日本年轻人的创业潮

Takuma Iwasa had no qualms about leaving his job at Panasonic and setting up a consumer electronics company of his own, even though Japan’s once dominant manufacturers in the sector were starting to struggle.

Takuma Iwasa对于离开松下(Panasonic)、自立门户创办消费电子产品公司一事没有丝毫的顾虑，尽管风光一时的日本消费电子产品制造行业在那时已经开始陷入困境。

“I was not worried at all, says 34-year-old Mr Iwasa, who left Japan’s largest consumer electronics maker in 2007 to set up Cerevo, which stands for consumer electronics revolution, in Tokyo.

“我一点也不担心，34岁的Iwasa说。他于2007年离开日本最大的消费电子产品厂商，在东京成立Cerevo。Cerevo的意思是“消费电子产品革命(consumer electronics revolution)。

“I am the kind of person who needs to do something enjoyable and challenging, to make something out of nothing, he says. With his mop of longish hair and trendy glasses, and surrounded in a corner of his office by a tangle of cables and boxes of electronics products, he is the very picture of an entrepreneur.

“像我这种人需要做一些快乐、有挑战的事情，白手起家做出一番成就，Iwasa说。他留着蓬松而略长的头发，戴着时髦的眼镜，坐在办公室一角，四周凌乱地摆放着电子产品的线缆和包装盒，颇有企业家的风范。

Mr Iwasa is representative of a small but growing band of young Japanese entrepreneurs who forgo the promise of a monthly pay cheque and the social standing bestowed by a big-name employer for the excitement and satisfaction of doing what they really want to do.

Iwasa代表了为数不多但日益壮大的日本年轻企业家。他们放弃了知名公司的月薪和相应的社会地位，转而去做真正想做的事情，从中获得快乐和满足。

Such individuality and self-confidence have been rare in Japanese society, which has traditionally valued teamwork and conformity.

这样的个性和自信，在历来重视合作和服从的日本社会十分罕见。

In his dark suit and slick tie, Naoki Endo could be mistaken for someone in the fashion industry. The 38-year-old says he did not know what he wanted to do when he left his consulting job at what was then Andersen Consulting in 2000.

身着一袭深色西装、领带打得顺溜的Naoki Endo或许会被误认为时尚行业人士。38岁的Endo说，在2000年辞去时称安达信咨询公司(Andersen Consulting)的顾问职位时，他并不知道自己想做什么。

“I wanted to do something that I could be passionate about, he says.

“我想做自己热爱的事，他说。

That turned out to be beBit, a company that designs websites based on behavioural analysis, which he started in 2003.

结果，他于2003年成立了根据行为分析设计网站的beBit公司。

Keita Yagi, who left Fujifilm to start BSize, in Odawara, halfway between Tokyo and Mount Fuji, has a mission to bring out well-designed yet functional consumer electronics products. While still in high school, the softly spoken Mr Yagi was inspired by what Steve Jobs was doing at Apple.

Keita Yagi离开富士胶片(Fujifilm)，在东京和富士山之间的小田原(Odawara)成立了BSize公司。他的宗旨是生产出精美、实用的消费电子产品。还在上高中时，说话温和的Yagi就深受史蒂夫·乔布斯(Steve Jobs)在苹果(Apple)的事迹鼓舞。

Mr Yagi, now 29, decided he wanted to start his own company because “I wanted to make things that were beautiful and would also change the world. He made his first pro-duct batch in the back room of his home.

现年29岁的Yagi决定创业，因为“我想做出外观精美、又能改变世界的东西。他在家中后室制造出了自己的第一批产品。

For Japan’s new breed of entrepreneurs, the personal satisfaction they derive from doing what they want is increasingly more important than the security of a job at a well-known company.

对于日本的新一代企业家而言，“想做什么就做什么带来的个人满足感渐渐比在知名公司干一份稳定工作更加重要。

For some, in fact, working for a big company seems riskier than running their own business, since large Japanese companies train employees to be generalists who often have few skills to offer outside their immediate employment.

其实在一些人看来，为大公司工作似乎比自己经营企业风险更大，因为日本的大公司将员工培养成多面手，但他们缺乏本职工作之外的其他技能。

“Working for a big company may provide security in the short term but if the company goes bust you won’t have anything to fall back on. So there is greater security in developing the skills that will make you useful to any company, anywhere, at any time, Mr Endo says.

“为大公司工作或许可以带来短期的安全感，但如果公司破产，你就没有了可以仰仗的靠山。所以，培养随时随地在任何公司都有用武之地的技能，才会更加安全。Endo说。

Mr Iwasa had not planned to start his own business when he joined Panasonic. But when, inspired by the emergence of YouTube, he suggested his company develop a television that linked to the internet, his boss told him it was too early. It made him realise, he says, that while Panasonic was skilled at improving on existing technologies, it was not good at developing entirely new “genres of product, which is what he wanted to do.

Iwasa在加入松下时并没有创业计划。受YouTube兴起的启发，他建议公司开发能与互联网连接的电视机，但上司却说为时过早。他说这件事让他意识到，尽管松下擅长改进现有技术，但并不善于开发全新类型的产品，而这才是Iwasa想做的。

At Cerevo, where he heads a team of about 10 people, he has developed internet devices such as Live Shell, which enables users to live-stream video from their camcorders directly on to the web without using a PC.

