//

Ari Horie has always had a different approach to supporting women entrepreneurs.

She doesn’t talk about “empowering” women and sensitivity training is not in her toolkit. Ari is showing the startup world that incorporating some of the problem-solving skills and leadership techniques favored by women improves their chance of success.

Women having a leading role in entrepreneurship is not the socially responsible thing to do. It is the most profitable thing to do. Ari’s been on stage with some of the most powerful men in Japan including Prime Minister Abe and Hiroshi Mikitani of Rakuten, and her message is starting to take hold.

Entrepreneurship provides a much more level playing field than any other kind of business, and we should not be surprised that a lot of women excel here, and they often do it by doing things differently from their male competitors.

Startups that plan to survive need to use all the tools at their disposal, and Ari explains exactly how this is happening.

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan https://ift.tt/33gForN

//

Uber and Airbnb represent a new very kind of startup, one that could not have existed twenty years ago, and the very thing that make these companies so transformative in the United States ensures they will never succeed in Japan. You see…

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2DagI9C

//

The developed world is facing a severe programmer shortage. Around the world, coding boot camps have stepped into this gap to teach newcomers basic programming skills quickly.

But in like so many other areas, Japan is different.

Coding boot camps have been slow to take off here, and programmers are taught by a patchwork of academic degrees, on the job training, and informal meetups and study sessions.

Kani Munidasa, the co-founder of Code Chrysalis, is changing that. He’s started one of the first Western-style coding boot camps in Japan, and the ecosystem is already seeing the results. Code Chrysalis has an amazing placement rate with grads receiving above-average starting salaries, but there is something more going on here as well.

Kani and I talk about how the job market for programmers is changing in Japan and, more important perhaps, how their place in society is changing as well.

It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Why Japanese engineers don’t participate in open source projects
The differences between Japanese and US junior developers
Divisristiy on a programming team does not main what you think it doe
How to learn to learn
Why Code Chrysalis turns down 80% of its applicants
Why Japanese enterprises are getting behind boot camps
Why developer pay in Japan is so low
Why so many engineers want to come to Japan anyway
How to overcome the need for degrees and certificates

Links from the Founder

Everything you wanted to know about Code Chrysalis
The Code Chrysalis blog
Friend Kani on Facebook
Follow him on Twitter @munidk
A research-based approach to coding education
How to Get Into Code Chrysalis

Leave a comment
Transcript
 Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs.

I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.

One of the most important developments in Japan over the past 10 years and perhaps, the most important way that things are different for startups today than they were 20 years ago is the existence of a startup ecosystem. Now, let me explain that because it’s not obvious, especially to younger entrepreneurs who have never had to run a startup the absence of a startup ecosystem.

A startup ecosystem is not just a group of startups that operate in the same city. We had that during the dotcom era. There were even VC investments, occasional meet ups, and some mentoring, but we didn’t really have an ecosystem back then. We had a community for sure, but not that ecosystem.

An ecosystem comes into being when startups start buying from and selling it to each other. When startups can target other startups with their innovative products, where our pool of employees move from startup to startup, taking their ideas and best practices, and work ethic with them. When an ecosystem developed, it’s an amazing cross-pollination of innovation and growth that is just awesome to be a part of. This is happening in Japan. It’s a relatively new and it’s fantastic.

Today, I’d like you to meet Kani Munidasa, co-founder of Code Chrysalis, a startup that can only exist within a healthy startup ecosystem but also one that any healthy startup ecosystem needs in order to grow. Code Chrysalis is a coding boot camp where over 12 weeks, students learn of the skills they need to get jobs as programmers in Tokyo and as you will soon see, they are really getting jobs.

In fact, after our conversation, there is something I want to ask you and I mean you, personally because it’s something that you might understand better than I do. I would ask you right now, but the question won’t really make a lot of sense until after you sit in on the conversation with me and Kani, and we cover a lot of ground.

We talk about how to get a programming job in Tokyo, how to ramp up skills quickly, and why diversity in programming might not mean what you think it does. But you know,

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2CB5aM5

//

The developed world is facing a severe programmer shortage. Around the world, coding boot camps have stepped into this gap to teach newcomers basic programming skills quickly.

But in like so many other areas, Japan is different.

Coding boot camps have been slow to take off here, and programmers are taught by a patchwork of academic degrees, on the job training, and informal meetups and study sessions.

