Disrupting Japan

Blue Innovation attracted a lot of international attention last year when they announced the  T-Frend drone system. This dystopian drone flies around offices after hours reminding staff not to work overtime, and taking pictures of those who violate overtime policy so that management can be alerted. We’ll talk about this particular drone, of course, but Blue Innovation's technology is much broader and is making an impact an many more important, if perhaps less visible, areas. Founder and CEO Takayuki Kumada explains the early days of the company and why they decided to pivot into drones in the first place. We also talk about the future of drones in Japan and globally, about what’s really holding the industry back, and why the Japanese government crackdown on drones might have actually forced the industry to focus on a very specialized and very lucrative niche. It’s a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Show Notes What is a drone integrator, and why are they important? How Blue Innovation pivoted from environmental consulting to drones How drones navigate with no WiFi no GPS and no light What kinds of jobs drones should not do Why flying drones make more sense than swimming or crawling drones Which industries will be most affected by drones What's really holding drones back How Japan can overcome China's lead in drones Links from the Founder Check out everything Blue Innovation is doing Blue Innovation's Facebook page Japan Drone 2018 on the Blue Innovation blog Friend Takayuki on Facebook [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. One of the ideas I've talked about a lot over the past few years and one that's finally gaining some acceptance is that the bulk of meaningful innovation in Japan is going to come not from startups but from midsized companies. Of course, Japanese venture capital and the ecosystem will adapt to include these players but things are going to develop differently in Japan than in the United States. With this in mind, perhaps you won't be too surprised to learn that Japan's leading drone company is not a traditional startup but a midsized company that pivoted into drones from a completely different industry. Today, we’ll sit down with Takayuki Kumada, founder and CEO of Blue Innovation, Japan's leading drone integrator. Now, Blue Innovation attracted international attention last year with the announcement of their T-Frend drone. Now, this drone is designed to reduce overtime by flying around the office taking pictures of staff and telling them to go home, and yeah, we talk about how effective this is likely to be but we also talk about the integrator strategy, the one that's being pursued by a lot of the most successful high-tech startups in Japan. It's a strategy that allows them to quickly collaborate across industries and brings an immediate cash flow, but it does come at a cost and it might not be stable long-term, but we’ll get into that. We also talk about the future of drones, both in Japan and globally and what's really holding the industry back, and why the Japanese government’s crackdown on drones might have actually forced the industry to focus on a very specialized and very lucrative niche, But you know, Takayuki tells the story much better than I can, so let's get right to the interview. [Interview] [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1404"  info_text="Sponsored by"  font_color="grey" ] Tim: So I'm sitting here with Takayuki Kumada, the CEO of Blue Innovation, and Blue Innovation is developing civil engineering services using drones. So thanks for sitting down with me. Takayuki: Thank you very much. Tim: Okay. On your website and in interviews, I've heard you describe Blue Innovation as drone integrators.

