Disrupting Japan

The phrases "disruptive innovation" and "disruptive business" are thrown around far too often and far too loosely these days. Of course, at first glance, it would seem that the same charge could be leveled against this podcast. This is a special one-on-one episode where we talk about what disruptive innovation really means.

We examine how Japan went from being the world's engine of disruptive innovation to being the developed nation most resistant to disruption. Most important, we show you how things are starting to change. A small handful of entrepreneurs are, perhaps for the very first time in Japan, embracing the spirit of disruptive innovation. And these startups will be the key to Japan's next economic boom.

The phrases "disruptive innovation" and "disruptive business" are thrown around far too often and far too loosely these days. Of course, at first glance, it would seem that the same charge could be leveled against this podcast. This is a special one-on-one episode where we talk about what disruptive innovation really means.

Yusuke epitomizes the new generation of Japanese startup founders. That means he is exactly the opposite of what most Westerners picture as a startup founder in Japan.  He left a fast-track, high-status job in academia to start one startup after another, in both Tokyo and in San Francisco, and while Yusuke has not achieved a massive Silicon Valley style exit just yet, there is no doubt he is on his way.

Yusuke and I discuss his transition from professor, to freelancer, to founder, to founder, to founder yet again. He explains how a one-way ticket to San Francisco and a chance meeting with Steve Blank changed his thinking and changed his life, and why sushi is the secret to successful fundraising.

As an alum of well-known startup incubators in both Tokyo and San Francisco, Yusuke discusses his experiences at both and explains their most important value and their most important differences.

Yusuke epitomizes the new generation of Japanese startup founders. That means he is exactly the opposite of what most Westerners picture as a startup founder in Japan. He left a fast-track, high-status job in academia to start one startup after another, in both Tokyo and in San Francisco, and while Yusuke has not achieved a massive Silicon Valley style exit just yet, there is no doubt he is on his way.

Masanori Hashimoto is the hardest woking slacker in Fukuoka. He's bootstrapped a collaborative diagramming company that is growing internationally and founded Myojyowaraku, the largest technology, music and arts festival this side of South By Southwest.

Masa and I talk a lot about the importance of work-life balance. and Masa puts almost as much effort into supporting the startup, technology and arts scene in Fukuoka. Globally, the Japanese have a reputation as being a rather uncreative people, but if you get a chance to attend an event like Myojyowaraku, you'll see how unfounded that reputation is.

We talk a lot about the unique startup ecosystem in Fukuoka and the possibility that future Japanese companies will be bled by teams rather than kings.

Show Notes

- Why Columbia and Taipei were NuLabs first export markets

- Why you sold stop calling Fukuoka (or anywhere else) "The Silicon Valley of Japan"

- What is the most effective way for governments to support startups

- Why your team will make or break your company

- A new, socially responsible startup exit event

Masanori Hashimoto is the hardest woking slacker in Fukuoka. He's bootstrapped a collaborative diagramming company that is growing internationally and founded Myojyowaraku, the largest technology, music and arts festival this side of South By Southwest. But that ...

Akiko Naka is an amazing woman. When you first meet, her reserved and unassuming manner makes you wonder if she really knows how potentially transformative her ideas and her company are. As you get to know Akiko, however, it becomes clear she knows exactly what she's doing. She's just doing things her way.

Japan is still very much a male-dominated society, so when journalists get a chance to talk to a female entrepreneur there is a tendency to focus on the novelty of her gender rather than the substance of her actions, and they miss out on the most important things to learn.

During our conversation Akiko provides some solid insights about the best way to take on the Japanese power structure and win; by challenging them indirectly. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Show Notes

- How Akiko moved from programmer to manga-artist to CEO.

- Why founders must over-communicate their vision to succeed

- Why the team is more important than the founder

- Why you should focus on team-fit rather than job descriptions

- How to challenge the Japanese power structure (indirectly)

- Changing social and corporate hierarchies in Japan

Akiko Naka is an amazing woman. When you first meet, her reserved and unassuming manner makes you wonder if she really knows how potentially transformative her ideas and her company are. As you get to know Akiko, however, it becomes clear she knows exactly what she's doing. She's just doing things her way.

Taku walked away from the kind of a career that most people dream of. He had proven himself at Sony Music, Apple and in his late twenties he was quickly rising thought he ranks at Amazon Japan. He and his friends knew they had an amazing career ahead of them, and that terrified them. At that point they knew they had to go out on their own and build something amazing.

Four years and two companies later, Taku has moved to New York where he runs Peatix, a rapidly growing event management and ticking platform with growing numbers of customers around the world and concentrated in America, Japan and Singapore.

We have a personal and heartfelt conversation about how entrepreneurship is really must a means to an end, and that end is not money. Taku explains starting a company is something to do when you have to not when you want to.

Show Notes

- Starting up in Japan & the early days of Peatix

- How a hardware problem lead to a industry changing innovation

- How to build a global startup from Day 1

- Why Japanese startups should not be Japanese companies

- Some mistakes even large multi-nationals make in Japan market entry

- The best reasons you should never start a startup

- Importance of focusing on the similarities not differences

- Which startups will survive the next crash

- Why mistakes as some of your most valuable intellectual property

Taku walked away from the kind of a career that most people dream of. He had proven himself at Sony Music, Apple and in his late twenties he was quickly rising thought he ranks at Amazon Japan. He and his friends knew they had an amazing career ahead of them, and that terrified them. At that point they knew they had to go out on their own and build something amazing.