This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL.
"I Want to Start Something, But Where Do I Begin?"
Have you ever felt drawn to entrepreneurship but unsure where to start — or wondered whether it's really something you could do? This article features two entrepreneurs from Shido Cohort 8, Goto Kiyoko and Akashi Taiyo, who were in the middle of a Silicon Valley field program when we spoke with them. From their original spark to their vision for the future and what they took away from Silicon Valley, this conversation is full of practical insights for anyone considering starting something of their own.
Note: Both were on a Silicon Valley dispatch program at the time of this interview.
Topics covered:
- Two entrepreneurs in different fields — sports accessibility and childcare support — head to Silicon Valley
- Field research in Silicon Valley: childcare support potential and Big Tech's surprising benefits
- From corporate programs to new ventures: what sparked the leap and how they overcame the barriers
- Insights and horizons from Silicon Valley: new possibilities and the road to global expansion
- The courage to take the first step: the importance of peers and conviction
Akashi Taiyo — designs and develops cashless payment terminals at Panasonic. Alongside his day job, he is developing two business concepts: improving the mental health of software developers, and enabling hearing-impaired and hearing people to enjoy watching sports together. He has conducted proof-of-concept trials with professional sports teams and hearing-impaired communities in Japan.
Goto Kiyoko — founded Picnic Room, Inc. in 2017, operating a nursery school and childcare support programs in central Yokohama. She provides individual counseling, runs community playrooms, manages a corporate-led childcare program and after-school learning support, and runs Sakura Home Restaurant as a local community kitchen. Originally from Nagano, she studied cultural policy in Osaka, moved to Yokohama in 2008, and entered the childcare sector after a chance invitation to start a facility in Kannai.
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Two Entrepreneurs, Different Fields — Both Heading to Silicon Valley
Can you briefly introduce yourselves?
Akashi: In my day job I design cashless payment terminals — the kind you use when you pay by credit card or e-money at a convenience store. Alongside that, I came to Silicon Valley with two business themes. One is improving the mental health challenges that software developers tend to face. The other is a project I've been working on for a while: enabling people who are deaf or hard of hearing and people who can hear to enjoy watching sports together. In Japan I've been running proof-of-concept trials with the support of professional sports teams. The main reason I came here is to research how services for people with hearing loss have developed internationally.
Goto: I'm the CEO of Picnic Room, Inc. — a nursery school and childcare support business based in central Yokohama. The company is now in its seventh year. In 2020 I joined an entrepreneurship development program run by Yokohama City, initially just to connect with people. But after receiving ongoing mentoring from cross-industry members, in 2022 the conversation turned to launching a new business, and I applied to Shido Cohort 8. This is my second year in the program.
Silicon Valley Field Research: Childcare Potential and Big Tech's Benefits
What are you investigating in Silicon Valley?
Akashi: I came to research how services for hearing-impaired people are developing here. I assumed people would say "Oh, I know about that" — but when I asked at my hotel and at companies, the honest answer was usually "No, I haven't heard of that" or "I've never come across it." That said, one person did share an email address for a local deaf community member, so I'm currently reaching out. It seems these services haven't penetrated as widely as I imagined, but I think a bit more listening will reveal something.
Goto: I came with two research questions. First, can childcare support work as a viable business? Second, how did childcare and nursery systems develop and function as Silicon Valley grew so rapidly? I've been researching at public institutions and libraries. Childcare support tends to become a niche business with a heavy reliance on public subsidies, so I wanted to test whether it can work as a market offering internationally. I've been meeting with Meta and a few other companies, as well as local families and regional government officials.
Silicon Valley is known for strong employee benefits. What did you find inside companies regarding childcare?
Goto: When I visited Meta, I was genuinely impressed. The campus felt like a theme park — European-style streets with free restaurants, an ice cream shop, an arcade. On Friday afternoons, employees can come in with their families. I saw people pushing strollers saying "Hi!" to each other and chatting about how much the kids had grown. It really felt like a community.
That said, once you get to essential workers, childcare support is much thinner — they largely manage on their own, which honestly isn't so different from Japan. At higher-tier companies, a 9-to-5 schedule is genuinely respected. The typical pattern is: arrive at 8, drop the child at nursery, pick up around 4:30. Many families rotate pick-up duties among themselves.
Overall I'd say childcare awareness and community support is stronger here than in Japan — but it's not universal across all companies, and it doesn't come cheap.
From Corporate Programs to New Ventures: The Leap and the Barriers
What originally prompted you both to start down this path?
Akashi: It started with Panasonic's internal entrepreneurship program, BOOST CONTEST. I applied with only the vaguest sense of what I wanted to do. But through the listening process, I began meeting people I'd never connected with before — people with hearing disabilities, for example — and through those encounters, what I actually wanted to do gradually came into focus.
Goto: The childcare industry is expected to contract as Japan's population declines, so I knew I needed a new angle if I wanted to keep going long-term. Joining Yokohama City's entrepreneurship school and receiving mentoring from cross-sector peers, I ended up launching a new business in 2022. Then I applied to Shido Cohort 8. I didn't feel a strong barrier to starting a business per se — but being inside the Shido community, sharpening ideas alongside others, getting stimulated by their challenges — that's kept me moving.
