Japanese Entrepreneurs Graduate from Larta Program
December 15, 2003

By James Klein, Larta VOX Editor

It was just like any other graduation - excited students, proud teachers, and a palpable sense of accomplishment. Students in this graduation ceremony, however, didn't give valedictorian speeches to classmates and family members, but instead gave business plan presentations to leading U.S. business executives and the venture/investment community.

The graduation ceremony, which took place December 5th, was the culminating event in the Japanese Entrepreneur Training Program (JETP), a unique collaboration between Larta, the University of Southern California, and the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO), a Japanese government agency. Together, they created a four-month course to provide business training to Japanese entrepreneurs.

JETP students delivered their graduation presentations at the University of Southern California, to an audience comprised of USC faculty, government representatives, invited guests, and a panel of business leaders, some from the Japanese community, who evaluated each presentation and provided critical feedback.

Larta managed the 14-week program from September through December, 2003. Larta developed workshops, provided internship opportunities, arranged mentorships, and organized site tours for the JETP students, some of whom had been working for years at large Japanese companies, while others were from graduate business programs.

JETP was designed to familiarize Japanese entrepreneurs with American business practices. The students were drawn to the program because it provided a unique opportunity to gain exposure to American business education, real American companies, and the systems and idiosyncrasies of the American business environment.

"The program fully immersed students in American business theories and practice," commented Rohit Shukla, Larta President and CEO and one of the JETP instructors. "Combining traditional educational workshops with mentorships, internships and site visits was remarkably effective."

JETP students were individually chosen by JETRO's Los Angeles office and METI, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The students were all in the early stages of starting companies in a wide range of industries, including software, environmental technologies, entertainment, nutraceuticals, and marketing.

"These were really bright, engaging students. They seemed eager to learn," said Eli Eisenberg, another JETP instructor. "It was very rewarding to see their development throughout the course."

"It was a learning experience for me, too," continued Eisenberg. "There were cultural differences at first to overcome - as much on my part as on theirs - but pretty soon it felt the same as teaching any group of students."

Larta's workshops were designed to provide Japanese entrepreneurs with a full array of skills needed to start, fund, and manage new business ventures. A key component of the workshops was a focus on the development of each participant's business plan. Larta also developed comprehensive entrepreneurial workshop program materials and arranged dedicated and qualified one-on-one mentorships to advise and guide the students.

Larta arranged nine-week internships that put the students' learning into practice. Five of the twelve students worked as interns in local companies in industries that matched their respective business interests and goals as entrepreneurs. The size of these companies, which included Movielink, Interactive Video Technologies, Nicco, and Rainmaker & Sun, ranged from small start-ups to established industry leaders.

"I was able to understand the American working style," said JETP student Naoko Ezawa, who interned at Rainmaker & Sun, an integrated marketing firm. "The supervisor gave me responsible jobs, which was a good experience for me."

"Naoko was very much a part of our team and involved in day-to-day operations. She was mature, sophisticated and eager to learn," said Rena Conner, Naoko's supervisor at Rainmaker & Sun. "It was a learning and positive experience for our intern and our agency. We gleaned specific insights to how the culture and mindset operates for Japanese companies. It was an enriching experience for all."

Larta organized special tours and site visits that exposed Japanese entrepreneurs to cutting edge research centers, executive management, and leading small, medium and large technology firms, including Nanostream, Sony Pictures, and TokyoPop. These companies were chose for their "success stories" and because they were started by dynamic and charismatic entrepreneurs.

JETP courseware was based on the practical realities of successful entrepreneurship, drawing from Larta's knowledge, its extended network, and its experience providing training seminars and workshops. Larta's curriculum was specifically designed to complement the USC material, which largely maintained a theoretical approach to entrepreneurship. By contrast, Larta's portion was specifically designed to provide the young entrepreneurs with practical, hands-on, real-world knowledge from a range of people with proven track records of success.

To this end, Larta called upon its extensive network of business leaders and entrepreneurs from throughout Southern California to compile a team of instructors for the program. Additionally, the program regularly included guest speakers from specific industries that complemented the curriculum of the workshops and met the individual areas of interest of the program participants.

During the course of the program, the participants continually modified their business plans and presentations. During the last two weeks of the program, each participant practiced his or her presentation while being videotaped, and continued to revise their plans for the final graduation ceremony. One of the panel of reviewers at the graduation ceremoney was Anders Larsson, founder of two companies, Netlight Consulting and TicketAnywhere, who graduated from a similar Larta training program, and is currently at UCLA getting an MBA.

For more information about Larta's Customized Training Programs, please contact Carlos Gutierrez, Director of Business Development, at 213 765-4833 or cgutierrez@old.larta.org

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