Disrupting Japan

Latest Episodes:

Japan’s Airbnb for Satellites – InfoStellar Oct 10, 2016

Show notes

The aerospace industry has been particularly resistant to disrupting in Japan. In the rest of the world, launch vehicle and spacecraft technology has made incredible gains over the past decade, but here in Japan its still mostly the same government contracts going to the same major contractors. Naomi Kurahara of InfoStellar, has come up with an innovative way to leverage existing aerospace infrastructure and to collaborate globally by renting out unused satellite ground-sataion time, Airbnb style. You see when an organization launches a satellite, they also build a ground station to communicate with it. The problem is, that as the satellite obits the Earthy, it’s only in communication range of the ground station for less than an hour a day. The rest of the time the ground station just sits there. By renting out that unused time ground-station operators earn extra income, and the satellite operators are able to communicate with their satellites as often as they need. It’s a great interview and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Startup Fundraising in Japan – Live & Unleashed Sep 26, 2016

Show notes

Disrupting Japan is two years old and ready to party. To celebrate, we gathered the leaders of Tokyo's venture capital community together in front of a live audience of made up of the thought leaders of Japan's startup community. We all had a few drinks and talked about fundraising in Japan, the future of venture capital here, and how startups can best get in touch with and impress VCs. Our panel included some of the top VC investors in Japan, which naturally led to an amazing discussion. - Shinji Asada - Japan Head, Salesforce Ventures - Hiro Maeda - Partner at BEENEXT - James Riney - Head of 500 Startups Japan We discuss the challenges or fundraising in Japan, growing a Japanese company as a foreigner, what Japanese VCs can learn from their foreign counterparts, and what kind of of pitch mistakes will ruin your funding chances. On a personal note, it's hard to believe that two years have gone by already. Disrupting Japan has grown larger, faster, and with a more engaged and passionate community than I ever imagined it could. Today, thousands of people from all over the world listen to each episode, and we are featured regularly in English-language and Japanese-language news and podcasts from all over the world. And to keep things fresh, I have some big surprises coming up in the next few months, so stay tuned.

Brick-and-Mortar is Japan’s New E-Commerce Sep 12, 2016

Show notes

Ten years ago, everyone know that e-commence would drive most retail stores, especially specially stores out of business, and with the Amazon juggernaut plowing ahead, there were very few dissenters. But something very interesting is going on right now. Many e-commerce companies are opening physical stores. Even Amazon, going against all economies of scale, is opening up brick and mortar bookstores in expensive locations with full-time staff. And there a good reason for this trend. There is something very reassuring about holding a product in your own hands. And it’s something that can’t really be replaced with high- resolution photos and customer reviews. Tomohiro Hagiwara of Aquabit Spirals has committed both his company and a large part of his adult life to bridging this gap between the physical and the digital world and is helping online retailers jump into the physical world. Of course, Aquabit Spirals’ technology does much more than this, and Tomo tells an interesting story of how it took his company more than six years of work before they closed their first deal and became an overnight success. It’s an fascinating discussion and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Why AirCloset is Not Afraid of the Fashion Box Curse Aug 29, 2016

Show notes

Fashion is a tough business, and fashion subscription boxes are even tougher. From the top down, this seems like a great business model. Subscribers are sent a new, hand-picked box of clothes or accessories each and every month. As you’ll see ...

Taking Akiba Back from The Otaku – Mitsuo Hashiba Aug 15, 2016

Show notes

Long before the maker movement existed, Akihabara was world famous as a destination for hardware geeks, robotics nerds, and audiophiles and tinkerers of all kinds. Hundreds of tiny specialty shops lined the areas back streets and did a surprising brisk business in items you could not find anywhere else. The internet changed all that. The specialty electronics and computer goods could be found far more easily and for far less money. Even the maker communities began to migrate online. Over the next decade Akihabara changed from the heart of the maker community into the center of otaku culture with mama shops and maid cafes lining the streets. Mitsuo Hashiba, the General Manager of DMM.make Akiba plans to take Akihabara back to it’s maker roots. DMM.make Akiba is the most ambitious IoT - focused maker space in Japan, and they are already attracting international attention and the community has produced some pretty innovative hardware startups. It’s a great interview, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

The Real Reason Uber is Failing in Japan Aug 01, 2016

Show notes

Uber and Airbnb represent a new very kind of startup, one that could not have existed twenty years ago, and the very thing that make these companies so transformative in the United States ensures they will never succeed in Japan. You see...

IoT and the Future of Poop – Atsushi Nakanishi Jul 18, 2016

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Startup founders claiming their company is going to “change the world” has become a cliche. But rarely do we see a product that could clearly and significantly make someone’s life better. D-Free is one of those products. Atsushi Nakanishi and his team have developed a wearable device that monitors your bowels and bladder, pairs with your phone and notifies you a few minutes before you need to go to the bathroom. At first this seems almost like a joke, a company solving a problem that does not exist, proof that anyone can raise funding these days. But its not. There are millions of people all over the world who because of disability or disease, cannot regulate their bowels, and a device like D-Free would, quite literally, be life-changing for them. Atsushi and I talk about his rather unique inspiration for the company and the team’s hight;y unusual path in testing and development. It’s a fascinating product and a great story, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

The Business Model Behind Startup Events – Antti Sonninen Jul 04, 2016

Show notes

A key component to making a startup a success is knowing who your true customers are. Today, Antti Sonninen, the Japan CEO for Slush, one of the largest startup events in the world lays out the business model for us, and the facts will probably surprise you. Many of our American listeners will not have heard of Slush since they have not yet expanded to North America, but they are a startup event powerhouse in Europe and, increasingly, in Asia. Their recent event in Tokyo had over 4,000 attendees. This week, we take a no-hype look at the business model that supports all the hype. These events do a lot of good for the startup community, but even when everyone has the best of intentions, someone has to pay the bills. Nobody will work for free for long, so it's fascinating to see who are the real stakeholders are and what they get out it. It’s an interesting discussion, and I think you’ll learn a lot. I know I did.

The Dark Side of Japanese Crowdfunding – Ryota Matsuzaki Jun 20, 2016

Show notes

Crowdfunding is at a crossroads. The inherent conflict of interest in the business model is forcing US firms to either limit their growth or become the online equivalent of late-night infomercials. In Japan, however, crowdfunding has grown more slowly than in the US, and Japanese companies have had the chance to learn from their successes and failures. As a result crowdfunding may end up looking very different in Japan than it does overseas. In today’s discussion, Ryota Matsuzaki, the CEO of Kibidango, one of Japan’s newest crowdfunding platforms his approach. It’s not completely unique to Japan, but the strategy is particularly well suited to Japan. Ryota details what he thinks the future of crowdfunding will look like in Japan and we argue over the likelihood of Japan’s consumer electronic giants taking advantage of the tremendous talent pool available on crowdfunding platforms in order to supplement their product lines via M&A. It’s a great discussion, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Crowdsourcing My Career Jun 14, 2016

Show notes

Last week I published a article on Medium about why I was shutting down my current startup. If you haven't read it yet, you can find out Why I turned down $500K, Pissed off my investors, and Shut down my startup. The post went viral and I've received several thousand emails in the last few days. The outpouring of support, questions, advice and random thoughts I received from readers made me realize that rather than my usual chaotic way of deciding what I will be doing next, I should really ask your advice about it. In this special (and rather short) episode I explain who listens to Disrupting Japan and why it makes sense to ask for advice on what is normally a very personal and secretive topic. Let me know what you think, and I look forward to hearing from you.

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