Kani Munidasa, the co-founder of Code Chrysalis, is changing that. He’s started one of the first Western-style coding boot camps in Japan, and the ecosystem is already seeing the results. Code Chrysalis has an amazing placement rate with grads receiving above-average starting salaries, but there is something more going on here as well.

Kani and I talk about how the job market for programmers is changing in Japan and, more important perhaps, how their place in society is changing as well.

It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Why Japanese engineers don’t participate in open source projects
The differences between Japanese and US junior developers
Divisristiy on a programming team does not main what you think it doe
How to learn to learn
Why Code Chrysalis turns down 80% of its applicants
Why Japanese enterprises are getting behind boot camps
Why developer pay in Japan is so low
Why so many engee4ers want to come to Japan anyway
How to overcome the need for degrees and certificates

Links from the Founder

Everything you wanted to know about Code Chrysalis
The Code Chrysalis blog
Friend Kani on Facebook
Follow him on Twitter @munidk
A research-based approach to coding education
How to Get Into Code Chrysalis

Leave a comment
Transcript
 Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs.

I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.

One of the most important developments in Japan over the past 10 years and perhaps, the most important way that things are different for startups today than they were 20 years ago is the existence of a startup ecosystem. Now, let me explain that because it’s not obvious, especially to younger entrepreneurs who have never had to run a startup the absence of a startup ecosystem.

A startup ecosystem is not just a group of startups that operate in the same city. We had that during the dotcom era. There were even VC investments, occasional meet ups, and some mentoring, but we didn’t really have an ecosystem back then. We had a community for sure, but not that ecosystem.

An ecosystem comes into being when startups start buying from and selling it to each other. When startups can target other startups with their innovative products, where our pool of employees move from startup to startup, taking their ideas and best practices, and work ethic with them. When an ecosystem developed, it’s an amazing cross-pollination of innovation and growth that is just awesome to be a part of. This is happening in Japan. It’s a relatively new and it’s fantastic.

Today, I’d like you to meet Kani Munidasa, co-founder of Code Chrysalis, a startup that can only exist within a healthy startup ecosystem but also one that any healthy startup ecosystem needs in order to grow. Code Chrysalis is a coding boot camp where over 12 weeks, students learn of the skills they need to get jobs as programmers in Tokyo and as you will soon see, they are really getting jobs.

In fact, after our conversation, there is something I want to ask you and I mean you, personally because it’s something that you might understand better than I do. I would ask you right now, but the question won’t really make a lot of sense until after you sit in on the conversation with me and Kani, and we cover a lot of ground.

We talk about how to get a programming job in Tokyo, how to ramp up skills quickly, and why diversity in programming might not mean what you think it does. But you know,

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2CB5aM5

//

For decades, Japan has been struggling with the economic need to attract more foreign residents to the country and the general social reluctance to do so.

Over the years there have been some well-publicized failures and a few quiet successes, and Japan retains her image as a generally closed nation.

But reality changes much faster than perception in Japan. Things are already changing and that change is about to accelerate.
Today I’d like you to meet Nao Sugihara founder of MTIC, who is going to explain these trends in detail. Nao runs a recruiting platform called GaijinBank that deals exclusively with blue-collar, foreign labor, and he’ll show you not only that Japan’s has opened up far more than most people acknowledge, but that this trend will likely accelerate over the next 20 years.
It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Which companies hire foreigners for blue-collar work n Japan
The biggest misunderstandings between Japanese companies and foreign staff
The overtime gap with foreign workers
The real reasons foreign workers object to overtime
Japan’s new guest visa program
How to integrate more foreigners into Japanese society
Lessons learned from the Latin American guest-worker program
Why the foreign nurses programs never seem to work out well

Links from the Founder

Everything you wanted to know about MTIC
Friend Nao on Facebook
About GaijinBank

Home Page
Youtube Channel
 Facebook
All Jobs in Japan

Leave a comment
Transcript
I love working with startups. I love talking with startup founders and I know that you do too. That is why you listen to the podcast and I thank you for that.

When the traditional media focuses on startups, they tend to look at the crazy founders making outrageous claims or the newly minted billionaires, CEOs, and investors. That is all good fun, of course, but when we look a little deeper, startups tell us something else.

