Scaling Japan Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Japan Scalers Podcast! This week, we’re thrilled to have Paul McMahon, founder of Tokyo Dev, a leading platform that helps software developers navigate and secure job opportunities in Japan. Tokyo Dev has become an essential resource for those looking to break into Japan’s competitive tech industry. In this episode, Paul takes us through his entrepreneurial journey, sharing how he built Tokyo Dev from the ground up and leveraged his deep knowledge of both Japanese and international tech ecosystems. Tune in to hear Paul's story and the invaluable insights he's gained along the way in creating Tokyo Dev as the go-to platform for developers aiming to grow their careers in Japan! --- Show Notes: 00:00 Intro 3:17 How did Paul start Tokyo Dev? 6:24 Tokyo Dev's target market 7:30 Paul's Special Advantage 11:00 Tokyo Dev's mission 12:14 How did Paul adapt your personality for stage 1? 17:12 How did the networking community help Tokyo Dev? 20:26 Challenges with pricing 28:16 Stage two transitioning from blog to business 36:26 Tokyo Dev's competitors 40:07 Funding 42:00 Third Stage 50:59 Tips to other people about the transitioning stage 58:00 Tokyo Dev's community 1:01:58 Main challenge for Tokyo Dev --- Links from Guest Appearance : Paul's LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠TokyoDev --- The Japan Scalers Podcast is produced by our companies Scaling Your Company & Launch LabScaling Your Company offers several services 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 Launch Lab : Japan Incorporation Services Discover how SmartStart can simplify your journey and fuel your growth in Japan : ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://smartstartjapan.com/ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast. In this episode, we welcome Dr. Arnar Jensson, CEO of Cooori, a cutting-edge AI-powered language learning platform. Dr. Arnar brings a wealth of experience in scaling businesses in Japan's unique market. Cooori has made waves with its innovative approach to language learning, combining advanced technology and human-centered design to enhance education. Join us as Dr. Arnar dives into his journey with Cooori, navigating the B2B market in Japan, uncovering competitive advantages, and sharing insights from his experience in the different stages of business growth. He also offers valuable tips for companies looking to expand into new markets and adapt their strategies for survival and success. This episode is packed with practical advice for scaling your business in Japan and beyond. --- Show Notes : 00:00 Intro 1:48 What is Cooori? 3:30 Dr Arnar & Japan 5:58 B2B market 8:46 Competitive advantage 10:38 Stage 1 24:00 Unique insights in stage 1 26:48 How did you adapt your personality for stage 1? 32:07 Stage 2 42:00 What advantages did you get in stage 2? 47:58 Unique insights 49:08 Current progress 52:45 What are some important factors in your mind when moving to another market? 54:35 Several things that help your company to survive. 1:00:14 Messages for listeners --- Reach out to Dr Arnar Jensson Learn more about Cooori! --- 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 --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast! In this episode, we’re excited to have Apolline Daimaru, a branding expert with a wealth of experience in helping businesses establish their identity in Japan. Apolline dives deep into the world of branding, sharing her insights on how startups can effectively build a brand, the tools and components involved, and the timeline for creating a lasting impression in the market. She also discusses when startups should start investing in branding, common mistakes made in Japan, and how understanding Japanese culture plays a crucial role. Tune in as she covers these topics and more, including trends in Japanese branding and a few fascinating rebranding projects. ---Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 3:55 What is Branding? 8:28 Branding for startups 11:49 Building a brand & tools and components involved in creating a brand 14:03 How long does the branding process take for startups & small businesses 16:39 When should a startup start to invest in branding? 22:18 Some steps startups could take to create their own brand 26:22 Pros & Cons of in-house branding vs freelance/agency 31:18 What are some common mistakes that startups in Japan make 34:50 How important is understanding Japanese culture for successful branding? 43:22 Branding trends happening among Japanese people 48:45 Example rebranding projects --- Reach out to Apolline on her LinkedIn⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠ Visit nowthen on their website⁠ ⁠here ⁠⁠ --- Exciting News for Getting More Sales in Japan !! We are thrilled to launch our live cohort course: "Mastering Sales Decks for the Japanese Market" hosted by Tyson Batino. This online program is for CEOs and sales professionals eager to enhance their sales pitches and improve their chances of securing meetings with Japanese corporate decision-makers. