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Forecasts for 2017 from Five Insightful Investors

Rude VC Predictions

The Bridge 2016.12.26

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. With the first full year of Brexit implementation, French elections, the inauguration of President-elect Trump, and a start to the baseball season with the Cubs as the reigning world champs, the world could not feel more unpredictable. In 2017, entropy feels more palpable than ever before. ‘Tis therefore the season to invite some of my colleagues in VC to offer some predictions for the upcoming year. These talented individuals are much smarter than I am, so it’s an honor to solicit their wisdom during this period of chaos. Claire Houry, Ventech, Paris For 2017, I see e-tailers going offline, reinventing the offline world and merging the physical and digital world to create an immersive environment. We shall see augmented and virtual reality booming in marketing applications, data-driven indicators and online analytics entering the offline world…

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.

With the first full year of Brexit implementation, French elections, the inauguration of President-elect Trump, and a start to the baseball season with the Cubs as the reigning world champs, the world could not feel more unpredictable. In 2017, entropy feels more palpable than ever before.

‘Tis therefore the season to invite some of my colleagues in VC to offer some predictions for the upcoming year. These talented individuals are much smarter than I am, so it’s an honor to solicit their wisdom during this period of chaos.

Claire Houry, Ventech, Paris

For 2017, I see e-tailers going offline, reinventing the offline world and merging the physical and digital world to create an immersive environment. We shall see augmented and virtual reality booming in marketing applications, data-driven indicators and online analytics entering the offline world and intelligent apps (virtual customer assistant) performing some of the functions of a human assistant. Be ready to see internet of things invading all types of products.
Geopolitical views: With the world’s biggest start-up campus to open in Paris in April 2017, I also see France getting high attention in the tech world. Ventech supports the project and will launch its ParisPOC program for its foreign portfolio companies, willing to expand into the French and the European market.

Anna Boffetta, Balderton Capital, London

The list of winners in machine learning will shift from including only those who can gather the biggest dataset for training to also include those who develop training methods that rely on fewer and fewer data points. In the past years we have made huge progress in Artificial Narrow Intelligence (automation, optimisation, prediction etc.) but, thanks to the increase in computational power, the next years will begin to build towards Artificial General Intelligence, where computers get closer to human-like intelligence.
2017 will see the rise of new interfaces. While today’s dominant human-computer interaction is done through the display and visualisation, mostly on mobile, new interfaces like voice, audio, messaging etc. will start seeping into everyday life. More data will be collected, structured and analysed by machines which will deliver the results to humans through conversational interfaces.

Allison Baum, Fresco Capital, Tokyo

Increase in cross-border M&A – The US startup ecosystem is ripe for consolidation and most corporates in Asia are currently cash rich but innovation poor. We are already starting to see the beginning of this trend with our own portfolio companies, where we are receiving inbound interest from international companies looking for new business lines, tech IP, or an entry point into the US.
Edtech goes mainstream – Education technology has incorrectly been identified and relegated to a niche market. However, the combination of the economic and political turmoil we’re seeing in all corners of the world, and a rapidly accelerating rate of technological progress (self driving cars are very real now), jobs are going to be in focus. Tech related and tech enabled training will no longer be a nice to have, but instead a critical need for the health of individuals, corporations, governments, and society as a whole.

Adizah Tejani, Former Level 39 Fintech Accelerator, now at Token.io, London

Over the last few years, finance has undergone change as technology shifts the landscape on what is possible.

With the up and coming PSD2 changes across Europe, I think the move to platform banking driven by an API economy will start to become clearer in 2017. Banks and technology companies will continue to adjust through collaboration to navigate this change.

Anja König, Novartis Venture Fund, Basel

I like to quote Yogi Berra, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

With this caveat in mind, one doesn’t have to be a wizard to predict that it will be easier for European companies and academic institutions to recruit top talent from the US.

All the best for 2017.

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From Monozukuri Hub Meetup: The Power of Storytelling

The Bridge 2016.12.24

This is a guest post by Joey Ho Nihei, a volunteer supporter for Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp as well as a student from National University of Singapore (Department of Global Studies). The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis. Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by professional photographer Kengo Osaka. Makers Bootcamp is Japan’s leading hardware accelerator and the organizer of the wildly successful Monozukuri Hub meetups. These meetups aim to build, support and inspire a community of makers by acting as a platform for international collaboration and knowledge exchange. In the latest edition of 2016 Monozukuri Hub meetup titled “The Power of Storytelling”, Makers Bootcamp has brought together some of the tech industry’s most seasoned storytellers, investors and start-up founders for an evening packed with insights on how to build and leverage on compelling stories for startups. This meetup largely revolved around the theme of how powerful and effective storytelling is quintessential to startups in every single way — from picking investor’s initial interest to effectively projecting a startup’s value to consumers. Simply put, storytelling is a powerful tool that must be harnessed by startups in order to secure not only investments…

This is a guest post by Joey Ho Nihei, a volunteer supporter for Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp as well as a student from National University of Singapore (Department of Global Studies). The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis.

Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by professional photographer Kengo Osaka.

Makers Bootcamp is Japan’s leading hardware accelerator and the organizer of the wildly successful Monozukuri Hub meetups. These meetups aim to build, support and inspire a community of makers by acting as a platform for international collaboration and knowledge exchange.

In the latest edition of 2016 Monozukuri Hub meetup titled “The Power of Storytelling”, Makers Bootcamp has brought together some of the tech industry’s most seasoned storytellers, investors and start-up founders for an evening packed with insights on how to build and leverage on compelling stories for startups.

This meetup largely revolved around the theme of how powerful and effective storytelling is quintessential to startups in every single way — from picking investor’s initial interest to effectively projecting a startup’s value to consumers. Simply put, storytelling is a powerful tool that must be harnessed by startups in order to secure not only investments but also its survival.

Three main perspectives dominated the evening’s presentations: the perspectives of the story consultant, the investor and the startups. The beauty of this meetup was in seeing the storytelling process from these closely related yet distinct perspectives.

The evening was kicked-off by Sabrina Sasaki from Makers Bootcamp who succinctly introduced the art of storytelling and its significance to a startup’s growth to get everyone warmed up for the magic that was about to happen in the following presentations. Her presentation served as an easily digestible introduction to those unacquainted to the art of storytelling (myself included). One key message that she conveyed in her presentation was how stories play a crucial role in a startup’s marketing and how it is no less important than building a revolutionary product.

Björn Eichstädt, Managing Partner, Storymaker

The first speaker for the evening, Storymaker‘s Björn Eichstädt, offered the perspective of the consultant, sharing snippets from his vast experiences managing a story-oriented communications consulting, PR and digital communications firm. He spoke about how having a powerful story to communicate a company’s identity and value is increasingly important in a world constantly bombarded with a multitude of information, and how originality (instead of jumping onto trends) is the only real way ahead. One of his sharings that left a particular impression on his audience was when he drew parallels between a story and dashi (Japanese soup stock), saying “a story is just like dashi – it can only be made with the right ingredients, and this dashi can be expressed in so many different ways. If customers and the media like it, they will retell it”.

See also:

Btrax holds Design for Innovation confab in Tokyo, shares insights from thought leaders

James Riney, Head of 500 Startups Japan, followed Björn’s sharing by presenting the investor’s perspective to story-telling: What are investors really looking out for when they listen to pitches? One theme that he constantly emphasised on was the need for simplicity when presenting their idea and value and the need to earn trust and confidence quickly in the little bit of time they have to present to investors. The best way to do this, he advices, is to highlight the key strengths of the startup either in terms of traction, team, target market, media coverage or fundings from highly sought-after investors and funds. Simply put, all you need to do is to convey “why this? why now? And why you?” and just KISS (Keep-it-simple-stupid). He also highlighted the importance of keeping things simple when startups ask for funding — just share with investors how much you need, what you will use it for, and how long this is going to last you.

See also:

Tokyo Office Tour: 500 Startups Japan further engages with entrepreneurs from new base

The second half of the presentations saw Atsushi Nakanishi (AT) and Shota Takase sharing the stories of Dfree and Blincam respectively. Their stories were living proof of how startups can effectively leverage on powerful stories in order to propel their startups forward.

Dfree CEO Atsushi Nakanishi has pooped his pants before — and he’s not ashamed to share it with the world because that was exactly what inspired the world’s first wearable device that aims to maintain every human’s dignity by using ultrasound to monitor changes in the body to predict toilet timings. His product’s vision to create “a world where nobody has to soil their pants” was as revolutionary as the way he presented his story — he began by asking the audience if “anyone pooped their pants before?” ensuing in a roar of laughter. Such personal, relatable anecdotes peppered with embarrassing examples have proven to be a key element in storytelling which values originality and surprise elements. To close his presentation, he shared Dfree’s future trajectories — a trajectory that would vastly change the way everyone lives in the future by “predicting everything” from toilet timings, appetites, menstrual cycles, aging and even one’s lifespan.

See also:

The last presentation for the evening was by Shota Takase, CEO & Founder of Blincam. Blincam’s story started by coincidence at a Startup Weekend session and has since been fueled by Shota’s strong desire capture natural and beautiful photographs of his family. The key inspiration behind Blincam was how Shota could never take candid photographs of his daughter because she would always make funny faces at the camera when she knew her photo was being taken. This desire to capture candid, beautiful pictures of our own children resonated with many people and this vision-turned-startup was what Blincam was all about: A wearable, hands-free camera that captures candid pictures with a blink of an eye. Shota then carried on to share every step of his journey from starting up in a garage all the way to securing a whopping 2640% of funding in Makuake and another 150% in Indiegogo just recently.