Looking at what startups get started and what startups get funded, and what startups get traction, that tells us a lot about the kinds of problems that we, as a country, thin  are worth solving. What problems are important enough to attract time and money, and customers changes a lot from country to country, and it reveals a lot about the social priorities of the cultures that these startups operated, and it’s not always a pleasant revelation.

Japan has always had a complex relationship with her foreign residents. Even today, there is a widespread intellectual acknowledgment that Japan needs to increase and encourage immigration but transforming that goal into actual policy enter real social acceptance, well, that is harder.

Today, we sit down with Nao Sugihara of MTIC and were going to dive deep into this. Nao runs a recruiting platform called GaijinBank and while there are lots of job sites catering to foreign engineers and creative’s, socket deals exclusively with the blue-collar labor.

Foreigners are working blue-collar jobs in Japan is actually an incredible aspect of the Japanese economy and one that is largely ignored, not only by the Japanese press, but even by the foreigners living in Japan, and you know, I have to admit, the things are different and, in some ways, much more encouraging than I expected.

But you know, Nao tells that story much better than I can. So, let’s get right to the interview.

[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”1404″  info_text=”Sponsored by”  font_color=”grey” ]

Interview

Tim: So, I’m sitting here with Nao Sugihara of MTIC which is Make Tokyo an International City.

Nao: Yes!

Tim: So, thanks for sitting down with me.

Nao: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity like this. I’m happy to talk today.

Tim: Wow, I’m glad to have you on, and I usually don’t interview founders of companies for like, recruiting companies, but what you are doing is really different.

Nao: Thank you.

Tim: You know,

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2HcxZEv

//

For decades, Japan has been struggling with the economic need to attract more foreign residents to the country and the general social reluctance to do so.

Over the years there have been some well-publicized failures and a few quiet successes, and Japan retains her image as a generally closed nation.

But reality changes much faster than perception in Japan. Things are already changing and that change is about to accelerate.
Today I’d like you to meet Nao Sugihara founder of MTIC, who is going to explain these trends in detail. Nao runs a recruiting platform called GaijinBank that deals exclusively with blue-color, foreign labor, and he’ll show you not only that Japan’s has opened up far more than most people acknowledge, but that this trend will likely accelerate over the next 20 years.
It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Which companies hire foreigners for blue-collar work n Japan
The biggest misunderstandings between Japanese companies and foreign staff
The overtime gap with foreign workers
The real reasons foreign workers object to overtime
Japan’s new guest visa program
How to integrate more foreigners into Japanese society
Lessons learned from the Latin American guest-worker program
Why the foreign nurses programs never seem to work out well

Links from the Founder

Everything you wanted to know about MTIC
Friend Nao on Facebook
About GaijinBank

Home Page
Youtube Channel
 Facebook
All Jobs in Japan

Leave a comment
Transcript
I love working with startups. I love talking with startup founders and I know that you do too. That is why you listen to the podcast and I thank you for that.

When the traditional media focuses on startups, they tend to look at the crazy founders making outrageous claims or the newly minted billionaires, CEOs, and investors. That is all good fun, of course, but when we look a little deeper, startups tell us something else.

Looking at what startups get started and what startups get funded, and what startups get traction, that tells us a lot about the kinds of problems that we, as a country, thin  are worth solving. What problems are important enough to attract time and money, and customers changes a lot from country to country, and it reveals a lot about the social priorities of the cultures that these startups operated, and it’s not always a pleasant revelation.

Japan has always had a complex relationship with her foreign residents. Even today, there is a widespread intellectual acknowledgment that Japan needs to increase and encourage immigration but transforming that goal into actual policy enter real social acceptance, well, that is harder.

Today, we sit down with Nao Sugihara of MTIC and were going to dive deep into this. Nao runs a recruiting platform called GaijinBank and while there are lots of job sites catering to foreign engineers and creative’s, socket deals exclusively with the blue-collar labor.

Foreigners are working blue-collar jobs in Japan is actually an incredible aspect of the Japanese economy and one that is largely ignored, not only by the Japanese press, but even by the foreigners living in Japan, and you know, I have to admit, the things are different and, in some ways, much more encouraging than I expected.

But you know, Nao tells that story much better than I can. So, let’s get right to the interview.

[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”1404″  info_text=”Sponsored by”  font_color=”grey” ]

Interview

Tim: So, I’m sitting here with Nao Sugihara of MTIC which is Make Tokyo an International City.

