Take risks to benefit the world

2025 Spring Commencement Doctoral Address by UF Alumnus and Entrepreneur Dr. Sachio Semmoto

Ladies and gentlemen, doctoral graduates, it’s an honor to celebrate your remarkable achievements today.

By completing your courses, immersing in your research and successfully defending your theses, you have become thought leaders, innovators, and creators.
 
Your work will advance artificial intelligence … shed light on gravitational waves … deepen our understanding of poetry … and better the human condition in ways we can’t even imagine.
 
The world needs you. We need your ideas, innovations and creations, and we are so excited that you are now ready to share them.
 
Congratulations!
 
Some of you are international students who earned your doctorates while living far from your homes and families, as I did. Some of you completed your degrees while raising children — or caring for elderly parents. All of you overcame personal challenges to get here.
 
Commencement speakers are supposed to give words of inspiration and advice.  But with your achievement today, I am inspired by you.
 
So rather than give advice, I’d like to share three personal lessons that I have learned in my own life. 
 
My first life lesson was to believe in myself and ignore doubters.
 
Early in my career I had a stable job with Japan’s government-owned telecommunications monopoly, NTT. But I wanted to expand my horizons, so I left NTT and came to UF for my master’s and Ph.D.
 
It was a risky decision, and my colleagues questioned it.
 
But at UF, something transformative happened. Thanks to excellent professors in electrical and computer engineering, I discovered my entrepreneurial spirit and desire to take risks. I came up with an idea to create a startup to take on NTT and break its monopoly.
 
A few years after I graduated and returned to Japan, I gathered the courage to launch that startup. 
 
At that time, the corporate culture in Japan emphasized lifelong employment with a single company. My colleagues thought I was crazy to launch a startup and said so.
 
My startup, later named KDDI, became the first telecommunications startup in Japan. It successfully challenged the NTT monopoly. KDDI grew to an 80-billion-dollar company with more than 60,000 employees. Today, it is the second largest telecommunications company in Japan — very similar to AT&T here in the US.
 
Graduates, some of you will be entrepreneurs like I was. Others will become scholars, scientists, executives or elected officials.

But all of you can be successful leaders, innovators and creators.
 
Believe in yourselves and ignore the doubters. The naysayers may call you a fool for your audacity.  But later on, they’ll call you a hero!
 
This gets me to my second life lesson.
 
My second lesson is to listen, learn and draw strength from others.
 
Throughout my career, I have often been misunderstood and even made fun of. But I was able to persist because of people who had faith in me and who supported me,

As I was preparing to graduate from UF, I received many lucrative offers from the very top companies in the U.S. I was dreaming of my telecom startup idea, but it seemed too risky. I told my professor, Dr. Don Childers, that I was ready to accept one of the excellent company offers.

He responded, “Sachio, don’t you want to go back to Japan and contribute to your own country?”

Dr. Childers saw potential in me and my future that I didn’t see myself. Moreover, he believed in me. 

Thanks to him, I was able to become a successful entrepreneur and make a significant and revolutionary impact in Japan.

I have also found encouragement in my personal life. 

When I told my wife, Frances, that I was ready to leave our very nice and safe, conventional life to start my own tiny company, I expected her to oppose me.

But she said, “Believe in yourself. Take the risk. I’m always behind you.”

That was the best support anyone has ever given me. Graduates, your path to success is simple. All you have to do is have a partner like my wife, Frances! Your partner is the most important element in your business life and personal life.

So again, my second lesson find those mentors and loved ones who believe in you. Listen to them. Learn from them. Lean on them.

That lesson also has another side to it: When others need you, pay it forward. Be the person who is the first to give valuable advice and reassurance – rather than one who only looks to receive.

Be the “yaysayer” instead of the “naysayer.”
 
This brings me to my third and most important lesson. Be a risk taker. Taking risks will benefit you and the world.
 
I founded KDDI because I saw a great opportunity to make communication less expensive for people who were not well off.
 
But I also wanted to break NTT’s monopoly, which was hurting innovation, limiting consumer choice and keeping prices high.  
 
I believe communication should be open, diverse, and full of possibilities, giving a leg up to the poor and people who are suffering.

KDDI helped people of all incomes in Japen. We helped bridge the digital divide and provided essential telecommunications services to those who were going without. Increasing our opportunities as a company, we also increased opportunities for people. Improving our bottom line, we also improved lives.
 
After KDDI, I launched multiple companies. And when I turned 70, I joined RENOVA, a renewable energy startup, one of the first green energy companies in Japan.

Why RENOVA? It was a good company with promising financials.

But I also believe that renewable energy is key to our future. Renewable energy meets growing demands for electricity without depleting precious natural resources or worsening climate change. It means protecting our Earth.
 
I served as chairman of RENOVA for a decade. My time there helped RENOVA become Japan’s leading renewable energy company. More importantly, our work continues to reduce resilience on fossil fuels, cuts pollution and increases Japan’s energy independence.
 
Graduates, taking risks isn’t just about money, prestige or personal satisfaction. It’s about the betterment of society and the human condition. It’s about giving fresh and encouraging air to the dark and suffering side of society.
 
Why keep taking risks at my age, an 82-year-old gentleman?

Because it excites me.
 
Because building new things, even if they fail, feels essential. It is using my own lungs to give that fresh, healthier air to our world.
 
Ultimately, I take risks for a better world. I want to make revolutionary change to society.
 
Graduates, your Ph.D. or other terminal degrees have been well-earned. Whatever your path, you have the tools, the network and the mindset to be leaders and pursue bold ideas to better the world.

Pursue those ideas. Ignore the doubters. Surround yourself with believers, and listen to, learn from, and lean on them.

Be “yaysayers” instead of “naysayers.”

And, most of all, be risk-takers. Your risks will benefit others, and at the end of the day, yourself.

The future is not something we ‘wait’ for. It’s something we ‘create’. And doctoral graduates, I believe, with all my heart, you will create a better future.
 
Thank you, congratulations, and Go Gators!