【Event Report】All Featured Entrepreneurs Received Mentoring from 10+ Investors | Hosted Seed-Early Stage Pitch Event "StartupList Pitch #121"

Protostar Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo City, Tokyo; CEO: Eimaru Maekawa), a company dedicated to supporting innovators, hosted the monthly pitch and mentoring event "StartupList Pitch #121" on June 23, 2026 (Tue) at GROWTH Iidabashi, connecting seed and early-stage startups with investors.

This event has been held monthly and marked its 121st edition. On the day, five startups took the stage, with 10 investors participating.

Following the pitches, small-group mentoring sessions were held at individual tables, allowing every presenting startup to receive direct feedback from multiple investors. After the event, numerous ongoing connections (matchings) were formed between entrepreneurs and investors.

▽Registration for the next event (#122)

https://protoslp122.peatix.com

About StartupList Pitch

"StartupList Pitch" is a monthly pitch and mentoring event designed to directly connect seed and early-stage startups with investors (venture capital firms, corporate investors, and angel investors).

Its greatest feature is that every presenting entrepreneur receives face-to-face, small-group mentoring from multiple investors.

Unlike typical "pitch and done" formats, this event allows entrepreneurs to engage in in-depth conversations with several investors after their pitches, enabling them to gather diverse feedback quickly, while investors can efficiently source promising startups.

Additionally, by limiting participation exclusively to investors, the event has consistently received high praise from both presenting startups and participating investors as a high-quality matchmaking venue.

Background of Hosting "StartupList Pitch #121"

For seed and early-stage startups, meeting the right investors and receiving high-resolution feedback on their business is crucial for both fundraising and growth. However, opportunities for early-stage entrepreneurs to meet multiple investors suited to their industry and development stage remain limited.

Leveraging the extensive network cultivated through operating Japan's largest entrepreneur-investor matching platform "StartupList," Protostar continues to host this event monthly to consistently create such valuable connection opportunities.

Event Highlights

The first half featured 6-minute pitches by each of the seed and early-stage startups. In the second half, small-group mentoring sessions were conducted at individual tables, with all presenting startups receiving concrete advice from 10 investors to help refine their businesses.

Entrepreneurs from diverse fields and stages—including bio-pharmaceuticals, manufacturing DX, education, and health tech—took the stage, fostering vibrant discussions throughout the venue.

Featured Startups (5 companies, in order of presentation)

AT Company Inc. / Ms. Akiyo Hayashi

SUGOY Inc. / Ms. Tomiko Sudo

S&K BioPharma Inc. / Shinji Kagaya

Rond tech / Yoshitaka Noto

intu Inc. / Toshimichi Saito

StartupList Pitch by the Numbers — Turning "Encounters" into "Matchings"

StartupList Pitch functions not merely as a visibility opportunity, but as a platform that generates ongoing post-event connections (matchings). Participant surveys conducted across past events have confirmed the following outcomes. (Refer to "Survey Overview" at the end of this release for calculation methodology.)

- 94% of participating investors responded that they met startups they would like to stay in contact with after the event (243 out of 258 valid investor survey responses) - On average, approximately 16 expressions of interest from investors to continue communication per event (total of 479 across 30 events) - Of these, about 86% agreed to share company name, representative name, and contact information with entrepreneurs, enabling follow-up individual meetings (208 out of 243 investors who selected one or more startups) - Average mentoring satisfaction among presenting entrepreneurs: 4.4 out of 5.0, with 85.9% responding "satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" (142 valid entrepreneur survey responses) - Many participating investors are repeat attendees, indicating the formation of an ongoing investor community (37 out of 71 individual investors participated 2+ times, 15 participated 5+ times)

These figures demonstrate that StartupList Pitch leads to concrete post-event meetings and relationship building, rather than being a one-off exposure opportunity.

Feedback from Featured Startups

"This was only my second time pitching at a startup event (previously at another event). Despite still feeling nervous and unsure about what a pitch should entail, the StartupList event felt very approachable, and the feedback I received was highly accurate and valuable. I plan to incorporate the lessons and improvements from this event as I move forward with my venture."

"Because our mentors came from diverse professional backgrounds, each was able to identify different areas for improvement. Our drug development focuses on multifunctional proteins capable of suppressing multiple causal factors for a single disease. We aim to develop groundbreaking therapeutics."

Event Overview

Event Name: StartupList Pitch #121

Date and Time: June 23, 2026 (Tue) 10:00–13:00

Venue: GROWTH Iidabashi (2-3-21 Koraku, Bunkyo City, Tokyo)

Featured Startups: 5 companies

Participating Investors: 10 (venture capital firms, corporate investors)

Participation Fee: Free of charge

Organizer: Protostar Inc.

Next Event and Participation

StartupList Pitch is held monthly.

The next event, "StartupList Pitch #122," is scheduled for July 28, 2026 (Tue).

Startups interested in presenting:

Please register on StartupList and submit your application (application is subject to review):

https://theprotostar.typeform.com/to/gKBbOd

Investors interested in attending:

https://protoslp122.peatix.com

About StartupList

StartupList is Japan's largest entrepreneur-investor matching service. Under a fully vetted system, entrepreneurs and investors can search each other's profiles and contact directly.

It provides a secure and reliable environment for connections that lead to fundraising.

▶ Service Website: https://www.startuplist.jp/

<Reference> Survey Overview (Basis for Data in This Release)

Survey Name: StartupList Pitch Participant Survey

Target: Entrepreneurs and investors who participated in each "StartupList Pitch" event

Method: Post-event questionnaire (voluntary responses)

Period: January 2024 – June 2026 (aggregated across 30 events)

Valid Responses: 142 from presenting entrepreneurs / 258 from participating investors

Notes: Satisfaction is a simple average on a 5-point scale (5: satisfied, 1: dissatisfied). The number of "interested in continued contact" instances was calculated by summing the number of startups selected by investors. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. These figures are internally compiled based on company-conducted surveys.

Inquiries Regarding This Release

Protostar Inc.

StartupList Division

info@startuplist.jp

About Protostar Inc.

Centered on supporting innovators, Protostar operates diverse services including Japan's largest entrepreneur-investor matching platform "StartupList" and "JP STARTUPS," a media platform promoting Japanese startups.

In addition to existing businesses such as alliance programs that facilitate corporate-startup co-creation and acceleration (primarily with large enterprises), and "Kigyo LOG," Japan's largest media platform for entrepreneur support, the company recently launched "Startup M&A," offering M&A advisory services as a growth and exit strategy for startups.

Protostar has established a comprehensive support system for "innovators" broadly defined.

Address: 501, Nihonbashi Tomizawa Building, 9-4 Nihonbashi Tomizawa-cho, Chuo City, Tokyo 103-0006

Capital: 89,098,750 JPY

Founded: November 30, 2016

URL: https://www.theprotostar.co/

Participating Organizations:

・Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) J-Startup Supporters

・METI Kyushu Regional Economic Promotion Bureau J-Startup KYUSHU

・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tokyo Innovation Base Starting Member

・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tokyo Innovation Base Partner

・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Tokyo Incubation HUB Promotion Project, Selected in FY2016

・Japan Organization for Small and Medium Enterprise and Business Support (SMRJ) Startup Angel Network (SAN) Member

・Tsukuba Startup Ecosystem Consortium Full Member

・Diagonal Run Tokyo OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

・Japan Venture Capital Association Supporting Member