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 […] The post How VCs drive (and murder) global startup ambition in Japan first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Venture Capital in Japan ..read more

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, […] The post Big News from Disrupting Japan! first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Venture Capital in Japan ..read more

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 […] The post How to sell innovation in cut-throat, low-margin industries first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

Startups exist to develop new solutions to problems. But many of society’s biggest problems fall outside traditional startup business models. Today we explore why that is, and how it might be changed as we sit down with Robin Lewis, co-founder of Mymizu, a startup focused on reducing plastic waste by encouraging reuse. We take a […] The post Why startups should be better than charities at solving social problems first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

Bio-tech is messy because life is complicated. A lot of attention is given to computers sequencing genomes, but some of the most advanced and important work is done by studying and using other living things to make our own lives better. Kenta Yamato co-founded Kaico to commercialize a technique that uses silkworms to manufacture small-batch […] The post How this silkworm startup is taking on the pandemic first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

You don’t usually think of Japan’s geisha as being an industry, but it is. In fact, strictly speaking, it’s a cartel. A cartel that is now being disrupted by internet-based booking agencies and low-cost substitutes. It seems that even geisha are not immune to internet-based disintermediation. In this special interview Sayuki, Japan’s only geisha who […] The post Selects: Why Japan’s Geisha are disappearing in the social media age first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

I’ve never managed to find a direct road to success. My bio reads like a random walk down many different career paths, so I always feel unqualified to answer when people ask me for career advice. Today, however, I’d like to share one insight about doing business in Japan that I learned the hard way. […] The post Why public humiliation is the secret to success first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

Some of the most important startups are ones you never hear about. Some industries are so complex and arcane that its hard for people on the outside to understand the problems that startups are solving or the long-term gain of solving them. Freight forwarding is one of those industries. Today we talk with Taka Sato […] The post Why boring startups are actually the most interesting first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

Technology is global, but ideas are local. The same IoT technology is being deployed all over the world, but a small Japanese startup might be who helps us make sense of it all. There is amazing work being done in user experience design, but most designers are operating with the contract of keeping users engaged. […] The post How Japan’s forgotten past can stop IoT’s dystopian future first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more

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. […] The post What it takes to teach Japan Inc how to code first appeared on Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan ..read more