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Today, we are going to talk about AI, but not in the way you expect.
Today, I’m going to give creatives a solid three-point plan to beat AI in the marketplace. I’m going to explain how musicians, podcasters, authors and other artists can survive and even thrive amidst the unstoppable flood of AI generated slop we will all be forced to wade though for the foreseeable future, And to maybe do some good in the process.
It’s taken me over a year to write the script for this episode, and like so many of my solo episodes, I originally planned on it being very different from how it turned out. But sometimes the scripts takes on a life of its own, and I have to follow it to what always ends up being a far more interesting place.
Those episodes tend to be my most popular
I hope you enjoy it
Introduction
This is a solid three-point plan for beating AI in the marketplace. I’m going to explain how musicians, podcasters, authors and other artists can survive and even thrive amidst the unstoppable flood of AI we will be forced to wade though for the foreseeable future.
Artists, don’t kid yourself, generative AI is here to stay. There is no going back.
But there is a way forward.
This is a personal topic for me. I used to be a professional musician. I put myself though college playing in bars and clubs. I was Japan’s first professional podcaster. I also love generative AI and am excited about the amazing creative potential it promises.
I want to see all of these things thrive. AI will be fine, of course. It’s supported with practically unlimited funds and by lawmakers and industry leaders around the world.
Artists, however, could use a little help.
What exactly does AI create?
People asking if AI can create real art are asking the wrong question. Artists who need to put food on the table need to be asking what artistic needs AI meets in our economy.
With those parameters, let’s look at what exactly AI is creating, using podcasts as an example.
Google NotebookLM can take any textual input (your website’s FAQs, a press release, last quarter’s sales reports, anything) and create a convincing podcast from that input.
A male and a female voice will smoothly and professionally banter about the topic and tease the listener that they won’t believe what’s coming up, and they express broadcast-caliber levels of surprise and admiration over the most trivial bits of information.
It’s really good. NotebookLM has very high production standards.
But there is nothing really inside. After a minute or two, it’s just not that interesting to listen to — even when the input information was interesting.
This is because NotebookLM is incredibly good at imitating the structure and affect of a quality podcast. This is how all LLMs generate art, music, and video. They imitate a particular structure and affect, but the quality of the content is irrelevant.
Structure and affect are the logical and emotional cues that let us classify a work as a particular type of art.
The structure is the logical parameters; a pop song should be about three minutes long, it should have an identifiable melody. An image should be rectangular. An email should start with a greeting and end with a signature. Those kinds of things.
The affect is the emotional parameters. It refers to the emotional reaction we have to a given work. It’s the vibe. Rock and country covers of the same song will have a different affect. They will feel different.
Generative AI is successful today in those areas where structure and affect are important but quality is irrelevant.
Saying “quality is irrelevant” is not an insult or a backhanded way of saying that quality is poor.
The key fact is that AI-generated art (whether it is of high or low quality) excels in situations where quality is irrelevant, and human-generated art (whether it is of high or low quality) excels in situations where quality is relevant. -
The Japanese government is taking a very hands-on approach to funding startups.
Yuka Hata, Senior Managing Director of the Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) explains the kinds of startups and funds they invest in, and why.
We also talk about the two biggest challenges new Japanese VCs face, and what it’s really like for women in VC in Japan
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
Why JIC runs private equity and venture capital funds.
Why Japanese companies struggle with secondary offerings
How Japan's low-valuation IPS hurt deep tech startups in Japan
How JIC's makes investment decisions
Why JIC is investing in foreign VC funds
The two big challenges that new Japanese VCs struggle with
How JIC is using LP investments to change Japanese VC culture
The changing role of women in Japanese VC and how JIC is supporting that change
Two reasons it’s important to attract foreign investors into Japan
What foreigners most misunderstand about Japan's startup ecosystem
A new way for Japanese founders to Go Global
Links from our Guest
Everything you ever wanted to know about Japan Investment Corporation (JIC)
JIC's award for their work on female empowerment
Connect with Yuka on LinkedIn
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and investors.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
There is a lot of debate over the role that government should play in fostering innovation. From American founders loudly demanding that the government just get the hell out of their way, while quietly bidding on government contracts and accepting millions in subsidies, to Chinese entrepreneurs double and triple checking that their business plans and public postures are well aligned with the expectations of the central government.
Japan, of course, is taking her own path.
Today we sit down with Yuka Hata, Senior Managing Director of the Japan Investment Corporation, or JIC. Now Yuka will explain all of the details in just a few minutes. But briefly JIC is a government-capitalized organization that invests in VC funds, private equity funds, and also creates its own venture funds in order to make direct startup investments.
Furthermore, JIC's mission is not just changing the economics of Japan's startup ecosystem, but changing the culture of Japan's startup ecosystem as well. And looking around, they seem to be having a real impact.
Yuka and I talk about the kinds of startups and funds that JIC invests in, the two biggest challenges that new Japanese VCs struggle with, and what it's really like for female VCs in Japan right now.
But you know, Yuka tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Yuka Hata, the Senior Managing Director of Japan Investment Corp, or JIC. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Yuka: Thank you. Well, thank you so much for inviting me. Such a great opportunity.
Tim: I'm delighted to finally get you on the show. We've been talking about this for a long time.
Yuka: Thank you.
Tim: Well, let's start by talking a bit about JIC. So JIC, you make a lot of investments, but JIC is not really a traditional VC fund. So briefly, what is JIC? What's your mission? What do you do?
Yuka: So, JIC has been created as a government-backed investment fund in 2018, to strengthen global competitiveness of Japan's industry. JIC has a kind of strong mission to support the next generation industry in two ways. One, we have created JIC Capitals, which is a private equity fund to pursue industry consolidation and restructuring. That's more private equity play. And the other side is obviously more venture capital play to create the next strong industry out of our country. For that reason, we created a subsidiary called Venture Growth Investment, and they are providing mainly growth-stage risk capitals. -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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We live in a global financial system, but fintech innovation is surprisingly local.
Makoto Shibata, the head of FinoLab, has been leading financial innovation Japan for over 20 years, long before the term fintech existed. We talk about the evolution of Japan's fintech landscape, and which fintech sectors are facing consolidation and which are facing growth.
And we also explore Japan's rapid transition from a cash-based society to a cashless one and the startup opportunities that opens up.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The critical role of a dedication fintech community
Why corporate support is still needed to succeeded in fintech in Japan
The government's push to move society away from cash
The likely fate of today's e-payment startups
Opportunities for fintech startups in the next five years
How AI is being used in Japanese banks (you won’t like it)
Advice for how startups can successfully collaborate with large financial institutions
What is preventing Japanese fintech startups from going global?
The kinds of foreign fintech startups with the best chance for success in Japan
How to know when you are at the peak of the fintech investing cycle?
What foreigners most misunderstand about Japan’s fintech markets
Links from our Guest
Everything you ever wanted to know about FinoLab
The FinoLab startup community
Connect with Makoto on LinkedIn
Friend him on Facebook
An interview with Makoto on Xtech
Ergomania article on the rise of fintech in Japan
Fortune innovation Forum on fintech in Japan [Video]
Japan FinTech Topics YouTube playlist [Japanese]
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
FinTech is a broad and confusing startup sector. It's a sweeping category that encompasses everything from pragmatic and meticulous applications, like the optimization and risk management of consumer loan portfolios to the most hype driven and outrageously transparent crypto scams.
