Tadaaki Kimura
CEO & Founder at addlight; board director and startup advisor
Tokyo, Japan
Summary
Founder and practitioner of startup–corporate open innovation: Kimura founded addlight in 2008 to provide hands-on advisory, accelerator and CVC support, and to connect large enterprises with startups through events, matchmaking and co-creation programs. co+1
Board-level governance and oversight across multiple companies: He serves or has served as a non-executive director and auditing/ audit & supervisory board member for a range of listed and private companies, bringing startup experience and financial governance to boards. co+3
Finance and accounting background enabling IPO and growth support: Trained as an accountant (worked at a major auditing firm early in his career), registered as a certified public accountant around 2008, and has used that expertise to help startups with IPO preparation and corporate finance. co+1
Advisor and mentor in the startup ecosystem: Beyond his company work, he mentors and advises startups and accelerators and participates in industry programs, reflecting a sustained commitment to supporting early-stage companies and ecosystem development. finolab+1
Work
Education
Projects
Writing
Two people with a sense of crisis about the future of Japan consider a path for big companies to reach their potential and succeed again
July 1, 2019Feature interview (with Shunsuke Ishikawa) discussing transformation of large Japanese companies, open innovation, and Kimura's experience advising startups and corporations.
addlight Inc. CEO and founder Tadaaki Kimura Speaks to addlight journal About His Journey to the Startup World
June 1, 2017Interview covering Kimura's background, reasons for founding addlight, his approach to supporting startups, and addlight's methods for connecting startups with large corporations.