ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（17）
5月6日(月)
Kaoru, the accounting manager at an electronics manufacturer is about to start working on the year-end accounts. Kaoru and her subordinates are checking the arrangements.
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By how long after the closing date should the whole process be finished?
-Within six weeks.
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So it's that time of the year again, end of fiscal year. From here on until the sharholders meeting ends, it's full speed ahead.
-Yes. We need to stay sharp, one step ahead and prepare for the worst. Can I go over the overall workflow? First thing first, we have to pressure everyone under our jurisdiction to complete inventory checks and compile their earnings earlier than usual.
-Nobody is under us, Edwin. Our aim is to extract accurate figures as early as possible with minimal confrontation. We must be persuasive.
-Understood. Once the giures are confirmed, we'll start preparing financial statements. We need to complete the process within six weeks from the closing date.
-Exactly. So the key is to deal with issues promptly when they come up.
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fiscal year -> financial year
shareholders meeting
sharp
overall
first thing first
jurisdiction
inventory
compile
earnings -> profit / income
extract
figures / numbers <> amounts
closing date
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full speed ahead
Moving or proceeding with the utmost speed, energy, or enthusiasm.
As quickly and efficiently as possible; with all possible energy and determination.
- From here on until the sharholders meeting ends, it's full speed ahead.
- The research project is moving full speed ahead toward groundbreaking discoveries.
- We are advancing full speed ahead to achieve ambitious task.
* advancing / move / progress
- First, send an email to the overseas offices under the manager's name.
* under the ...'s name / under the name of ... - Second, send a soft reminder in one weeks's time and check if there are any issues.
* soft reminder -> reminder 催促・警告 も含まれる - Third, review the submitted financial statements and resolve any issues together.
*solve -> resolve 解決するのに時間や労力がかかるnuance
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ラジオビジネス英語 インタビュースペシャル5月3日(金)
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スポーツ用品メーカー社長 富永 満之
WHO（世界保健機関）西太平洋地域事務局 芝田 おぐさ
スタンフォード大学・オンラインハイスクール校長／哲学博士 星 友啓
ｰｰｰ
Let me introduce you to Mr. Shibata. He has moer than 20 years experience working abroad in the financial industry, mainly in London. He's now dedicating his time to teaching college students and helping business people with their English skills to work in global environments.
Without further ado, let's listen to the interviews.
- ado
騒ぎ, 骨折り, めんどう- without further ado
難しい話は抜きにして、前置きはこれくらいにして
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ラジオビジネス英語 インタビュースペシャル
5月3日(金)
スポーツ用品メーカー社長 富永 満之
We're familiar with your company Asics, but could you please give us a brief overview and where it stands globally?
- Sure. Thank you. So. uh, we are a sports brand and basically our biggest volume and business comes from performace for any shoes. We also do quite heavily on core performantce which is tennis, uh, indoor sports and so forth. At the sametime we are in a lifestyle type of business, where a lot of people nowadays wear sneakers to work. So that is the area we are also fucusing on. At the same time, we also do fashion with Onitsukatiger, and this is something that especially trendy people are starting to wear. So this is our core business. And we also do business globally, and right now, 80 percent of our business comes from outside of Japan.
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https://www.onitsukatiger.com/jp/ja-jp/
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We are not globaly right away. Our company has been in business for 75 years now. The last 20 years has been something that we aggressively went global. And therefore some other people are not that familiar with the global environment. So we train our people internally, but at the same time for the you younger people, we put them on a short-term assignment so that they could be familliar on communication. At the same time, some of the senior position such as executive vice president, CEO of a smaller countires, we send uh the upcoming talents to those companies so that they could really be afected on a global level.
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So, we have worked on two areas. One of them is we were mainly a wholesale driven company, meaning that we had a company that will sell our product and we sell to that company and they'll sell to the end user. We have been investing quite a bit on the DtoC which is our own e-commerce and own retail store. In order to do that, digital is very critical. Communicating directly with our customer through loyalty programs and personal message is vey key. The second area is moving along with product. Not just our product shoes, but also services. This is things like providing training and connecting with the users through degitalization is something that we have been working on. Sold more our product as service going forward.
