AMA: Ask Me Anything!

For our Spring 2021 event and our 40th event(!!), we are featuring 2 female Japanese founders on AMA: Ask me anything! Want to know how to pitch and collaborate with Kim Kardashian? How to grow a big base on TikTok? Or how to learn how to raise $1 million in seed for a subscription-based company? AMA! 

It's our first time doing an AMA series and also where two founders will ask each other questions, so we are super excited for this new format. The two female founders are: Mio Asatani, CEO & Founder of Curina and Alissa Miky, Founder of Misaky.Tokyo. 

Agenda:

06:50 PM: Online event opens

7:00-7:10 PM: Opening Remarks

7:10-7:25 PM: Mio pitch

7:25-7:40 PM: Alissa pitch

7:40-8:20 PM: Mio & Alissa will ask each other questions, Q&A from Audience

8:20-9:00PM: Networking, Announcements, and Wrap-up 

Speaker Bio: 

Mio is the CEO and founder of Curina, a fine art rental subscription company for the next generation art collectors and artists. Launched in October 2019, the company raised a $1M seed round funding from renowned investors and CEOs of companies such as Benesse, Uzabase, MoneyForward, etc. Mio graduated from Tokyo University (Law Department) and received an MBA from Columbia Business School. She has also worked at Deloitte as a management consultant.

Company Bio:

Curina is a leading contemporary art rental/rent-to-own subscription company based in New York. It offers flexibility, affordability and the sense of ease for those who want to own original art but not sure where to start or can't commit. The company represents over 130 artists from New York alone and the team just raised $1M seed round in January 2021 so it is planning to expand nationwide with its new funding.

Speaker Bio:

Alissa Miky is the co-founder of Misaky.Tokyo. In 2018, she was selected as the youngest awardee of Forbes Japan 100 Women 2018 followed up by Business Insider Japan’s “Game Changer 2019.”

Alissa's goal is to create a sweet society with Crystal Treats. When she was 9-year-old, she had a traumatic experience with 9/11, but also remembered the Red Cross worker gave her a little candy at JFK airport and she had a sense of relief. This is the moment she wanted to recreate for others. One day, her friend had a problem finding sweets that she can enjoy because she is following a vegan and gluten-free diet due to Celiac disease. Then she came up with an idea. Most Japanese desserts are vegan, gluten-free, and visually appealing; this was her chance to replicate the feeling of comfort she experienced at JFK airport, so she created sweets that bring happiness to people to achieve a peaceful world that she envisioned.

Company Bio: 

Misaky.Tokyo offers vegan, gluten-free, non-additive crystal-liked sweets made to spend quality time by sharing and enjoying together. Misaky.Tokyo has the vision to create a beautiful & equal future for all by revisiting Japanese ancestral sweets, also known as “Wagashi.” They are traditionally served with Matcha at the tea ceremony. As per the tea ceremony tradition, no matter what their social status is, people are treated equally inside the tearoom. Then, Samurai were required to leave the sword outside of the tearoom before entering. This is why the brand infused equality as its core philosophy.  

Accomplishments: 

・Over 205K followers on TikTok  

・Collaboration with Kim Kardashian for KKW Fragrance 

・Participation in Oscar event “WOW Creations Celebrity Gifting Suite”