Source: Peatix

Why not start a business using local resources?
Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, is home to a variety of hidden local resources.

This event is
Through the perspectives and discoveries of outsiders (those who have moved outside the prefecture) and young people,
There are people who have polished and highlighted local resources and brought them into the world.
How have you looked at local resources?
This is a course where we ask practitioners about the methods they used to create these ideas.

◆ Event Outline
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・Date and time: February 1, 2025 (Sat) 14:30-17:30
・Venue: SHIBUYA CAST
・Cost: 1,000 yen (paid on the day)
・Application: Please apply by clicking "Apply for tickets" on this page.

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・About taking photos and posting them during the event
Please note that the event may be photographed and published. Please acknowledge the use of portrait rights before participating.

・Cancellation after application
Cancellations due to customer convenience must be made up to 3 business days prior to the event.
Please note that any cancellations made after this time will be charged 100% of the fee.

◆Contents of the day
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14:00～14:30 Reception begins
14:30～14:45 Opening
14:45-15:30 Part 1 (Conversation between the two CEOs and the moderator)
15:30～15:45 Break
15:45-16:15 Part 2 (NAGA KNOCK! A talk with three live speakers)
16:15-17:30 A brief social gathering at the venue

■ Introduction of the guests

Hiromu Ito
Representative Director of Irohado Limited Company (Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture)
Born in Nagano City (formerly Kinari Village) in 1985.
After graduating from university, he worked in advertising production sales in Tokyo. In 2007, he joined Irohado, and in 2013 he became Managing Director, and in 2023 he became the fourth representative director. With the motto of "spreading the infinite possibilities of oyaki to the world," the company has its main store in Kinasa, as well as stores in Zenkoji Nakamise, Nagano Tokyu, MIDORI, Obuse Town, and Tachikawa City, Tokyo. In 2022, a new facility combining manufacturing and sales, "OYAKI FARM," will open in Shinonoi. At Oyaki Farm, visitors can observe the manufacturing process and experience making oyaki, making it a popular spot especially among local elementary school students. In December 2023, the company will exhibit at an antenna shop scheduled to open in Paris to explore the possibility of expanding overseas.

While preserving the "unchanging taste from the past to the present," we will weave a new history for Oyaki, a local Shinshu dish.
OYAKI FARM BY IROHADO connects the history of Shinshu's local food, oyaki, with the next 100 years

Saori Iida
Representative Director of CocoChouChou Co., Ltd. (Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture)
Born in Tokyo.
In 2017, she moved to Nagano and opened a vegan and gluten-free sweets shop called "Coco ChouChou."
Fascinated by baking from an early age, she taught herself traditional sweets from France and Germany. While studying at Hosei University, she worked as an assistant to a pastry researcher, gaining experience in product development. After graduating, she worked in internet marketing at a major IT company for seven years. After leaving the company, she returned to the world of sweets when she worked on product development for a cafe she knew. Moved by a child's comment that "I can't eat the same sweets as everyone else because of my allergies," she devoted herself to making sweets that do not use eggs, dairy products, wheat, or refined sugar. She opened "Coco ChouChou," a sweets shop that can be enjoyed by people with food allergies, vegans, and those with gluten-free lifestyles.

CocoChouChou rebrands to bring fresh air to the vegan sweets market for adult women

After the event, together with the guests,
We will be serving "Oyaki" from Irohado and vegan sweets from CocoChouChou.
We will also be holding a networking event, so please stay with us until the end! 🍴

- What is NAGA KNOCK!?
Together with business owners who want to tackle social issues in Nagano City
This is a practical program lasting approximately six months to start a new business.
Even after participating in the program, participants will continue to work on the project.
By continuing a side job, starting a business, registering a corporation, establishing a new company together with the host company, or transferring to the host company,
Continuously involved in the local community.

▷For more details, click here: Official website
Over the past four years, we have matched more than 40 host companies with more than 60 people.
Of these, about 10 people have started their own businesses or become independent.

In the second part, OG/OB
You can hear entrepreneurial and immigration stories!

<Guest Introduction>

Mr. Kentaro Meguro
NAGANO STARTUP STUDIO Managing Director
Joined a general leasing company in Tokyo as a new graduate. Engaged in market analysis for newly opened clinics, formulating business plans, and providing necessary support for starting up a clinic, including loan negotiations. After gaining experience in domestic and overseas startup investments, he moved to a startup that operates an expert platform.
After personally launching an online Japanese language school for foreigners and an online retail business, he is currently launching the Paint&Sip business in Nagano City. At NSS, he is in charge of a wide range of tasks, from planning and management to support for members.

Nozomi Nakayama
Born in Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture. After graduating from university, he worked as a TV director for NHK and other companies, producing information programs and news reports. Currently, as a video director, he is involved in video production and promotion, and also teaches more than 2,000 people a year as a seminar lecturer on smartphone shooting and editing techniques and SNS x video promotion. He serves as a coordinator for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Miscellaneous Support Center. He completed the Graduate School of Business Administration at Nagano Prefectural University in March 2024. His articles are currently being serialized in Japan Finance Corporation and Nikkei X-Woman. He is a part-time lecturer at Bunkyo Gakuin University, where he teaches "Media Content Theory."

Mr. Takashi Tsuge
He lives in Kanagawa Prefecture. He worked in marketing, sales planning, product planning, Taiwan, and corporate planning at a major telecommunications carrier. In 2023, he participated in a city development project in the center of Nagano City as a side job during Nagaknock's third term. He founded GoandDo LLC with Ryo Sasagawa, who was also involved in the project. He opened the inn GONDO aioi in November 2024, aiming to operate a decentralized hotel using the shopping district in Nagano City.

. Facilitator

Mr. Takumi Yukawa
NAGA KNOCK! 3rd term participant and current coordinator
Graduated from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University. Joined Kayac Inc. as a new graduate and worked as a project manager in the client work business. In 2021, he moved to MIMIGURI Inc., where he launched new businesses and worked in the consulting business as a project manager, consultant, and facilitator. In 2023, he joined Naganokku, which led to him working on a contract basis for companies in Nagano City and Obuse Town. In 2024, he took a regional coordinator training course and worked as a side job coordinator at Naganokku.

◆Inquiries
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Organized by: Nagano City
Organized by: NPO ETIC. (NAGA KNOCK! Secretariat)
Email: nagaknock★etic.or.jp (please replace ★ with ＠ when making inquiries)

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