Moon Creative Lab: Mitsui’s venture studio
This case follows the steps taken by Kaichi Yokoyama, Moon Creative Lab’s CEO, to establish the entity as a pioneering venture studio and entrepreneurial talent development entity within the Mitsui Group. As a corporate venture, the story began in 2018 when Kaichi embarked on a mission to reshape Mitsui’s deeply entrenched traditions and pursue a new era of innovation and creativity, a need highlighted by the appointment of a task force entrusted with the role of charting the company’s strategic direction until 2030. Kaichi believed Mitsui needed to evolve from merely “connecting” to “creating” to remain relevant in an ever-evolving world and to avoid being disrupted from the outside, but rather the inside. His vision extended far beyond short-term profits; it was about investing in Mitsui’s most valuable asset: its people. Kaichi aimed to nurture curiosity, broaden employees’ perspectives and create a culture of innovation. Moon was the vehicle to bring the vision to life, a corporate venture studio that would revolutionize Mitsu’s conventional operations and mindsets by celebrating curiosity and innovation in a venture studio set up in Silicon Valley. Despite strong resistance from Mitsui’s middle management, Moon pressed on with its mission. By 2023, it had to take stock of progress and define the objectives for the next five years, as well as the KPIs that would ensure its continued relevance within the Mitsui Group in an era of increasing uncertainty.
- Discuss the challenges of building and measuring success for an ambitious corporate venture studio that seeks not only to create new businesses for the group but also to profoundly change its mindset.
- Investigate the issues associated with deep mindset transformation and talent management within a large, established Japanese group.
- Analyze the various possible performance metrics for an original innovation engine like Moon, a corporate venture with a mix of objectives, from business creation to cultural transformation.
Moon Creative Lab, Mitsui Group, Finance and Insurance, Venture Capital
2018-2023
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
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Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
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