Nao: Yes!

Tim: So, thanks for sitting down with me.

Nao: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity like this. I’m happy to talk today.

Tim: Wow, I’m glad to have you on, and I usually don’t interview founders of companies for like, recruiting companies, but what you are doing is really different.

Nao: Thank you.

Tim: You know,

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2HcxZEv

//

The aerospace industry has been particularly resistant to disrupting in Japan. In the rest of the world, launch vehicle and spacecraft technology has made incredible gains over the past decade, but here in Japan its still mostly the same government contracts going to the same major contractors.

Naomi Kurahara of InfoStellar, has come up with an innovative way to leverage existing aerospace infrastructure and to collaborate globally by renting out unused satellite ground-sataion time, Airbnb style.

You see when an organization launches a satellite, they also build a ground station to communicate with it. The problem is, that as the satellite obits the Earthy, it’s only in communication range of the ground station for less than an hour a day. The rest of the time the ground station just sits there.

By renting out that unused time ground-station operators earn extra income, and the satellite operators are able to communicate with their satellites as often as they need.

It’s a great interview and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes for Startups

Why the Airbnb for satellites startup model makes sense
The demand-side problem
Why this market is much larger than it seems today
The key growth drivers in the satellite market
Why the Japanese aerospace industry can’t innovate
How to run a startup as an expectant mother
What challenges women scientists still face in Japan
How Japan could better support working moms

Links from the Founder

Learn about InfoStellar

[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”7994466″] Leave a comment
Transcript from Japan
Disrupting Japan, episode 56.

Welcome to Disrupting Japan – straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs. I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.

Aerospace in Japan is particularly resistant to disruption. Over the past decade, the rest of the world has seen incredible gains in both launch vehicles and spacecrafts. But Japan has been moving slowly. Sometimes it seems as if she’s determined to stay the course with the same government contracts going to much the same corporate heavyweights year after year.

Naomi Kurahara of InfoStellar once had plans of changing the Japanese aerospace industry. But along the way she went out on her own with a plan that bypassed Japan’s major players and targeted the global market. You see, when an organization launches a satellite, they usually also build an antenna and a ground station to communicate with that satellite. The problem is that as the satellite orbits the Earth, it’s only communications range with the ground station for less than an hour a day. The rest of the time the ground station just sits there.

So, Naomi decided to pool all of the unused ground station time together and rent it out to satellite operators, Airbnb style. Everybody wins by sharing resources. The ground station operators get income by renting out their facilities and the satellite operators get to communicate with their satellites far more often.

But Naomi explains it better than I can, so let’s get right to the interview.

[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”1411″ info_text=”Sponsored by” font_color=”grey” ]

[Interview]

Tim: Cheers! I’m sitting here with Naomi Kurahara, the CEO and fearless founder of InfoStellar, so thanks for sitting down with me.

Naomi: Thank you for inviting me.

Tim: Now, InfoStellar is basically time-sharing for satellite ground station, or Airbnb for satellites, but it’s a complex idea so why don’t you explain a little bit about what InfoStellar does.

Naomi: Okay, the reason I started this business is the aerospace space has an issue for cost. Like satellite is expensive, and rocket is expensive, and ground station is expensive because, maybe, not many people are using.

Tim: Well, aerospace is incredibly expensive but actually I think before we get into InfoStellar’s business model, I think it’s going to be best if you explain what ground stations are and how th…

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2EL51Zb

//

The aerospace industry has been particularly resistant to disrupting in Japan. In the rest of the world, launch vehicle and spacecraft technology has made incredible gains over the past decade, but here in Japan its still mostly the same government contracts going to the same major contractors.

Naomi Kurahara of InfoStellar, has come up with an innovative way to leverage existing aerospace infrastructure and to collaborate globally by renting out unused satellite ground-sataion time, Airbnb style.

You see when an organization launches a satellite, they also build a ground station to communicate with it. The problem is, that as the satellite obits the Earthy, it’s only in communication range of the ground station for less than an hour a day. The rest of the time the ground station just sits there.

By renting out that unused time ground-station operators earn extra income, and the satellite operators are able to communicate with their satellites as often as they need.