DtoC （あるいはD2C）=Direct to Consumer
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In general, Japanese companies are, where there are the necessity to use the digetal. There are a lot of companies that are using this effectively and productively, but some of the weakness copared to some Western companes or are the number of people have has the real deep techincal skills. So I think this the area that maybe Japanese companies need to improve going forward. But I believe this's strength of Japanese company and also Japanese is especially on the R and D. Pruduct development and manufacturing of our products. It's not just individual, but teamwork working together. The other area that's really strong is dedication to the company. Teamwork is I believe the strength of Japanese employees working in Japan.
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I think it's very important that you taking a core but at the same time become a generous. And at this moment at my career, I'm still learning a lot on the product side, HR side and financial side to be more effective. So I think you get older, more senior but at the same time always learning and taking the opportunity. I thinks that's a very important.
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For me, his prisice and concise way of speaking left an impression. It reminded me of an elevator pitch, where speeches should be under one minute to the point and easy to understand.
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WHO（世界保健機関）西太平洋地域事務局 芝田 おぐさ
So, while I sarted my career in the finanicial industry as I explaind, um, but I must confess that my interest in the industry itself was very minimal. I just thought this career path would lead to some international work and allow me to use English and a business context, which I though it was really cool. However, my six-year endeavor in that industry kept me in Japan, um, working in Japanese with little opportunity to develop my English or use English at work. So I'll gradually I lost my interest in working internationally. And begin to consider what I truly wanted to do as my lifetime work. So um.. it was during a casula conversation with my frined who mentioned that there are basically two career options. One is dealing with products, and another is engaging with people's lives.
That idea kind of resonated with me and I started exploring how I could shift my career to engage more with people's lives.
The impactful turning points was witnessing the events of 911 in 2001. The dedication of first responders and healthcare wrokers during the crisis deeply moved me.
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My shift from prcticing nurse to minister uursing official was driven by my kind of accumulated frustration, feeling that my background in law and finance with totals 10 years of my life was being concealed and hidden and not utilized at all. After I started working with the Ministry I was able to thrive immediately thanks to my knowledge of law and a protocol oriented working environment in bank, those knowledge and my experience were very similar to working in the Ministry and it really helped.
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Basically I had two phase, which I really studied English. It was during my college years and the second phase was London. During my college years I enjoyed lerning English, um.. promarily by renting videos and watching films with English subtitles repeatedly. It was like 30 times with one film in a week. That really intensive. And this practice significantly helped me to learn real life English. And my English scores elevated through those learnings and like TOEIC. I think I was almost 100 percent score. I still always had doubt about my English proficiency. After joinin the Minister of Health, I realized that I'm collaborating with researchers and utilizing evidence from researdh results is a critical aspect of the work. However with only an undergraduate degree I had, my research knowledge was very limited and I understood the pursuing postgraduate sutudies would anable me to work more effectively in the Ministry. So, I took off about to call from the Minitry and spent the first year in London at an English school and then enrolled in a graduate program in London. It was in my mid 40s when I entered the postgraduate school in London. Enlgish learning in London was really difficult for me.
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Her story was so inspiring. Her dedication to studying English is mind-blowing. This is evident in her vocabulary usage, which sounded so natural.
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スタンフォード大学・オンラインハイスクール校長／哲学博士 星 友啓
Mr. Hoshi, thank you for joining our program today. To start with, could you please tell us about your background in Korea?
-Thank you so much for having me today. I'm very excited to be on this show. My name is Tomohiro Hoshi. I'm currently a head of Stanford online high school. I'm originally from Japan and grew up in the Kanto area, city of Kawasaki. And did my degree in the University of Tokyo and came to the United States for my graduate study. When I was finishing up my PhD, in philosophy at Stanford, I came across this project of starting up online high school. Curently I'm definitely serving the school, but on the side, I've been supporting various different editor companies and also publishing in Japan. And so I'm particularly really pleased to be speaking to audience in Japan today.
Online school is literally a school, which instruction is delivered mainly in an online environment. In our case, especially at Stanford online high school we deliver live classes for students from all over the world and each class is conduted in a seminar style fashion. So if you imagine college like environment, your professor may have some similar/seminar questions for students and students might provide feedback and opinions and discuss the topic together with the calassmataes and such. So we do that online. And our school is accredited as independent school. Independent school is a special type of private school in the United States. Our school, even though it's online, has been ranked as number one school for prep school. Prep School is like schook that literally prepare students for college in the United States. For five consecutive years we have currently 1000 students from almost all states in the US. Also students are students from 46 countries this year.