Of course, at Disrupting Japan, we focus on Japan. And so today we'll be sitting down with Makoto Shibata, the head of FinoLab and the FinoLab Fund. Now, FinoLab has been central to Japan's FinTech community for a long time, and today we're going to take a sober look at FinTech in Japan.
What's working, what's not, and what's likely to blow up in the near future.
Equally important, before running FinoLab, Makoto spent 23 years at a Japanese mega bank and was in charge of their innovation activities. So, he offers some very practical advice on how FinTech startups can partner with financial institutions in Japan. He explains why such partnerships are needed and where they can go wrong.
Makoto and I dig into how Japan is rapidly becoming a cashless society, the opportunities that trend presents for FinTech startups in Japan, and the importance and challenges of Japanese FinTech startups trying to go global and
oh, yes, we also talk about what is perhaps the worst possible business use of generative AI ever to be deployed.
But, you know, Makoto tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Makoto Shibata of FinoLab. So, thanks for sitting down with me.
Makoto: Thank you for having me.
Tim: So, FinoLab is a community. It's much more than just the fund, but to start things out, tell me about the fund and its thesis. Who are you investing in and why?
Makoto: We started from a business community, we realized that one of the top priority startup is to raise fund. And in their early stages, they may have difficulty, and we thought that it would be good to have our own fund to support these startups. So, basically we would focus on the early stage startup in FinTech related areas. These days FinTech has become quite wide. The territory of FinTech is expanding. -
Disrupting Japan is 10 years old today!
This is a simple thank you rather than a full episode.
Thanks for listening!
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
This is a very short and very special episode. It's not an episode really, more of a personal message.
You see, ten years ago today. I released the very first episode of Disrupting Japan.
And I just wanted to say thank you.
I really mean that. Independent podcasting is an incredibly personal medium and it depends on there being a real connection between the host, and the guests, and the listeners. Commercial talk shows spend a fortune creating the illusion of that connection.
And being in the center of that in real life is an honor and it’s amazing.
It’s become a cliche when the host thanks their audience and reminds them that the show would not be possible without them, but it’s different at Disrupting Japan. You really do create a big part of the show’s value. Let me explain.
It’s not about download numbers or affiliate link-clicks. I don’t sell anything and my guests aren’t selling anything on Disrupting Japan, so those metrics don’t matter much to me. However, my guests often comment on the surprisingly high quality of inbound contracts they receive after appearing on the show. These connections have resulted in a lot of new hires, and a handful of investments have been made as well.
That community, the engagement and overall quality of the listeners is a big part of the show’s value. In fact, over the years, four Japanese startup founders have told me that listening to our guests’ tell their stories on Disrupting Japan gave them the confidence to start their own startup, and that’s pretty awesome.
So, thank you!
Ten years ago I never imagined how big Disrupting Japan would become. Honestly, it kind of freaks me out sometimes. But here we are. Ten years and well over 200 episodes later, and we have over 9,000 listers in more than 150 countries around the world — including one listener from Vatican City.
Now, I have no way of knowing for sure exactly who that listener is. I mean, it could be anybody. But I like to think of it as a testament to the influential nature of Disrupting Japan’s listeners.
Building Disrupting Japan is an honor and a joy. I love putting the show together, and despite having a fairly demanding day job, I always make sure Disrupting Japan is released on schedule and is a quality show that woth the time you put into listening to it.
The show takes up a lot of weekends and evenings. I’ve done pre-interview research while in the hospital for a minor surgery. I’ve done post production editing in so many different airport lounges, and twice I’ve made a little pillow-fort in my hotel room so I would have decent acoustics to record the intro and outtro.
So, whether you are a new lister or have been a part of Disrupting Japan ever since episode 1 was released 10 years ago, thank you for taking this journey with me. Startup innovation is really starting to flourish in Japan, and we have exciting times ahead.
And most of all, thanks for listening and thank you for letting people interested in Japanese startups and VCs know about the show.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for listening to Disrupting Japan. -
SaaS startup valuations and growth rates have dropped sharply in most of the world, but not in Japan.
SaaS startups are growing fast in Japan, and that trend is set to accelerate even more over the next five years.
Today Shinji Asada of One Capital explains Japan's still-untapped SaaS potential, his unique SMB and product-focused investment thesis, and the big changes that are happening in Japan's startup ecosystem.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The untapped potential of SMB SaaS
Unique requirements for product collaboration software in Japan
What is will take for Japanese SaaS startups to go global
How One Capital helps its investors with digital transformation
Japanese CVCs play a different role than in the US, and that's a good thing
Why Japan SaaS valuations will continue to climb
What makes a great SaaS company
How Japanese founders have changed over the past 20 years
How they will change in the next five
How Japanese VC will (and will not) change in the next five years
What Shinji learned from doing inside sales as a VC
Links from our Guest
Everything you ever wanted to know about One Capital
The SaaS metrics tool, Projection AI
Follow Shinji on Twitter @asada23
Friend him on Facebook
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
I have always been a fan of Enterprise SaaS. In fact, all of the startups I founded have been enterprise SaaS companies, and some of those were back when SaaS was called ASP.
But these days it seems that SaaS has lost a lot of its former shine and sparkle, at least in the US market. Multiples are way down for both public and private SaaS companies. We're seeing a lot of flat and even down rounds.
For the first time in a very long time, American VCs just aren't that excited about SaaS startups.
But things are very different in Japan.
Today we sit down with Shinji Asada, co-founder and general partner of One Capital. Shinji explains how SaaS in Japan has had a very different history and why it's likely going to have a very different future than it will in the West. And he brings the numbers to back that up. We also talk about why SaaS valuations continue to climb in Japan, how Japanese VCs are changing, and why Shinji spends his spare time doing inside sales for SaaS products.
But you know, Shinji tells that story much better than I can. So let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Shinji Asada, the founder of One Capital. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Shinji: Appreciate it.
Tim: So, Shinji, first of all, let me just congratulate you on your recently closed Fund two, which was just last month, right?
Shinji: Yeah. It was a great adventure too, because Fund two is different from Fund one. Fund one is totally, totally new, where you have to talk a lot, about track record and your strategy. And Fund two, you have a little bit of an easier life because you've started your Fund one and you've deployed most of the capital. So, you have a story to tell in a concrete manner.
Tim: I'm going to dig into that whole journey in a bit later. But right now, tell me a bit about One Capital. What's your thesis? Who are you investing in and why?
Shinji: We are a sector focused early stage Fund, focused on enterprise software. The reason is, I think Japan has a huge problem with the adoption of technology in the workforce. And I've been working at Itochu, which is a great company in a profitable large market cap growing. But the systems that I had to use was very, very old. It's on-prem customized software. You know, even under those IT system circumstances, I think corporate Japan is doing pretty well. And people didn't actually use digital workflows pre-covid because we had this thing called the Hanko, which is stamps. -
If you have ever wondered what it really takes to start and grow a startup as a foreigner in Japan. Well, I have a treat for you today.