See also:

Meet Blincam, mini-camera mounted on glasses for enabling snapshots with eyeblinks

This event saw some of the most insightful stories and had some of the industry’s most seasoned storytellers and listeners (investors). Makers Bootcamp would once again like to extend our warmest regards to every single person who participated and we hope this meetup enriched you as much as it did for us! We hope to see everyone again soon!

Click here if you would like to check the presentation deck from all speakers, with detailed information about each one.

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Choosing a name for your startup: Do’s and Don’ts

The Bridge 2016.11.23

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. A year ago I wrote about French startup naming blunders and promised a follow up piece with constructive advice. I applaud non-English speaking entrepreneurs for bravely choosing international names when branding their companies and products. After all, English (or more specifically: broken English) is the most common business language globally. I do not mock language mistakes and have certainly committed my share of stumbles when operating outside of my native tongue. However, for entrepreneurs whose first language is not English, it’s foolish not to test your proposed startup brand first with a native English speaker. You can read some entertaining names of real-life startups in France that failed to heed this basic advice in my earlier post. In this one, I will explore some effective methods for choosing a company brand name which I have…

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.

A year ago I wrote about French startup naming blunders and promised a follow up piece with constructive advice. I applaud non-English speaking entrepreneurs for bravely choosing international names when branding their companies and products. After all, English (or more specifically: broken English) is the most common business language globally.

I do not mock language mistakes and have certainly committed my share of stumbles when operating outside of my native tongue. However, for entrepreneurs whose first language is not English, it’s foolish not to test your proposed startup brand first with a native English speaker.

You can read some entertaining names of real-life startups in France that failed to heed this basic advice in my earlier post. In this one, I will explore some effective methods for choosing a company brand name which I have witnessed in various portfolio companies over the years.

Marketing fundamentals

Before starting, nail down the marketing basics of your business: segmentation / targeting / positioning. Understand how you’ve defined your target market and positioning within it. Resist the temptation to premise your entire business on a cool name you thought of (Note: I did this myself in the mid-90s with the name Virtual Realty, a startup which would bring 360-degree virtual tours to real estate. The name was awesome, but my overlooking the marketing fundamentals ultimately resulted in a failed business).

Branding distinction

Decide if your company name is going to represent your public-facing brand, or rather simply your flagship product. Both methods work, however, I’ve witnessed startups that fumble this in failing to clarify it early on.

Descriptive vs. symbolic

Do you want to choose a name that describes (or implies something about) your business activity? Or do you prefer a symbolic name? Examples of the former include AirBnb, Facebook, and Microsoft; whereas Amazon, Apple, and Google are examples of the latter. I tend to be partial to symbolic names, because technology churns so quickly. Trends blossom and wither, and accordingly tech company must often evolve their business activities. However, a symbolic name generally requires a higher initial investment in marketing to build brand recognition.

Outside feedback

Don’t choose a name in your corner. Solicit the advice of your company stakeholders both upwards (board), downwards (employees), and laterally (customers, suppliers, partners). Then ask a diverse collection of people you trust outside your business network. Even consider asking a stranger or two. Incidentally, if you’re generally not in the habit of soliciting feedback from others, chances are your marketing instincts are off.

Me-too

Resist overused word components to better stand out from the crowd. For example, last I counted 12 fintech startups in France alone use the word ‘pay’ in their name. In Japan, founders have an affinity for the word ‘market’, or for “adverbing” words by appending ‘ly’ to the end.

Language check

And last but not least, consult a native speaker for each market in which you may aspire to conduct business (obviously!). That way you’ll avoid naming your company after a venereal disease.

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Bicycle business beckons startups in Japan

Cycle Mode International

The Bridge 2016.11.11

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. Cycle Mode International, held at the Makuhari Messe convention center, presented many startups with a niche market where they could gain business traction. In addition to Growtac (see earlier story about Tokyo International Industry Exhibition 2016), other startups took part at this annual show which attracts those involved in this field, but in particular athletes ranging from health-focused hobbyists and novice cyclists to professional riders and Olympic triathlon athletes. Cerevo made its first appearance at this show that brought over a thousand other booths by exhibiting its Smart Cycle device. This location tracking sensor pack makes use of WiFi, Global Positioning System (GPS) and ANT+ as a “cycle computer” for managing a “road trip” ride which even professionals can utilize. The startup had in fact added a former competition cyclist on its staff with an eye to expanding its market for the 9-axis product developed by Tokyo-based “networked consumer electronics” manufacturer. See also: Japan’s hardware startup Cerevo unveils smart sports gear for snowboarding As regards use of the radio waves, a trading company named JRS – also based in Tokyo and specializing in scooters, pedal bikes and the like – had…