Goto, why did you start this business specifically?
Goto: This is actually my second company. My husband and I launched a production company together in 2007, but I grew concerned about risk concentration — two people doing the same work is vulnerable when things go wrong. Around that time, I was invited by someone in Kannai to help build a childcare support facility together. That became the turning point. I got my nursery teacher certification and entered the childcare sector. I care deeply about the community around Kannai, and I'm constantly experimenting. Childcare is a heavily public-sector field, but I keep asking how we can bring more private energy and community resources into it. I want to build systems that protect children's rights and prevent parents from becoming isolated — making society even a little more supportive for families raising children.
Akashi, you're still employed full-time. Is there an extra hurdle around actually starting a company?
Akashi: I joined Panasonic as a mid-career hire in 2007, and at the time I assumed I'd be a salaried employee for the rest of my working life. Joining BOOST CONTEST made me wonder whether there was something else I could do — but I entered with only the most vague sense of purpose. Through the work, I began meeting people with disabilities and others I'd never interacted with before. Hearing their stories, I kept encountering things I had no idea about, and those experiences gradually shifted my thinking.
Of course, leaving a stable job to start a company feels like a high bar. But the reason I'm here in Silicon Valley through J-STARX — METI's overseas entrepreneur development program — is precisely because programs like BOOST CONTEST, "CHANGE by ONE JAPAN," and Shido Next Innovator opened up new worlds and gave me new peers. I don't have a clear timeline for starting a company yet. Right now I'm focused on building good relationships between the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and sports organizations. I see entrepreneurship not as the goal but as a waypoint — a means to achieve what I actually want to achieve.
Insights and Horizons from Silicon Valley
What has changed for you since arriving here?
Goto: The biggest thing was building my pitch in English. J-STARX programs require pitches aimed at overseas VCs, so you have to think about how to take your service global — not just domestic Japan. At first that was disorienting. But with guidance from mentors, I was able to organize what I actually wanted to communicate. Getting that axis clear made the on-the-ground research here much smoother, and I was able to make a real judgment about whether to pursue international expansion. Here I've also had the chance to talk at length with local entrepreneurs in ways that just don't happen in my usual Tokyo life. Through those exchanges, I feel I've been learning what an entrepreneurial mindset actually looks like. Coming away with a more concrete vision of how to evolve the business is a real win I'll take back to Japan.
Akashi: I was able to make contact with a deaf community here, and I want to slowly expand my network from there. It may be hard to show dramatic progress in this short time, but what I most needed to do was build relationships I can sustain after I go home. My stay hasn't produced dramatic breakthroughs, but the new encounters and perspectives have shifted how I think about my work. I want to keep listening to the voices of people directly affected and keep working toward a society where people with and without hearing loss can enjoy things together.
What do you most want to take back from Silicon Valley?
Goto: A local network. I'm at the early seed stage — a PoC with a publicly listed company is scheduled to start in February. Being able to design my service based on insights from Meta, Google, J&J, and other high-caliber companies is enormously helpful. On top of that, working through my pitch here gave me real clarity on how I actually want to launch. I finally feel like I can engage with VCs on equal footing. There were also opportunities to connect with women entrepreneurs, which let me explore an entrepreneurial mindset beyond gender in conversations that aren't easily had back in Japan. I'll continue building on the network I cultivated here even after I return, and keep looking for ways to evolve childcare support.
Akashi: Sustained relationships with the deaf community and sports organizations. Dramatic results in this short window may be difficult, but building connections I can maintain after returning home is the goal. I was fortunate to get a chance to attend PMWC, a major healthcare conference, where many industry stakeholders gather. I'm hoping to find people who understand and want to support what I'm doing. I expect Silicon Valley encounters to spark new ideas for realizing a society where people with and without disabilities can enjoy things together. It won't happen overnight — but combining my expertise with what I've learned here should let me offer something genuinely unique. I'll keep working through challenges alongside my peers, steadily expanding the scope of what's possible.
The Courage to Take the First Step
A message for readers?
Akashi: Until I joined Shido, I genuinely worried: "Can I really do something new?" But once I took that first step, encounters and insights I never could have anticipated were waiting for me. If you're thinking about trying something right now, try saying it out loud. Even just talking to someone about it is enough to start. Small actions accumulate, and the path opens. The key is the courage to take that first step. Not "talking so that it will be understood," but "talking because you want to be understood." I'll keep following the path I believe in, and I'm rooting for you to take your own first step.
Goto: Until my thirties I was running my company in a low-key way, managing things more like a homemaker. Entrepreneurship around social issues came late for me. But you only get one life — I think the best thing you can do is try the things you want to try. It won't always go smoothly. Getting my business off the ground had its share of twists and turns. But that's exactly where the learning lives. Don't fear failure — when the thought strikes, act on it. And don't carry it alone. Having people with shared purpose walking alongside you makes the journey genuinely enjoyable. Make good use of communities like Shido, grow at your own pace, and if you ever find yourself struggling with childcare or nursery education, please feel free to reach out. I'm rooting for all of you. Thank you.