Earlier this year, at the Japan FinTech Festival, I had the privilege of sitting down with four fantastic foreign FinTech founders and talking about what you need to succeed in Japan.
There are some great insights here from Jeff Wentworth of Curvegrid, Paul Chapman of Moneytree, Sam Pemberton-Ahmed of SmartPay, and Samantha Ghiotti of Habitto.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Transcript
I think in every startup ecosystem, foreigners play an outsized role in promoting that ecosystem, whether it's in San Francisco, whether it's London. And the reasons for that might be a desire, a people who are willing to uproot themselves and move halfway across the world, maybe are just bigger risk takers. Maybe it's new perspective.
But today, we're gonna dig into what it takes to grow a startup, a Fintech startup in particular as a foreigner here in Japan. And to start out, we're gonna do really brief, really brief introductions. So I'm Tim Romero. I'm a partner at Jira Ventures. We invest in green tech energy, sustainability, next generation energy.
Before that, I founded 4 startups here in Japan. I ran Google for startups Japan for a number of years. I helped Tapco spin out their CVC, and I run a podcast called Disrupting Japan, which is interviews with Japanese founders about what it's like to be a founder in a culture that prizes conformity. Samantha? Hi, everyone.
My name is Sam, and I'm the cofounder of Habito. Habits is Japan's first connected financial experience helping people save, invest, and protect what they love the most. As my surname suggests, I'm Italian and I'm a mother of 2. And, I've been living and working across 4 different continents, London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, and now Tokyo. I spent about 20 years at the intersection of tech and finance, about 10 years as an operator, both in large financial institutions.
And I ran the Singlife franchise in Singapore prior to its exit in 2021. And I spent 10 years as an investor sitting on the other side, predominantly in venture and also private equity, with a company called Anthemis Group, which is pioneer fintech investors in Europe and North America. And, that's where I met a lot of people there today is in this room. So it's great to see you all again. Excellent.
Sam? Hi. My name's Sam. I'm from SmartPay. SmartPay is an embedded finance company.
What does that mean? We provide installment loans to consumers at the point of purchase to help merchants, to grow their revenue. And then as of today as well, we just announced insurance as well. So we've partnered with Chubb, and we're providing product insurance and travel insurance with Chubb, at the point of purchase as well. We've signed over 20 banks and 201 credit unions.
What does that mean? It means that you can pay directly from your bank account digitally. So we've connected with the 20 banks and 201 Credit Unions through APIs. So through our app, you can access your bank account. Me, personally, I've been working in Japan since 2010.
Very lucky I was with Starbucks, where we rolled out in app payment, and loyalty card and obviously grew Japan to to be the 2nd largest market at Starbucks, moved to Mastercard, worked with Japan, as well with the banks, and then I was at Facebook, and WhatsApp, and Instagram in Japan and learned a lot from Zuck about success in Japan and decided to to go on my own. Good morning, everyone. My name is Paul Chapman. I'm the, the founder and and CEO at Moneytree. We're a financial data platform, based in Tokyo.
We work with some of the largest banks such as SMBC, one of the sponsors, Mitsubishi OFJ, Japan Post Bank. We have some of the fastest growing, up and coming start ups in Japan using our data platform to get access to over 2,500 data sources. We we've been at this for a while, -
Japan has far fewer unicorns than one expects - or than venture capitalists desire.
That fact, however, hides a fascinating story.
Today James Riney, founding partner of Coral Capital explains the danger of unicorn counting.
We dive deep into which startup sectors Japan is likely to lead in globally in the coming decade, how to identify unique startup value in Japan.
We also talk about how Japan has become more like Silicon Valley in the past ten years and why they are about to become very different.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
Coral Capital’s portfolio strategy
How to find Japanese startups that can make a global impact
Three categories of Japanese startups with unique opportunities for growth
Sectors where Japan has a global advantage in startups
Why “niche” startups in Japan can become hugely profitable
What’s in Store for Carpal Capital Fund 4
Proof Japanese investors are long-term patent long-term investors
The importance of VC portfolio services is growing in Japan
How to get a job at a startup
Starting a VC fund as a foreigner in Japan
Japan’s “Just who does he think he is?! “ problem
The error in the government's plan to attract foreign investors
Why foreign VC struggle in Japan
This biggest misconceptions foreign VCs have about the Japanese market
Japan’s hidden unicorns
Links from our Guest
Everything you ever wanted to know about Coral Capital
Get in touch as a startup
Get in touch as normal person (lol)
Coral Capital on YouTube
The Coral Capital podcast
Follow James on Twitter @james_riney
Connect with him on LinkedIn
Japan's Hidden Unicorns
James' Article on Japan's 41 Hidden Unicorns
My panel discussion on the same topic : Live from Stanford: Where are Japan’s Unicorns?
Coral Capital Fund IV announcement
Get a job at Coral Capital
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative startups and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me.
Venture capital in Japan is changing, but not in the way that most people think it is.
Today, we sit down and talk with longtime friend of the show and founding partner of Coral Capital, James Riney. Now, James first came on the show about eight years ago, back when he was at 500 startups and before he even started Coral Capital.
Over those eight years, James and Coral has probably done more than anyone to bring Silicon Valley style VC investment and VC founder support to Japan. And we're going to talk about some of those successes and failures.
James also shares exactly what he and the team at Coral Capital are looking for in the startups they invest in and how they identify unique startup value in Japan. We also dive into the recent push to attract more foreign VC investment into Japan, what foreigners misunderstand about investing in Japanese startups, the challenges of establishing a VC fund here in Japan, and what Japanese and Silicon Valley VCs still need to learn from each other.
But you know, James tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, I'm sitting here with longtime friend of the show. James Rainey, who's CEO, founder of Coral Capital. So, thanks for sitting down with us again.
James: Thank you. I guess it's my third time.
Tim: Third time in almost 10 years.
James: It's crazy. Time flies.
Tim: It does. Man, so much has changed. It's just incredible. But we will go down memory lane some other time. And today let's talk Coral. So, tell me about your fund. Who are you investing in and why?
James: Yeah, so we are basically looking for what we call Power Law companies in Japan. So, as you know, venture capital is very much driven by Power Law, which means that there's only a handful of companies in the industry or at a firm level that are really going to drive most of the returns. -
Japan thinks about robotics and AI differently that the West.
In addition to their functional, productive role, a lot of thought is also given to our personal interactions, their social role, and the relationships we build with them.
Today we sit down with Shunsuke Aoki, founder of Yukai Engineering and one of the most innovative and creative thinkers on the emotional connection between humans and machines.