It’s a great interview and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes for Startups

Why the Airbnb for satellites startup model makes sense
The demand-side problem
Why this market is much larger than it seems today
The key growth drivers in the satellite market
Why the Japanese aerospace industry can’t innovate
How to run a startup as an expectant mother
What challenges women scientists still face in Japan
How Japan could better support working moms

Links from the Founder

Learn about InfoStellar

[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”7994466″] Leave a comment
Transcript from Japan
Disrupting Japan, episode 56.

Welcome to Disrupting Japan – straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs. I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.

Aerospace in Japan is particularly resistant to disruption. Over the past decade, the rest of the world has seen incredible gains in both launch vehicles and spacecrafts. But Japan has been moving slowly. Sometimes it seems as if she’s determined to stay the course with the same government contracts going to much the same corporate heavyweights year after year.

Naomi Kurahara of InfoStellar once had plans of changing the Japanese aerospace industry. But along the way she went out on her own with a plan that bypassed Japan’s major players and targeted the global market. You see, when an organization launches a satellite, they usually also build an antenna and a ground station to communicate with that satellite. The problem is that as the satellite orbits the Earth, it’s only communications range with the ground station for less than an hour a day. The rest of the time the ground station just sits there.

So, Naomi decided to pool all of the unused ground station time together and rent it out to satellite operators, Airbnb style. Everybody wins by sharing resources. The ground station operators get income by renting out their facilities and the satellite operators get to communicate with their satellites far more often.

But Naomi explains it better than I can, so let’s get right to the interview.

[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”1411″ info_text=”Sponsored by” font_color=”grey” ]

[Interview]

Tim: Cheers! I’m sitting here with Naomi Kurahara, the CEO and fearless founder of InfoStellar, so thanks for sitting down with me.

Naomi: Thank you for inviting me.

Tim: Now, InfoStellar is basically time-sharing for satellite ground station, or Airbnb for satellites, but it’s a complex idea so why don’t you explain a little bit about what InfoStellar does.

Naomi: Okay, the reason I started this business is the aerospace space has an issue for cost. Like satellite is expensive, and rocket is expensive, and ground station is expensive because, maybe, not many people are using.

Tim: Well, aerospace is incredibly expensive but actually I think before we get into InfoStellar’s business model, I think it’s going to be best if you explain what ground stations are and how th…

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan http://bit.ly/2EL51Zb

//

There is something odd about the way we treat sleep. 

We understand that it is essential for good health, but we are almost ashamed when we admit that we get enough of it. We are rightfully proud when we keep our resolutions to go to the gym more or to eat a more healthy diet, but if we get a good night’s sleep, we tend to keep it to ourselves.

In fact, when we talk about sleep at all, it’s usually to brag about how little sleep we are getting. We seem to consider getting a healthy amount of sleep to be some kind of luxury, or worse, as evidence of laziness. 

Today we are going to talk with Taka Kobayashi, the founder, and CEO of NeuroSpace, and he’s going to explain how things got so bad, and what he plans to do about it.   

Taka is is building a business around that idea that companies should not only encourage employees to get more sleep but that they should pay NeuroSpace a helthy sum to do so. 

Most sleep-based startups have failed in the past, but Taka explains how NeuroSpace is doing things differently and how he his building on his initial successes.

It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Why sleep is really a skillThe reason we ignore the importance of sleepHow to fall asleep more quicklyWhat your iWatch isn’t telling you about sleepThe right way to track your sleepA way to overcome jet lagThe real challenge facing all sleep startupsThe good and bad sides of Japanese govement startup grants 

Links from the Founder

Everything you wanted to know about  NeuroSpaceCheck out Taka’s blog Follow him on Twitter @kobat_jpFriend him on FacebookThe ANA jet-lag project

Leave a comment

Transcript

Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs. 

I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.

Let’s talk about sleep. Are you feeling tired? 

If you’re like most workers in Japan, the US, or Europe, the answer is yes, and oddly, even if you’re not feeling particularly tired, you probably won’t admit to be well-rested to your coworkers. 

We, and by we, I mean all of the developed world, we have this funny relationship with sleep. We all know, we all acknowledge how important sleep is. Science and personal experience have proven conclusively that our own health and performance depend on it, but for some reason, we all like to brag about how little sleep we’re getting. 

Normally, I’d call this macho bullshit, but women seem to be every bit as bad about this as men are. We seem to consider getting a healthy amount of sleep to be some kind of luxury or worse, as evidence of laziness. 

