起業

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 起業 is a noun read きぎょう, meaning the establishment of a new business. The verbal form is 起業する, and its connective form is 起業し.
• Basic usage: It can describe using prior experience to launch a service or the preparation required before starting a business, such as researching funding and customers.
  • 彼女は留学経験を生かして起業し、翻訳サービスを始めた。 describes using study-abroad experience to start a business and launch a translation service; 起業する前に、必要な資金と顧客層を調べた。 describes researching necessary funding and the customer base before starting the business.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 起業し、始めた
  • 起業し connects establishing the business with the following launch of the service; the two actions form one sequence.
• 起業する前に
  • 前に establishes that the funding and customer research occurred before the business was started.
• 起業 and 事業を始める
  • Both can describe starting business activity, while 起業 packages the act of establishing a new business or its operating foundation as a single concept.