We talk about the future of robot companionship, how AI will change the definition of "culture", and why the future of Japanese robotics will have a lot more participation by foreigners.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The importance of emotional connection with robots
Why children will listen to robots more then parents
The importance and future of robot companionship
Japanese vs western robot attitudes in culture and fiction
How GenZ is is accepting AI boyfriends and girlfriends
What a healthy emotional connection with an AI or robot looks like
How to keep AI from influencing us into developing bad habits and
Why do we keep building human like robots
Why it’s easier to form an emotional connection to Qooboo than Abbot
How to (maybe) make money on emotional robots
Why the Japanese approach to robotics needs more foreigners in Japan now
Links from our Guest
Everything you ever wanted to know about Yukai Engineering
Follow Shunsuke on Twitter @aopico
Friend him on Facebook
Connect on LinkedIn
Yukai's Products
Bocco Emo
Qoobo
Nekkomimi
Fufury
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative startups and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me.
Today, we're going to talk about robots because I mean, hey, who doesn't love robots?
Now, in past episodes, we've talked a lot about how Japan's relationship with robots and automation is fundamentally different from what it is in the West. It's not really about technology. I mean, technology is universal. It's more about the personal and cultural connection to machines in general.
Well, today I have a real treat for you. We sit down and talk with Shunsuke Aoki, the founder of Yukai Engineering. Now Shunsuke may not be that well known outside Japan, but he's one of the most innovative and creative thinkers on the topic of how humans and machines can connect on an emotional and a subconscious level.
Now, to be fair, an audio podcast can't really do justice to Yukai engineering's creations, but we're going to do our best. You need to see the videos or really you need to interact with Shunsuke's creations in person to fully understand the emotional impact.
Shunsuke and I talk about the future of robot and AI companionship, how AI will change the way we think about culture, and why the future of Japanese robotics will involve a lot more participation from foreigners.
But, you know, Shunsuke tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Shunsuke Aoki, the founder of Yukai Engineering who's creating lifestyle robots, and thanks for sitting down with us again. It's been a while.
Shunsuke: Thank you. It's been a while.
Tim: Yukai over the last decade and a half has been making so many cool, interesting things that just to name a few, your first big hit was the Nekomimi wearable cattier that respond to brainwaves. You have the Qoobo sort of companion pillow which has the cat tail on it. The Bocco family robot that seems to be getting a lot of traction and it's hard to describe these on an audio podcast. But we'll put videos and pictures on the site, but it's hard to understand this kind of emotional impact unless you can touch and interact with these robots. With so much robotics research going on, you've been very focused on this sort of emotional connection. Tell me about that. Why is that important? Why do you focus on that? -
What keeps Japanese startups stuck in Japan?
It's not a lack of opportunity or ambition. It's not a lack of knowledge or talent. In fact, one of Japan's most experienced venture capitalists thinks that VCs themselves that are the problem.
Today we sit down with Ken Yasunaga, founder and Managing Partner of Global Hands On VC, a fund focused on finding and supporting the Japanese startups with the highest potential to succeed in the global market.
Before founding GHOVC, Ken was managing director at INCJ (Japan's public/private $21B venture fund) as well holding multiple leadership positions in the Japan Venture Capital Association.
We talk about the unique opportunities for investment in Japan, the trap of going public here, how some VCs are holding startups back, and why this might be a turning point for Japan's new global startups.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The two most pressing needs in Japan's startup ecosystem
What's driving the increasing quality of Japanese founders
Why we are not seeing Japanese unicorns
What's preventing Japanese startups from going global
The trap of going pubic in Japan
Why Japanese startups struggle to go global
The importance of mentors and hands-on support
The important role of foreign VCs in Japan
The right role government needs to play in supporting innovation in Japan
Are Japanese founders becoming more conformist?
Links from our Guest
Everything you ever wanted to know about GHOVC
Check out GHOVC on YouTube
Follow Ken on Twitter @ken_yasunaga
Friend him on Facebook
Connect on LinkedIn
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative startups and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me.
Talking about how Japanese startups need to go global is like talking about needing to go to the gym to lose those 10 pounds. I mean, everyone agrees it’s a great idea, a necessary one in fact, everyone is incredibly supportive. There are classes, networking opportunities, a wide and encouraging network.
We all agree that it needs to be done, but somehow very few actually get off their ass and make it happen.
Well, today we sit down with Ken Yasunaga, who is going to explain what he and his team are doing to fix that. The going global part, I mean, getting motivated to go to the gym is a discussion we'll save for a later time.
Ken is the founder and the managing partner at Global Hands-on VC a fund. He and his partners put together to focus on finding the Japanese startups with the strongest global potential, and then providing them with the resources and guidance they need to actually do so successfully. Before starting his most recent fund, Ken managed one of the largest Japan government VC funds and has advised both METI and the Cabinet Office on startup policy.
So, we also dive deep into the role that government should play in supporting the startup ecosystem here. The IPO trap that many Japanese startups fall into, the unique opportunity for foreign VCs in Japan. And of course just what it's going to take to get Japanese startups to succeed in global markets.
But, you know, Ken tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Ken Yasunaga, the founder and managing partner of Global Hands-on VC. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Ken: Well, thank you for having me.
Tim: I've really been looking forward to this conversation because we've known each other for quite some time now through several iterations of our career path. So, let's talk about your thesis at Global Hands-on VC because I think you're addressing two really important needs in Japan's startup ecosystem.
Ken: Yeah. So, let me first tell you what the Global Hands-on VC. We call it the GHOVC. This is a VC fund that invest to the Japanese technology startup. -
There is important news for Disrupting Japan this week.
It's a very short episode because I just want to let you know what's coming, and to thank you for all your support over the years.
Leave a comment
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan
Straight talk from Japan’s most innovative startups and VCs.
I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for listening.
Big changes are coming to Disrupting Japan.
Our 10th anniversary is coming up this September, and you know, I thought about making this change then, but no. No, there is too much going on right now now to wait for four more months.
For the past ten years Disruption Japan has brought you the stories of Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs, and I am going to continue to do that. But starting today, we are going to be hearing from Japan’s leading venture capitalists as well.
There are a few reasons for the change. Part of it is that the Japanese venture landscape is changing fast, and in some very different snd important ways than what we see in the US. Understanding innovation and startups in Japan requires understanding how it all gets financed and understanding the changing role that venture capital is playing here.
The other reason for the change coming now is that these days as a Partner at JERA Ventures, these are the waters in which I swim. And there are some incredibly interesting trends and changes going on in the ecosystem that I will be sharing with you. Naturally, we’ll also talk about the kinds of startups VCs are investing in now and where they see the market heading in the future.
And of course, Disrupting Japan will still be talking with founders — a lot of them! After all, that’s where the change and the innovation really comes from. The founders are the are men and women who are actually in the arena, fighting the good fight, and changing the world.
So I’ll see you right back here in just a couple of weeks.
And most of all thanks for listening, and thank you for letting people interested in Japanese startups and investors know about the show.
I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for listening to Disrupting Japan. -
Some industries need to be dragged kicking and screaming to innovation.
When margins are tight and profits are small, CEOs often don't want to spend a dime on the promise of increased efficiencies or long-term savings, and so external leverage is needed.
Today we talk with Shinya Shimizu, founder and CEO of Elephantech, who explains how he found that leverage in his mission to make the global technology supply chain more environmentally friendly.