Now, there are a lot of reasons for this and we are going to talk about them with Taka Kobayashi, the founder and CEO of NeuroSpace.

NeuroSpace is doing something important but something very difficult. Taka is building a business model based on convincing companies that not only should they encourage their employees to get more sleep but that they should pay NeuroSpace to help them do so. Taka is fighting some deeply ingrained culture here, but he is making progress, and today, we will talk about some of the unlikely partners and bedfellows he finds himself with, why so many other startups in the space have failed to achieve product market fit, and most important, what NeuroSpace is doing different. 

But you know, Taka tells that story much better than I can, so let’s get right to the interview.

    [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”1411″  info_text=”Sponsored by”  font_color=”grey”  ]

Interview

Tim: I’m sitting here with Taka Kobayashi of NeuroSpace who is a startup specializing in sleep. So, thanks for sitting down with me.

Taka: Thank you.

Tim: What NeuroSpace is doing is really fascinating but I think you can explain it better than me, so why don’t you tell us a bit about what NeuroSpace does?

Taka: NeuroSpace is a company focusing on technology which is evaluating sleep relation and quality,

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan https://ift.tt/2PxhoKi

//

Whenever you hear someone claim that the Japanese will never do something for unspecified “cultural reasons”, you know there is a fortune to be made.

Lu Dong is the co-founder and CEO of Japan Foodie, a cashless payment system currently masquerading as a restaurant discovery application.

Lu and I talk about the boom in inbound Chinese tourism that led to the creation of Japan Foodie, and how he and his team quickly managed to identify and dominate this massive and underserved market.

We talk about how tourism is changing Japan, the best way to build a two-sided marketplace, the only way forward for most e-commerce platforms, the future of e-payments in Japan and the history of women’s lingerie in China.

It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Show Notes

The real problems with Japan being a cash-based society
What people really care about in a restaurant app
How to build a two-sided marketplace
Why e-commerce platforms are really advertising companies
What happens in Japan after the Olympics
Launching China’s first major sexy lingerie brand
How too much success can kill a startup
When you should turn down VC money
Why its harder to be an entrepreneur when you get older 
The importance of corproate accelerators in Japan

Links from the Founder

Check out Japan Foodie
Connect with Lu on LinkedIn
Friend him on Facebook

Leave a comment
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs.

I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me.

One thing I have learned starting startups in Japan for 20 years is that every time you hear people claiming that Japanese people won’t do something because of unspecified cultural reasons, there’s a lot of money to be made.

In the 90s, people claimed that e-commerce would never catch on because Japanese preferred the high touch, expensive department stores, but today, those department stores are struggling as every year, more and more commerce moves online. 10 years later, people were saying that online auctions would never work because Japanese people would simply not by used goods for cultural reasons. They were wrong, of course, and today, Yahoo! Auctions and Mercari, and dozens of others are thriving.

When a behavior is widely described as a result of cultural reasons, it usually means that the behavior doesn’t really make sense, and we cannot explain it, and man, that is the perfect area to start looking for business opportunities. If you can discover the real reason for this behavior, and it’s usually a rational economic reason, if you can discover the real reason for this behavior and fix it, you can make a fortune.

You might have heard that Japan is a cash-based society for cultural reasons, but we are already starting to see the cracks in that falsehood forming.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Lu Dong, the founder and CEO of Japan Foodie, a restaurant discovery app and yeah, there are a lot of those, but this one is special. Well, not so much the app, but the business model, and the perfectly rational way in which Japan’s cash-based culture will migrate to electronic payments, and it’s already working.

In our conversation, Lu also provides some great advice for building multi-sited marketplaces, and he tells some pretty interesting stories about tourism, fundraising, and women’s lingerie.

But you know, Lu tells that story much better than I can, so let us get right into the interview.

[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”1404″  info_text=”Sponsored by”  font_color=”grey” ]

[Interview]

Tim: So, I’m sitting here with Lu Dong, the founder of Japan Foodie and several other companies, so thanks for joining us.

Lu: Thank you.

Tim: You know, actually, recently, we’ve been focusing on sort of serial entrepreneurs in Japan, but before we talk about your other companies, let us talk about Japan Foodie.

Lu: So,

from Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan https://ift.tt/2A3fmvK