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://scalingyourcompany.com/salespamphlet/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast. Today we are joined by Yuga Koda, the CEO of Nihonium, a company dedicated to helping SaaS companies successfully enter the Japanese market. Nihonium works closely with foreign software companies, guiding them through the complex process of localization and adaptation to Japan's unique business landscape. Join us in this episode as Yuga shares insights into the software gaps in Japan, how Nihonium supports the growth of foreign software companies, and the crucial role localization plays in building trust with the local market. We’ll also dive into cultural differences between Japan and the West, and Yuga will provide key advice for startups looking to establish themselves in Japan. Stay tuned for a deep dive into navigating Japan's evolving tech ecosystem. ---Timestamps: 00:00 introduction 2:36 How Nihonium is helping SaaS companies enter the Japanese market? 9:05 What area of software are Japanese companies lacking? 11:41 Are domestic startups in Japan filling up the software gap? 12:23 Entry options for foreign software companies. 32:23 Gaining trust out of the local market/ Why is localization so important? 41:46 Cultural differences between Western vs Japan 51:50 Marketing in Japan 1:10:13 Advice for startups entering into Japan --- Reach out to Yuga on his LinkedIn⁠ here⁠ Visit Nihonium on their website⁠ here ⁠ --- Exciting News for Getting More Sales in Japan !! We are thrilled to launch our live cohort course: "Mastering Sales Decks for the Japanese Market" hosted by Tyson Batino. This online program is for CEOs and sales professionals eager to enhance their sales pitches and improve their chances of securing meetings with Japanese corporate decision-makers. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://scalingyourcompany.com/salespamphlet/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to another episode of the Japan Scalers Podcast. In this episode, we are joined by Eran Galperin, founder and CEO of Gymdesk, a leading software platform revolutionizing gym management. Eran walks us through the critical stages of building Gymdesk into a thriving business, from finding product-market fit to scaling across different stages of growth. Join us as Eran shares valuable insights into his competitive advantage, the challenges he faced in developing a strong product, and the pivotal moments that shaped his approach to recruitment, content marketing, and expansion. He even offers a glimpse into the unique opportunities in the Japanese market, and how Gymdesk has adapted to global needs --- Show Notes:0:00 Intro2:51 What is Gymdesk?5:13 Erin's competitive advantage8:47 How long did it take for Erin to have a strong product-market fit?10:04 Beginning stage of Gymdesk15:37 What are the advantages you had & how did you successfully utilize them?23:45 Would you like to share any insights regarding the first stage of business?30:16 Eran shares second-time founder advantage32:40 Eran’s content marketing experience35:55 How did you adapt your personality for stage 1?39:11 Stage 2, a redesign in early 2020, followed by growth43:50 Gradual internal team expansion, learning from outsourcing mistakes49:51 Unlocking Yourself & Recruitment54:39 Challenges in Stage 258:36 What would you define as Stage 3?1:03:34 Japan market1:13:11 Conclusion --- Links from Guest Appearance : Eran's LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Gymdesk⁠ --- 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/ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of the Japan Scalers Podcast, Tyson chats with Ray Sato, co-founder of Grow and former lead recruiter for Uber Eats in Japan. Ray shares his journey from being the first recruiter for Uber in Japan to scaling the team from 10 to 120+ employees across APAC, contributing to Uber Eats reaching a $1 billion run-rate. He discusses the competitive strategies and challenges that helped shape Uber Eats' success.Ray also offers insights into key topics such as recruitment pipelines, OKRs & KPIs, employee value propositions, and his experience launching Grow, a recruitment agency that achieved $3 million in revenue during its first year.Tune in for valuable lessons on scaling, overcoming challenges, and driving growth in fast-paced startup environments!Timestamps:0:00 Intro3:40 Ray's Story at UberEats7:31 Services of UberEats10:16 Ray’s Competitive Advantages17:17 Uber’s Competitive Close Rate21:15 Challenges & How Ray Overcame Them33:21 Advice from Ray42:37 OKRs & KPIs Insights45:50 Recruitment Pipeline & Internal Processes52:42 Employee Value Proposition (EVP)59:52 Fintech Support to Sales Ratio1:00:21 The 4 Stages of Growth1:12:37 What is Grow?____________________________________Links from Guest Appearance :Ray's LinkedIn⁠ |⁠ Grow's Website⁠---The Japan Scalers Podcast is produced by our companies Scaling Your Company & SmartStart Japan:Scaling Your Company : 1 on 1 advisory on sales, marketing, managementScaling Your Sales : Courses to increase your sales in Japan.Scaling Your Marketing : Creating websites in English or Japanese + SEO + MEOSmartStart : Japan Incorporation ServicesDiscover how SmartStart can simplify your journey and fuel your growth in Japan : ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://smartstartjapan.com/⁠---Send in a voice message:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast. Today we are joined again by Beau Becker, the CEO of Reiwa Pharmaceuticals in Japan. Reiwa Pharmaceuticals produces an anti-flush drink called Akan and has experience incorporating in Japan and helping others incorporate in Japan. Join us as Beau talks about his experiences whilst creating a bank account in Japan and the recommendations for the best banks for foreign entrepreneurs and workers in Japan. --- Show Notes 0:00 Introduction 5:03 The Four Stages of the Fast Track Banking Strategy 28:37 About the Required Residence Status 32:51 Limitations and Technicalities of an employment business 34:27 English Service Banks in Japan 36:22 What Kind of Stamps Are You Going to Need? 38: 55 About the Account Booklet 41:45 Mega Banks 47:21 Different experiences with Shinsei Bank 50:33 Online Banking 56:51 The Business Plan and Needing a Website 1:00:23 Credit Unions 1:04:10 Does He as a Service provide advisory to Companies that need help with the Business plan for these loans? 