The benefit is indeed that students can access from anywhere in the world. So students can interact with other students from other countries and having this global sense even for like same news. It's obviously delivered in different fashions in different countries and students can talk to their opinions in their classes to understand what other students are seeing in other countries and such. In our case, we have students from all sorts of different backgrounds as well as being in different places so that the impacts students thinking and interectual development are vey significant.
What is philosophy? I think give me like a moth or so to explain that to you I think. But in a nutshell, the kind of essence that I often highlight is to think about the assumption that we take for granted in our lives, very basic question that we don't even bother to ask, thinking about that again and then by doing so we reach new value or frame of looking at the world. So the speed of the change of the world is fast, so being able to understand the new kind of frame of mind and frame of world and even creating and generating the new ones on their own. That's the kind of skills mindset that I would like to cultivate for our students. And one good approach for that happen to be philosophy, which I studied for graduate studies. So that's way we teach philosophy for our students.
Critical thinking
take grant ?
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My dream is to solve the probrems of the world by education in a nutshell. The education is now spreading out more compared to 50 years ago. When less than half of children in the world couldn't get education, now more than 90 percent of students, children in the world can get some sort of education. So the population is increasing and education is spreading out more. So the demand on education is so high. So we really somehow need to keep the traditional way of doing education while you inventing and generating new ways of education by using technology. So the first project I wanted to do was to prove that online education can do good stuff. Now I'd like to indeed just move ing also farther from this top of the top kind of education and online environment to the more general needs of the students in the world. And that's been my focus now, ... my life project here.
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I totally agree. His passion shined through in his replies.
His ideas and mindset were very clear. His way of speaking really conveyed his friendly personality.
shine through
輝いて見える、はっきりと表れる
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ラジオビジネス英語 Interview（1-4）
4月26日(金)
ラジオビジネス英語 Interview（1-4）
５月03日(金)
亀田製菓代表取締役会長CEO ジュネジャ・レカ・ラジュ氏
Lekh Raj Juneja
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What are the three important words that describe Dr. Juneja's strategy?
-They are people, innovation and profitability.
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Now that I understand your big vision for the world, could you tell us a bit about your specific strategy for overseas businesses?
- The three words I'd say, I... ぶれない I don't ... consistent on that, and the three words are people, innovation and profitability. .. and why I say people, you know, because the first stakeholder is my emplyees, my team. Unless they are happy and they're not happy. That makes the difference. So I want to make our employees very happy. はたらきがいがある.. They should feel our company is so good, you know, have pride in working there. They make the products, they sell the products. They are going to make it global. And if they are working hard, all the stakeholders will be very happy. They can make good products for our customers. They can make my stakeholders happy because we get profits from that new products, good products, you know. And we cannot do unless that craftsmanship gets into innovation. So you have to keep innovating, keep having new things, you know. If we just compete on prices, we'll never be profitable. Prices is one thing, but the most important thing is to put value on that. I call it WTP, willingness to pay from the customers. So change from just competing prices to the value to the WTP for the customer. The first shape for more products from others. And if we make good profit, I can do anything. I can make my employees happy. I can make my stakeholders happy. I can spend more on social needs, you know, and work for the society to it. So it's all related. You cannot do anything unless you're profitable. So three words are very important, people, innovation and profitability. So for that, so you are doing, okay, let's do future rice cracker, Let's do futre food. Let's do internatinal. All are related to that, you know.
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specific
Something that is defined clealy or has precise details. Mr. Shibata asked about Dr. Juneja's specific strategy for overseas businesses. Meaning not just a general overview, a detailed strategy with clear points. Another example would be,
Was there a specific moment that made you want to become a professional athlete? -Yes. When I hit my first homerun.
consistent
Not changing usually in a positive way. Not having contradictions. Compatible.
From the interview, we see that Dr. Juneja is consistent in having people innovation and profitability as his strategy meaning that he's unwavering, and steady with his strategy.
stakeholder
Stakeholders are the people who influence a company's decidion-making process. This can include employees, local communities, and so on.
willingness
Willingness means having a desire to do something and being ready to do. So, this is the noun form of the adjective willing. If you're willing to do something, it means you have decided to do it or find it acceptable to do. Dr.Juneja talked about willingness to pay or WTP. A concept involving the maximum amounts custmers would be willing meaning inclined or prepared to pay for a product or service.
