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 plans better.

Secondly, I was curious about the young founder scene in Japan. What kind of businesses are they working on? What are they struggling with? As Hidaryu spends his time living and coaching these founders, I had to talk to him to learn more.

So lets dive in an see what he can share about these topics and much more!

Thanks for listening and please enjoy my conversation with Hidaryu!

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

Hidaryu’s twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryuheimatincjp

Other Hidaryu links: https://linktr.ee/ryubvb 

OUTLINE

1. About you and Zenhouse

[01:42] Why did you shave your head?

[04:00] What’s Zenhouse and why did you start it?

[05:37] What’s the difference between the two sharehouses you have started?

[07:20] What does a normal day at Zenhouse look like?

[08:55] What kind of feedback did you receive from the Zenhouse residents so far?

[10:04] What is one mental health advice you would give founders?

[12:06] What is the vision for Zenhouse?

[13:44] What motivates you?

2. Japan's U25 Founder Scene

[18:45] What’s the mindset of U25 founders in Japan?

[20:30] What motivates young people to found companies?

[21:21] When do young founders usually start working on their business?

[22:30] Which industry are they interested in starting businesses in?

[24:00] How do they learn about how to start a company?

[26:21] Do japanese people also research startup information in English?

[27:58] Why don’t more people in Japan consume information in English?

[29:20] What do japanese founders need to succeed on the global stage?

[31:10] What’s the difference between founders in Japan and Egypt?

[32:55] How can people learn to build more self confidence?

[34:14] How can you balance having small and big goals?

3. Rapid Fire questions

[36:33] If you were not allowed to work on  anything startup related, what would you work on?

[37:00] Which advice would you give to U25 founders in Japan?

[37:08] What does Japan need to blossom?