We explore how Elephantech and other startups are helping the world meet net-zero targets, strategies for scaling manufacturing startups, and how you can make money while doing good in the world.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The surprising impact of circuit boards on global CO2 emissions
Growing from a kickstarter camping into a multi-million dollar startup
How to raise debt financing rather than equity financing
How Elephantech is selling eco-friendly solutions in a low-margin commodity industry
How they built their first factory, and Shinya never wants to build another one
How to scale a manufacturing startup
Advice on successfully selling to and collaborating with Japanese enterprise
How to take a deep tech startup global without massive amounts of capital
Advice for sustainability startups on how to survive and thrive in cost-conscious industries
When government regulation is good for startups and when it's damaging
The danger of the wrong kinds of founder role models in Japan.
Links from the Founder
Everything you ever wanted to know about Elephantech
Follow Shinya on Twitter @shinyashimizu_e
Connect with Shinya on LinkedIn
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Circuit boards are one of those things that are everywhere, but that we really don't think about very much. Personally my only direct experience with circuit boards was years ago and involved a fair amount of cursing and a lot of solder burns.
But printed circuit boards or PCBs, or a $90 billion global industry that is highly standardized, tightly controlled, and surprisingly damaging to the environment.
Well, Shinya Shimizu and the team at Elephantech are changing that, they've not only developed the technology to re-engineer PCB manufacturer to be more environmentally friendly and less expensive, but they've also built their first factory and are now selling to some of the world's largest manufacturers.
Elephantech is a great example of how startups can succeed while making a positive contribution in this world. And Shinya also gives some great practical advice about how to sell to large enterprises as a new startup. How to raise money for capital intensive growth, and how to introduce new innovation into a low margin cutthroat industry. It's really quite an amazing story of their journey from a small Kickstarter project 10 years ago to make a pen that lets you draw working electrical circuits to selling PCB technology to some of the world's largest manufacturers today, to just maybe fundamentally changing the way circuit boards get made tomorrow.
But, you know, Shinya tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Shinya Shimizu, the CEO and founder of Elephantech. The first company in the world to mass produce printed circuit boards using an inkjet printing, echo friendly, sustainable manufacturing process.
Shinya: Yeah. Sure.
Tim: That's longer to say than I thought. But thanks for sitting down with us.
Shinya: You're welcome. So, I'm really happy to be here.
Tim: Well, I try to explain what you do in that big mouthful of an introduction, but I think you can probably explain it better than me. So, what does Elephantech do?
Shinya: So, Elephantech is going to completely change the way of manufacturing electronic circ... -
Japanese HR departments are in a bit of a panic right now.
The increasing job mobility that startups have unleashed is forcing them to rethink their entire mission.
Today we sit down and Takako Ogawa, co-founder and CEO of Panalyt, a startup at the center of this transformation, and we talk about the changing career paths in Japan, when startups need to change CEOs, and the dangers of going global that people don't seem to talk about.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
Why it's so hard for HR to answer simple questions
Google’s approach to people analytics and why that's important in Japan
The dangers involved in the freemium model
Why a Singapore-based startup started focusing on Japan
Why it's better to build a startup today in Japan rather than Singapore
How to change a startup CEO
The importance and danger of transparency in a startup
The problem most enterprise SaaS dashboard startups never overcome
The right way for a startup to go global
HRs new mission in Japan and its struggles to fufill it
Why your next head of HR might come from marketing
How Japan punishes failure
Takako's near "career-ending" mistake in corporate HR that put her on the path to entrepreneurship
Links from the Founder
Everything you ever wanted to know Panalyt
Friend Takako on Facebook
Panalyt's column in HRPro about modern HR in Japan [Japanese]
Panalyt's book on modern people analytics [Japanese]
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Japanese HR departments are in crisis right now.
Oh, life was simple back in the good old days when the big firms all recruited straight out of university and employees stayed with the company until they retired. But things are changing in Japan. People are starting to switch jobs. Companies are hiring mid-career and startups?
Well, startups are a source of employee mobility, that is forcing enterprise HR to completely rethink its entire mission.
Today we sit down and talk with someone at the center of this transformation, Takako Ogawa, co-founder and CEO of Panalyt, a startup bringing modern people analytics to Japanese HR departments.
But that was not always the case. Takako was not always the CEO and Panalyt, was not always a Japanese startup.
So, Takako and I talk about that journey. We'll dive into how you know when a startup needs a new CEO, how to decide on your first overseas market including a few big mistakes that you should be sure to avoid. And the very important difference between having a global mindset from day one and actually being global from day one.
But, you know, Takako tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So I'm sitting here with Takako Ogawa, the co-founder and CEO of Panalyt, who's bringing modern people analytics to Japanese enterprise. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Takako: Yeah, thank you.
Tim: It's really great to have you on the show. But just for a background, what is people analytics?
Takako: So, in a nutshell, how I see people analytics is taking a scientific or data approach to HR, kind of in the same way that when you build a new product, you do AB testing, or when you're building financial models, you test out a lot of things in numbers. And the super exciting thing is in the people space, now we can do this as well. Modern enterprises who uses a payroll system, a time and attendance system, HRIS, they have enough data to make data-driven approaches to people.
Tim: So, data-driven is good. We all like data, but what kind of decisions are these companies making? What are they improving?
Takako: I can definitely share some of the experiences at Google because back when I was there, we used data in everything. Like everything. I was astonished by how Google approached HR and that's what got me... -
Fusion energy promises almost unlimited, inexpensive, clean energy.
That's a pretty big promise.
Today we sit down with Satoshi Konishi, co-founder and CEO of Kyoto Fusioneering, and we talk about what it is really going to take to develop commercially viable fusion power and the role that startups have to play in that process.
We talk about the emerging public-private research partnerships, who is pulling ahead in the fusion race, and we dig into the long history and near future of fusion energy
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
Why fusion energy is much older than you think
Why fusion energy dropped out of the news and why it’s back
How to raise venture capital for moonshot startups
The three core components to a fusion power that form Kyoto Fusioneering's business model
A strategy for standardizing when technology moves quickly
How recent fusion energy headlines have been misleading
Why we have a fusion energy startup cluster in Japan
The Japanese public attitude towards fusion
How the fusion industry will develop over the next five to ten years
The biggest misconception about fusion in Japan
One way to solve Japan’s deep tech scaling problem
Links from the Founder
Everything you ever wanted to know Kyoto Fusioneering
Connect with them on LinkedIn
Check out some videos of the experimental fusion equipment
Satoshi's ResearchGate page
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Today we're going to talk about fusion energy. Now, for the past several decades, fusion has been touted as the best possible solution to the world's energy needs. It's a promise of clean, safe, inexpensive, and virtually limitless energy.
So, what's not to love?
Of course, making that dream a reality is not exactly a simple matter. Today, we sit down with Satoshi Konishi, founder and CEO of Kyoto Fusioneering, and we talk about the state of fusion energy today, the problems that still need to be solved and the role that startups have to play in making fusion energy a commercial reality.
And if during our interview, it sounds like I'm sometimes kind of bubbling over in geeky excitement, well, it's because I am. Fusion energy is something that's fascinated me since I was in high school. It's just such an interesting and important set of technologies, and it's some genuinely cool physics as well.
