DNX

Interview

• Supporting the People Who Move Things Forward — Contributing to the Society That Lies Beyond
• What Mitsui Taught Me — Finding the Confidence to Think and Act on My Own At Mitsui & Co., I was placed in the Ammonia and Sulfur Division within the Chemicals Segment. My starting point was back-office work: coordinating shipping schedules to receive sulfur produced at domestic oil refineries, arranging exports to China, and delivering chemicals to be processed into fertilizer and sulfuric acid materials. What left a lasting impression from those early years was my encounter with two mentors who couldn’t have been more different from each other. One placed enormous value on care and precision — meticulous documentation, nothing left to chance. The other was relentless about cutting waste and streamlining everything. Experiencing both approaches side by side, in the same environment, shaped how I work in ways I still adhere to today. It taught me to ask the right question first: what’s the team trying to achieve, and what’s the best way to move forward? I was also involved in a project to automate the manual data entry of shipping information, bringing in an outside developer, mapping out the workflows, and synthesizing interview notes from the people doing the work into the design of a new system. I had no technical background — but I found that by communicating carefully and building hypotheses from what I was hearing, I could drive things forward on my own initiative. That was the first time I felt clearly that even as an assistant, I didn’t need to wait for instructions. I could think for myself and contribute to the team.
• Supporting the Investment Team — With Society Beyond the Horizon After leaving Mitsui, I spent six years in Germany for my husband’s overseas posting, and after returning to Japan, I was connected with DNX by Natsumi, a colleague who had joined Mitsui the same year I did. I first came on board as a contractor, and almost immediately I was struck — in the best way — by the culture of the organization. At DNX, each person is a professional with real expertise, and on top of that, they genuinely respect and value one another. Even in difficult situations, they never lose their good cheer. Having seen that environment firsthand, when I was later invited to join as a full-time employee, I decided without hesitation: this is where I want to work. Some of the work I support for the investment team, such as foreign exchange filings, overlaps with the trade operations I handled at Mitsui. Never dropping the ball, and always returning it with care — that is how I help support the foundation beneath an investment team working on the front lines. Looking back, helping people has been at the base of my career. I chose Mitsui because I was drawn to the scale of its social impact. Partly because my eldest son has developmental traits, I served twice as vice president of the PTA at the special-needs school he attends. It is precisely in places where the difficulties and the pain run deep that a single action of your own connects directly to something meaningful — for the parents, the school, the community, and the children themselves. That sense of tangible contribution resonates, at a deep level, with the world of people earnestly taking on the challenges of their industries and of society. The startups DNX invests in are, likewise, all led by people building businesses of real social significance. Wherever I am, I want to turn my contribution to people into a contribution to society — and that is my enduring driving force.
• Amplifying Momentum in a World Full of Human Depth In addition to supporting the investment team, I am also involved in marketing and PR work, including social media and blog articles. I have always loved flowers and interior design, and when I thought deeply about the reason why, I realized that the very act of considering how to present something and whom to deliver it to, and then giving it expression, is both what I love and what comes naturally to me. Through my communications, what I keep in mind is giving momentum to DNX and to our portfolio companies. I still have a lot to learn, but with each well-crafted piece I put out, I hope to bring value to more and more people. “Flying a failing plane while carrying your crew, somehow switching to the next plane mid-air.” These are words I heard from Inada-san, the founder of ANDPAD. They conveyed, vividly, just how much resolve startup founders bring to facing their businesses. Each time I am moved by people who are deeply committed to solving social problems, I feel that my work at DNX contributes, even in some small way, to their forward momentum. When people hear “venture capital,” the first image that often comes to mind is one of money and numbers. But in reality, it is a deeply human world — one filled with challenges and trials, aspirations and resolve, trust and mutual support. In this place, so rich with human endeavor, I feel honored to do work that carries the convictions of DNX — and of the people taking on challenges beyond it — out into the world through what we share.