Have you ever been at a crowded and noisy party and heard a conversation across the room? You catch pieces of it, and you know it is interesting, but you can’t quite make it out and you can quite push your way over to that side of the room to be a part of it. Well, that was the situation a lot of our guests found themselves in a few weeks ago, so today we are going to set things right. Last month 500 Startups and Disrupting Japan held a joint event that focused on how Japanese and foreign staff can work best together at startups. As the event, I had a great discussion with three startup founders who are leading multi-cultural teams.  They candidly shared their stories and advice and even told us about some of their biggest mistakes. It was a great discussion, the event was a huge success, and we’ll definitely be doing it again very soon. But in a way, the event was too successful. Way more people showed up than we expected and the place was packed. Everyone had a good time, but the room was so packed and noisy that only the people close to the front got a chance to hear some amazingly good advice and life experiences. So I thought I would release the entire conversation as a special in-between episode of Disrupting Japan. There are no show notes for this one and it's not transcribed, but it is a great conversation with three experts on how startups can recruit, retain and get the very best out of multi-lingual, multi-cultural staff.  Leave a comment

Hardware is hard. In fact, sometimes the simplest and most straightforward ideas turn out to be the hardest to implement. Today I’d like you to meet Kyohi Kang the founder and CEO of Atmoph. Atmoph is a programmable window which can display the sights and sounds of hundreds of scenic places from all over the world. It's an exciting project, and the team attracted a great deal of early interest. They even ran one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns and a smaller, but still successful, Japanese campaign on Makuake. But this success almost bankrupted them. Kyohi and I discuss how this happened and how other startups can avoid falling into the same trap. We also discuss Kyoto and the fledgeling startup ecosystem that is just starting to spread its wings there. And we'll dive into detail about why, unlike most other startups, Atmoph has decided to remain a hardware startup rather than pivoting to software and licensing when presented with that option. It’s a great discussion, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Show Notes What are digital windows and who wants to use them? What happens when the Kickstarter money runs out? What are the important differences between crowdfunding in Japan and the US What hardware startups really need to know about crowdfunding How you can be bankrupted by crowdfunding too well How to maintain sales momentum after the crowdfunding period ends Why you have to choose to be a hardware company or a software company. The dangers of trying to do both. Why the founders left Tokyo to start a company in Kyoto How the Osaka and Kyoto startups communities are different Links from the Founder Check out Atmoph - You won't really get it until you see it. Friend Kyuhi on Facebook Follow him on Twitter @kyohik Atmoph's Social Sites AtMpoh on Twitter AtMpoh on Facebook AtMpoh on Instagram [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. You know, I was moderating a discussion panel at the big Hakusuka event last month and before things kicked off, I sat down at a café with Kyohi Kang, the found of Atmoph. Now, Atmoph is one of those ideas that is so obvious once you see it that you're sure that someone has thought of it before. In fact, you're pretty sure that you've thought of it before. We did, right? And yet, Atmoph seems to be the only company in the world that is producing this product. What is it? Well, I'm getting to that. You'll hear a lot of the details during the interview and it's always challenging to describe something so intensely visual on an audio podcast, but Atmoph is literally a window onto the world. It's a 27-inch diameter monitor that's mounted in a picture frame and it displays the sights and sounds of, well, anywhere, really: a window onto a Polynesian beach, a Roman Piazza - anywhere. Kyohi and I also talk about how Atmoph's very successful Kickstarter campaign almost bankrupted his company and since the team has run crowdfunding campaigns in both the US and Japan, we'll go over some of the most important differences between the platforms in both countries, and more importantly, the important differences about the customers and the customer expectations in both countries, and even though we met in Osaka, we talk a lot about Kyoto. Kyoto has the potential to become one of the most important startup communities in Japan. It's not quite there yet but there's a lot of promising signs and a lot of promising startups, for that matter. But you know, Kyohi tells that story much better than I can. So let's get right to the interview. [Interview] [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1404"  info_text="Sponsored by"  font_color="grey" ] Tim: So I'm sitting here with Kyohi Kang of Atmoph and it's kind of a digital window,

