Hokkaido Entrepreneurship Expo 2026, is an expo event, celebrating and promoting entrepreneurship in Hokkaido. The event is in collaboration with Hokkaido University. The event will feature a pitch relay with local startups, shining a spotlight on the diversity and quality of the Hokkaido entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Hokkaido Entrepreneurship Expo 2026, is an expo event, celebrating and promoting entrepreneurship in Hokkaido. The event is in collaboration with Hokkaido University. The event will feature a pitch relay with local startups, shining a spotlight on the diversity and quality of the Hokkaido entrepreneurship ecosystem.
We have a tightly packed schedule for HEEX this year, with 3 separate sessions:
To give investors, businesses and other stakeholders a streamlined, noise-free view of what our ecosystem has to offer, and the current state of entrepreneurship in Hokkaido.
Through this, we aim to promote the region, and to facilitate collaboration and networking between local startups, local businesses, international entrepreneurs, and relevant stakeholders, like media and investors.
Removing the traditional competition format from a pitch event, allows more time and focus for the startups.
Rather than constructing their pitches around trying to win a competition, they get to structure it around whatever challenge is currently most relevant to them - no matter if that’s raising money, finding customers, finding board members, or something else entirely.
All the power of a pitch event, with none of the fluff.
You keep hearing that AI will change everything. But are you actually using it or just watching others get ahead?
Most founders are leaving time, money, and clarity on the table simply because they don't know which tools to use or how to combine them.
Dayhana Correa, Founder of GoStartup and SheAI Ambassador will walk you through the tools you can use daily to save time, understand clients better, scale operations, and build a stronger digital presence.
From Gemini and NotebookLM to Notion and beyond you'll see real use cases, honest comparisons between different LLMs, and leave with a practical tech stack you can actually start using the next day.
No hype. No overwhelm. Just the right tools, in the right order, for founders who are serious about working smarter.
What if your career wasn’t something you climbed, but something you designed?
Sina Grosser came to Japan looking for the world’s best powder snow. Along the way, they found co-founders, became a shareholder in a Japanese Smart Hotel Group, and built Ikigai Coliving Okinawa, a hub for digital nomads centered around focus, movement, and community.
Their journey from digital nomad to entrepreneur was not carefully planned. It unfolded through curiosity, connection, and the courage to say yes to unexpected opportunities.
In this keynote, they share how following curiosity can lead to ownership, how living lightly can still mean building boldly, and why entrepreneurship may not be about work life balance, but about creating a life you do not need a vacation from.
As always, we will wrap up the event with a networking session, giving attendees the opportunity to connect with the startups, panelists, and other attendees. This is a great opportunity for investors, businesses, and other stakeholders to connect with the local startup ecosystem, and for startups to connect with potential partners, customers, and investors.
The networking will last throughout lunch, after which our following event, the Learning Tree Session with Sumeet Vaidya, will take place - make sure to stick around for that as well!
This event is organized in collaboration with STARTUP HOKKAIDO, Shake H, and Hokkaido University. All our events are executed with the support of Guramu Software 合同会社.
