AIC Hosts Second Keio Student Networking Event: Connecting with Your Driven Peers

On July 11, 2025, Keio AIC held a social gathering for students and entrepreneurs titled “Keio Student Networking Event: Connecting with Your Driven Peers” as a platform to foster a sense of community and engagement between like-minded individuals. For this second session, AIC collaborated with Venture Mitakai and invited prominent guests to talk about how they became entrepreneurs, their current businesses, and their future prospects. Through interactions between entrepreneurs and students aspiring to start their own businesses in the future, the event provided an opportunity to think about entrepreneurship and career development.

The event featured four active entrepreneurs, who joined over 30 students for a lively discussion and exchange.

Entrepreneurs Who Spoke at the Event

We would like to express our gratitude to all the speakers.

Pitch Session

In this session, each of the four entrepreneurs who spoke on stage elaborated on their backgrounds and experiences that led them to establish their businesses, their current projects, as well as their outlook for the future.

Participating students were particularly struck by the true-to-life episodes shared by the respective speakers of how they came to aspire to become business owners in their student days, the struggles behind their decisions, and the harsh realities they faced in the early days of setting up their companies, as well as how they overcame these difficulties.

The speakers also touched on realistic factors behind success, such as the mindset and skill sets required to manage a startup, team management and evolving human relationships in a rapidly growing organization, and how to build trust with colleagues. Many students were inspired by the words of advice shared by the speakers, such as, “While entrepreneurship is a form of freedom, it requires determination,” and “It is important to have a ‘core’ philosophy of what kind of change you want to effect in society through your business.”

Students listening attentively as the speakers share their experiences

Panel Discussion and Q&A Session

In the panel discussion that followed, students actively posed questions, sparking a lively exchange of ideas between the speakers and the audience.

The first topic of discussion was the influence of one’s family and environment behind the decision to become an entrepreneur. Many of the speakers revealed that their experiences during their student days and their family’s views on occupations had a significant impact on their own values and career paths. In a message to participating students, they offered advice based on their own experiences, such as, “venture into the outside world and be exposed to a diversity of people and values” and “it is critical to be completely devoted to doing something that can only be done within a certain time.”

To students who aspire toward working in non-profit-type activities to address social issues, a particularly impactful piece of advice from the speakers was, “While we harbor big ideals, it is important to start by narrowing in and setting defined goals to solve specific issues through high level analysis.”

Towards the end of the discussion, the speakers talked about the difficulties of building a team in the early stages of a startup business. Based on their own experiences, they said that having a “shared vision” and “building trust through day-to-day efforts” are essential for forming relationships with colleagues.

During the panel discussion

Networking Session

After the panel discussion, time was set aside for the speakers and students to freely interact. Participants were able to pose questions directly to entrepreneurs and share their ideas in a congenial yet stimulating atmosphere. It was heartening to see how participating students hit it off and network with each other.

Group photo of entrepreneurs and participating students

Student Feedback

In a survey conducted afterwards, the event received a high satisfaction rating of 90%. We had many positive comments from participating students about the learning and insights they gained through their interactions with entrepreneurs.

　Many participants remarked that they were able to hear authentic stories that they would not normally be privy to, and that they were able to pose questions directly to the entrepreneurs, which provided an opportunity to reflect more deeply.

　The networking session was also well received, with feedback such as, “Not only did I get to hear valuable insights, but I was also able to connect with like-minded peers,” and “It was motivating to be able to speak with a diverse group of people.”

　On the other hand, we also received feedback that some students wished there had been more time allocated for the panel discussion so that more in-depth opinions and discussions could be heard. The student feedback received shall prove valuable for future program design.

Summary

This event served as a place of learning and platform for networking not only for students who are aspiring entrepreneurs, but also for those who are struggling in deciding the direction of their future career development.

The third “Keio Student Networking Event: Connecting with Your Driven Peers” will soon be held as well (date to be determined). Through this networking event, we will continue to provide a venue for linking up students interested in entrepreneurship with actual entrepreneurs.

Coordinators

Corporate Planning Team: Riku Morita, Reo Tanaka