Hello, I'm Hamamoto from TIMEWELL.
Shota Kuroda spent roughly 10 years building real estate fund products and operations at Nomura Real Estate before an unusual path led him to become head of the company's employee union at 31. That experience, more than the fund work itself, became the foundation for what came next.
The Path to Corporate Entrepreneurship
Kuroda joined Nomura Real Estate in 2010 — immediately after the Lehman shock, at one of the more difficult entry points for someone going into real estate finance. For about a decade, he worked on the composition and management of domestic and international real estate funds.
The union role changed his perspective. "To push the company toward a culture that tolerates more challenge," he explained, "I realized I needed to be doing something innovative myself." That conviction led him, four years before this interview, to begin pursuing what became Nomura Real Estate's first internal venture.
The process took approximately three years from initial concept to reaching the commercialization phase. The pandemic period was particularly difficult — the proof of concept work continued through extended uncertainty before the business was able to move forward.
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What TOMORE Is Trying to Do
The observation Kuroda started with: Japanese solo living hasn't fundamentally changed while everything around it has.
The typical single-person apartment in Japan is 25 square meters, one room, standard fixtures. Lifestyle and work patterns shifted significantly through the pandemic and the expansion of remote work. But the housing infrastructure didn't shift with them — unused spaces, features that no longer match how people actually live, and no mechanism for creating the social connections that people living alone often lack.
TOMORE's response (details kept limited in the interview): use Nomura Real Estate's real estate resources to update the physical space itself, add a network layer, and provide community functions that support the kinds of social connections and activities that the next generation of solo residents actually want.
The evaluation: the project was selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Shido Next Innovator 2023" program — recognition of both its innovation credentials and social significance.
Managing the Internal Venture Process
Kuroda's account of what actually made corporate entrepreneurship work is more practical than inspirational:
Executive alignment is not optional. "No matter how good the business concept is, ultimately the company has to accept it and support it." He held repeated sessions with senior leadership — sometimes more than an hour, sometimes late into the evening — focused specifically on ensuring executives understood the project status and actively engaged with it rather than observing from a distance. The goal was for them to see it as their project too.
The approach worked partly because it was unusual: direct, ongoing access from an internal team working on a novel concept was uncommon for senior leadership. The novelty itself created engagement.
Team composition matters for internal politics. When building the team, Kuroda chose people he genuinely wanted to work with, but also people who could speak with authority in their respective departments. The team's network across the organization became a resource for navigating the internal approval and support structures.
The Shido Silicon Valley Experience
After passing the domestic pitch process, Kuroda was selected for the Silicon Valley portion of Shido. He spent 8 days in the area.
What he valued most wasn't the formal program — it was the incidental connections. A conversation with an audience member at a pitch event led to three days of home party invitations, through which he met a range of founders operating locally and Japanese professionals working in Silicon Valley companies.
"It's the kind of network you don't get from a normal business trip." The relationships he built there continued after returning to Japan — invitations to gatherings, connections with new entrepreneurs and executives.
What's Next
At the time of this interview, TOMORE was in launch preparation. The plan involves gradually expanding the number of facilities — with the expectation that the network effects of the community component amplify in value as more locations operate.
Kuroda's longer-term interest is in solutions that can work across different cultural contexts globally, informed by what he absorbed during the Silicon Valley program. But he's clear that the priority is establishing the current venture on solid ground before expanding the scope.
Message to those considering the Shido program: "If you're hesitating, challenge yourself to try." Kuroda hesitated when applying himself, ultimately deciding "now is the only time." The community built through the program — fellow participants, alumni — has continued to support his work since. The program develops concrete skills and provides external feedback. If you're considering it, starting with the application is itself the first step.
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