Disrupting Japan

Today we are going to sit down with an old friend. It was over seven years ago when I first had Tim Rowe on the podcast and we mapped out what we saw as the future of startup innovation in Japan. In today's short episode, we talk about what we got right. what surprised us, and what we think is next for Japanese startup innovation.  It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Today we are going to break down some startup stereotypes.  I sit down with Kunio Hara, co-founder and CEO of Beatrust and break apart the stereotypes of the uncreative Japanese enterprise and the young startup founder, and Kunio explains how Beatrust is already teaching old dogs new tricks. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

While American AI startups are dominating the headlines, one Japanese company has begun rolling out "AI employees" to famously cautious  Japanese enterprise customers.  Today we talk with Shota Nakagawa the CEO of Caster and discuss their model of human-AI collaboration, why Japan is positioned to lead real-world AI deployment, and the big steps needed for Japan to catch up with the West.  It's a...

Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight talk from Japan’s most innovative founders and VCs. I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me. There is so much happening in Japan right now. Startups and innovation are beginning to reshape Japan with the same dynamism we saw during the post-war boom or the Meji-era re-opening. And I’ve been in the middle of this for a long time. I’m now a partner a JERA Vent...

Japanese business loves paper. From fax machines, to business cards, to massive project binders. Paper processes are slow to die in Japan, especially in industrial facilities.   Today we talk with Jumpei Yoshida of Kaminashi who explains why that's finally changing and how foreign workers are driving the transformation.  It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Most outside of the energy industry are (pleasantly) surprised to learn how aggressively startups and CVCs are pushing decarbonization forward.  Decarbonization is a fascinating and incredibly important issue, so please join me on this short but special episode.  It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Japan is lagging behind in AI, but that might not be the case for long. Today we sit down with Jad Tarifi, current founder of Integral AI and previously, founder of Google’s first Generative AI team, and we talk about some of Japan's potential advantages in AI, the most likely path to AGI, and how small AI startups can compete against the over-funded AI giants. It's a great conversation, and I thi...

While the rest of the world is copying Silicon Valley, Tokyo is looking at Paris. Today we sit down with Mark Bivens and Matt Romaine, the co-founders of Shizen Capital to talk about Japan's new startup policies, the changing role of M&A, the main force behind the changing attitudes about startups in Japan. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Today, we are going to talk about AI, but not in the way you expect. Today, I’m going to give creatives a solid three-point plan to beat AI in the marketplace. I’m going to explain how musicians, podcasters, authors and other artists can survive and even thrive amidst the unstoppable flood of AI generated slop we will all be forced to wade though for the foreseeable future,  And to maybe do some g...

The Japanese government is taking a very hands-on approach to funding startups. Yuka Hata, Senior Managing Director of the Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) explains the kinds of startups and funds they invest in, and why. We also talk about the two  biggest challenges new Japanese VCs face, and what it’s really like for women in VC in Japan It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

We live in a global financial system, but the fintech innovation is surprisingly local. Makoto Shibata, the head of FinoLab, has been leading financial innovation Japan for over 20 years, long before the term fintech existed. We talk about the evolution of Japan's fintech landscape, and which fintech sectors are facing consolidation and which are facing growth. And we also explore Japan's rapid tr...

Disrupting Japan is 10 years old today! This is a simple thank you rather than a full episode. Thanks for listening!   Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. This is a very short and very special episode. It's not an episode really, more of a personal message. You see, ten years ago today. I rel...

SaaS startup valuations and growth rates have dropped sharply in most of the world, but not in Japan. SaaS startups are growing fast in Japan, and that trend is set to accelerate even more over the next five years. Today Shinji Asada of One Capital explains Japan's still-untapped SaaS potential, his unique SMB and product-focused investment thesis, and the big changes that are happening in Japan's...

If you have ever wondered what it really takes to start and grow a startup as a foreigner in Japan. Well, I have a treat for you today. Earlier this year, at the Japan FinTech Festival, I had the privilege of sitting down with four fantastic foreign FinTech founders and talking about what you need to succeed in Japan. There are some great insights here from Jeff Wentworth of Curvegrid, Paul Chapma...

Japan has far fewer unicorns than one might expect - or than venture capitalists desire. That fact, however, hides a fascinating story. Today James Riney, founding partner of Coral Capital explains the danger of unicorn counting. We dive deep into which startup sectors Japan is likely to lead in globally in the coming decade, how to identify unique startup value in Japan. We also talk about how Ja...

Japan thinks about robotics and AI differently that the West. In addition to the functional, productive role that robots play, a lot of thought is also given to our interactions and the relationship we build with them. Today we sit down with Shunsuke Aoki, founder of Yukai Engineering and one of the most innovative and creative thinkers on the emotional connection between humans and machines. We t...

So what keeps Japanese startups stuck in Japan? It's not a lack of opportunity or ambition. It's not a lack of knowledge or talent. In fact, one of Japan's most experienced venture capitalists thinks that the VCs themselves that are the problem. Today we sit down with Ken Yasunaga, founder and Managing Partner of Global Hands On VC, a fund focused on finding and supporting the Japanese startups wi...

It's a very short episode because I just want to let you know what's coming, and to thank you for all your support over the years.

Some industries need to be dragged kicking and screaming to innovation. When margins are tight and profits are small, CEOs often don't want to spend a dime on the promise of increased efficiencies or long-term savings, and so external leverage is needed. Today we talk with Shinya Shimizu, founder and CEO of Elephantech, who explains how he found that leverage in his mission to make the global tech...

Japanese HR departments are in a bit of a panic right now. The increasing job mobility that startups have unleashed is forcing them to rethink their entire mission.  Today we sit down and Takako Ogawa, co-founder and CEO of Panalyt, a startup at the center of this transformation, and we talk about the changing career paths in Japan, when startups need to change CEOs, and the dangers of going globa...

Fusion energy promises almost unlimited, inexpensive, clean energy. That's a pretty big promise. Today we sit down with Satoshi Konishi, co-founder and CEO of Kyoto Fusioneering, and we talk about what it is really going to take to develop commercially viable fusion power and the role that startups have to play in that process. We talk about the emerging public-private research partnerships, who i...

Most sustainability startups struggle to find sustainable business models Towing, however, has found their solution, and their customers are seeing 20% to 70% increases crop yields. Today we sit down with Towing co-founder Teppei Okamura and he explains why even such a drastic yield improvement required an innovative production and distribution model to achieve scale. We also talk about the advant...

Almost everyone agrees that the Japanese education system needs to be modernized, but EdTech startups face an uphill battle in Japan.  Of course, academia and governments are not known for being particularly innovative or forward-thinking, and that's why Kohei Kuboyama left a fast-track career at Japan's Ministry of Finance to launch and EdTech startup.  Kohei lays out his blueprint for getting ne...

MedTech is one of the most challenging areas for startups to compete in,  "Move fast and break things" just doesn't work in medicine.  So you might be surprised to learn that there are quite a few innovative medical startups coming out of Japan right now.   Today we talk with Yuichi Tamura, founder of Cardio Intelligence, who has developed Smart Robin, and AI platform that can read EKGs, has been...

Japan wants to learn how to code. Over the past 15 years software development in Japan has changed from low-level clerical work to a mission-critical skill, and the Japanese government and industry as scrambling to find programmers and develop new talent. Yan Fan came to Japan on a mission to teach everyone how to code. After opening Japan's first coding  bootcamp, and she and her co-founder Kani...