“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” was the question my friend Kento, the founder of Japan Venture Academy (JVA), once asked me. That question reminded me how much “self-efficacy” shaped my journey and how I found my way back to confidence.
The confident kid
Five years ago, I was a high school student in Thailand. Academically, I was doing well, always among the top five in every exam. However, my real greatest strength wasn’t my grades. It was my confidence.
I was the kind of student who volunteered for competitions just to challenge myself, even when I had no clue what the topic was. I once presented a failed project at CANSAT ROCKET Thailand 2019 and still walked away with the Best Presentation Award.
If you had asked my classmates to describe me in three words, “confident” would almost always be one of them. That changed completely in May 2021 when I moved to Japan on a MEXT scholarship (embassy recommendation).
Losing it all
One fact about this scholarship is that Japanese proficiency is not a requirement. However, recipients are placed into Japanese classes ranked from U1 (advanced to native level) to U7 (zero to no Japanese knowledge) in their first year before enrolling at universities. Funny enough, I was placed in “U8,” an entirely new class they had to create for some of us who scored below 10 out of 500 on the placement test.
And yet, I still had to take math, physics, and chemistry classes in Japanese, alongside students from U4 to U7. Every lecture felt like white noise. I could not understand a single word. I felt left behind. My confidence crumbled.
After graduating from the language program, I entered Institute of Science Tokyo as a freshman. I felt more confidence with my Japanese and was hoping that things would get better. However, university life didn’t get any easier. Math, my favorite subject and the one I had an Olympiad medal in, suddenly became my worst enemy. I barely passed my assignments, not to mention the midterms and finals.
I also joined a robotics club, Rogiken (ロボット技術研究会), hoping to rediscover my spark. But surrounded by brilliant, fluent peers, I felt like a fraud. My mind was full of doubts and thoughts that I do not belong in this place. So, after two semesters, I decided to leave the club. I regret my decision, but I did not have the courage to go back. My self-belief was completely destroyed.
Rebuilding it
After struggling through classes and exams, I finally became a junior in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering. I finally had more control over my schedule. The core classes were mostly behind me, and for the first time since moving to Japan, I could breathe. The long list of required credits turned into free time I could choose how to spend. That freedom scared me a little. I had spent the last two years just trying to survive — passing classes, understanding lectures, and pretending I was okay. But deep down, I knew something was missing.
I remembered how much I used to enjoy stepping into unknown situations back in high school. That version of me was gone, but I wanted him back. So, I made myself a promise: This time, I will rebuild.
One afternoon during lunch, I was scrolling through social media while eating a convenience store bento, and I saw a post from my friend. He was pitching a startup idea in a huge venue, standing confidently in front of a crowd. I remember thinking, “That used to be me.” Without any hesitation, I put down my chopsticks, opened the application form, and signed up.
A few days later, I received an email inviting me to an interview. I still remember how nervous I was when I opened it, my hands literally shaking as I read the words “Congratulations, you’ve been accepted.” For the first time in years, I felt that spark again — excitement mixed with fear. The kind of fear that tells you you’re doing something that matters. The journey had begun.
JVA
Japan Venture Academy (JVA) is a student-run organization founded in 2021, which then became an official organization in 2024. They provide a three-month program where students form small teams and learn to build startups from scratch. Every weekend, we gathered at Shibuya Startup Support, a sleek glass building filled with energy and caffeine, to learn from entrepreneurs and mentors. They taught us everything from identifying real problems to designing prototypes, testing our ideas, and even figuring out how to make money from them.
At first, I was completely overwhelmed. Everyone around me spoke confidently, threw around terms like “MVP” and “user validation,” and seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Meanwhile, I was just trying to follow along. I had the same feelings I used to have when I was in the robotic club: full of doubts, scared, and wanting to quit. But I kept reminding myself that I’d promised not to give up this time.
So, I hung on regardless. I asked questions even when I was embarrassed. I spoke up in discussions even when my English and Japanese weren’t perfect. I learned to listen, iterate, and work through the frustration of teamwork. There were days when we argued about one tiny feature, and nights when I doubted whether I belonged there at all.
But slowly, something changed. The unfamiliar became familiar. The fear turned into focus. And by the final month, I wasn’t just “getting through” the program, I was enjoying it.
Three months had passed and finally the demo day came. Our team stood on stage to present our startup. My heart was racing, but I smiled anyway. We even added a short skit to make our pitch more memorable. The audience laughed, and for the first time in a long while, I felt the same spark of confidence that I once had back in Thailand.
As I looked out at the crowd, I thought to myself, the confident kid is back.
After that, I decided to stay involved with JVA, this time behind the scenes. I joined the core team to help other students experience the same growth I did. I also continued my own project with a new team, and we eventually received funding from my university’s SSS Projects program. That was the moment I realized that confidence can be rebuilt, one brave decision at a time.
Takeaway
The biggest lesson? Confidence doesn’t come before action. It comes after.
We often wait to feel ready before we try something new. But confidence is built through doing by failing, learning, and trying again. You don’t find confidence; you earn it through experience.
Finally
So, go beyond your bubble. Don’t wait to believe.Know your potential.
Every quote, every book, every motivational video can be boiled down to three simple words: Just do it.