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at the core of
Customer satisfaction is at the core of our business strategy.
stay ahead of
Innovation is a key element in our business strategy for staying ahead of the competition.
prioritize
We prioritize employee training and development to enhance overall team performance.
> priority
integral to 不可欠な, 必須の, 完全な
Digital transformation is integral to our business strategy for improved efficiency.
emphasize
We emphasize a customer-centric approach to guide our business strategy.
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- We aim to increase market share through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
- Our aim is to ...
craftsmanship
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ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（16）4月25日(木)
ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（16）5月02日(木)
Potint to check...
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Subject: Meeting minutes
Hi all, thank you for your contributions to the meeting yesterday. Please confirme the following to do items. Finalize the invitation list for the trade fair by April, the 26th. Check the shipping schedule with the exporters in Taiwan to ensure the good s are in place five days before the start of the trade fair. I've attached the meeting minutes for your review. If there are any points to add or modify, please let me know by this Friday. Regards, Chinatsu
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- I've attached the meeting minutes for your review.
- meeting minutes
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納期には十分間に合いますのでご安心ください。
Please rest assured that the products will arrive well in time to meet the deadline.
- rest assured (that) 安心する
- well in time => well 余裕を持って
well above 10 percent
The delivery will comfortably meet the deadline so you can be at ease.
- comfortably meet
- can + be at ease
rest assured
To be certain or confident (about something).
at ease
Calm and comfortable with a particular task or in a certain environment.
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Subject: Shipment update from Taiwan
Koninichiwa Chinatsu-san, I checked with our clients in Taipei and caution regarding the shipment of their products. Please rest assured that the products will arrive well in time to meet the deadline. They intend to ship the products later this week or early next week. I'll keep you updatead on any developments. Have a great day, Michael Juan.
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- I'll keep you updatead on any developments.
- I'll keep you posed on any developments.
- I'll keep you informed of any developments.
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Hey, everyone. Just wanted to say a big thank you for joining the meeting this morning. It got pretty intese at times, but in the end we wrapped it up on a positive note. I've already uploaded the meeting memo to the share drive. So be sure to take a look when you get a chance. As for the government subsidy matter, I'll be keeping a close eye on it and we'll update you as soon as I have any fresh informations. Stay tuned and have a great day.
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What is the key sentence in this email?
- It got pretty intense at times, but the in the end we wrapped it up on a positive note.
That's right. What do you think about the sentence?
- I think it expresses a tense meeting but ends on a positive note.
-Well, it's important that participants feel that the discussion was that worthwhile.
- wrap up まとめる
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- We're counting on you for the subsidy matter.
- We're relying on you for the subsidy issue.
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Heated discussions they say bring in positive results.That's exactly what our meetings are all about. Joe, you've got this. We are counting on you for the subsidy matter. If we manage to get it, it's going to be a game changer for this project. I'll be doing my homework too, to support the cause. Let's make it happen.
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How is Chinatsu conveying her commitment to supporting as much as she can?
- She is expressing it with the phrase, I'll be doing my homework too, to support the cause.
-Support the cause, yes it conveys our intention to cheer on.
support a cause
大義に資す、運動を支援する
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ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（15）4月24日(水)
ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（15）5月 01日(水)
The day after the pitch day, Yuna is evaluating Virtual com's proposal with Harish. In response to Harish's questions, Yuna seems to be trying her best to provide answers.
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What does Yuna find groundbreaking besides their technological expertise?
-Their unique focus on human psyche.
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Considering our assessment of the management team and their business focus, do you think it's worth envesting?
- Yes. I believe so. What I find groundbreaking is not only their technological expertise, but also their unique focus on the human psyche. The platform should contribute to solving the challenges of virtual team building.
-I couldn't agree more. Now the next step is to consider our prosopsal on the total investment and the price per share. Here's the valuation of the company.
-Six million dollars. Frankly, I don't have a clue if it's a fair price.
-Don't worry, Yuna. By the time you go back to Japan, you'll have a clear idea.
-Thank you, Harish. I look forward to the meeting with James on Friday.
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be worth ..ing => It's worth investing
groundbreaking 画期的な パイオニア的な
psyche 心理・精神
contribute to
price per share
clue
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- The platform should contribute to solving the challenges of virtual team building.
- Positive feedback from customers can contribute to a company's reputation.
