In this episode of Scaling Japan we are joined by Fariza Abidova. She is the founder of Trusted Corporations, a search engine focused on connecting businesses and accelerating innovation. Fariza Abidova talks about her experience of creating Trusted Corporations and explains how partnerships can be utilized to scale companies. She also provides helpful advice for startups, large corporations and country managers on how to establish a successful business partnership. Links from Guest Appearance  LinkedIn Facebook Trusted Corporation Show Summary (0:57) Fariza Abidova’s self introduction (1:36) Experience with Trusted Corporation (5:45) Business partnerships (10:13) Benefits of business partnerships (13:49) How to establish partnerships (16:49) Services offered by Trusted Corporation (21:00) Mistakes when making businesses partnerships with Japanese companies (22:54) Advice for foreign country managers in Japan (27:38) Advice for large corporations seeking partnerships

Miho Tanaka joins us in this episode of Scaling Japan to talk about government financial support in Japan. She is the founder of Startup Work Inc. and the startup visa lead of Shibuya Startup Support. Miho Tanaka explains governement grants and loans that will be useful for business owners from Japan and international founders as well. Other helpful tools for entrepreneurs, such as free office space and business related seminars, are also discussed.  Links from Guest Appearance LinkedIn Startup Work Inc.  SeedS Shibuya Startup Support Additional Resouces  Clubhouse with Jason Ball Japan Finance Corporation  JETRO  NEDO Startup Hub Tokyo (Japanese only) Tokyo Metropolitan Government Startup Support  Show Summary  (1:20) Miho Tanaka’s self introduction (3:43) Government financing strategies after COVID-19 (4:42) New government funds (7:21) Loans for entrepreneurs  (11:07) JFC Loans (11:58) Loans for international founders  (13:47) JETRO office space (15:52) Open innovation tax incentive (17:39) Government provided seminars and services (20:22) Clubhouse  (22:28) SeedS (23:23) Industries government support is targeting

In this episode of Scaling Japan, we are joined by Nathan Hoernig. He is the founder of Humble Bunny, a digital marketing and design company in Tokyo. He shares his experience of what it is like to grow a company from the family stage and the beginning process of employee recruitment. Nathan Hoernig also provides helpful insights into the importance of creating and maintaining company culture. Links from Guest Appearance  LinkedIn Humble Bunny  Show Notes  (1:17) Introduction to Humble Bunny (5:05) Experience with growing company from family stage (1-3 people) (6:22) Hiring first full-time employee (8:26) Risk tolerance during recruitment process (12:58) Experience with growing company from 4-10 people (15:07) Company culture from a leadership perspective (22: 21) Importance of communicating with managers (23:29) Mid level employees (29:37) Nathan Hoernig’s personal learnings of 2021 as a leader

As we are transitioning into 2022, this special episode is brought to you by the podcast host, Tyson Batino. He is the founder of Scaling Your Company, a business coaching company, and also Japan Switch and One Coin English. Tyson Batino shares his three biggest business takeaways from 2021 which can help you in improving your 2022 business plan goals.  Contact Links LinkedIn Scaling Your Company  Show Notes (0:58) #1 Changes in Digital Marketing  (7:44) #2 Having the Right Business Model (11:24) #3 Recruitment 

Sylvain Pierre, founder of the Le Wagon Japan branch, joins us in this episode to share his experiences with scaling multiple companies. He talks about what it is like for a company to go through different stages of growth and how different types of organizational frameworks may work better. He also gives helpful advice on delegation and the hiring process for first time founders.     Links from Guest Appearance  LinkedIN Sylvain Pierre Twitter Le Wagon Japan - Coding Bootcamp Links to resources mentioned in episode  Winning by Jack Welch Work Rules by Laszlo Bock Show Summary  0:49 Sylvain Pierre’s self introduction 3:08 Basic stages of scaling your company 3:38 Sylvain Pierre’s experience with creating a company in Vietnam 12:49 Open organization explained 14:03 Top down organization explained 15:59 Sylvain Pierre’s experience with the growth stages of Le Wagon 20:07 Hiring mistakes companies make and solutions to those problems 25:35 Additional thoughts on the hiring process 28:29 Background on delegation 33:15 Where to find Sylvain Pierre and what Le Wagon offers

This episode we are joined by Harry Hakuei Kosato, who was head of marketing for both Virgin and Dyson in Japan and is now the founder of Sushi and More, the largest sushi chain in India. He shares experiences from both Virgin and Dyson, explaining how the companies had different strategies and views on success. Additionally, he talks about how he was able to bring his experiences from Japan to India and start his own business. Links from Guest Appearance  LinkedIn Instagram Sushi and More Show Notes (0:50) Harry Hakuei Kosato’s self introduction (3:04) Harry Hakuei Kosato’s work experience with Virgin in Japan (11:52) Harry Hakuei Kosato’s work experience with Dyson (16:07) Bringing experience from Japan to India (21:10) Advice for country managers to help with market entry (25:20) How successful companies in Japan move forward globally (27:35) Advice for foreign business owners in Japan

In this episode of the podcast, we have the special opportunity of being joined by a Chief Human Resource Officer, Rina Sakuraba. She is the founder of 35CoCreation and has experience in senior level director roles with companies around the world. Rina Sakuraba explains what Human Resource (HR) is and the role it plays. She also breaks down the different types of positions and talks about how a HR partner can help with company growth. Links from Guest Appearance  LinkedIn 35CoCreation Show Notes (0:54) Rina Sakuraba’s self introduction (2:25) Story behind 35CoCreation (4:20) Definition and role of HR ( 7:20) Positions of HR (11:20) Learning and development in HR (12:04) Talent management in HR (14:34) When should a HR generalist/senior level person join your team (17:25) Common struggles HR face  (19:43) How a HR partner can help with company growth (21:48) How business owner/CEO’s can attract a great senior level HR director (24:06) Services offered by Rina Sakuraba

As angel investing is becoming more popular in Japan, this episode we are joined by Yuki Shirato who is an investment lawyer that works in M&A and runs Yakumi.co, a Japanese angel syndicate. Yuki Shirato talks about how he got into his career and shares his experience as an angel investor. He further delves into what exactly angel investing is, what kind of businesses it is suitable for and what profiles investors are looking for. Links from Guest Appearance  LinkedIn Yakumi.co Show Notes (0:45) Yuki Shirato’s self introduction (1:40) How Yuki Shirato became an angel investor (3:50) What is an angel syndicate (6:27) Types of business that are suitable and that aren’t suitable for angel investment (8:01) 3 stages of the early business stage in Japan (13:08) Difference between a start up and normal business (15:06) What types of data metrics do angel investors look for (16:27) Angel investment in Japan (20:50) Characteristics of founders who have scaled successfully (26:28) Characteristics of founders that were unsuccessful in scaling