surpassed two million, and is continuing to grow [source]. Many famous people in Japan are starting to use Twitter. Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama and Softbank President, Masayoshi Son, have started using the service.

Many businesses in Japan are beginning to use Twitter in creative ways to promote themselves. A small store in Japan that sells board games is giving 100 yen (approximately $1) discount for every 100 followers you have (this means that Ashton Kutcher would get about $45K discount if he comes to this store!). All you have to do is tweet about the store just before you check out at the cash register [source].

Shinsuke Usami, CEO of EC Navi, is using Twitter to recruit new graduates. The only requirement for applying is that you have more than ten followers on your twitter account. He is also actively organizing events and information sessions via Twitter.

Japanese Internet users have always been paranoid about privacy and are reluctant to share information. They rarely use their real name on blogs and social networks. Their profile pictures are always their pets or anime characters.

Mixi, Japan’s largest social network, is very closed. Users only connect with their intimate friends and communities. Mixi is not the optimal platform to expand your network and establish your online brand.

However the growing presence of Twitter in Japan is starting to change all of this. The concept of being open and available is slowly becomming less foreign to Japanese people. At the same time many major social networks such as Mixi, Gree, and DeNA are opening up their platforms.

I am hopeful that this movement of becomming more open and sharing will create more room for innovation and drive entrepreneurship in Japan.

Posted via web from TokyoVenture

Lately, I have been paying a lot of attention to acceleration programs such as Y-Combinator and TechStars. I really think they are great programs that really work as a business. The programs stimulate innovation and give more opportunities to people who are interested in building their own startup.

Don Charlton, who went through an acceleration program, shares 7 things he learned from it.

My company The Resumator is a graduate of the Innovation WorksAlphaLab program.  AlphaLab is an acceleration program for startup companies. (some use the word “incubator”, but this name is usually frowned upon by the programs). Acceleration programs are designed to provide entrepreneurs with early-stage capital, guidance and connections. Other programs include Y-Combinator and TechStars. I thought I’d share a few things that I learned during my time at AlphaLab to hopefully encourage you to apply to participate in one these programs. The experience is incredible, and the knowledge you gain will be invaluable.

read more

Photo Credit: Flickr

Posted via web from TokyoVenture