Rina Takikawa

I trained pre-professionally at Hariyama Ballet, the Cincinnati Ballet College Conservatory, Ellison Ballet (S), Vassiliev Ballet (S),  before dancing with the Ballet de Catalunya in Barcelona during the 2019/2020 season. When I transitioned out of dance, I felt completely lost; ballet had been my whole life, and I didn't know what existed beyond it.

What guided me was an old curiosity for design that I'd never had room to explore. Following it eventually led me into tech, where I realized the discipline and storytelling I'd learned as a dancer were genuine strengths. Over the last several years I've helped build early-stage startups, including a fintech company we scaled and sold, and I'm currently the founding designer at an AI startup. My career change was scary and uncertain, but it opened a world of possibilities I never knew I had, and that's exactly what I want to help my mentees discover for themselves.