Japan's Venture Leaders

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 jvl.podcast@gmail.com

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?

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 jvl.podcast@gmail.com

GUEST INFO

Ryo’s twitter: https://twitter.com/umemac

Antler: antler.co

OUTLINE

1. About you and Antler 

[02:26] What got you into startups?

[05:10] What motivates you to take on entrepreneurial challenges continuously? 

[10:38] What was your biggest challenge in setting up the Antler office in Japan? 

[12:02] How would you advise founders looking to build their team? 

[15:30] Why is now a great time to open the Japan office for Antler?

2. Founding startups with global ambition 

[18:08] Why is it important to think globally as a founder in Japan? 

[21:26] Which aspects of the Antler curriculum encourage global thinking for founders? 

[22:22] Why do founders in Japan struggle to think globally? 

[24:30] Which advice would you personally give to a founder who wants to go global? 

[27:51] Should all founders think globally?

3.Rapid fire questions 

[29:00] What would you be doing if it’s not allowed to be startup related? 

[30:30] What advice would you give aspiring founders in Japan? 

[31:34] What does Japan need to blossom?

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 jvl.podcast@gmail.com

GUEST INFO

Urara’s twitter: https://twitter.com/uraratakaseki

Omotete: https://en.omotete.jp/

OUTLINE

1. About you and Omotete

[02:20] What’s Omotete and how did you found it?

[03:55] Which product will you launch with Omotete?

[04:51] Are there existing solutions to access menstrual pads in public in Japan?

[06:46] Why did you choose this business and not another?

[09:06] What is your most memorable learning from running Omotete?

[09:37] What keeps you in Japan?

[12:07] What drives you to take on new challenges?

[13:42] What makes you Japanese and what does not?

2. The Femtech market in Japan

[15:40] What does Femtech mean?

[17:01] How would you describe the current state of the Femtech market in Japan

[19:17] What makes Japan’s Femtech market different from others?

[23:34] Which Femtech products do you find interesting in Japan?

[27:48] How do you evaluate which products to trust and which ones to not trust?

[29:45] Do most product innovations come from big companies?

[31:05] What should the Femtech market start, stop and continue doing to improve?

3. Rapid Fire questions

[35:46] What would you be doing if it’s not allowed to be startup related? 

[36:08] What advice would you give aspiring student founders in Japan? 

[36:42] What does Japan need to blossom?

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 jvl.podcast@gmail.com

GUEST INFO

Masato’s twitter: https://twitter.com/Masa_DoubleDyno

Partners Fund: fullcommit-partners.com

OUTLINE

1. About you and Partners Fund

[01:19] How did you find your way into the startup ecosystem?

[05:52]Was it a coincidence that you got involved in startups?

[06:17] Why do you prefer working with startups over corporates?

[07:12] Why did you decide to go the Venture capital route?

[08:02] How did the image of a Venture Capitalist differ from the actual  experience?

[10:15] What is one thing you wish you would have known before becoming a full time investor?

[10:59] What speaks against becoming a venture capitalist at an early age?

[11:30] Could you imagine starting a new startup afterwards?

[11:55] How many years do you plan on being a VC?

[12:32] How actively do you seek international investment targets?

[13:47] What do most founders in Japan struggle with?

[15:57] Is it demotivating for Japanese founders to deal with long business sales cycles in Japan?

[17:16] How applicable are global startup growth benchmarks for the Japanese market?

2. Open Innovation in Japan

[18:00] How do you define open innovation?

[19:20] Why do Japanese companies seem to care so much about open innovation?

[21:39] What is an example of a successful open innovation project?

[24:00] How are the financial incentives structured in an open innovation partnership?

[27:04] What does the future of open innovation look like?

3. Rapid fire questions

[28:11] What’s your favorite place in Japan?

[28:36] What makes you happy?

[28:46] What does Japan need to blossom?

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 jvl.podcast@gmail.com

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