Executive%20Impact%20A%20dash%20of%20AI%3A%20Miku%20Hirano%20and%20a%20new%20generation%20of%20entrepreneurs


TOKYO%0AWhen%20I%20was%20a%20high%20school%20student%2C%20I%20wanted%20to%20be%20a%20pilot%3B%20but%20it%20turned%20out%20that%20I%20was%20too%20short.%20So%2C%20I%20changed%20my%20mind%20and%20decided%20that%2C%20perhaps%2C%20I%20could%20make%20a%20plane%20or%20a%20rocket.%20As%20both%20are%20based%20on%20computers%2C%20I%20decided%20to%20study%20computer%20science%20in%20college.%u201D%0A%0AThis%20is%20the%20story%20that%20Miku%20Hirano%2C%20brimming%20with%20relaxed%20enthusiasm%2C%20tells%20The%20ACCJ%20Journal%20as%20she%20speaks%20with%20wide-eyed%20passion%20about%20her%20work%20and%20career.%0A%0AA%20rare%20type%20of%20entrepreneur%2C%20she%20built%20her%20first%20company%20while%20still%20in%20college%20and%u2014as%20a%20Millennial%20tech%20founder%20who%20is%20also%20the%20mother%20of%20two%u2014is%20part%20of%20an%20elite%20group%2C%20not%20just%20in%20Japan%20but%20around%20the%20world.%0A%0AHirano%20is%20chief%20executive%20officer%20of%20Cinnamon%20Inc.%2C%20an%20artificial%20intelligence%20%28AI%29%20company%20she%20co-founded%20in%20Singapore%20with%20Hajime%20Hotta%20in%202012.%0A%0ACinnamon%20creates%20AI-enabled%20products%20that%20automate%20time-consuming%20and%20repetitive%20tasks%2C%20such%20as%20reading%20and%20extracting%20information%20from%20documents.%20The%20company%20has%20a%20lofty%20goal%3A%20to%20reduce%u2014and%20then%20eliminate%u2014repetitive%20and%20troublesome%20work.%0A%0AIn%20doing%20so%2C%20Hirano%20hopes%20to%20change%20the%20way%20we%20do%20our%20jobs%2C%20thereby%20freeing%20people%20to%20focus%20on%20creative%20and%20more%20meaningful%20activities.%0ATECH%20SAVVY%0A%0AToday%2C%20Hirano%20is%20a%20regular%20speaker%20on%20the%20global%20tech%20conference%20circuit%2C%20but%20her%20seemingly%20meteoric%20rise%20in%20the%20start-up%20universe%20was%20not%20always%20obvious.%0A%0APeople%20such%20as%20Hirano%20were%20a%20rare%20sight%20in%20the%20computer%20science%20%28CS%29%20department%20at%20the%20University%20of%20Tokyo%2C%20where%20she%20did%20her%20graduate%20research%20in%20AI.%20Less%20than%201%20percent%20of%20the%20students%20in%20the%20program%20were%20women.%0A%0ASo%2C%20did%20she%20choose%20CS%20or%20did%20CS%20choose%20her%3F%0A%0A%u201CI%20wasn%u2019t%20very%20good%20at%20languages%20or%20history%20or%20those%20typical%20subjects%20that%20girls%20should%20be%20good%20at%2C%u201D%20Hirano%20confessed%20with%20a%20hearty%20laugh.%20%u201CI%20was%20really%20good%20at%20math%20and%20physics%20and%20subjects%20like%20that.%u201D%0A%0AHer%20research%20at%20the%20time%20was%20similar%20to%20that%20used%20in%20PageRank%u2014an%20algorithm%20co-created%20by%20Google%20Inc.%20co-founders%20Larry%20Page%20and%20Sergey%20Brin%20in%201996.%20PageRank%20is%20used%20by%20Google%20search%20to%20rank%20websites.%0A%0APage%20and%20Brin%20created%20the%20algorithm%20while%20they%20were%20still%20research%20students%u2014a%20fact%20not%20lost%20on%20Hirano%20and%20her%20peers.%20Indeed%2C%20they%20looked%20to%20Page%20and%20Brin%20for%20inspiration%20in%20the%20new%20internet%20economy.%0A%0AEARLY%20PROMISE%0A%0AIt%20didn%u2019t%20take%20long%20for%20Hirano%20and%20Hotta%20to%20be%20recognized%20for%20their%20potential.%20While%20in%20graduate%20school%20from%202005%20to%202006%2C%20they%20were%20recipients%20of%20the%20Innovative%20Software%20Creative%20Program%u2014Super%20Creator%20Award%2C%20a%20prize%20given%20by%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Economy%2C%20Trade%20and%20Industry%20and%20the%20Information-technology%20Promotion%20Agency%2C%20Japan.%0A%0AAlso%20called%20the%20MITOU%20Target%20Program%2C%20the%20%24200%2C000%20award%20is%20given%20to%20innovators%20in%20next-wave%20tech%20fields%20who%20have%20a%20goal%20of%20launching%20a%20company.%0A%0AThe%20prize%20allowed%20Hirano%20and%20Hotta%20to%20establish%20Naked%20Technology%20Inc.%2C%20a%20company%20that%20developed%20middleware%20for%20apps%20used%20in%20feature%20phones%20and%u2014later%u2014iOS%20and%20Android%20devices.%0A%0AThe%20early%20going%20was%20less%20than%20stellar%20for%20Naked%20Technology%2C%20Hirano%20said.%20When%20the%20company%20was%20formed%20in%202005%2C%20social%20media%20was%20still%20in%20its%20infancy%20in%20Japan.%20There%20were%20only%20two%20real%20players%20in%20the%20industry%3A%20social%20media%20platforms%20Mixi%2C%20Inc.%20and%20GREE%20Inc.%0A%0AMixi%20had%20about%20300%2C000%20users%20back%20then.%20%u201CToday%2C%20that%20number%20would%20be%20considered%20small%2C%20but%2C%20at%20that%20time%2C%20I%20felt%20that%20social%20media%20was%20a%20super-interesting%20area%2C%20and%20that%20it%20would%20change%20people%u2019s%20lives%20dramatically.%u201D%0APRODUCT/MARKET%20FIT%0A%0AThe%20mid-2000s%20in%20Japan%20was%20a%20time%20before%20Big%20Data%2C%20meaning%20there%20was%20not%20enough%20information%20on%20the%20internet%20for%20effective%20marketing%20campaigns%2C%20Hirano%20explained.%0A%0A%u201CWe%20didn%u2019t%20have%20enough%20data%20to%20work%20out%20what%20people%20were%20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Happy New Year !!

Wishing you all a very happy NEW YEAR, dear friends !! Here is an image of sunrise over Andaman sea as taken from Havelock islands in Andam...

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