Co-CEO / Co-founder

John leads Coursebase’s business strategy and growth. Before co-founding Coursebase, John worked at asset management firm BlackRock in New York for 4 years where he managed sales and relationships with Japanese financial institutions. John studied abroad at Sophia University in Tokyo in 2006 and graduated from George Mason University in 2007 with a B.A. in Global Affairs. John is bilingual in English and Japanese.

Co-CEO / Co-founder

Billy leads Coursebase’s product vision and growth. Before co-founding Coursebase, Billy worked for 2 years at investment bank Credit Suisse in Tokyo and later at media firm Bloomberg where he led the Futures & Options desk for Asia. Billy studied abroad at Kyoto University in 2007 and graduated from the University of Virginia in 2008 with a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Japanese Language and Literature. Billy is bilingual in English and Japanese.

CTO / Co-founder

Frank leads the design and development of the Coursebase platform. Frank is childhood friends with Billy and John. Before co-founding Coursebase, Frank worked at Deloitte Consulting in Washington D.C. for one year on the Systems Integration team for multiple government clients. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009 with a B.S. in Finance and Information Technology.

Tokyo

PERSOL HOLDINGS is one of Japan’s leading HR services companies and provides a wide range of services in Japan and across Asia including recruiting, temporary staffing and consulting. Through its corporate venture capital fund PERSOL INNOVATION FUND, PERSOL HOLDINGS invests in innovative companies with technologies and/or services in the HR domain.

Tokyo

Digital Garage is Japan’s leading startup incubation and investment firm. Founded in 1995 by internet pioneers Kaoru Hayashi and Joi Ito, Digital Garage has been early investors in many successful startups including Twitter and Path. The firm is headquartered in Tokyo and has an office in San Francisco.

Silicon Valley

500 Startups is a Silicon Valley seed fund and startup accelerator. With a global network of hundreds of experienced startup mentors, a creative working space in the heart of Silicon Valley, and a vibrant community of startup founders, the 500 Startups network is taking the world by storm.

Tokyo

CyberAgent Capital is a leading early stage venture capital firm based in Tokyo with offices in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Founded in 2006, CyberAgent Capital was an early investor in Japanese social network Mixi and Chinese video-sharing service Tudou.com.

Tokyo

Sunbridge Global Ventures is a seed fund and startup accelerator focused on investing in Japanese startups with global potential. Headquartered in Tokyo, the firm also has offices in Osaka and Silicon Valley.