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 [email protected]

GUEST INFO

Eric’s twitter: https://twitter.com/_etdev

Japan-Dev: https://japan-dev.com/

OUTLINE

1) About you and Japan-Dev

[01:31] What brought you to Japan?

[03:15] How did you transition from being an English teacher to becoming a software developer in Japan?

[04:59] Would you consider moving back to the countryside in Japan?

[06:15] How did Japan-Dev grow from side-project to full-time job?

[09:27] What happened with Japan-Dev between 2017 and 2019?

[11:28] What made you pick up Japan-Dev after leaving it on the side for a while?

[13:39] What motivated you to be an entrepreneur?

[15:45] Who is currently working on Japan-Dev?

[16:08] How do you allocate your time across different business functions?

[17:56] What is the growth potential of Japan-Dev?

[20:38] Can you tell us more about your new project Rocketships.io?

[24:48] What’s the difference between Japan-Dev and Rocketships.io?

2) About Japan’s startup ecosystem

[26:44] How easy was it to set up your business in Japan?

[30:20] Which founding advice would you have shared with your younger self?

[31:54] In how far do you interact with Tokyo’s startup community?

[33:34] What’s missing in Japan’s startup ecosystem?

3) The future of Japan’s tech industry

[35:20] Why are you excited about Japan’s tech industry?

[39:00] Is Silicon Valley the ideal future state of Japan’s tech industry?

[44:28] How can Japan learn to embrace the value of software?

[49:40] Rapid fire questions