1:10:43 Final Thoughts --- Reach out to Beau on his LinkedIn Be sure to check out Reiwaseiyaku and their Instagram  Beau also wrote two extremely popular articles on creating a bank account and incorporating a company, which you can find below:  ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/guide-corporate-banking-japan-beau-becker/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/guide-incorporation-japan-beau-becker/⁠ --- Exciting News for Getting More Sales in Japan !! We are thrilled to launch our live cohort course: "Mastering Sales Decks for the Japanese Market" hosted by Tyson Batino. This online program is for CEOs and sales professionals eager to enhance their sales pitches and improve their chances of securing meetings with Japanese corporate decision-makers. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://scalingyourcompany.com/salespamphlet/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast! In this special solo episode, Tyson dives deep into the questions posed by his LinkedIn audience, providing practical answers that every aspiring podcaster and business leader in Japan needs to hear. Tyson pulls back the curtain on his podcasting journey, sharing invaluable tips on how to start and scale a podcast in Japan. He also delves into the lessons learned from mistakes made along the way and offers advice on how to avoid common pitfalls. Check out the Scaling Japan Podcast | Tyson's LinkedIn --- TimeStamps : 0:20 Starting a podcast in Japan intro 01:11 Personal & Professional impact of doing a Podcast 04:12 How has it helped the people you've interviewed 05:09 Impact on the broader system of audience 08:33 Approaches to solving Listener's feedback 12:55 Distribution platforms & SEO in Japan 18:42 Marketing growth for podcasts 24:43 Tools used 31:48 Practicing & Rehearsing 33:32 Recording equipment 35:34 Preparing recording environment 36:02 Choosing guests 40:47 Mistakes made as a host 41:37 How to prevent those mistakes 44:33 Co-hosting & Remote podcasting ---The Japan Scalers Podcast is produced by our companies Scaling Your Company & Launch Lab : 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 Launch Lab : Japan Incorporation Services Discover how Launch Lab can simplify your journey and fuel your growth in Japan :  https://launch-lab.jp --- Send in a voice message:

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast. Today we are joined by Eli David Rokah, the CEO of StartupBlink, a startup ecosystem research center working with over 100 government entities, corporate innovation programs, and multilateral organizations worldwide. Their global startup ecosystem map has hundreds of thousands of registered start-ups, co-working spaces, and accelerators, creating a robust sample of innovation globally, being well known for creating the startup ecosystem index of 1000 cities and 100 Countries.   Join us in this episode as Eli explains StartupBlink’s Index, where Japan and its cities are ranked amongst the other countries and the industries the Japanese government should focus on in the future --- Show Notes 0:00 Introduction 3:12 Overview of StartupBlink and the StartupBlink Index 5:06 The Highest Ranking Japanese Company 23:51 Japan’s performance in 2024 30:21 Further Thoughts on the support from the Japanese Government 38:15 Other facts about Singapore that makes it much easier for Startups 44:06 More on Business Environment Versus Overall Rank 47:37 Industry Specifics 49:21 Trends in terms of Industries 52:33 What Industries should Tokyo Focus on and any Final thoughts for any policy makers? --- Reach out to Eli on his LinkedIn here Visit StartupBlink on their website here --- Exciting News for Getting More Sales in Japan !! We are thrilled to launch our live cohort course: "Mastering Sales Decks for the Japanese Market" hosted by Tyson Batino. This online program is for CEOs and sales professionals eager to enhance their sales pitches and improve their chances of securing meetings with Japanese corporate decision-makers. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://scalingyourcompany.com/salespamphlet/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this discussion, Eric Wei, CEO of timelyhero, shares his extensive experience in e-commerce and product management, including his pivotal role at DiDi. He dives into the significance of fractional leadership in startup growth and details the cultural challenges faced while expanding into Japan. Eric offers insights on effective recruitment strategies and emphasizes the importance of understanding local consumer behavior. He also discusses innovative solutions like voice recognition systems to enhance user experiences and the role of data in optimizing operations.