Is the ability to ideate, incubate and launch a new company innate, or can it be taught? And, if it can be taught, can it also be nurtured by policy measures? These are hot question addressed by many different disciplines, from the analysis of business clusters to the psychology of a successful startup person. Meanwhile, central and local governments around the globe are trying to build their own version of a Silicon Valley-type innovation cluster, sometimes copying all aspects, including pitch event styles, VC laws and even coffee-shops and fashion. Japan is one of the global trailblazers in these policy attempts to foster domestic entrepreneurship. This panel discusses Japan’s attempts and successes, from the Edge Program to J-Startup, and then compares it with the experience in Silicon Valley on what it takes to sustain an innovation ecosystem.

Speakers:
• Robert Eberhart, Associate Director of Research on Entrepreneurship and Society, Stanford University
• Kenji Kutsuna, Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance, Kobe University
• Ulrike Schaede, Professor and Director of the Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology, GPS UC San Diego