Right now, it looks like the most profitable business models that are emerging from the mapping of the human genome are not in the field of medicine, but in a variety of B2C business models focused on consumer marketing. That may be a surprising claim, but if the past 40 years of life sciences have taught us anything, it's that our genetic information will be both more valuable and harder to understand than we expect it to be. Today, I’d like you to meet Tomohiro Takano, CEO and founder of Awakens.  Awakens is opening up the genome to make it more accessible and understandable to you and me. They are designing a genetic marketplace that will serve both B2B and B2C clients, and they are working with other startups to develop applications that will leave some readers impressed and excited, and others appalled and concerned. So it’s probably best to let Tomo tell you about it. Show Notes Why people will share their DNA information How to choose your customers as a genetics startup Why developing B2B clients is different in Japan and the US Why people you would not suspect want access to your genome The true accuracy of consumer DNA analysis DNA for dating and social networking What an accelerator must do to validate a startup Why there are so few life sciences startups in Japan Links from the Founder Everything you wanted to know about Awakens Tomo's genetics blog (Japanese) Follow Tomo on twitter @mr3tiago Friend him on Facebook Genome Link Online Hackathon [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Today, we're going to be talking about mining the genome, because if the last 40 years of life-sciences has taught us anything, it's that the information we take from our DNA is always more valuable than we think it's going to be, and why wouldn't it be? I mean, innovation and efficiency, and profit, and money in general are all just proxies for some greater and deeper human need. Most innovation is a more efficient means to the same ends, but DNA, well, that's different. That is who we are. It literally defines us, so naturally, it's something we all care about deeply whether we know it or not. Today, I'd like you to meet Tomohiro Takano, CEO and founder of Awakens, and Awakens is trying to open up the genome and to make it more accessible and understandable to you and me. How exactly they plan on making money doing that, well, Tomo will explain in just a moment. It's a combination of a B2B and B2C DNA marketplace that some listeners will find exciting and some will find it infuriating. But you know, Tomo tells that story much better than I can. So let's get right to the interview. [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1411"  info_text="Sponsored by"  font_color="grey"  ]  [Interview] Tim: Cheers! Tomohiro: Cheers! Thanks. Tim: We are sitting here with Tomo Takano of Awakens, a genomic startup here in Tokyo, so thanks for sitting down with us. Tomohiro: Yeah, it's my pleasure to be here today. Tim: Okay, let's do a quick overview of what Awakens is. So you developed the Genome Link software and you say you have a vision of everyone being able to access their own DNA data. Why would we want to do that? Tomohiro: We create a service called Genome Link which is the kind of API solution for companies to develop their own DNA personalized products. So we see that in the near future, in five or 10 years, every single people will have access to their own DNA data then make use of that data for like, they are choosing in fitness, nutrition, food, medicine. Tim: Does Awakens do the DNA testing as well or do you just link to work that's been done by like, Ancestors or 23AndMe? Tomohiro: Right, so at this point, we are simply focusing on existing genetic testing users,

We startup founders and investors like to talk about “moonshots”. It points out startups that have huge dreams, those that are solving hard problems, and those that will actually change the world if they succeed. Usually, the term moonshot is used metaphorically, but today I’d like to introduce you to a literal moonshot. Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace, plans on landing commercial payloads on the moon in the next two years. Ispace is in the process of developing lunar landers and lunar rovers, and they plan on using the increasingly inexpensive commercial launch companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to send them to the moon. Ispace has secured a partnership with Japan’s space agency, and they have attracted more than $90 million in investment. It’s a great conversation and I think you’ll really enjoy it. Show Notes Why Japan's space program is being privatized How a lunar lander can be commercially viable by 2020 An overview of ispace's first ten lunar missions How much it costs to put one kilogram on the moon What's worth mining on the moon What a lunar economy could look like Why lunar advertising is a possibility Links from the Founder Check out ispace Connect with Takeshi on LinkedIn [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. “Boys, be ambitious. Be ambitious not for money or selfish aggrandizement, not for that evanescent thing which men call fame. Be ambitious for the attainment of all that a man ought to be.” That was a parting advice given in 1867 by William S. Clark to the students of what would become Hokkaido University. While Clark is not widely known in his home country of the United States, both he and the phrase “Boys, be ambitious” are legendary here in Japan. And yet so few Japanese boys or girls, for that matter, really are ambitious, at least in the way that Clark intended it. Of course, many of Japan’s most ambitious boys are girls are the very ones out there starting startups, and today, I’d like to introduce you to the most ambitious Japanese startup in existence. They are a literal moonshot company and they’ve just raised over $90 million to pursue that dream. Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace plans on landing commercial payloads on the moon in the next two years. Now, ispace is not making rockets like SpaceX or Blue Origin, they're creating lunar landers and lunar rovers, and they are making plans for a commercially viable lunar economy. I'll let Takeshi tell you all about it. Oh, but before I do, you should know about the Google Lunar X Prize. This was a global $25 million competition sponsored by Google and open to any companies that could land a rover on the moon and send data back to Earth. Now, no one ended up winning the main prize but Takeshi’s Hakuto project was one of the five companies from around the world that won an intermediate milestone prize. But you know, Takeshi tells that story much better than I can, so let's get right to the interview. [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1404"  info_text="Sponsored by"  font_color="grey" ] [Interview]   Tim: So we're sitting here with Takeshi Hakamada of ispace who is going to commercialize the moon with exploration mining and eventually tourism, so thanks for sitting down with me. Takeshi: Thank you for having interview with me today. Tim: I really appreciate this and I love big dreams, and I think that no company in Japan has bigger dreams than ispace. Takeshi: Really? Tim: Yeah. Well, I mean, you've recently raised $90 million for a literal moonshot. Can you explain what you're planning on doing? Takeshi: We are trying to provide a commercial transportation service to the moon in the next few years. Starting from that service,

Using artificial intelligence to change the way the education system works seems like a fool’s errand. When you combine the fluid and opaque nature of AI technology with the slow, bureaucratic decision making of education, you usually wind up with the perfect storm of stagnation, frustration, and rapidly burning through investor capital. Out guest today, however, thinks he’s found a way to make it work. Daisuke Inada, founder and CEO of Atama+, left a promising career at Mitsui to start an EdTech company he believes will change the way children learn. Interestingly, Daisuke’s vision is not the standard EdTech dream of online classes and automated learning. It’s one where human instructors are still very much involved and critical to the success of both the students and the programs. Of course, their role will change and the overall structure will look quite different from what we know today. It’s a fascinating discussion, and I think you’ll really enjoy it. Show Notes How to find a customer willing to fund changes in education The challenge in exporting the Japanese education model How to find co-founders when you are a mid-career executive What most people over 35 misunderstands about starting a startup Why education is hard to disrupt Why online education will not work in Japan or any other country How Japnese AI companies can compete against their better funded foreign rivals How to convince more Japanese to start companies Links from the Founder Check out Atama+ Follow them on Facebook [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Today, we're going to talk about artificial intelligence and natural intelligence. In fact, we're actually going to talk about using artificial intelligence to improve natural intelligence, so yeah, and tech. Education is one of our institutions that is both most in need of disruption and most resistant to disruption, and there's probably no small amount of cause and effect in that statement. I mean, the reason education is in such need of disruption is because it has been so hard to change for so long although almost every other aspect of our lives has been transformed. Education has changed over the past 100 years, not just in Japan, mind you, but all over the world. Well, today, we're going to talk about exactly why that is and what the hell we can do about it. So I’d like to introduce you to Daisuke Inada, founder and CEO of Atama-Plus. Now, Daisuke left a long and lucrative career at Mistui because he believes he has a better way to help people learn. Now, in the interview, Daisuke and I talk about jyuku and for those of you outside japan, I should probably explain what jyuku are and why they're important to innovation and education. Jyuku is usually translated as cram school. They don’t really have a parallel in the west, but they're very common in Japan and in other parts of Asia. Jyuku are school run by private companies and Japanese high school students attend jyuku after they finish their regular classes and on weekends, and on holidays. The purpose of these schools is to help the students score higher on their college entrance exams or in the case of junior high school jyuku, to increase student scores on their high school entrance exams. Unlike the high schools and junior high schools themselves, however, jyuku are private companies and some are even publicly traded. Jyuku compete fiercely for students and they're evaluated based on how well their students do on the tests. It's no surprise that they're willing to try new technology and why most education innovation in Japan focuses on jyuku. Now that you have that background, our conversation with Daisuke will make a lot more sense. Of course, we also talk about the challenges he faced when deciding ...

