Founder's Note

Hi, I'm Laura — founder of Koreigo / 光麗語.

I created Koreigo because I grew up between cultures and generations, watching how stories, memory, and emotional wisdom shape the lives of both the very young and the very old. Japan's super-aging society isn't just a demographic challenge — it's
an opportunity to reimagine dignity, redesign connection, and reinvent how we live across time.

Koreigo is my attempt to bridge that gap.

It's a philosophy, a product system, and a new category that
reframes the journey of aging through curiosity, creativity, and intergenerational play
. We're building tools that restore agency, spark sensory memory, and bring people together through empathy-led innovation.

We're not reinventing the wheel —

we're redesigning it so that living doesn't become "aging,"and aging doesn't mean disconnecting.

We're at the earliest stage of creation, and I'm looking for a partner — someone who sees the opportunity in front of us and wants to shape it from the beginning. Not just to operate a company, but to help build a movement that empowers people to thrive across every decade of life.

If you're someone who finds purpose in clarity, structure, and operational excellence — and who wants to bring humanity back into how we age — I'd love to meet you.

Laura Yumi Kimura Picard

Founder, Koreigo / 光麗語

*Reimagining connection

through the bright & beautiful

language of intergenerational play*

⸻

Role: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Founding Team
• Early Stage
• Hybrid Remote (Tokyo Region)

Koreigo / 光麗語 is seeking a founding COO to build our operational backbone from the ground up.

As our COO, you'll translate vision into execution, build systems that scale, and ensure the company grows with clarity, coherence, and purpose. You will work side-by-side with the founder across strategy, product development, partnerships, fundraising, and day-to-day operations.

This is a role for someone who loves to build:

systems, culture, clarity, momentum.

We operate remote-first, with daily 1-hour alignment sessions and a monthly in-person team day in Greater Tokyo.

⸻

Compensation

This role begins as an equity-based, pre-funding position, transitioning into a paid full-time leadership role after our first investment round.

We're seeking someone who values shared ownership and wants to co-create something meaningful from day one.

⸻

Preferred Qualifications

We're looking for a leader who brings both experience and heart:

• Proven experience in operations, business planning, or startup execution
• Ability to build, optimize, and scale processes
• Ease with budgeting, financial planning, and resource allocation
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and cross-cultural collaboration skills
• Previous senior leadership preferred, but not required
• Experience in caregiving, culture, design, or innovation is a plus
• Japanese + English highly recommended; cultural competency essential

⸻

Impact Potential (What Actually Matters at Koreigo /
光麗語
)

I learned early that impact potential ≠ years of experience.

Koreigo isn't filtering for traditional qualifications — we're looking for the kind of person whose internal drive aligns with the mission.

Impact potential outweighs seniority.

The people who will thrive here:

• Are driven by purpose, not prestige
• Learn fast because they're hungry, not because of their title
• Exceed expectations, not just meet them
• Can test, prototype, iterate, and build from zero
• Bring curiosity, creativity, and resilience
• Care deeply about people, culture, and connection

The people who will struggle here:

• Burnt-out senior managers seeking a softer landing
• Those who need rigid structure or predefined tasks
• People who want the identity of a startup more than the reality
• Anyone whose curiosity has gone quiet

What I'm looking for is simple:

Someone whose ignition matches mine.

Someone who wants to build something beautiful because the mission lights them up.

Someone whose impact potential is bigger than their résumé.

⸻

If You Don't Fit the JD Perfectly — Reach Out Anyway

Early-stage roles require flexibility, creativity, and alignment — not a perfect CV.

If something about Koreigo resonates with you, DM me directly.

A short conversation often reveals more than a list of qualifications.

I'm open to meeting:

• Designers

• Caregivers

• Content creators

• Strategists

• Software engineers

• Storytellers

• Community builders

• Curious, self-driven people with a point of view

At this stage, the strongest candidates are those who feel personally invested in the vision of redefining aging, memory, and intergenerational play.

If that speaks to you — I'd love to meet you.

⸻

Why Us

Why the First Talented People Who Join Koreigo / 光麗語 Will Help Shape Everything

Because Koreigo isn't a traditional startup — it's a category-creating venture at the intersection of:

Longevity innovation

Intergenerational play

Cultural design

Neuroscience & memory

Emotional intelligence & storytelling

We are:

• Mission-driven but not moralistic

• Creative without being chaotic

• Philosophical yet deeply practical

• Global in perspective, rooted in Japan

• Design-forward, empathy-led, and future-minded

We believe aging is not decline — it's expansion.

And we're building the tools, rituals, and experiences to make that real.

If you want to help shape a new category — and a new cultural narrative — you'll thrive here.