June 20, 2011

GMO Seminar Series at Aoyama Gakuin University

The GMO Internet Group delivers free seminars at various educational institutions with the aim of developing the next generation of entrepreneurs to energize Japan's economy.
For Fiscal Year 2011, we held a free seminar series entitled "Business Management for Start-ups" for students of School of Business, Aoyama Gakuin University.

Content of the seminar series (an excerpt from the syllabus)

There will be 12 lectures delivered by a variety of speakers, including successful entrepreneurs and a business lawyer. Using their actual experiences, they will talk about their journey to success and future prospects as well as key factors and knowledge that are necessary for a start-up business to grow.
The seminar series will consist of lectures and Q&A sessions on various topics, such as beliefs of successful entrepreneurs, leadership, business prospects, key qualities of a great leader, and overcoming start-up obstacles.

Lecture schedule

  • Wednesday, April 20, 2011

    Group CEO of the GMO Internet Group

    Masatoshi Kumagai
    Founder & Group CEO
    GMO Internet Group, Inc.

  • Wednesday, April 27, 2011

    Operates home furnishing store chain, Francfranc

    Fumio Takashima
    President and Representative Director
    BALS CORPORATION

  • Wednesday, May 11, 2011

    Former Mayor of Yokohama, who rebuilt the city's finances

    Hiroshi Nakada
    Former Mayor of Yokohama; Visiting Professor, Graduate School, Aoyama Gakuin University

  • Wednesday, May 18, 2011

    Operates social networking website, Ameba, and virtual community, Ameba Pigg

    Susumu Fujita
    President
    CyberAgent, Inc.

  • Wednesday, May 25, 2011

    Operates online fashion shopping site, ZOZOTOWN

    Yusaku Maezawa
    CEO
    START TODAY CO., LTD.

  • Wednesday, June 1, 2011

    Operates social game platform, Mobage

    Tomoko Namba
    President & CEO
    DeNA Co., Ltd.

  • Wednesday, June 8, 2011

    Operates social networking service, GREE

    Yoshikazu Tanaka
    Founder and CEO
    GREE, Inc.

  • Wednesday, June 15, 2011

    Operates social networking service, mixi

    Kenji Kasahara
    President and Representative Director
    mixi, Inc.

  • Wednesday, June 22, 2011

    The developer of i-mode and Osaifu-Keitai

    Takeshi Natsuno
    Professor, Keio University; Director of DWANGO Co., Ltd.

  • Wednesday, June 29, 2011

    CEO of the Rakuten Group, which includes online marketplace, Rakuten Ichiba

    Hiroshi Mikitani
    Chairman and CEO
    Rakuten, Inc.

  • Wednesday, July 6, 2011

    Operates fashion brand, Samantha Thavasa

    Kazumasa Terada
    Chairperson and President
    Samantha Thavasa Japan Limited

  • Wednesday, July 13, 2011

    An attorney with expertise in start-up businesses and M&A, who is admitted in both Japan and New York State

    Masakazu Iwakura
    Partner, Nishimura & Asahi; Professor, Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University

    Due to the request for power saving, the first term of Aoyama Gakuin University will end on July 9. Therefore, this lecture will be canceled.