The global energy markets are transforming themselves right before our eyes. Very little fundamental change has occurred over the past 70 years, but 10 years from today the Japanese and global markets are going to look completely different.  Today we sit down with Yohei Kiguchi CEO in Enechange, Japan’s largest retail energy switching platforms, and we dive into detail about how these markets are changing. We talk about Enechange’s business model, of course, but we also discuss the most effective strategies for startups who need to compete against large incumbents, and that advice holds true for startups in Japan or anywhere else in the world. Yohei also has some interesting observations on why Japan is a better place to start a company than the UK or Europe. It’s a fascinating discussion, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Show Notes How to identify a promising startup opportunity in Japan What’s driving change in Japan’s energy markets How to appeal to Japanese investors from overseas The importance of TV advertising in Japan How to make money in a slow-growth industry When Japan's nuclear plants will be turned back on How Japan's IPO markets gibe Japan a strategic advantage Why enterprise upper management is leaving to join startups in Japan Links from the Founder Check out Enechange SMAP Energy's website [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. I surprised a lot of my friends and fans last year when I joined TEPCO, Japan's largest electric utility. I admit, at first glance, it seems a pretty radical departure from my history in startups and in most ways, it is. However, there's a transformation going on right now in energy all over the world, and while there's been very little disruption in the energy markets over the past 70 years, 10 years from now, the markets will look nothing like they do today. Well, today, we sit down with Yohei Kiguchi, CEO of Enechange, one of the more innovative startups building a business in the new energy markets. Now, before you understand what Enechange does, I need to give you a little bit of background on how energy deregulation is working around the world and the story of the coming disruption is quite similar in all developed nations. Since the days of, well, Thomas Edison, really, the power company was responsible for creating the electricity, building and maintaining the power grids to transmit that electricity across the country, and then billing the customers for the electricity they used. Because of the cost involved and the importance of universal and reliable electricity, it made sense for this to be done by a single, tightly-regulated monopoly and that's how things stayed for about 100 years, but over the past decade, around the world, the cost of generating electricity have dropped and we've seen smaller, more affordable plants, and a proliferation of sore. On the retail side, smart meters and the internet has made it easier to collect data and to be bill customers, and so markets around the world are being deregulated with power generation, power transmission, and retail billing all being handled by separate companies. While power regulation gets most of the press, most of the market disruption has focused on the retail side with hundreds of companies entering the market and many offering steep discounts. Around the world, electricity consumers have never had this much choice, and that's where Enechange comes in. Enechange is by far Japan's largest energy-switching website. It provides tools that allow consumers and businesses to shop for the best or the cheapest energy supplier, but as Yohei explains, the cheapest is not usually the best and Yohei also has some interesting observations on why Japan is a better place to start a startup than ...

