Judges Announced for Startup Pitch Event 'SWISH! Mountain Founders' Climb 2026'; 8 Prominent Investors Join the Panel. Entrepreneur Applications Now Open.

ON&BOARD Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representatives: Masato Shimohira, Kosuke Nakayama) has announced the first phase of judges for the startup pitch event 'SWISH! Mountain Founders' Climb 2026,' to be held on Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Karuizawa, Nagano. The panel consists of eight prominent capitalists who have actively invested in and supported Japanese startups from seed to growth stages.

▶ Entrepreneur Entry: https://luma.com/tmbes89x

Judges: First Round of 8 Investors Confirmed

In this initial announcement, eight investors and capitalists known for supporting Japanese startups from their early stages to growth phases have joined. On the day of the event, presenters will have the opportunity to present their business visions, organizational structures, and missions directly to the entire panel. The event is designed to facilitate high-density dialogue and close interaction between founders and investors. Additional judges are expected to be announced in the future.

Mr. Yohei Sawayama / Founding Partner, Coral Capital Co-founded 500 Startups Japan in 2015, rebranded to Coral Capital in 2019. Invested in over 110 companies, including SmartHR and Kyoto Fusioneering, with total AUM of approximately 60 billion yen. Formerly a researcher at Nomura Securities covering tech IPOs, and a TMT sector specialist at J.P. Morgan.

Mr. Masato Tanaka / General Partner, ALPHA Joined SBI Investment in 2007. Led investments and exits for 16 IPO companies, including Visional and ANYCOLOR. Founded Sharely, exited to Rakuten in 2012. Founded ALPHA in 2024.

Mr. Takashi Chiba / General Partner, Spiral Capital Joined as a founding member in 2016. Previously a founding member and COO/CFO of real estate tech startup Itandi. His background includes private equity at The Carlyle Group and investment banking at Deutsche Bank.

Mr. Hiroki Teshima / Representative Partner, XTech Ventures Joined Hakuhodo in 1999. Served as Director at Interspire (now United) and managed investments into early-stage Mercari. Founded XTech Ventures in 2018.

Mr. Shusuke Terada / Representative Partner, Dual Bridge Capital Formerly Head of the Real Estate Team at Citigroup Global Markets Japan. Served as CFO and Director at Zigexn, leading M&A strategies. Joined Midas Capital in 2020 and became Representative Partner at Dual Bridge Capital in 2023.