Mega ventures: right in the middle
It’s not big tech and it’s not a startup. The mega venture is a category of company that’s just right in the middle. Technically, there is no clear definition of the term “mega venture”. Generally speaking, mega ventures refers to a venture company that has created a new technology or business model and has grown into a large company. However, that definition does not completely explain what a mega venture is. In this article, we will explain what mega ventures mean in detail, and what kind of companies are actually called mega ventures.
What is a mega venture anyways?
First of all, what type of company is a venture capital company? venture or a startup company is a small and medium-sized company that challenges new businesses and focuses on entrepreneurship with lofty ambitions and will. They are defined as “small and medium-sized companies that accept new business challenges. It has novelty based on innovation,
What makes the story complicated is that venture company is a made-up Japanese word. Although the term “venture capital” is commonly used, we don’t hear the term “venture company” so much outside of Japan. Instead of a venture company, the term startup is more commonly used.
However, the term startup also includes small businesses that aim to recur daily revenues just enough to keep the business afloat. On the other hand, a venture company typically means that every associated personal are aiming towards an exit such as a buyout or an IPO. A venture company can also be a startup if it was established fairly recently.
Now the question is if a venture company passed the IPO phase, would the company just become a large corporation? Or is it still a considered startup? Well, if that company continued to be innovative and sustained continual or rapid growth after IPO, that company is typically called a mega venture.
The reality of a mega venture in Japan
CEO has a large influence on the governance and the direction of a mega venture. Usually, in Japan, a mega venture is a company that typically has a CEO who actually founded the company, although not always the case. In some cases, the founder and CEO step aside and become the Chairman of the company and the company will still be considered a mega venture. In most cases, traditional Japanese companies are considered slow-paced and take forever to make a business decision. On the other hand, what allows mega ventures to make quick and decisive questions can be explained by the top-down decision that the founder and CEO make.
Another characteristic of a mega venture is that it has a strong culture. Usually, the culture is somewhat a workaholic one and can be described as a “work hard, play hard”. However, in recent years, due to the work style reform promoted by the government, most companies are trying to keep its’s overtime work hours under 45 hours per month. This may be a wonderful environment for you if you feel comfortable with the direction and the culture of the company. Nevertheless, if you feel like you are not alone with the direction or the culture, it may be a tough environment for you to work in. Therefore, before joining a mega venture, you should definitely learn about the company as much as possible before. Websites such as xkula.com, openwork, and glassdoor can be useful if you are gathering information.
The upside of working at a mega venture
If you are considering working at a mega venture, you should know the upside of working at one as well. There are a lot of reasons why someone would want to work at a mega venture. The most unique part of a mega venture is that it has the good parts of a large corporation and a startup company.
The most attractive part of a mega venture may be the balance. With the resources of a big company and the innovative product or service, you can do something really interesting. You can get millions of people to start using the product, or service. In a large corporation, you may have the resources, but the business decision speed may be too slow. On the other hand, a startup might be fast in making decisions, but may not have enough resources to execute them. Therefore, a mega venture may be the best option for you if you want to make an impact in a fairly quick time frame.
Growth opportunities may be another factor to choose to work at a mega venture. As mentioned above, it is a great opportunity for anyone to get exposure to a fast-growing business, and you have a high chance to do so if you work at a mega venture. Especially, if you are in your 20’s or early 30’s, and want to grow your career, this may be the perfect environment for you.
Another benefit of a mega venture is that they tend to have a more flat organizational structure than traditional Japanese corporations. Usually, in a large Japanese company, you have to wait till you are at least in your mid-30’s before you are given a lot of responsibilities. Even if you are in your 20’s or early 30’s, if you have confidence in your skills and how well you can perform, you may have a higher chance of being able to work with more responsibilities and discretion, at a mega venture.
What kind of companies are considered mega ventures
Now, before we wrap up this article, we thought maybe you were wondering what kind of companies out there are considered mega ventures by Japanese people. We have gathered listed major mega venture companies down below.
CyberAgent, Inc.,
Mercari, Inc.,
GREE, Inc.,
DeNA Co.,Ltd.,
GMO Internet, Inc.,
mixi, Inc.
Rakuten Group, Inc.
and the list goes on…
There are more companies that fit in the category of the mega venture, but we picked up some of the popular ones here because we cannot list up the entire companies in the category.
Before you actually jump into a mega venture
In this article, we have stated what a mega venture is, and the pros and cons of joining one. Before you join a mega venture, it might also help to check the phase of that company. Is it approaching IPO? or does it have any plans of going public at all? How many employees it has, and when it was founded. By checking the phase, you know what to expect from the company, like its resources and working environment.
You can check some of this information at xkula.com! You can check some of this information at xkula.com!