Having a free product tier is a time-proven way for startups to get a foot in the door by giving potential customers a low-risk way of evaluating your product. However, there are times when it's easier and much more profitable to simply make the sale. Yu Taniguchi s CEO of Vesper and creator of TableSolution.TableSolution is a SaaS product similar to OpenTable. It helps restaurant owners manage their reservations and better understand their customers. You might not have heard of them yet, but you will. Today they have thousands of paying customers including some of the world's largest hotel chains, they are profitable, and they are expanding globally. Yu and I talk aboutTableSolution's business model, of course, but you Yu also has some great advice and some counterintuitive insights about selling to mid-sized companies, expanding into new verticals and recruiting great staff. It’s a fascinating discussion, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Show Notes Two ways to differentiate your startup in a crowded industry How Freemium can hurt your B2B sales How restaurants are using bid data to learn more about you How Tokyo restaurants secretly raise prices together The advantages of having a multi-lingual product from day one How to keep customer churn low in a competitive marketplace Is it more profitable to go deep or to go wide? How is selling to enterprise different from selling to startups and smaller firms Links from the Founder Check out TableSolution Follow TableSolution on Facebook Friend Yu on Facebook Vesper's TableCheck site [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for listening. Startup investing follows trends and following these trends is an easy way to raise money. Two years ago in Tokyo, everyone was starting food delivery businesses. A year ago, it was AI-related companies, and now, of course, at coffee shops around the world, founders are trying to figure out how to graft a cryptocurrency onto an existing business model and launch an ICO. Of course, after you raise the money, you got to grow the business, and that's always hard, but it's even harder when you are competing against 100 other funded startups with the same business model, no. Long-term, the companies that went out are either those who are doing something no one has thought of before or those doing something so boring that everyone has thought of it but they are doing it in a way that puts them out in front. Today, I'd like to introduce you to one of those companies. Yu Taniguchi is CEO of Vesper, the creator of Table Solution. It's a SaaS service similar to OpenTable in that it helps restaurant owners manage their reservations better and better understand their customers. You might not have heard of them yet but you will. They have thousands of paying customers, including some global chains, they are profitable, and they are beginning to expand globally. The business model itself is interesting and you also have some great advice and some counter-intuitive insights about selling to mid-sized companies and the dubious value of the freemium model in general. But you know, Yu tells that story much better than I can, so let's get right to the interview. [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1411"  info_text="Sponsored by"  font_color="grey"  ] [Interview] Tim: So I'm sitting here with Yu Taniguchi, the founder and CEO of Vesper, makers of Table Solution in the online restaurant management platform. So thanks for sitting down with me. Yu: Thank you. Tim: Table Solution is in a super competitive space so let's talk a bit about what it is. Yu: Super competitive, a lot of people think that Table Solution's competitors are companies such as GuroNavi, Tebelog, OpenTable. That's totally different, actually.

Japanese labor law is very different from what is standard in the US or Europe, and more than a few foreigners have made simple mistakes that have cost them their jobs or their entire companies. Terrie Lloyd has started more than a dozen companies in Japan over the past 30 years and has hired hundreds of people here. Today Terrie shares a number of personal stories and also offers a lot of practical advice for westerners in Japan who need to hire, manage and retain Japanese staff, either for their own startup or as part of a larger organization. Of course, we talk about Japan Travel, Terrie’s latest venture, but we also cover the state of Japanese startups in general, how to best raise money from Japanese VCs, and we go over a few real-world examples of how you can protect yourself when things go horribly, horribly wrong. It’s an interesting discussion, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Show Notes One mistake all founders need to avoid when building a platform business Why Japanese VCs have a blind spot to the travel industry How you know when to bootstrap and when to raise funds Why loyalty points are stronger than blockchain Why Japanese companies are afraid of open data The best way to recruit and manage Japanese staff How to find a startup niche as a foreigner in Japan How to get rid of problem employees without getting sued What you need to watch out for when getting legal advice in Japan Links from the Founder Check out Japan Travel Terrie's Take is a weekly newsletter that is definately worth reading Japanese Labor Law for startup founders A general overview of Japanese Labor Law JETRO's Guide to Japanese Labor Law Some good advice to startup founders from a Japanese Lawyer [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Okay, I want to explain in advance, this one is going to be a little long, but believe me, you are going to be glad you spent the time, and you know, you might even find yourself listening to this particular episode a couple of times. There's so much good stuff coming. Terrie Lloyd has started more than a dozen companies in Japan and he has hired hundreds of people over the past 30 years. Now, Terrie and I have known each other for a long time. In fact, when I was first starting out in Japan, I did some programming for one of his companies back in the 90s. I wrote for one of his magazines in the early 2000s, and you know, I'm not sure what took me so long to invite him to sit down and talk, but I'm glad I finally did. Of course, we talked about Japan Travel, Terrie's latest startup, but our conversation also turns into a brutally practical guide for any foreigner who wants to run a business in Japan. I will warn you in advance, our conversation lacks most of the startup hype and pep talking most founders exude, but you're about to hear some fantastic real-world advice about how foreigners can hire, manage, and occasionally even fire Japanese staff. Japanese labor law is well, different than it is in the US or Europe, and more than a few foreigners have made simple mistakes in this area that ended up killing their companies. Terrie has some great advice both on how to attract and to keep Japanese talent, and a few real-world examples of how you can protect yourself when things go horribly, horribly wrong. But you know, Terrie tells that story much better than I can, so let's get right to the interview. [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1404" info_text="Sponsored by" font_color="grey" ] [Interview] Tim: So I'm sitting here with Terrie Lloyd, the founder and CEO of Japan Travel and LINC Media, and BiOS and quite a few other companies, so thanks for sitting down with me. Terrie: It's my pleasure. Tim: Yes, I'm amazed how long it's taken us to get around to ...