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.

cyclemode_featuredimage — Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Cycle Mode International, held at the Makuhari Messe convention center, presented many startups with a niche market where they could gain business traction. In addition to Growtac (see earlier story about Tokyo International Industry Exhibition 2016), other startups took part at this annual show which attracts those involved in this field, but in particular athletes ranging from health-focused hobbyists and novice cyclists to professional riders and Olympic triathlon athletes.

cyclemode-cerevo — Cerevo’s booth
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Cerevo made its first appearance at this show that brought over a thousand other booths by exhibiting its Smart Cycle device. This location tracking sensor pack makes use of WiFi, Global Positioning System (GPS) and ANT+ as a “cycle computer” for managing a “road trip” ride which even professionals can utilize.

The startup had in fact added a former competition cyclist on its staff with an eye to expanding its market for the 9-axis product developed by Tokyo-based “networked consumer electronics” manufacturer.

See also:

Japan’s hardware startup Cerevo unveils smart sports gear for snowboarding

As regards use of the radio waves, a trading company named JRS – also based in Tokyo and specializing in scooters, pedal bikes and the like – had at its booth a sports-use communication system developed by a Shizuoka startup, On’s Company.

cyclemode-jrs — JRS’s booth
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

The Bluetooth intercom dubbed Bb Talkin’ was originally geared toward the winter as well as water sports aficionados; but recently, it was adopted for use by motorcycle riders and hang-gliders who are now being joined by (casual) cyclists.

An interesting exhibitor which apparently expanded its booth from its initial year of participation in 2015 was the Korean outfit WIAWIS, highlighting the “nano carbon bicycle”… what made it of note is that fact that it is being made by a bow manufacturer, the bow being for use by archers.

Due to the fact that Olympics-use bows are nowadays mostly made using carbon materials, the company a while back decided to enter the bicycle production arena since bicycles are used by several Olympics categories, unlike archery.

cyclemode-bbtalking — On’s Company’s booth
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Of note this time around was the holding at the adjacent convention hall of the annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine (JSCSM); this underscored the fact that not only new technology from info-tech to materials are being scrutinized but also sports science/medicine as 2020 looms on the horizon. It is foreseen that more startups will enter this sector through innovative applications of such prowess.

cyclemode-wiawis — Wiawis’ booth
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

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Instant speculation abounds with Facebook Messenger’s Instant Games

The Bridge 2016.11.11

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. Subscription media service The Information broke a story on Friday about Facebook Messenger allegedly planning to integrate HTML5 games into their platform, enabling users to play “Instant Games” directly in their chat feed. Assuming the reports are accurate, I find this development quite interesting for a number of reasons. First, this represents further confirmation that the rumors of HTML5’s demise in gaming have been greatly exaggerated (I’ve long argued as such for the reasons I cite here and here). Secondly, this feature will undoubtedly boost engagement, thus extending the share of time consumers spend on the FB Messenger platform. Combined with Instagram, Oculus, and Facebook itself, imagine how many hours per week Facebook will capture from consumers on one of its properties. Additionally, the monetization opportunities should be plentiful. Facebook could enrich its targeted advertising…

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.

Subscription media service The Information broke a story on Friday about Facebook Messenger allegedly planning to integrate HTML5 games into their platform, enabling users to play “Instant Games” directly in their chat feed. Assuming the reports are accurate, I find this development quite interesting for a number of reasons.

First, this represents further confirmation that the rumors of HTML5’s demise in gaming have been greatly exaggerated (I’ve long argued as such for the reasons I cite here and here).

Secondly, this feature will undoubtedly boost engagement, thus extending the share of time consumers spend on the FB Messenger platform. Combined with Instagram, Oculus, and Facebook itself, imagine how many hours per week Facebook will capture from consumers on one of its properties.

Additionally, the monetization opportunities should be plentiful. Facebook could enrich its targeted advertising profiles with deeper knowledge on users habits. FB could also grab a slice of revenue from in-game purchases or even playable HTML5 ads like those in Neko Atsume. Could Instant Games serve as a backdoor to an FB equivalent of an App Store?

Finally, I could imagine how Instant Games could enable Messenger to strengthen its position in the few markets where it is not the leading messaging app. Although I suspect FB Messenger will not dethrone WeChat in China, countries like South Korea (Kakao), Japan, Taiwan, Thailand (all three, Line) may all come back in play.

I’ll be curious to watch how Facebook’s Messenger team selects its games for this service, and in particular whether they tailor their game selection based on market vs. pursuing a U.S.-centric content strategy for instance.