Anyway, Satoshi and I dig into both the history of fusion power and the current challenges being faced by both universities and startups alike in bringing it to commercialization. Why the most viral headlines about fusion energy tend to be really misleading, what’s needed for more effective public private partnerships and fusion, and of course, we also dive into how Satoshi sees fusion energy developing over the next 10 years and the real trigger that will determine when and if we will see a world powered by fusion.
But, you know, Satoshi tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, I am sitting here with Satoshi Konishi of Kyoto Fusioneering, who's working with researchers and startups around the world to make fusion energy a reality. So, thanks so much for sitting down with us.
Satoshi: I'm very happy to just talk with you. Thank you very much.
Tim: Well, it's my pleasure. And before we get deep into the fusion technology, my understanding is that Kyoto Fusion hearing's focus is on the materials and the precision engineering that are needed for fusion research.
Satoshi: Yeah, that is partially true, but what we intend to do ultimately is that to make the anti-fusion plant to make fusion energy. But what makes fusion energy well is not resource, but small amount hydrogen, but big machines very precisely made. So, when need special materials, -
Most sustainability startups struggle to find sustainable business models
Towing, however, has found their solution, and their customers are seeing 20% to 70% increases crop yields.
Today we sit down with Towing co-founder Teppei Okamura and he explains why even such a drastic yield improvement required an innovative production and distribution model to achieve scale.
We also talk about the advantages (and the challenges) of working with university research teams, how environment policy and carbon credits affect innovation in sustainable agriculture, and Towing's joint research project with JAXA, Japan's space agency, on developing farming in space.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
How Towing is revitalizing depleted agricultural soil
Achieving and verifying 20 to 70 % yield improvements
The pros and cons of research collaboration with Japanese universities
The high-tech business model behind dirt
How to develop the economic incentives needed to make sustainable agriculture profitable
Towing's distributed business model that reduces storage and distribution costs
Farming in space and the most important part of getting it to work
Why Japan is a good market for Agtech startups
How carbon offset pricing influences sustainable agriculture
The advantages of starting a startup when the economy is good vs when times are bad.
Links from the Founder
Everything you ever wanted to know about Towing
Follow Towing on Twitter @TOWING_0227
Friend Teppei on Facebook
Government's take on space farming [pdf]
Interesting information in Japanese
Founder interview at Nagoya University
Towing's recent TV appearance
Agricultural carbon credits
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Cheaper Than Dirt.
Well, anyone who works in modern agriculture will tell you that's not necessarily very cheap these days. Maintaining soil quality is hard and soil revitalization is expensive. Well, today we sit down and talk with Teppei Okamura, co-founder of Towing, a startup that has developed a sustainable and affordable soil additive that is resulting in a 20 to 70% increase in crop yield and is now being sold to farmers throughout Japan.
And Towing addresses the common scalability challenge that these kinds of agricultural tech startups inevitably face by using an innovative production and distribution model that should allow them to achieve meaningful and perhaps even global scale.
We talk about the challenges of launching a university spin out using licensed IP, why so many genuinely innovative agTech startups never managed to reach sustainable commercial scale, and about Towing's ongoing collaboration with Japan's space agency to develop the technologies and protocols to make agriculture and space a reality.
But, you know, Teppei tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Teppei Okamura of Towing, who's using microorganisms and bio charcoal to revitalize agricultural soil. And thanks for sitting down with us today.
Teppei: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me.
Tim: I gave just a very, very high level explanation of what Towing does, and I'm sure you can explain it much better than I can.
Teppei: What we produce is artificial soil. Basically we make soil from bio-char, which is made from any like organic materials and like waste from rice industry or like chicken industry or any waste. The organic waste can be used and we grow our basic microbes in the bio-char. And we make that into very good soil or good soil additives, especially good for organic farming.
Tim: And from what I understand, while it can usually take up to five years to revitalize agricultural soil Towing’s process can do it in in one month.
Teppei: Yes. -
Everyone agrees that the Japanese education system needs to be modernized, but EdTech startups still face an uphill battle in Japan.
Of course, academia and governments are not known for being particularly innovative or forward-thinking, and that's why Kohei Kuboyama left a fast-track career at Japan's Ministry of Finance to launch an EdTech startup.
Kohei lays out his blueprint for getting new technology and new products adopted in Japan's schools, explains the challenges of leaving government service to start a startup, and talks about a few optimistic long-term trends he sees in Japan's eduction system.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
Why it’s so hard to leave the government to start a startup
The three waves of "founder acceptance" in Japan
Why EdTech startups sell to cram schools instead of regular schools
The key to turning teachers into product advocates
The biggest challenge in selling to high-schools in Japan.
How to create life-long learners in Japan
The appropriate role of the Japanese government in supporting startups
The biggest risk with government funded startups
Getting over the fear of failure in Japan
Links from the Founder
Everything you wanted to know about okke
Friend Kohei on Facebook
Connect with him on LinkedIn
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Edtech Startups in Japan need to overcome some significant barriers in order to succeed.
Oh, it's not that people really want those barriers there. There's a huge desire for change in innovation. In fact, there is an almost universal agreement that the way Japanese children are taught needs to be modernized and reformed. The hard part, however, is getting people to actually agree on what concrete changes need to be made.
Well, today we sit down with Kohei Kuboyama, the founder of okke. And Kohei lays out his strategy for getting EdTech startup products approved by and used in Japanese schools. He also tells the story of how okke evolved from a simple YouTube curation site into an integrated testing and tutoring platform.
We also talk about Kohei’s surprising decision to leave his fast track career at the Ministry of Finance to start a startup, the key steps to selling to Japanese high schools and cram schools.
And we dive deep into the Japanese philosophy of education and instruction, how it differs from that in the West, and exactly how Japanese high schools and even cram schools are starting to change.
But, you know, Kohei tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: We're sitting here with Kohei Kuboyama, the founder of okke and maker of Dr. okke. Who's helping high school students learn. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Kohei: Thanks for having me.
Tim: I talked really briefly about what okke does but I'm sure you can explain it much better than I can.
Kohei: Yeah. So, our mission is to make a world where every person learns actively and every person can make their lives fulfilled. We are providing two products. One is for high school students and one is for schools. One product is called okke, this is actually an app for high school students and they can use our app for free. So, the basic concept of okke, is to let high school students learn wherever they want to, whenever they want to, and wherever they live. The basic concept is the search engine. So, there are a lot of useful and helpful learning information and contents on Google and YouTube, for example. But there are many kinds of information there. Game and contents of music and so on. We are making the search engine under the platform focusing on learning.
Tim: So, how does it work? So, I think like at first you originally started just curating videos. And recommending educational videos, -
The medical industry is one of the most challenging areas for startups to succeed in.
"Move fast and break things" just doesn't work in medicine. So you might be surprised to learn that right now there are quite a few innovative medical startups coming out of Japan.
Today we talk with Yuichi Tamura, founder of Cardio Intelligence, who has developed Smart Robin, an AI platform that reads EKGs, has been certified as a diagnostic device, and is being used in clinics and hospitals all over Japan.
