Hidaryu is the founder of Zenhouse, an U25 founder sharehouse in Tokyo with a focus on mental and physical wellbeing. Hidaryu himself is a founder under 25 and has dedicated himself to startups ever since he dropped out of university a couple of years ago. There were two aspects which motivated me to talk to him. Firstly, Hidaryu took the very unconventional path in Japan to quit university and pursue his dreaws in entrepreneurship. After his first business in Tokyo, he  decided to challenge himself by moving to Egypt which is even rarer. So I wanted to understand his mindset and future p ..read more

Ryo is a Partner at Antler, a globally operating venture investor which helps founders from day zero. Antler has recently opened their office in Japan is launching their first cohort in January 2023. As a Japanese native with a very international mindset, Ryo has been having a wide ranging exposure to the startup ecosystem. His responsibilities ranged various positions from being a founder, investor, country manager and CEO of various companies such as Tinder, Hailo, East Ventures and most recently becoming a partner at Antler where he leads the Japan rollout. I am very excited to discuss the ..read more

Masato is a Partner at Partners Fund, a venture capital firm focused on investing in early stage startups mostly in Japan. In his past he has been taking on business roles at large companies such Takeda and SoftBank and lately he’s more focused on earlier stage startups with Plug and Play and partners fund. Based on his experience working at the intersection of big corporates and startups I am very excited to talk to him on the topic of open innovation in Japan which has been a buzzword in the Japanese business world for a while. I am also curious to find out more about his path into the start ..read more

Eric is the founder of Japan Dev, a leading job board for foreigner friendly tech jobs in Japan. In this episode, we will explore Eric’s journey from starting off in Japan as an English teacher to working full time on Japan Dev with his wife. Based on his experience working in the tech industry, I am also curious to understand his perspective on the future of Japan’s Tech industry. This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy It was brought to you by Kento: https://twitter.com/kentaki_fried For feedback, please reach out to jvl.podcast@gmail.com GUEST INFO ..read more

Suzu is a rising talent in Japan’s Venture space with her role as managing partner at the Venture Capital firm Goto Ventures and her work at Guidy. Today, I want to focus on her story of how she found her way into the Venture Capital space being in her early twenties and what the current state of startup exits is like in Japan. I also wanted to learn about how she got into the startup ecosystem and hope that it can serve as an inspiration for other soon-to-be university graduates in Japan. Thanks for listening in and please enjoy my conversation with Suzu! This podcast is presented by Japan's ..read more

Shane runs a software company called Strata and is the organiser of one of the most visited tech meetups in Tokyo called Tokyo Tech meetup. I had recently attended one of his events in Shibuya and was curious to learn more about how he was able to create such an engaged bilingual tech community in Tokyo. I also wanted to understand his perspective on the startup ecosystem as a foreign founder and why he cares so much about community building. Thanks for listening in and please enjoy my conversation with Shane! This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy It ..read more

Natsumi is the co-founder and CMO of Water Design Japan, which is a hightech startup based in Tokyo. It tackles clogged water pipes through a newly developed nozzle which generates nanobubbles to keep water pipes clean without the need for chemicals. Many aspects about Natsumi made me interested to talk to her. Firstly, I was curious to learn about Natsumis story as a young co-founder in the hardware space, because I hardly get to talk to any myself. Secondly, she is one of the still very few female founders in Japan and I hoped to get new insights on that aspect too. And lastly, she has a ver ..read more

Alex is a well known personality in Japan's venture space where he has been helping create multiple startups and connecting startup ecosystems around the globe. His network spans many different stakeholders such as government, founders, investors and due to his 15 year experience seeing the evolution of the ecosystem, I was curious to learn from his personal stories and experience up close - so thanks for listening in and please enjoy my conversation with Alex. This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy It was brought to you by Kento: https://twitter.com ..read more

Since May 2020, Niklas has been the leading Community Director of Nordic Innovation House Tokyo - a community platform accelerating the expansion of Nordic ventures in Japan. His international background and his experiences working at startups, advising ecosystem builders, and building bridges between Japan and the Nordics make him a great fit for JVL. By talking to Niklas, I want to better understand his unique story, its relation to Japan and how he views the dynamic nature of Japan’s startup ecosystem. This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy It was ..read more