Corporate venturing as a path to innovation in Japan

You might think that large Japanese companies have trouble innovating.

Unfortunately if you believe that, you would be correct.

Recently, however, there are a few reasons for hope. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, and Japan Inc. now largely understands that their traditional R&D methods are broken, and are looking to startups for help and inspiration.

Corporate venturing (spinning out internal projects as startups) is one such approach. But it's not an easy one. Today we sit down with Kenji Tateiwa and discuss the rewards and challenges of spinning Agile Energy X out of TEPCO.

We talk about why it's hard to bring renewable energy onto the grid, how to nurture a startup inside very conservative organizations, and the future of corporate venturing in Japan.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Why it's hard to get more renewable energy onto the grid

Introduction to demand response and demand management

How to nurture a startup inside a conservative enterprise and how to spin out

The financial challenges in the core business model

The competitive landscape in energy services