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Pepper Salé: Lessons from the bitter Aldebaran / SoftBank project

The Bridge 2016.11.02

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. Bloomberg published an article last week on the failed Pepper program, the emotionally intelligent robot originally developed by French company Aldebaran Robotics which was largely acquired in 2012 by Japan’s SoftBank for approximately $100 million. The demise of Pepper has long been rumored (in fact The Rude Baguette originally broke the story nearly two years ago), though only recently is it becoming acknowledged more openly in Japan. On a recent visit to a business meeting in Tokyo, I was warmly welcomed at the interphone (despite my poorly accented Japanese), directed into a elevator, escorted to a conference room and offered coffee, all by a charmingly hospitable Pepper receptionist. Although the Rude Baguette post‘s comments go deeper in speculation and entertaining mud-slinging, one part of the Bloomberg piece in particular resonated with me: Aldebaran and SoftBank’s…

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.

Bloomberg published an article last week on the failed Pepper program, the emotionally intelligent robot originally developed by French company Aldebaran Robotics which was largely acquired in 2012 by Japan’s SoftBank for approximately $100 million.

The demise of Pepper has long been rumored (in fact The Rude Baguette originally broke the story nearly two years ago), though only recently is it becoming acknowledged more openly in Japan. On a recent visit to a business meeting in Tokyo, I was warmly welcomed at the interphone (despite my poorly accented Japanese), directed into a elevator, escorted to a conference room and offered coffee, all by a charmingly hospitable Pepper receptionist.

Although the Rude Baguette post‘s comments go deeper in speculation and entertaining mud-slinging, one part of the Bloomberg piece in particular resonated with me:
Aldebaran and SoftBank’s cultures didn’t mesh well. Engineers in Japan fumed when their French counterparts disappeared for weeks on vacation.

Aldebaran employees, accustomed to a flat structure, suddenly found many of their decisions second-guessed by an army of managers in Tokyo.

The Japanese parent created SoftBank Robotics Corp. to oversee the business and sell Pepper. It named Fumihide Tomizawa, a business manager who doesn’t speak English or French, to oversee development. Son put Takashi Tsutsui, a close ally and a veteran network engineer, in charge of technology.

So here are a few lessons from the unfortunate and probably avoidable demise of Pepper.

Acquisitions don’t magically solve organizational dysfunction. I understand from some of the firm’s early investors that Aldebaran faced internal lack of cohesion in the period prior to the SoftBank’s rescue, with allegedly some investors reaching the limits of their patience with Aldebaran management. Cleaning up personnel challenges in French companies is already difficult enough for shareholders locally, let alone a foreign acquirer.

Cross-cultural training is critical in transcontinental acquisitions like this one. The company cultures of SoftBank and Aldebaran fell in stark contrast: a hierarchical organization vs. a flat one; structured vs. chaotic; a work environment where office face time is valued vs. one in which the minimum 5 weeks vacation plus RTT days are prized.

Employees with an affinity to bridge the cultural divide — be it thanks to their languages skills, international experience, etc. — should be empowered to play a prominent role in such partnerships. Even among those who are not viewed as sufficiently senior in the hierarchy or as sufficiently expert in the domain, any individuals who can help facilitate the interpersonal connections are valuable during the initial critical phase of a merger.

Finally, perhaps the Aldebaran / SoftBank experiment shines light on a need that efforts like #LaFrenchTech might address: with its access to a pool of resources who are versed in political relations and diplomacy, a government initiative like #LaFrenchTech could provide guidance to startups in finding their way in unfamiliar territory.

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Creating Japan’s Open Internet – Kaneto Kanemoto

The Bridge 2016.10.07

The content of this article first appeared on Disrupting Japan. It has been reproduced by The Bridge with the approval of Disrupting Japan and the article’s author Tim Romero. Tim is a Tokyo-based entrepreneur, podcaster and author who has started four companies and led Japan market entry for others since coming to Japan more than 20 years ago. Tim hosts the Disrupting Japan podcast and is deeply involved in Japan’s startup community as an investor, founder and mentor. Kaneto Kanemoto founded OKWave to address a problem that was unique to the Japanese internet in the mid-1990’s. Most of the country felt the situation was inevitable, even natural, but Kanemoto-san knew it had to change. Although Japanese people are exceptionally polite in day-to-day interaction, due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, people behaved very differently online. In the early days, the mood was one of bullying, hostility and exclusion. Kanemoto-san founded OKWave to address these problems on the Internet in particular and in society in general, and he has succeeded remarkably at both. The Internet is a far more helpful and much more welcoming place thanks to him and OKWave. Tim: For those who don’t know, can you explain what…

The content of this article first appeared on Disrupting Japan. It has been reproduced by The Bridge with the approval of Disrupting Japan and the article’s author Tim Romero.

