VCedia: Venture Capital l Entrepreneurship | Ecosystems Schyler Cole

Today I’m so excited to talk with Mio Yamamoto.



Mio is the co-founder and Executive Director of World in Tohoku.



Mio has more than twelve years of experience in providing high-impact social entrepreneurs with management, capacity building, and funding support. Along with her experience in marketing, sales, and strategy consulting in the private sector, she is building a platform where leaders from private, public, and civic sectors promote cross-sector, cross-border collaborations to accelerate social change.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, she co-founded WIT (World in Tohoku, formerly WIA) to support social entrepreneurs in the disaster-affected area. As Executive Director of WIT, she is providing management, funding, and impact assessment support to nine social entrepreneurs in such areas as education, job creation for disabled persons and ethnic minorities, and citizen-led community development.

Before founding WIA, Mio was Partner of SVP Tokyo, a venture philanthropy organization for more than 7 years. She helped the launch of an agricultural social venture and led knowledge sharing between SVPs in the US and SVP Tokyo around issues on social innovation, venture philanthropy, social impact assessment, and etc.

Mio received an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, and BA with a major in International Relations from the University of Tokyo. She worked for McKinsey & Co. as Summer Associate, and Sumitomo Chemical as Marketing and Sales Rep.

Mio spends her time in Japan and Boston with her husband and a cat. She loves volunteering in farms, and designing and sewing dresses.



Episode Mentions:



World in Tohoku



Startup Studio Model Episode



Asks, Challenges, and Goals:

"We are looking for funders, business professionals and impact organizations who would like to get involved in the cross-boundary leadership initiatives!"



VCedia and Host Info/Promos:



Follow VCedia @the_vcedia on Twitter and Instagram, The VCedia on YouTube, and on our website at www.vcedia.com. You can also follow the host Schyler Cole on Twitter at @SchylerCole!



Know someone who should be on VCedia? Let us know here!



For startups:

https://forms.gle/8ESnmJf4XNRL5W1A6

For other guests:

https://forms.gle/LbTvrUUbXW1YiAPP7

Music

Intro/Outro - Instafunk - Premium Beats

Intermission - hard animal crossing type beat by vanity - https://soundcloud.com/11182018

Today I’m so excited to talk with Lucy Svoboda, Ali Lauer, and Soha Yasrebi, three of the four co-founders of Galvanizer. Galvanizer is a start-up community tackling the female founder gap with the mission to encourage more women to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

Lucy, Ali, and Soha are all Stanford GSB Class of 2021. Previously Lucy was Chief of Staff at Nearpod, Ali was a VC at Adam Street Partners, and Soha was a VC at OMERS Ventures.



Episode Mentions:

Galvanizer

Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World by Jacqueline Novagratz

Great chocolate chip cookies in Palo Alto! Antoine’s Cookie Shop 



VCedia and Host Info/Promos:

Follow VCedia @the_vcedia on Twitter and Instagram, The VCedia on YouTube, and on our website at www.vcedia.com. You can also follow the host Schyler Cole on Twitter at @SchylerCole!

Know someone who should be on VCedia? Let us know here!

For startups:

https://forms.gle/8ESnmJf4XNRL5W1A6

For other guests:

https://forms.gle/LbTvrUUbXW1YiAPP7

Music

Intro/Outro - Instafunk - Premium Beats

Intermission - hard animal crossing type beat by vanity - https://soundcloud.com/11182018

Today I’m so excited to talk with Risa Ishii.

Risa is a Senior Partnerships Manager at Plug and Play Tech Center, the world’s largest early stage investor, accelerator and corporate innovation platform.  They have close to 40 locations around the world, making over 250 investments a year. Bridging startups and corporations in Japan with the rest of the world, Risa focuses on Smart Cities which includes mobility, real estate, energy industries, and more.  She oversees corporations' strategies and supports them in accelerating their innovation activities in the Bay Area, sometimes setting up their innovation roadmaps and providing related industry expertise.

Risa shares valuable insights on multiple facets of engaging with Japanese corporations, exciting events from the past year, and how Japanese young professionals can thrive outside of Japan.



Now let’s get started.



Episode Mentions:



Plug and Play Tech Center



Asks, Challenges, and Goals:



“My goal is to see as many Japanese young professionals as possible, thriving outside of the country. Whether it's government sector, private sector, startups or academic field, I see almost no Japanese population compared to the rest of Asia here in Silicon Valley. This is even more true for the younger generation and I really think that Japan has so much potential if we can allocate assets and provide opportunities for the younger generations seek these career paths. After then, Tokyo and then eventually the entire Japan will be the ranked as one of the most innovative countries.”



VCedia and Host Info/Promos:



Follow VCedia @the_vcedia on Twitter and Instagram, The VCedia on YouTube, and on our website at www.vcedia.com. You can also follow the host Schyler Cole on Twitter at @SchylerCole!



Know someone who should be on VCedia? Let us know here!



