What is the "Common Business Virtual Nest" that nurtures social issue-solving businesses?

There's a saying, "Easy to say, hard to do." Even today, when funding and talent acquisition are possible through the internet, launching a new business is no simple task.

Ideas may emerge, but when it comes to actual execution, many fail to overcome barriers like insufficient resources, expertise, or personnel. Even when these hurdles are cleared, many ventures still end up shutting down without achieving significant breakthroughs.

While entrepreneurship and new ventures often carry a high-risk, high-return image, what many people seek in today's Japan—a society of excess goods and low growth—are low-return businesses tied to social issues like caregiving and senior support.

The perspective of creating mechanisms to efficiently generate these low-return, social-issue-solving businesses is still lacking. Beyond venture capital (VC) and funds, there seem to be few players supporting new businesses.

How can we continuously generate sustainable new ventures, even with low returns? One idea I propose is the "Common Business Virtual Nest" (a virtual incubator for nurturing businesses that benefit local communities).

First, create a virtual space (Virtual Nest) that functions like a marketplace. Here, Vision Planners who generate ideas, Strategists who connect ideas with technology to build business models, and Designers who shape products and customer experiences participate. Together, they build virtual business concepts (products or services) within this space.

These concepts are then evaluated within the "virtual space" by evaluators on the Virtual Nest, such as local residents and experts (utilizing retired senior residents is also effective). Concepts receiving higher evaluations are then taken further: the team that created the concept and the evaluators who supported it collaborate to build an actual prototype and explore business implementation.

The term "Common" implies a mechanism where local stakeholders (residents and businesses) who are close to the beneficiaries of products or services participate proactively.

For example, mechanisms could include introducing classes on Common Business to local middle and high schools, or offering tax incentives and preferential access to public spaces for residents and businesses significantly contributing to new business creation.

In Japan, where social challenges stemming from an aging population and population decline are intensifying, it is anticipated that problems falling outside the scope of coverage by general corporations, the national government, or local governments will continue to increase. Could the "Common Business Virtual Nest" be an effective method for nurturing businesses needed by local residents, even if they offer low returns?

Future Prediction Support Lab: http://dentsu-fsl.jp/