Tim is a Tokyo-based entrepreneur, podcaster and author who has started four companies and led Japan market entry for others since coming to Japan more than 20 years ago. Tim hosts the Disrupting Japan podcast and is deeply involved in Japan’s startup community as an investor, founder and mentor.

kaneto-kanemoto-startup-founder-okwave — OKWave founder Kaneto Kanemoto

Kaneto Kanemoto founded OKWave to address a problem that was unique to the Japanese internet in the mid-1990’s. Most of the country felt the situation was inevitable, even natural, but Kanemoto-san knew it had to change.

Although Japanese people are exceptionally polite in day-to-day interaction, due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, people behaved very differently online. In the early days, the mood was one of bullying, hostility and exclusion.

Kanemoto-san founded OKWave to address these problems on the Internet in particular and in society in general, and he has succeeded remarkably at both. The Internet is a far more helpful and much more welcoming place thanks to him and OKWave.

Tim: For those who don’t know, can you explain what OKWave does?

OKWave is Japan’s largest Q&A community. We have over 40 million active users who come to ask and answer questions about work and life, and even about love.

Tim: Really, people talk about their love life?

Sure. People ask “I’m in love with my boss. What should I do?” or “I’m having trouble getting pregnant, what can I do?” When we first started, we had a lot of IT-based questions, but as more and more non-technical people started using the Internet, there were more and more questions about everyday life.

Tim: OKWave is doing very well today, and you went from founding to IPO in only six years, but most people don’t realize what a hard time you had building the company.

I think my company built me as much as I built my company. I’m Japanese, but I was born in Japan with Korean nationality. No one knew or said anything about it until my parents changed my nationality in childhood. After that happened, my classmates leaned that I was not a natural-born Japanese, and I have a very hard time. I was bullied badly, even by kids that I thought were my good friends.

Tim: It must be hard for a child to understand what’s going in a situation like that.

Yes, I was 10-years-old then and I could not really image what prejudice was until I experienced it. My parents wanted the best for me, but no one knew about my nationality until after I become Japanese.

Tim: Many people say the being an outsider helps you think differently and can be an advantage as an entrepreneur. Was that the case?

I don’t think so. In my case I think it just made it hard to trust other people. I went to an Arts college and got a job as a designer at a good company, but I wasn’t happy there. I felt like they did not really appreciate or understand my design, so I left to find work in Tokyo. At the time I really wanted to work at Sofmap.

Tim: How did that work out?

Not well. My wife was very against the move and even threatened to divorce me. I left for Tokyo by myself, and due to my own mistakes in judgement, I ended up not getting the job, and I was actually living in a park for six months?

Tim: You were homeless for six months?

Yes. I was until I met a Chinese women who had moved to Japan and was trying to find work. I told her my story, but she didn’t feel sorry for me. In fact, she scolded me for being so weak. For not appreciating how easy I had things. For using little challenges and other people’s opinions as excuses for not trying. I was shocked at first, but I realized she was right. The next day I made some phone calls and got a very, very low-paying freelance job as a designer, but that was the start.

okwave-global-edition_screenshot — Image credit: OKWave

Tim: The start? How did that lead to OkWave?

I was soon designing web pages, but I didn’t really know how to do the job, so I went online to ask people basic questions. It’s seems natural today, but in the mid-1990s, people were upset. People told me to go away and said I had no right to waste their time with such basic questions.

Tim: That’s one thing that amazes me. Japanese people are very polite, but when they are anonymous on the Internet they can be pretty horrible.

That’s true, and it used to be worse. I decided then that I wanted to make a site where anyone could ask questions safely. At that time, no one thought it would work. Venture capitalists and private investors told me that there was no incentive for anyone to answer questions for free on the internet.

Tim: So you decided to use your own money?

Sort of. I went back to visit my wife who had stayed behind in Aichi for the past two years. I wanted to apologize and tell her all the details of my life in Tokyo, and maybe start over together. I told her about my plan. She thought about it, and gave me the money she had been saving those two years. It was enough to launch OKWave back in 2000.

Tim: Wow! That’s a lot of pressure. It’s one thing to lose investor’s money, but your wife’s savings?

Yes. [Laughs] Failure was not an option. Fortunately, the site grew quickly after we launched. People were attracted to a place where members were friendly and they could ask questions freely. After investors saw the model working, they understood it and Rakuten invested. Growth continued steadily and we were able to IPO. From outside it might look like we were able to IPO very quickly, but it was actually a very long road to get there.

It’s hard to believe that back in 1997 Japanese VCs could not even imagine the internet becoming an open and friendly place where people are willing to take the time to answer questions simply because they’ve been asked.

