The Tokyo Consortium will hold the second event of the year on September 2022, 9 to deepen understanding of the capital policies necessary to materialize business plans for middle to late stage and startups aiming for that stage. We held a ``Mindset Event for Creating a Unicorn-Class Company'' where you can learn more. On the day of the event, we invited Mr. Masayuki Tadokoro, CEO of Unicon Farm Co., Ltd., to give a lecture. This event was held locally at CIC Tokyo and was attended by approximately 16 people.
PMF (product market fit) is very important for early stage startups. However, from the middle-later stage onwards, a portfolio perspective becomes essential. In order to draw up a growth strategy from this perspective, it is important to reduce ``unreasonableness, waste, and unevenness'' in business.
First, regarding "unevenness", it is the part that is most likely to be overlooked out of the three. Particularly in large startup organizations, there is a tendency for unevenness to occur. For a startup to achieve sustainable growth, it is important to have a balance in various aspects such as finance, products, marketing, and governance.
In addition, "impossible" means that the target market has not been determined in the first place. It is important to segment your customers and market, and decide where and how much to market. In this way, thinking of a strategy to capture the target market without any ``impossibility'' is what reduces ``impossibility.''
Finally, in order to reduce waste, it is necessary to determine what is important to your company and what is not. It is important to think about what your company's CSF (Critical Success Factor) is and aim to build defensive assets accordingly.
MOAT refers to the "moat" that protects a business when its castle is attacked by external enemies (competitor). For mid- to late-stage startups, it is important to clarify what defensive assets are for your company and be able to clearly verbalize their advantages and defensive elements.
In particular, the authority of the entrepreneur is important in building MOAT. When a startup reaches Series A or higher, whether the founder has authority in the business field has a large effect on the company's culture and the hiring of talented key personnel.
I believe that if entrepreneurs always keep in mind their ``defense points,'' they will realize that they have a chance of winning. If there were 100 companies, there would probably be 100 points to notice when it comes to winning, but I believe that by always thinking about ``defense points'' you can build MOAT and increase the probability of business success.
It is important to design the flywheel when plotting a competitive strategy as a story. Flywheel means impeller in Japanese. It is important to identify our CSF and design how we can continue to succeed by multiplying it with a positive loop. By intertwining the individual stories that unfold in each case, you can create a powerful defensive asset.
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