For startups:



https://forms.gle/8ESnmJf4XNRL5W1A6



For other guests:



https://forms.gle/LbTvrUUbXW1YiAPP7



Music



Intro/Outro - Instafunk - Premium Beats



Intermission - hard animal crossing type beat by vanity - https://soundcloud.com/11182018

Today I’m very excited to talk with Nana Britwum and Jannice Newson, co-founders of Lillian Augusta.

Nana and Jannice are social entrepreneurs creating hair solutions for Black women. Frustrated with their own experiences of irritation in wearing braiding hair, they decided to innovate and make a high quality and sustainable alternative to the traditional plastic braiding hair found in beauty supply stores across the country. Their plant-based braiding hair is just the beginning to becoming the premier company for sustainable Black hair care products.



Episode Mentions:



Lillian Augusta



Take their survey to win!



Connect with Lillian Augusta!



Twitter @lilaugustahair | Instagram @lillianaugustahair | Facebook @lillianaugustahair



For questions, please contact info@lillianaugustahair.com.



Asks, Challenges, and Goals:



1. We are looking to expand our team with a textile engineering position and a supply chain management position. Anyone interested please reach out!



2. Take our survey for a chance to win a $25 gift card.



VCedia and Host Info/Promos:



Follow VCedia @the_vcedia on Twitter and Instagram, The VCedia on YouTube, and on our website at www.vcedia.com. You can also follow the host Schyler Cole on Twitter at @SchylerCole!



Know someone who should be on VCedia? Let us know here!



For startups:



https://forms.gle/8ESnmJf4XNRL5W1A6



For other guests:



https://forms.gle/LbTvrUUbXW1YiAPP7



Music:



Intro/Outro - Instafunk - Premium Beats



Intermission - hard animal crossing type beat by vanity - https://soundcloud.com/11182018

Today I’m so excited to talk with Aishwarya Vardhana.

Aishwarya is a product designer, visual artist, and writer interested in developing and practicing decolonial design thinking. Aishwarya published an incredible article on the Decolonial Design Thinking framework she is developing. Today, we discuss her experience with design, Decolonial Design Thinking, expanding what it means to be a designer (hint: It’s you!), and more. This is an awesome and ongoing conversation. If you’re energized by what you hear today and want to get involved, be especially sure to check out the episode description to learn how you can connect with Aishwarya on the topics discussed today.

Now let’s get started.



Episode Mentions:



Decolonial Design Thinking



Asks, Challenges, and Goals:



1. My primary goal is for my design practice to be done in community with others. Anyone who is listening, if this effort interests you and you want to be involved, email me at avardhana42@gmail.com or DM me on IG @shweeze.

2. If anyone listening has experience founding a design studio or a nonprofit, please reach out.

3. Follow me on IG @shweeze to stay tapped into the movement.



VCedia and Host Info/Promos:



Follow VCedia @the_vcedia on Twitter and Instagram, The VCedia on YouTube, and on our website at www.vcedia.com.

You can also follow the host Schyler Cole on Twitter at @SchylerCole!

Know someone who should be on VCedia? Let us know here!



For startups:

https://forms.gle/8ESnmJf4XNRL5W1A6

For other guests:

https://forms.gle/LbTvrUUbXW1YiAPP7



Music



Intro/Outro - Instafunk - Premium Beats

Intermission - hard animal crossing type beat by vanity - https://soundcloud.com/11182018

Today I’m excited to talk with Bob Mason! Bob is a Managing Partner at Argon Ventures, leading pre-seed stage investments in Boston with a mission to amplify founder energy to launch cutting-edge software products and build impactful, global businesses. He has been a Managing Partner at Project 11 Ventures and was previously part of the Techstars Boston investment committee. His portfolio includes over 50 startups and access to a network of hundreds of founders.



Before his career as an investor, Bob helped found and build industry-shifting products and businesses for two highly successful public companies: ATG, a leading e-commerce and personalization platform, and Brightcove, the market-leading online video platform for enterprise and premium media. In both roles he provided engineering and product leadership in support of the companies’ vision and strategy.



Bob received the Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1994 and currently sits on the WPI Department of Computer Science Board of Advisors and mentors founders through the WPI Tech Advisor Network.



Episode Mentions:

https://www.argon.vc



Venture diversity is burdened by the unnecessary need for wealth.



VCedia and Host Info/Promos

Follow VCedia @the_vcedia on Twitter and Instagram, The VCedia on YouTube, and on our website at www.vcedia.com. You can also follow the host Schyler Cole on Twitter at @SchylerCole!



Know someone who should be on VCedia? Let us know here!



For startups:

https://forms.gle/8ESnmJf4XNRL5W1A6

For other guests:

https://forms.gle/LbTvrUUbXW1YiAPP7



Music

Intro/Outro - Instafunk - Premium Beats

Intermission - hard animal crossing type beat by vanity - https://soundcloud.com/11182018