Most assumed the Internet would evolve to mirror Japanese business culture at that time, a collection of tightly-knit alliances and closed communities. The open internet is an obvious reality to us today, but Kanemoto-san deserves credit for not only seeing it before others did, but committing his life to making it happen.

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The best podcasts about Japan in 2016

Disrupting Japan

The Bridge 2016.09.27

The content of this article first appeared on Disrupting Japan. It has been reproduced by The Bridge with the approval of Disrupting Japan and the article’s author Tim Romero. Tim is a Tokyo-based entrepreneur, podcaster and author who has started four companies and led Japan market entry for others since coming to Japan more than 20 years ago. Tim hosts the Disrupting Japan podcast and is deeply involved in Japan’s startup community as an investor, founder and mentor. There is a bit of a podcast renaissance going on in Japan. The quality varies, of course, so I put together this list of the very best podcasts being made about Japan today. All of the podcasts listed below publish regularly, have solid production values, are genuinely interesting, and have something worthwhile to say about living and doing business in Japan. Please give them a listen, and be sure to let me know if there are any high-quality Japan-focused podcasts that you think should be included. Japanese Lifestyle Podcasts Just Japan Kevin O’Shea podcasts from Kobe, and talks about anything in Japan he finds interesting, which turns out to be a very broad range of topics. The weekly show that includes guests…

The content of this article first appeared on Disrupting Japan. It has been reproduced by The Bridge with the approval of Disrupting Japan and the article’s author Tim Romero.

Tim is a Tokyo-based entrepreneur, podcaster and author who has started four companies and led Japan market entry for others since coming to Japan more than 20 years ago. Tim hosts the Disrupting Japan podcast and is deeply involved in Japan’s startup community as an investor, founder and mentor.

Speak into the Mic. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr by Alan Levine

There is a bit of a podcast renaissance going on in Japan. The quality varies, of course, so I put together this list of the very best podcasts being made about Japan today. All of the podcasts listed below publish regularly, have solid production values, are genuinely interesting, and have something worthwhile to say about living and doing business in Japan.

Please give them a listen, and be sure to let me know if there are any high-quality Japan-focused podcasts that you think should be included.

Japanese Lifestyle Podcasts

Just Japan

Kevin O’Shea podcasts from Kobe, and talks about anything in Japan he finds interesting, which turns out to be a very broad range of topics. The weekly show that includes guests from all over the country as well as Kevin’s own musings about what life is like for a foreigner living in Japan.

Japan Eats

Everyone loves Japanese food, but if you really want to understand it you should listen to Japan Eats. Each week, New York-based food-writer Akiko Katayama and her guests dive in depth into a specific Japanese dish, drink or aspect of Japanese food culture.

Tokyo Podcast

A wonderful slice-of-Japan podcast. Each week, Anthony Joh talks with people ranging from English teachers to crime-reporters to professional wrestlers to capture the incredible diversity that is Tokyo. Sadly, Anthony has put this project aside, but the back-episodes are well worth listening to.

Japanese Business & News Podcasts

Disrupting Japan

An fantastic source of information on startups, venture capital, and innovation in Japan. Each week, Tim Romero sits down over beers with founders and CEOs to talk about fundraising, selling to Japanese enterprises, and the social pressures of starting your own company in Japan.

Tokyo on Fire

If you are a Japanese policy wonk, you need to be listening to Tokyo on Fire. In short, weekly videos, Tim Langley and Michael Cucek tear apart a current event and explain what they think the Japanese press is overlooking.

NHK World

Even though I don’t listen to this much any more, I feel obliged to include it for the sake of completeness. It’s the news. In English. Read to you by NHK. It is always exactly what you expect it to be.

Podcasts for Learning Japanese

Bilingual News

Despite the title, this is not really a news podcast. Each weak, Michael & Mami read a few current event stories in both Japanese and English and then chat about them while bouncing back and fourth between the two languages. It’s perfect for making sure you can talk current events with your Japanese colleagues.

Japanese Pod 101

You have to buy a separate subscription if you want access to the full library of Japanese lessons and learning tools, but their free podcast and video lessons are well worth your time. A few times a week, Japanese Pod puts out lessons ranging from very beginner to intermediate levels.

Japanese History Podcasts

History of Japan

If you are a Japanese history buff, you probably already listen to this podcast. Even if you are not, however, you might want to give it a listen. History scholar Isaac Meyer tells stories of significant Japanese historical events and lets each tale unfold over several months.

Samurai Archives Japanese History Podcast

This is the official podcast of the Samurai Archives History Forum. The emphasis here is less on historical storytelling and more on detailed analysis of specific events in Japanese history. The hosts also discuss how historical events still influence Japanese society today.