- Regular exercise contributes to improving physical health.
- The platform should play a role in resolving issues connected to virtual team building.
- The platform should assist in tackling the difficulties of virtual team building.
Do you think it's worth investing?
To be honest, I'm not so sure. Well, I do believe there's a high level of techinical expertise. I wouldn't say it's groundbreaking. Furthermore, the mechanisms developed from a psychological perspective are unique, but customers might not see the benefits easily.
I'd rather wait to see how things turn out. The passion and vision for contributing to society are there. However, for the company to gain more recognition in the investing community, I believe the vision needs to be communicated with greater clarity.
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What do you think about this month's business scenes?
-It was an interesting behind the scenes, look at venture capitalists or VCS as we sometimes call them. Pithes are one-size-fits-all, so entrepreneurs have to know their audiences and local etiquette. Yuna seems very smart and eager to learn more. Quite the go-getter. I'm sure she'll go far.
-Yes, Yuna is quite hard worker. Well, I heard a story from a business person who worked in Silicon Valley, the Japan's annual adventure capital investment is equivalent to just three days worth in Silicon Valley.
-Whoa, three days equals one year?
-Yes, the share scale in dynamism are surprising.
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ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（14）
4月23日(火)
ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（14）
4月30日(火)
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James CHen the founder of Virtual com begins to talk about his background and the journey that let do the establishment of his company. Yuna listens attentively.
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What mekes James think now it the right time to make his vision a reality?
-The pandemic trasformed meeting landscape.
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I grew up in rural Northesast China and came to California at the age of 18 to study acoustic engineering. My family remained in China. After moving to California, I realized that the power of IT could bring people closer together.
-I see. Now we can easily communicate online.
-That's ture. However, there is room to develop tools that makes us feel even closer. In 2017, I started a company specializing in high quality audio equipment for web conferences, but it was a bit premature.
-I see. But the pandemic trasformed the meeting landscape.
-Exactly. I believe now is the right time to make my vision a reality. If I wait too long, online customs that develop during the pandemic may die out and interest in my business may lose steam.
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acoustic engineering
premature
landscape
lose steam
acoustic
聴覚の, 音響の
[əˈkustɪk]
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- There's room to develop tools that makes us feel even closer.
- There's room to expand the company's market presence into new regions.
- There's room to improve the efficiency of our production process.
- There's potential for the creation of tools that enhance our sense of intimacy.
*intimacy 親密さ - There's space for the advancement of tools that bring us even closer.
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- I'm excited to see where your vision takes you in this evloving wourld of virtual communication.
- Now I understand that your experiences have shaped your determination to enhance how we connect across distances.
- I curious to see how he'll translate this vision into your products in the years ahead.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful story.
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ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（13）
4月22日(月)
ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson（13）
4月29日(月)
After the startup pitches are over. It's time for a buffet party for networking. Yuna is having a conversation with James Chen, the founder of virtual com.
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Why do investors feel comfortable with entrepreneurs around the age of 50?
-Because they've often faced failure a few times and learned from it.
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So what was your impression of the pitch event? Did anything stand out compared to your expectations?
-Yes, what surprised me was that many of the entrepreneurs appeared to be a bit older than I expected. In Japan, there's a general perception that successful entrepreneurs are typically in their 20s or early 30s.
-I understand. The tech Giants might give you that kind of impression. But in reality, many of them are around 50. They've often faced failure a few times and learned valuable lessons, which makes investors feel rather comfortable.
-That makes sense. They have a deep understanding of the business words. So, I'm interested to hear what inspired you to pursue your current business. I'd be happy to share.
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stand out
perception
that makes sense
pursue
entrepreneur [ˌɑntrəprəˈnɜr]
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- Did anything stand out compared to your expectations?
- Kathy's track record maks her stand out as the ideal candidate for the job.
- This novel stands ous in terms of its compeling storyline.
track record
-A record of actual performance or accomplishment:
a job applicant with an excellent track record.
- compelling storyline
compelling adj
arousing or denoting strong interest, esp admiring interest
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- Did anything leave a significant impression on you compared to your initial expectations?
- Did anything unexpectedly grab your attention?
- To be honest, the enthusiasm on display today was a lot more than I had anaticipated.
- What inspred me was that the participants were actively asking questions.
- I felt slightly uneasey watching the investors relentlessly bombard presenters with difficult quesions.