Japan Scalers | Episode 10: Scaling Sollective in Japan with Erika Iwai and Allen Wong

Jul 31, 2024

Join co-founders Erika Iwai and Allen Wong as they dive deep into their innovative platform, Sollective, designed to transform the freelance industry in Japan. They discuss the unique challenges freelancers face, the importance of building trust in business relationships, and how their strategic approach has led to successful recruitment. The duo also shares invaluable tips for navigating the Japanese market and adapting sales strategies for local culture. With insights on fostering a thriving freelance community, their journey reveals the future of work in Japan.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Selective: Transforming Freelancing in Japan

02:23 • 14min

Navigating HR Roles and Challenges in Japan

16:29 • 15min

Adapting Sales Strategies and Business Models in Japan

31:06 • 5min

Navigating the Japanese Market: Growth and Freelancing

35:43 • 24min

Building Trust in Japanese Business Relationships

59:26 • 6min

Building Trust in Japan's Business Landscape

01:05:06 • 5min

Welcome to the tenth episode of our new series Japan Scalers. In this series, we will only interview guests who have surpassed 100 million yen in revenue annually.

In this tenth episode, we are joined by Erika Iwai and Allen Wong, co-founders of Sollective, which is a Japan based corporation that is re-inventing freelance in Japan by changing the views of companies towards freelancers.

Join us as Erika and Allen explains the stages of their buisness progression that led them to be recognized as one of Japan’s best 100 startups in 2023 by the Toyo Keizai magazine.

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Time Stamps :

0:00 Introduction
3:35 About Sollective
4:44 How Does Sollective Help Freelancers?
6:04 What is “High-Level Talent”
10:35 What is Sollective's Competitive Advantage for Getting Into the Industry?
12:35 The Stages They Have Developed as a Company and How Many Users They Have Now
14:06 Stage 1: The Beginning
16:38 What Is the difference between an HR Generalist and an HR BP?
19:59 Does Sollective find that to be a Huge Advantage in Developing the Product?
21:29 How Did Sollective Gain their Initial Users?
28:26 Tips on How to Progress from the Starting Stage in the Japanese Market
31:56 Business Models Changes in the Earlier Stages
35:43 How Sollective Adapted their Personalities and Business Style in the Beginning
38:27 Stage 2: The Investment
39:43 How the Managed the Challenge of handling and balancing Companies and Freelancers in a Two-Way Marketplace
44:44 Stage 3
48:41 How Work Contracts and the Qualified Invoice System Impacted their Business
54:19 Tips on How to Progress to Round 2 from Round 1
59:37 About the Trust between Them and Their Clients and Final Thoughts

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Links from Guest Appearance :

Erika's LinkedIn | Allen's LinkedIn | Sollective's Website

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The Japan Scalers Podcast is produced by our companies Scaling Your Company & SmartStart Japan:

Scaling Your Company : 1 on 1 advisory on sales, marketing, management
Scaling Your Sales : Courses to increase your sales in Japan.
Scaling Your Marketing : Creating websites in English or Japanese + SEO + MEO
SmartStart : Japan Incorporation Services

Discover how SmartStart can simplify your journey and fuel your growth in Japan : ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://smartstartjapan.com/⁠⁠ ---

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