Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan Podcast
1) Can startups save Japan’s logistics industry?
According to Taro, Japan's logistics industry is on the brink of collapse, and it's hard to argue that he's wrong. Taro Sasaki founded Hacobu with the goal of modernizing Japan's logistics industry...Show More
2) How to start an AI Startup in late 2025
Last month I gave lecture at Globis University on what it takes to build an AI startup today. It's no longer early days for AI, and most founders don't have the connections and resources that driv...Show More
3) Japanese technology to supercharge human fertility
Japan's declining birth rate makes global headlines. But most of the developed world will soon be facing the same problem. The real solution involves a lot of social and economic changes, and as yo...Show More
4) What’s next for climate tech startups & innovation
Last month I spoke on a panel about the future of climate tech. I was joined by Emi Naganuma, the founder and General Partner of Apprecia Capital and Richard Youngman, the CEO Cleantech Group, with...Show More
5) Foreign founders are changing how Japanese start startups
For the last 150 years, Japan has made a science of borrowing the best ideas from the West and transforming them into her own. The startup world is no exception. Japanese startup culture is heavily...Show More
6) What it’s really like to be a female VC in Japan
Progress is not only slower in Japan, it is often different. Looking at the numbers, it's clear that venture capital is even more male-dominated in Japan than it is in the West. Our guest today exp...Show More
7) Startup success hinges on enterprise innovation
American startups dominate this innovation cycle not as a result of startup innovation, but of enterprise innovation. Today we sit down with Dai Watanabe and dive into the dynamics of industry disr...Show More
8) Sempai culture is killing innovation in Japan
Fifteen years ago, University-run venture funds were all illegal here in Japan, but today a higher percentage of major Japanese universities have VC funds than in the US or Europe. Today we sit dow...Show More
9) How to build a successful startup community
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. I...Show More
10) Software alone can’t make us work together
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 ...Show More