We talk about the challenges of bringing medical AI to market, their plans for global expansion, and the most important thing that venture capital can offer medTech startups.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The importance and challenge of the current EKG-reading workflow
Why is is so hard to bring a new medical innovations to market
Yuichi's transition from medicine to business.
A go-to-market strategy for medical startups
How Cardio Intelligence acquired enough EKG training data
Why automatic EKG diagnostic innovation stopped in the 1970s
The importance of explainable AI for medical devices and diagnostics
The role startups need to play in medical innovation in Japan
What venture capital firms can really contribute to medTech startups (besides the capital)
Links from the Founder
Everything you wanted to know about Cardio Intelligence
Follow them on Twitter @cardio_int
Follow Yuichi on Twitter @TamCardio
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Genuinely new medical technology is one of the most difficult things for a startup to bring to market. Regulations are complex and capital needs are high, and yet Japan has a surprisingly large cluster of innovative medical startups who have new technology both approved for and actually in use in clinical practice.
There are a number of reasons for this, and today we sit down with Yuichi Tamura, MD and founder of Cardio Intelligence, a startup using AI to read EKGs and detect atrial fibrillation.
It's a technology that not only makes work faster, but it opens up a whole new range of important inexpensive diagnostic tests that were simply impractical before. It's AI technology that is doing genuine good.
Yuichi and I dive deeply into that, and we also talk about how AI is going to change the face of telemedicine and rural hospitals. Why EKG innovation stopped in the seventies and exactly when technical founders need to step out of the CEO role.
But, you know, Yuichi tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Yuichi Tamura, the founder and CEO of Cardio Intelligence and maker of Smart Robin, who's using AI to detect atrial fibrillations from EKGs. Thanks for sitting down with me today.
Yuichi: Sure, my pleasure.
Tim: Well, I gave a really brief introduction to what Cardio Intelligence does, and I'm sure you can explain it much better than I can. So, what do you guys do?
Yuichi: So, Cardio Intelligence provides the AI medical software, which enables physicians and the technicians to lead the long-term electrocardiogram more easily.
Tim: And you're focused on detecting atrial fibrillation. So, what exactly is atrial fibrillation and why is it bad?
Yuichi: Atrial fibrillation is a very, very big problem for cardiac health. It brings not only heart failure, but also brain stroke because an atrial fibrillation make a paralyzing the atrium, the upper chamber in the heart, which brings some very, very small thrombin. And finally, it drives into the brain arteries which brings a brain stroke. So, in such a case, the patient suffer from very severe symptom, half of the body paralyzing and sometimes make sudden death.
Tim: And from what I understand it, -
Japan wants to learn how to code.
Over the past 15 years software development in Japan has changed from low-level clerical work to a mission-critical skill, and the Japanese government and industry as scrambling to find programmers and develop new talent.
Yan Fan came to Japan on a mission to teach everyone how to code. After opening Japan's first coding bootcamp, and she and her co-founder Kani grew Code Chrysalis to profitability and about 50 staff, and continue to grow rapidly.
Yan and I talk about digital literacy in Japan, and she also explains her blueprint for making sales in Japan without speaking Japanese, identifying a startup's unique value in Japan, and her experience raising money from both angels and CVCs
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
As promised, here is a picture of "Benesse's pumpkin"a work by Yayoi Kusama. It will all make sense after you listen to the episode.
Show Notes
Why Japanese enterprise is looking at coding bootcamps
Why software development was a dirty job and how that's changing
Why come to Japan to start a startup
Raising money as a non-digital startup in Japan
How angel investors add value and what attracts CVCs
Attracting your first customers as a foreign startup in Japan
Why Japan needs a community-learners mindset where people learn from each other
Yan's networking and marketing strategy for foreign founders in Japan
Why Japan Inc and METI want Japan to learn to code
How to improve mobility in Japan's labor market
Links from the Founders
Everything you wanted to know about Code Chrysalis
Check out their enterprise classes
Follow them on Twitter @codechrysalis
Send them an email at [email protected]
Connect with Yan on LinkedIn
Follow her on Twitter @yanarchy
Read her blog about teaching Toyota staff to code
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
There are a surprising number of entrepreneurs who dream of coming to Japan to start a startup. And recently the Japanese government is working hard to make Japan as attractive as possible to foreign founders by relaxing visa requirements, creating tax breaks, simplifying the incorporation process, and even setting up dedicated teams to attract foreign founders and provide them support in English.
You might think that all this would make it easy to build a startup as a foreigner in Japan, but it's not. Of course, part of it is just that growing a startup anywhere is really hard. But the culture and linguistic challenges in Japan are very real, and yet a lot of people are doing it.
Today we sit down with Yan Fan, an old friend and co-founder of Code Chrysalis, who's on a mission to teach Japan how to code.
Yan came to Japan with the goal of founding and growing a startup, and that's just what she's done. And in our conversation, she lays out her blueprint, how she built a network when she didn't speak the language, how she identified her startups unique value add in Japan, and her experience raising money here from both Angels and from CVCs.
Its advice that every aspiring foreign founder or active foreign founder for that matter in Japan really should know about.
We also talk about how the image of software engineers, especially foreign software engineers, is changing some of the ways METI and the Japanese government are trying to teach Japan how to code, and why they now consider that skill to be so important for the future of Japan. And also why there is now a picture of Benesse's Pumpkin on the Disrupting Japan website.
But, you know, Yan tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we're sitting here with Yan Fan, the co-founder of Code Chrysalis, who's teaching Japan how to code. So thanks for sitting down with me.
Yan: Thanks for having me today, -
Shadow IT has been responsible for more enterprise SaaS deployments and workflow innovation than any growth strategy of the last 15 years.
And that 's all about to end.
Today we sit down with Yasu Matsumoto, who stepped down as CEO of Raksul after leading the startup from founding to post-IPO success, to start Josys, a new startup helping enterprises put an end to shadow IT once and for all.
Yasu explains why that the end of shadow IT is actually a good thing for everyone, why he decided to step down from his high-profile CEO role, and the future of SaaS sales and marketing.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The problem with shadow IT and why it's coming to an end
The Raksul startup to IPO story
The Josys spinout and fundraising as a spinout
Why there are so few serial founders in Japan
The public's reaction to Yasu's decision to resign as CEO of Raksul
Why CIOs are fighting back against shadow IT
Josys's global expansion plans and being global from day 1
Two two reasons Japanese startups need to enter the US market quickly
The important difference between enterprise SaaS and SMB SaaS services
The one thing that would lead to a dynamic, mobile workforce in Japan
Links from the Founders
Everything you wanted to know about Josys
Connect with Yasu on LinkedIn
Jobs at Josys
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Salesforce was the first major SaaS Company. They redefined how software was used in and sold to enterprise companies all over the world. And in the two and a half decades since their founding, new SaaS software has pushed into every corner of the enterprise.
But recently, the enterprise has started pushing back, and the bedrock go-to-market strategy that so many enterprise SaaS startups depend on might be about to disappear.
Today we sit down with Yasu Matsumoto, founder of Raksul, and now founder and CEO of Josys, which provides SaaS management tools to the enterprise.
