Taizo Son, who up till now has focused on supporting domestic and overseas ventures, has decided to enter the education business in earnest. With artificial intelligence and robots on the rise, what is Taizo Son’s image of education in the future?
Taizo is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in investing and incubating IT related venture companies in Asia. He is the Founder & CEO of Mistletoe Inc., as well as board member and advisor to various IT companies around the globe. Photo by Aiko Suzuki At Gardens by the Bay
Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Taizo Son from Mistletoe. At present, I’m supporting various entrepreneurs so that they may innovate. Allow me to introduce myself a little.
I was raised in the countryside of Saga Prefecture, in Kyushu, the youngest of four brothers. One of my brothers is Masayoshi Son (the president of Softbank), who is 15 years my senior.
(Left) A young Taizo Son spends his days at the University of Tokyo on band activities / Courtesy Of Mistletoe
Not only my brother, but my whole family and all my relatives are entrepreneurs. My father, Mitsunori, is also an entrepreneur, and from a young age, he would tell me, “Taizo, a man should have ambition, and live passionately.”
But if I’m being honest, the “ambition” part didn’t really click for me until I was in university. Certainly, you only live once, so it’s important to focus on what you love, and live passionately. That being said, I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to learn, nor what I could do.
At that stage of my life, after taking two extra years to pass the university entrance exams, I was completely burned out. I botched my “university debut”, and led an extremely isolated student life. I didn’t study properly, and spent my time making music with my few friends.
