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Tokyo—September 1, 2025—Hakuhodo Inc., a leading integrated marketing and innovation company headquartered in Tokyo, is pleased to announce that the MIRAI Design Unit, its new business development arm, has started joint research with the research lab of Kanetaka Maki, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Business and Finance, Faculty of Commerce, Waseda University (Research Director, Institute of Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship, Waseda University Comprehensive Research Organization) on the generation of university-based startups.

Attention has been focused in recent years on university-based startups that apply the fruits of research in technology areas. However, an entrepreneurial researcher typically faces many challenges including the identification of technology that is suitable for monetizing, as well as a lack of resources including knowledge and experience in financing and external networks, to say nothing of managerial talent.

Focused on “star scientists” who outperform in research in terms of the volume of articles and patent applications, the Maki Lab conducts research to elucidate the characteristics and growth factors of their startups and visualize the virtuous cycle of science and business. Expanding its focus in recent years to include the roles of networks and career paths of academic talents in generating university-based startups, the Lab has made policy recommendations for building an ecosystem around the core of star scientists. For its part, Hakuhodo’s MIRAI Design Unit has been active in creating innovations by combining the resources of various stakeholders including business and academia.
Building on previous studies on star scientists, this joint research is designed to identify how the degree of maturity of the researcher’s technology, and resources such as human capital, including those for network formation in particular, affect the formation of startups.

Outline of the joint research

1.Interviews with researchers and scientist entrepreneurs to elucidate:

• Process of talent networking centered on star scientists and the characteristics of participating scientist entrepreneurs (disciplines, interest in business, number of patents, etc.);
• Barriers and challenges for scientist entrepreneurs in generating innovation.

2.Building on the results of analysis, make recommendations for stakeholders (universities, research institutes, businesses, etc.) involved in the generation of university-based innovations.

Through this joint research, we connect the strengths of Hakuhodo, including its creativity and networks with a wide variety of stakeholders, and the star scientist research conducted by the Maki Lab to help support the incubation of university-based startups.

About Kanetaka Maki
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business and Finance, Faculty of Commerce, Waseda University
Research Director, Institute of Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship, Waseda University Comprehensive Research Organization

After obtaining a Ph.D. (Management) from the University of California San Diego in 2015, Maki assumed various positions including: Visiting Associate Professor, Stanford University in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Visiting Assistant/Associate Professor, Rady School of Management, University of California San Diego; Visiting Associate Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University; Visiting Professor, Kochi University; and Visiting Professor, Utsunomiya University. At universities in Japan and the US, he has been involved in human resource development in scientific, technological and medical disciplines, and the construction of university-centered ecosystems. His specializations include management of technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, technological innovation policy and field experiments, among others. He is deeply involved in Japanese innovation policies including as: a member of the Innovation Subcommittee, Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; a member of the Council of the Concept for Early Prevalence of the Novel Drugs to Patients by Improving Drug Discovery Capabilities, Cabinet Secretariat; a member of the Science to Startup Task Force, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation); and an expert panel discussion on strategic survey and analysis capabilities under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Elsewhere, he also serves as a jury member at Nikkei XTECH CTO of the Year as part of his social contribution activities. He is the author of publications including: Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (sole author, Toyo Keizai Inc.); and Training for Scientific Thinking (sole author, PHP Institute Inc.).
Official website: http://www.kanetaka-maki.org/
 

Contacts for inquiries regarding this joint research:
•MIRAI Design Unit, Hakuhodo Inc.: oi-info@hakuhodo.co.jp
•Maki Lab, Graduate School of Business and Finance, Waseda University:
kanetaka-sec@kanetaka-maki.org

Media Contacts:
•Corporate Public Relations Division, Hakuhodo Inc.: koho.mail@hakuhodo.co.jp
•Communications and Public Relations Section, Waseda University: koho@list.waseda.jp

 

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