We not only talk about SaaS marketing strategies, but we dive into the important differences between the enterprise and SMB SaaS markets, how to raise VC finance for corporate spinouts, and why we might be about to start seeing a lot more serial founders in Japan.
But, you know, Yasu tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Yasu Matsumoto, the founder and CEO of Josys, who's providing companies with comprehensive IT device and SaaS management. So, thanks for sitting down with me today.
Yasu: Thanks, Tim.
Tim: So, I gave a really high level overview of what Josys is, but I think you can explain it much better than I can.
Yasu: Josys is our IT operation platform. You can integrate all of the SaaS, what your company use and all of devices your employee use. Integrate all hardware and software into Josys by APIs and you can figure out what kind of a software your company use, what kind of a hardware your company use. And also you can provide account like Slack or Google or Notions Microsoft account for the new employees with a single click. And once they are employee resign the company, you can delete these accounts and device with just a single click.
Tim: So, it's centralized SaaS license management, centralized account provisioning.
Yasu: Exactly.
Tim: And so you mentioned its API integration, so it's not that individuals are inputting this information.
Yasu: Yes. Our product is based on the API economy. So, the company use tons of apps after the COVID, but these apps are not controlled by central IT operations. So, each of the department install the new apps by their decision making or sometimes individual, but they're from the point of a corporate IT or cybersecurity view. That is very dangerous.
Tim: It is, but it's interesting because that is one of th... -
For decades (centuries, really) lending in Japan has relied on personal guarantors and introductions rather than objective credit scoring. This startup is changing that.
Before starting Credit Engine, which provides credit scoring, automated approvals, and other services to mega-banks and other financial institutions, Sei Uchiyama founded an online lending startup to ensure he understand this market from the bottom up.
Credit Engine currently automates everything from loan approvals to the collection of delinquent and non-performing loans, and its already starting to change finance in Japan.
Sei and I talk about the future of finance in Japan and the surprising way competition between FinTech startups and the banks is likely to play out.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
How much of the loan process can a startup be involved in
How the mega-banks are experimenting with this technology
The post-tsunami rescue micro-finance fund
Why pivot from direct lending to financial services
Why lending fintechs startups have trouble raising funds in Japan
How real-time credit scoring will change consumer behavior in Japan
Is Japan really "over-banked" and what that means for innovation
Japanese mega-banks' reactions to financial innovation
How automated debt collection improved results by more than 1000%
Are the biggest FinTech opportunities in developing or developed markets?
Mega-banks' secret weapon in competing with startups
How easing labor protections would help Japanese employees
Links from the Founders
Everything you wanted to know about Credit Engine
About LENDY the loan company they operate
Connect with Sei on LinkedIn
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Japan has always had a, well, let's call it a “conservative” attitude, towards consumer borrowing. Credit card balances are generally paid in full at the end of the month. Most household purchases are saved for rather than financed and outside of a mortgage, debt is generally seen as a bad thing. In fact, rather than using consumer credit scores, most Japanese lending still relies on introductions and personal guarantees.
But Sei Uchiyama, the founder of Credit Engine, is changing that. Over the past few years, Sei, has both started a new lending company and partnered with some of Japan's largest banks to streamline and automate loan approvals and issuance. And he and the team have even developed an automated system for collecting non-performing loans that outperforms traditional methods.
Now Sei and I talk about how faster and simpler access to credit in Japan might change things for both good and for bad, what it's going to take to truly disrupt financial markets and whether that will turn out to be a good thing and the differences between Fintech's startup strategy in developed and developing markets.
But, you know, Sei tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, we are sitting here with Sei Uchiyama, the founder and CEO of Credit Engine who's providing turnkey lending solutions to financial institutions. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Sei: Thank you very much for the opportunity talking here.
Tim: So, I explained really briefly what Credit Engine does, but I'm sure you can explain it much better than I can. So, what is Credit Engine?
Sei: So, Credit Engine is the online lending platform providing the loan origination system and also the collection system for financial institutions, including banks and non-banking financial institutions.
Tim: I understand it's a full service system. You provide scoring automated approvals all the way through processing and collections, right? So, that's quite a lot. So, tell me about what types of loans are you originating?
Sei: So, -
The legal system is complex, hard to understand, expensive to navigate, and ripe for disruption.
In the future, we will still need lawyers to help us understand the law, but it look like we are going to need far fewer of them than we have today.
Nozo Tsunoda is an attorney who walked away from a promising legal career to start LegalOn, an AI startup focused on making the practice of law more efficient, transparent, and easy to navigate.
We talk about why corporate legal departments are the early adopters, but why AI technology is forcing its way even into the most traditional law firms, and how it might someday be used by consumers as well.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
Why it's hard to sell AI technology to law firms
How AI is starting to change the way law firms compete
Why Nozo left the law to start a legal startup
The contract review workflow and why it's perfect for AI disruption
How many lawyers will AI replace in the next five years?
Differences in how US and Japanese staff view working from home
A $100M investment in US market entry
Differences between Japanese and American legal systems
Can today's AI understand contracts better than a junior associate?
The big changes AI will force on the legal industry
The need for more immigration in Japan
Links from the Founders
Everything you wanted to know LegalOn
Their US website
Learn about LegalOn's Products
Japan Products
LegalForce
LegalForce Cabinet
US Products
Read about LegalOn's US market expansion
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Of all the industries that are going to be impacted by artificial intelligence, the legal profession is going to be one of the most profoundly transformed.
And today we sit down and talk with Nozo Tsunoda, a licensed attorney and the founder of LegalOn a rapidly growing startup using AI to review and manage contracts. And while their initial clients have been mostly corporate legal departments, Nozo explains how AI is beginning to force changes to the behavior of even traditional legal firms.
Now if you're in the US you might not have heard of LegalOn yet, but you'll be hearing a lot about them soon. Nozo and the team recently raised over a hundred million in large part to fuel their recent US market entry.
Nozo and I talk about the challenges of selling increased efficiency to lawyers who bill by the hour LegalOn’s US expansion plans, and how AI is going to change the entire legal industry.
But, you know, Nozo tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
Interview
Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Nozo Tsunoda of LegalOn, who's using artificial intelligence to simplify and improve contract review and management. So, thanks for sitting down with us.
Nozo: Thank you.
Tim: Well, listen, I gave a really brief description of what LegalOn does, but I'm sure you can explain it much better than I did. So, what does LegalOn do?
Nozo: LegalOn technology is legal tech companies. I found it seven years ago, and now we have three solutions. And globally we have four solutions and globally we have 3,700 customers.
Tim: Well, but to get to the basics for some listeners who might not understand anything about the legal process, so what is the service that LegalOn provides?
Nozo: For contract area we have three product for pre-ex execution process of contract drafting or review. And second product is for contract management.
Tim: So, contracts is a very, very broad subject. So, LegalOn focus is mostly on things like NDAs and purchase agreements and things like that.
Nozo: Yes, of course we can support NDA, purchase agreement or service agreement, but we can review 50 types of contracts for the market.
Tim: Tell me a bit about your customers. So, - Visa fler