Iwasa在Cerevo领导着一个10人左右的团队，开发出了诸如Live Shell这样的互联网设备。Live Shell使用户无需通过电脑便可利用手中的摄像机进行网络流媒体直播。

Mr Iwasa has so far raised Y370m ($4.6m) from two rounds of venture capital funding. Japanese funds, including Inova, Kronos Fund, Inspire and Neostella Capital, have been his key investors.

Iwasa已通过两轮风投融资募得3.7亿日元（合460万美元），Inova、Kronos Fund、Inspire和Neostella Capital等日本基金是主要投资方。

Continuous cost-cutting and re-structuring at big corporations have also made young Japanese more willing to set out on their own.

大企业无休无止的成本削减和重组也是导致日本年轻人创业意愿增强的原因。

Mr Yagi will be joined next year by a high-school classmate who currently works at Panasonic: “He says it is no fun any more because he is constantly told to cut costs.

明年，Yagi一位在松下工作的高中同学将加入他的公司。Yagi说：“他说已经不再有乐趣可言，因为他一直被要求削减成本。

After decades of wealth, people are less interested in materialistic things and have a greater desire to contribute to the wellbeing of society, says Mariko Tamura, secretary-general of the Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs, a research association supporting the advancement of venture businesses.

日本企业与企业家学会(Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs)是一家为风险企业发展提供支持的研究协会。该学会秘书长Mariko Tamuro说，在享受了几十年的富足生活后，人们对物质的兴趣消褪，更希望为社会福祉做出贡献。

The trend became pronounced after the tsunami last year, which brought home the importance of relationships and community solidarity. “There is definitely an increase in young people who want to contribute to society, Ms Tamura says.

这一趋势在去年海啸后更加明显，人际关系和社区团结得到了重视。Tamura说：“很明显，希望为社会做出贡献的年轻人越来越多。

“People should work to make the world better. I feel very strongly that putting profits first destroys the world, says Mr Endo.

“人们应当为改善世界而工作。我强烈地觉得，利润至上会毁灭世界。Endo说。

He says that the world’s great entrepreneurs, from Henry Ford to Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic, followed this view. “People who set up a company just for fun will give up easily but those who have a goal to create a better society will not, he says.

他说，从亨利·福特(Henry Ford)到松下的创始人松下幸之助(Konosuke Matsushita)，世界上最杰出的企业家都践行这一观点。他说：“仅仅为乐趣而创业的人很容易半途而废，但以创造更美好社会为宗旨的人不会。

Mr Yagi says he turned down investment from venture capitalists so as not to compromise his commitment to doing social good. “I want to contribute to society, so if someone tells me I have to put profits first, it would go against my philosophy, he says.

Yagi表示，为了不影响造福社会的决心，他拒绝了风险资本家的投资。他说：“我想为社会做贡献，所以如果有人告诉我必须以利益为先，这会与我的哲学冲突。

Nevertheless, beBit has grown into a business with 78 full-time staff and more than 20 part-time workers. The company, whose customers include Sumitomo Mitsui bank, Honda and Nestlé, has capital of more than Y1bn and has opened its first overseas office in Taiwan.

尽管如此，beBit已经成长为一家拥有78名全职员工和20多名兼职员工的企业。公司客户包括三井住友(Sumitomo Mitsui)银行、本田(Honda)和雀巢(Nestlé)，拥有的资本超过10亿日元，并已在台湾开设第一家海外办事处。

Until recently, Japan was not an easy place for start-ups, because of a risk-averse financial sector and a culture that did not look kindly on failure. However, the government has be-come more supportive of start-ups, providing low-interest loans and loan guarantees. Mr Yagi set up Bsize with Y20m in funds from a government-affiliated financial institution.

直到最近，日本仍然不是初创企业的乐土——日本金融领域倾向规避风险，文化上也瞧不起失败者。然而，政府正通过发放低息贷款和提供贷款担保，加强对初创企业的扶持力度。Yagi创立Bsize的2000万日元资金就来源于政府下属的金融机构。

But the biggest change is the spread of the internet and online services, which have lowered the barriers to doing business for small companies with limited funds.

但最大的变化莫过于互联网和在线服务的普及，这一趋势降低了资金有限的小公司的经营门槛。

Mr Iwasa notes that free access to online information and services, such as free calls on Skype and free marketing through Facebook, have made it far easier to start a business.

Iwasa提到，诸如Skype免费电话和Facebook免费营销这样可以免费使用的在线信息和服务，大大降低了创业难度。

For example, by using social media it is possible for small companies to market their products without having to pay expensive advertisers.

例如，小公司可以通过社交媒体展开产品营销，省下了昂贵的广告费用。

“Facebook is really effective as a marketing tool because it spreads the word about a product globally and very rapidly, agrees Mr Yagi, who only sells his products online.

Yagi说：“Facebook是非常有效的营销工具，因为它可以将产品信息快速传播到全球各地。Yagi的产品只在网上销售。

“It used to be very difficult to build a brand but now, with the help of social media, we can compete even against big, established brands.

“过去打造一个品牌很难，但如今有了社交媒体的帮助，我们甚至可以同成熟的知名品牌竞争。