Japanese fashion is unique, and so is the entire Japanese fashion industry. Today I would like to introduce you to a Japanese fashion startup with a genuinely unique business model. Tsubasa Koseki and his team at Facy, have created a fashion marketplace based on instant messaging and relationship building between shops and consumers. Interestingly, this market is not dominated by major labels or global companies, but by more local, mid-market brands. Tsubasa and I talk about his plans for Asian expansion, Facy’s chances for global domination in this niche, and the major differences between fashion retailing in Asia and in the West. It’s a fascinating discussion and a great inside look at fashion retailing. Show Notes What is the last untapped fashion market The reason behind the recent boom in startup founders from Todai How SNS use differs between Asia and the West Why you may not be able to trust Japanese e-commerce reviews The biggest mistake fashion startups keep making Why the global fashion brands will be at a disadvantage over the next 10 years Links from the Founder Check out Facy Follow them on Facebook More about Facy on The Bridge [shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="7994466"] Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Every once in a while, I come across a startup with a business model that only exists in Japan. Now usually, this is because the startup is responding to a market need or a consumer behavior that also only exists in Japan. Occasionally however, only occasionally, I come across a unique startup with a genuinely good idea that has potential to make a global impact, and today, I'd like to introduce you to one of those companies. Tsubasa Koseki is the CEO and founder of Facy, and Facy has developed a fashion marketplace based on, believe it or not, text messaging. Consumers with questions about fashion can ask for advice, and fashion brands and stores respond to those questions. Yes, yes, I know, messaging is already widely used in the fashion e-commerce industry, but Facy has a wonderful and minimal approach to it that really deserves attention. Now, I grant you that the fashion industry as a whole is a bit outside of my core competence and in truth, I have a fashion sense that is perfect for podcasting, but Facy's results really speak for themselves, and Tsubasa and his company have big plans for expansion as well, but you know, Tsubasa tells that story much better than I can, so let's hear from our sponsor and get right to the interview. [pro_ad_display_adzone id="1411"  info_text="Sponsored by"  font_color="grey"  ] [Interview] Tim: Okay, so we're sitting here with Tsubasa Koseki, the CEO and founder of Facy. So thanks for sitting down with us today. Tsubasa: Yes, thank you, Tim, too. I'm very happy to present our project. I'm a big fan of your podcast. Tim: Well, thanks. Let's get right into what Facy does, so you talk about o-to-o means in offline-to-online support services for fashion and apparel stores, so how does this work exactly? Tsubasa: On our service, user can ask their fashion needs like Quora. Tim: Quora? Like the Q&A site? Tsubasa: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. User can ask their own fashion needs. For example, I'm looking for sneakers for the office, shop staff can reply to the post by uploading their item in their stores. User can ask additional questions. If it's okay, they can buy or reserve item. Tim: I really think you got an interesting approach to e-commerce in general, but fashion in particular where it is this kind of calling response where you got customers texting like just random questions, and how detailed are these questions? Are they simple things like, "I'm looking for a new pair of sneakers for basketball"? Or do you get people saying,