BIRD INITIATIVE will co-host a seminar with Nikkei Research Co., Ltd. on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at Shibuya Open Innovation Lab.
As AI continues to reshape the landscape of market research and business planning, hypothesis validation through customer interviews remains a critically important process in new business development. The key to uncovering customer challenges — or "jobs" — that people are truly willing to pay to have solved lies in how deeply one can draw out the voice of the customer, or customer insights.
In this seminar, Nakajima, the business unit leader of "BIIM Cloud" — a new business development support AI developed by BIRD INITIATIVE, an organization with extensive consulting experience supporting new business development at large corporations — will be joined by Gen Egawa, New Business Owner at Nikkei Research Co., Ltd., to share their knowledge and expertise on conducting customer interviews in the age of AI. sharing insights from both companies' perspectives. Furthermore, the seminar will include a live demonstration of how AI can be used to incorporate interview results to generate and refine business ideas, as well as to sharpen and enhance hypotheses.
Following the seminar, a networking session will be held, providing participants engaged in new business development with the opportunity to exchange information and consult with one another on shared challenges and concerns.
This event is ideal for those who wish to learn how other companies are leveraging AI in the field of new business development, those who want to apply AI in a practical and hands-on manner within their own new business initiatives, and those who seek to draw out genuine customer challenges through interviews and improve the accuracy of their hypothesis validation. We warmly encourage all such individuals to take advantage of this opportunity and join us.
▶Recommended for these people
Professionals and practitioners engaged in new business development within their respective organizations.
Those who wish to enhance the quality of their customer interviews.
Those who seek to maximize the effectiveness of business development and hypothesis validation through the use of AI.
Those who wish to learn how to identify the "true challenges" faced by their customers.
■ Event Details
| Date | Thursday, July 23, 2026 | 18:30 – 21:00 (Registration opens at 18:15) |
| Venue | Shibuya Open Innovation Lab (SOIL) (5-minute walk from Shibuya Station) |
| Capacity | 30 participants |
| Participation fee | Free of charge ※ Prior registration is required. |
| Organizer | BIRD INITIATIVE Co., Ltd. Nikkei Research Co., Ltd. |
For details and registration, please click here (you will be redirected to an external website).