What’s a basecamp?

Archive date: April 2, 2018

The Basecamp for Extreme Climbers

What differentiates the Impact HUB Tokyo other investor and VC-backed co-working spaces and incubators? The founders, Shino and Shingo, describe their role as a basecamp for alpine climbers. The Impact Makers who question the status quo and take action to create the change they want to see in the world are like the climbers who scale the summits to see the glorious panoramas below. Like these alpine basecamps, Impact Makers also need their basecamp to summit a mountain no-one else has yet charted.

What basecamp essentials are needed to serve an Impact Maker? The most important component is whatever helps them maximize their effectiveness (output). To facilitate this, workspaces are designed to attract and foster quality. Such a space is designed to support entrepreneurial productivity, but also help these changemakers relax. For that reason, a lounge, kitchen space, cafe, and other facilities play an important role to restore their energy for the long-haul.

Tangible and intangible inputs for high-quality output

Maintaining high quality performance can only happen with equally high quality inputs. Even the most resolved Impact Maker will encounter huge setbacks with a half-baked roadmap or inadequate equipment and know-how. For this reason, the Impact HUB Tokyo’s founders initially focused on support programs for startups. Even after running for several years, the Impact HUB Tokyo continues to research startup trends in Japan and globally to update and introduce new accelerator programs in Tokyo and in Japan.

Also, quality learning is made possible through frequent community experience and knowledge sharing. That point is a crucial part of Impact HUB Tokyo’s ethos. Support for startups does not end at investment and business plan advisory. For example, entrepreneurs also need help on practical issues like issuing credit cards after business setup, or back office needs like accounting, secretarial work and drafting contracts.

In practice, the Impact HUB Tokyo facilitates sharing for general and specific experiences, ideas as well as professional tips on a daily basis. Sometimes, it’s a casual chat in the lounge space, but the organisation also hosts a variety of events. The events are not only the official events hosted by Impact HUB Tokyo staff, but also casual events that members initiate. This atmosphere demonstrates the Impact HUB Tokyo’s grassroots, organic community growth.

The Common core in Impact HUB Tokyo’s programs

That sums up the various aspects of the organic design behind our programs that make this space a basecamp for Impact Makers. Next, we will introduce the Impact HUB Tokyo’s highlight programs.

Impact HUB Tokyo offers eight programs in two categories (as of June, 2017). The two categories are “Laboratory Programmes”, which are available only to members and intensive “Accelerator Programmes” that are open to the public. Below, we share the key concepts that underly all the programs.

Team learning The programs that Impact HUB Tokyo develop challenge traditional processes and the status quo. Many existing startup programs use the traditional schooling methods where concepts like marketing and business plans are taught by a “teacher”. In truth, for a generation of entrepreneurs trying to create change by using the latest technologies and approaches like crowdfunding do not find these traditional methods that relevant. In addition, there are programs where famous startup founders give advice to new entrepreneurs. However, these talks only temporarily inspire people and don’t have a long-lasting effect and some advice can even confuse entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

Instead, Impact HUB Tokyo’s founders focused on “continuous team learning”. Rather than relying on the snippets of advice successful startup founders impart from the stage, the Impact HUB Tokyo is convinced that a steady process of growing in the trenches together will have a more effective impact for entrepreneurs in Japan. Therefore, the focus lies in fostering relationships between members, not through competion, but rather encouraging mutual support. The relationships that are created in the community will carry members forward even after they have moved on.

Creating businesses that deliver a core value Entrepreneurs are often focus on “revenue” and “selling” when planning or just after startup. In addition, they often want to secure immediate returns or investment and forget about the core value proposition that their business should be delivering. Such businesses may be initially successful, but eventually, such founders will ask themselves, “Why am I doing this?” and “Why does this product or service even need to exist?”. Then, the business’ core falls apart. Unfortunately, the reality is that many startups fail. The Impact HUB Tokyo delivers programs so that entrepreneurs can find a strong mission and value proposition (core) so that entrepreneurs can build businesses that are aligned to their goals as they grow.

Finally, the Impact HUB Tokyo pays a crucial role in supporting Impact Makers and entrepreneurs. Even the most strong-willed and determined Impact Maker must learn to embrace the fear that comes with founding a business. To overcome this and their subconscious self-limitations, these entrepreneurs need someone to be beside them. Their partner needs to also be an Impact Maker who understand how it feels, and the Impact HUB Tokyo as a startup itself meets this requirement.

Persistence makes perfect After the programs began, the results from “learning as a team” have been remarkable. Some program graduates had “refills” (okawari) of this approach by forming their own groups. One year later, the growth has been overwhelming, with the startups experiencing a remarkable growth, demonstrating the effectiveness of the continued peer pressure from a team.

For this reason, Impact HUB Tokyo also places an emphasis on post-program support. Programs with a fixed duration usually only focus on the business plan, but unfinished work and next steps remain unsupported. The Impact HUB Tokyo offers successive follow-up with entrepreneurs, a system for tracking progress, and positive peer pressure. These follow-up components help more graduates succeed in the long-term, which also improves the program’s overall success rate.

Not just a co-working space

As a basecamp for the arduous climb that is entrepreneurship, the Impact HUB Tokyo helps these courageous climbers create innovative solutions by providing the tangible and intangible support to help them rest and recharge — though it’s a lot of work, this comprehensive design is a solid foundation. In order to amplify the impact of the people who gather here, the Impact HUB Tokyo creates both hard and soft supports in its community and space design.

This piece is a translation from Impact HUB Tokyo’s original post “Founders’ Story: Vol. 2 Basecampとは？” with permission.

Writer/Editor: Ishikawa Koumei (石川孔明) Translator: Yuki Fujimoto