All tagged Gender

Celebrating Diversity and Difference at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in Denmark — A Poem About Challenging My Identities, Norms, and Stereotypes by Julie Taeko

Celebrating Diversity and Difference at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in Denmark — A Poem About Challenging My Identities, Norms, and Stereotypes by Julie Taeko

Julie Taeko
Female Empowerment, Empowerment, Women Leaders

This past February 2019, I was very fortunate to attend a conference on International Women’s Day at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in Denmark called “Fight the myths about gender at International Women's Day 2019.” Not only were there fantastic speakers such as Nima Sophia Tisdall of Blue Lobster App, who was recently featured by the Obama Foundation, but also we all participated in a GenderLAB experiment, where we were asked to identify our various, unique identities and the stereotypes that surround them. For example, I distinctly remember writing down that “I am a woman, but I cannot cook, and I don’t want to be a housewife.” This innovative and compelling exercise, stimulated my creative juices and got me thinking about other areas where norms, identities, and stereotypes all collide.

Venturing Into Silicon Valley's Top Technology Companies — Part 2 | シリコンバレーのトップテクノロジー企業の冒険

Venturing Into Silicon Valley's Top Technology Companies — Part 2 | シリコンバレーのトップテクノロジー企業の冒険

Julie Taeko
Entrepreneurs

Over the course of 5 days in early August 2017, 6 Kyoto University undergraduate students, my Professor — Chihiro Suematsu— and I, visited 6 top technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were fortunate enough to visit my former colleagues and extended network at Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Airbnb, and Google.

I’d like to express my deep appreciation to our countless hosts, both this year and last year, as well as my professor for making this Silicon Valley trip a reality.

Venturing into Silicon Valley's Top Technology Companies — Part 1 | シリコンバレーのトップテクノロジー企業の冒険

Venturing into Silicon Valley's Top Technology Companies — Part 1 | シリコンバレーのトップテクノロジー企業の冒険

Julie Taeko
Entrepreneurs

Over the course of 5 days in early August 2017, 6 Kyoto University undergraduate students, my Professor — Chihiro Suematsu — and I, visited 6 top technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were fortunate enough to visit my former colleagues and extended network at Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Airbnb, and Google.

I’d like to express my deep appreciation to our countless hosts, both this year and last year, as well as my professor for making this Silicon Valley trip a reality.

10 Captivating Facts About Re-mix Co. Female Founder

10 Captivating Facts About Re-mix Co. Female Founder

Julie Taeko
Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Japan, Entrepreneurs

An Interview with Japanese Business Owner, Ritsuko Tominaga

Ritsuko Tominaga has one of the most fascinating life histories that I have ever heard. A sole proprietor and business consultant with 4 employees at Re-mix Co., Ritsuko is a middleman or middlewoman who creates unique and innovative OEM goods, or Original Equipment Manufacturer.

This entails meeting with clients such as department stores, to deeply understand their goals and stated desires, before meeting with an appropriate manufacturer to explain the clients' goals. With her unique background of working at her grandfather's sweets factory — Olympia Confectionary — from a young age, Ritsuko knows what is and isn't possible to manufacture.

Baking Her Way to Success — A Deeper Look into the Life of Miki Yamamoto

Baking Her Way to Success — A Deeper Look into the Life of Miki Yamamoto

Julie Taeko
Japan, Female Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurs, Female Empowerment

A positive, curious, and successful business woman, mother, and wife, Miki Yamamoto epitomizes the ideal blend of managing both a career and family. In 2011, Miki made her childhood dream — to start her own business — come true, when she opened a stylish bakery in Kameoka called Patisserie Perle or パティスリーペルル.

Impeccably designed, her store features exquisite, ready-made gift boxes and spectacularly-designed goods. Plus, Miki's baking skills even earned her 4th place in a national competition in Japan. With over 10 years of experience, a nationally-recognized baking award, and a year of apprenticeship in France, Miki is a top-notch baker in Kyoto's backyard of Kameoka.

Harue’s High-end Women’s Fashion Store in Kyoto

Harue’s High-end Women’s Fashion Store in Kyoto

Julie Taeko
Japan, Female Entrepreneurship, Women Leaders, Entrepreneurs III

Meet Harue — a unique, captivating, and extremely warm individual. She’s different. She’s fashionable. And she’s strong! Over the course of multiple meetings including a dinner and a few visits to her store, I got to know this remarkable woman.

Launching her first store at the young age of 21 in Aichi Prefecture and running that business for 12 years, Harue has now been overseeing a high-end women’s fashion business in Kyoto called Hodge Podge for the past 18 years.

Pioneering Female Founder from the Japanese Tech Scene

Pioneering Female Founder from the Japanese Tech Scene

Julie Taeko
Women Leaders, Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Entrepreneurs II

Towards the end of 2016, I wrapped up my final interview of the year with Japanese female entrepreneur Chika Tsunoda, a Keio University graduate — one of the top business universities in Japan. Within a mere 40 minutes, I learned about her views on what makes an entrepreneur successful in Japan and the best advice she ever received.

In 2013 at the age of 28, Chika Tsunoda began her Anytimes technology business with neither a background in technology, nor programming friends. As such, she started from humble beginnings of crowdsourcing employees in order to create exactly what she wanted — an online skill share platform to connect users who need services such as housecleaning or cooking with local talent. 

Breaking Stereotypes —  A Young Foreign Mother & Female Founder in Japan

Breaking Stereotypes —  A Young Foreign Mother & Female Founder in Japan

Julie Taeko
Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Women Leaders, Japan, Entrepreneurs II

Impressive. Inspiring. And invigorating! These were the words I immediately felt while speaking to amazing female entrepreneur  —  Omima M. Miki, or “Mimi” for short. Currently, her task list is larger than most Japanese サラリーマンor “salary men.” One of her latest initiatives is planning and launching an “温泉と旅館” or a Japanese-style hotel paired with a relaxing onsen spa and delectable Japanese-style food.

Introducing Yuka Fujii, Founder of Famarry — The Premier Platform for Discovering & Meeting the Best Photographers!

Introducing Yuka Fujii, Founder of Famarry — The Premier Platform for Discovering & Meeting the Best Photographers!

Julie Taeko
Women Leaders, Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Japan, Entrepreneurs III

A young, captivating, and highly intelligent woman, Yuka Fujii is the founder of a uniquely positioned startup. Famarry blends the words “family” and “marriage” to capture the heart of the business idea. An online platform that matches couples with their ideal wedding and family photographer, Famarry’s mission is to help couples realize their vision for their ideal wedding and family photography.