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Company officers

How to become an Entrepreneur

Also called: Chief executive officer (CEO), Company president, Company director

Plans a new business of their own, raises the money for it and keeps it going as a company.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

Generally, no particular education or qualification is needed. Some people have finished compulsory schooling, gained work experience and gone on to start successful businesses. More and more stay-at-home mothers whose children have grown up are launching new services, and retired people are starting businesses using their experience and contacts. Quite a few people have started with none of their own money by getting funding from public bodies or VCs (venture capital firms). For cutting-edge technology start-ups, some are set up as university spin-offs based on postgraduate research, and some are started by people from the investment side, such as investment banks and VCs. You can learn how to run a business through public and private support from national and local governments and incubators (start-up support organisations). What matters most is having a vision of what you want to do, the ability to turn it into a business plan and explain it convincingly to government, banks and likely business partners, and the drive to keep going towards your goal without giving up when things go badly. Once the company is running, you also need the ability to understand and manage the business and its numbers, starting with bookkeeping. For a technology start-up you may also need English to keep up with the latest overseas research and changes in regulations, but you can learn these things as you need them. When people with no business experience, such as students or stay-at-home parents, start a business, some first work at a start-up to learn how it is done before going out on their own, and some start a small venture first to gain management know-how before moving on to the business they really want. The job suits independent people who want to find their own way with their own ideas rather than waiting to be told what to do.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Entrepreneur?

Generally, no particular education or qualification is needed. Some people have finished compulsory schooling, gained work experience and gone on to start successful businesses. More and more stay-at-home mothers whose children have grown up are launching new services, and retired people are starting businesses using their experience and contacts. Quite a few people have started with none of their own money by getting funding from public bodies or VCs (venture capital firms). For cutting-edge technology start-ups, some are set up as university spin-offs based on postgraduate research, and some are started by people from the investment side, such as investment banks and VCs. You can learn how to run a business through public and private support from national and local governments and incubators (start-up support organisations). What matters most is having a vision of what you want to do, the ability to turn it into a business plan and explain it convincingly to government, banks and likely business partners, and the drive to keep going towards your goal without giving up when things go badly. Once the company is running, you also need the ability to understand and manage the business and its numbers, starting with bookkeeping. For a technology start-up you may also need English to keep up with the latest overseas research and changes in regulations, but you can learn these things as you need them. When people with no business experience, such as students or stay-at-home parents, start a business, some first work at a start-up to learn how it is done before going out on their own, and some start a small venture first to gain management know-how before moving on to the business they really want. The job suits independent people who want to find their own way with their own ideas rather than waiting to be told what to do.

Do you need a degree to become an Entrepreneur?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 49% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Business & Commerce degrees.

Will AI change the work of an Entrepreneur?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026