【Hosted by Shibuya City】
“HerRise” Launched — A Hands-On Program for Women Entrepreneurs with Global Ambitions
HerRise #1: “Mindset Building for Women Entrepreneurs” Held on May 20
— Supporting the first step in building an entrepreneurial foundation through practical dialogue and learning —
Startup Lady Association held the first workshop session, HerRise #1, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, as part of “HerRise 2026,” a development program for women entrepreneurs organized by Shibuya City.
This program is implemented as part of Shibuya Startup Support, Shibuya City’s startup support initiative. Designed for women entrepreneurs and aspiring founders, HerRise aims to continuously support the growth of globally minded women entrepreneurs through entrepreneurial mindset development, practical business learning, and meaningful connections among participants.
HerRise #1 Overview
HerRise Program｜#1：Mindset Building for Women Entrepreneurs
The first session will focus on the theme of “Mindset as a Woman Entrepreneur” and will be conducted in an interactive discussion format.
Through conversations centered around questions such as:
・What is the essence of management?
・What does it truly mean to be an entrepreneur?
participants engaged with diverse perspectives while deepening their own values, decision-making frameworks, and entrepreneurial identity.
The workshop served as an opportunity for participants to mentally and emotionally prepare for the challenges ahead, marking the first step of the HerRise program.
Speaker
Ms. Dayeon Ham, bgrass Inc.
Founder of “WAKE Career,” a high-skill career transition platform for women IT engineers, aimed at addressing the gender gap in the tech industry through technology. Born in Korea and raised in Japan, she began her career as a software engineer after graduating and simultaneously developed a one-on-one support service for women engineers independently. With a mission to close the gender gap in IT, she founded bgrass in July 2022. She was selected for “BEYOND MILLENNIALS 2024” and “Forbes Women in Tech 30.”
Participant Voices
Highlights from HerRise #1
About HerRise
HerRise is a hands-on workshop series designed to deliver practical learning that participants can immediately apply to their businesses.
Across six sessions, the program provides step-by-step support to help participants refine their ideas and develop them into viable, executable business plans. Beyond knowledge acquisition, the program emphasizes experiential learning, equipping participants with the skills needed to build and scale their ventures.
In 2025, the program welcomed over 170 participants, fostering a strong community and valuable opportunities for collaboration and learning among women entrepreneurs.
Guided by its vision to “build an international community and startup ecosystem where women entrepreneurs can thrive as their authentic selves,” Startup Lady Association remains committed to fostering an environment where women-led innovation and entrepreneurial challenges can continuously emerge.
For the latest updates, please visit our official event page below:
About Startup Lady Association
Startup Lady Association is a Japan-based accelerator dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs and next-generation leaders.
Under its vision—“to build an international community and startup ecosystem where women entrepreneurs can pursue what they truly want, as their authentic selves”—the organization operates across three core pillars: Education, Inspiration, and Community.
Through its bilingual community, global network, and development programs, Startup Lady aims to cultivate globally minded women equipped with essential entrepreneurial skills.
About Shibuya Startup Support
Shibuya Startup Support is an initiative led by Shibuya City to attract startups from Japan and around the world, encouraging them to build, grow, and innovate together in Shibuya.
A cultural hub at the forefront of Japan’s art, music, and fashion scenes, Shibuya is also a major technology center, home to over 2,000 startup offices and more than 100 coworking spaces.
With its unique diversity and dynamic environment, Shibuya provides strong support for launching and scaling businesses.