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From Monozukuri Hub Meetup: Accelerators vs. Incubators, which one should you go for?

The Bridge 2016.09.17

This is a guest post by Chi Chia Huang, an intern of Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp. The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis. Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by professional photographer Kengo Osaka. With the good weather and a couple of nice beers in MTRL Kyoto on September 12th, we kicked off the meetup with a presentation from Naonobu Yamamoto, who is the CEO of Kpnetworks. Following the second presentation by Daigo Sakaida, an open innovation initiative senior principal at Accenture, anchoring the meetup, John Kat, a technology specialist from the British government in the Department of International Trade, shared his insights about what a government can do to support startups and the ecosystem. We were also glad to have our last speaker Keiji Tokuda, the founder and CEO of Keigan, with Keigan’s establish day on this day. Yamamoto presented on the business model of Kpnetworks, and talked about the importance of accelerator program in the startup ecosystem. He also shared his experience with several accelerators. Sakaida discussed the difference between accelerators and incubators. With his clear explanation, we could understand the concept of these two different…

This is a guest post by Chi Chia Huang, an intern of Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp. The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis.

Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by professional photographer Kengo Osaka.

With the good weather and a couple of nice beers in MTRL Kyoto on September 12th, we kicked off the meetup with a presentation from Naonobu Yamamoto, who is the CEO of Kpnetworks. Following the second presentation by Daigo Sakaida, an open innovation initiative senior principal at Accenture, anchoring the meetup, John Kat, a technology specialist from the British government in the Department of International Trade, shared his insights about what a government can do to support startups and the ecosystem. We were also glad to have our last speaker Keiji Tokuda, the founder and CEO of Keigan, with Keigan’s establish day on this day.

monozukuri-hub-meetup-20160912-kpnetworks — Naonobu Yamamoto, CEO of Kpnetworks

Yamamoto presented on the business model of Kpnetworks, and talked about the importance of accelerator program in the startup ecosystem. He also shared his experience with several accelerators.

monozukuri-hub-meetup-20160912-accenture-2 — Daigo Sakaida, open innovation initiative senior principal at Accenture

Sakaida discussed the difference between accelerators and incubators. With his clear explanation, we could understand the concept of these two different programs. Accelerators are usually a short term program for several months; in contrast, Incubators are mostly long term programs from one to three years. He suggested startups still in seed stage to join incubator programs, and startups in early stage to consider joining accelerator programs. Also he brought up to date numbers showing the startup ecosystem in Japan, pointing out there is still an opportunity for growth.

monozukuri-hub-meetup-20160912-british-investment-trade — John Kat, technology specialist from the British government in the Department of International Trade

Kat shared his tips and tricks to overcome the common challenges of startups including networking, funding, management, and marketing. He also emphasized that British government has developed great program to connect researchers from academic world with industrial experts to assist startups and innovation.

monozukuri-hub-meetup-20160912-keigan-2 — Keiji Tokuda, founder and CEO of Keigan

Tokuda gave several advice to startups from his business experience and suggested to seek opportunity of collaboration with government.

During the panel discussion, presenters had different insights about how to manage the fund they raised and about how to convince investors to invest them.

Kat gave an interesting comment:

After meeting several venture capitalists, talking with potential investors but you got turned down by all of them…instead of keep trying more to convince the sharks, you should find out the reasons why you got rejected. That is to say, your business model is not completed yet. Try to figure out the bugs and revise them, then seek for the investors again.

Special thanks to Makers Boot Camp and Kyoto city government for holding the amazing meetup. I can’t wait for the next Monozukuri meetup on 12th October, to discuss the major failure for hardware startups: “Design for Manufacture.”

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Japan, Thai startups unite to support younger selves; Inaugural meeting held with ministers

The Bridge 2016.09.12

This is a guest post authored by Bangkok-based Japanese entrepreneur Kazuki Kamiya. This article was first appeared in Japanese on Bsearch News but translated and edited by The Bridge for republication. Since 2014, he has been running a startup called HubAsia in Thailand for offering crowdsourced translation and interpretation services. In June of 2016 he released Thai-focused Japanese-language business portal site BSearch. Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by photographer Fumi Tanaka aka Bunshow. On Friday, a group of Japanese and Thai startups responsible for generating new industries, along with their respective governments, established the Japan-Thailand Innovation Support Network (hereafter referred to as JTIS) in order to promote cooperation between startups and larger companies. 10 startups from each country participated along with more than twenty big names including Toyota Motor Thailand and Thailand’s largest supplier of raw materials, Siam Cement Group (SCG). The government of Thailand has been supporting startups as an essential means of economic growth by hosting events throughout the country and creating a fund of several billion baht (tens of millions US dollars). In order to reach the objectives for both countries, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and the Japanese Embassy…

This is a guest post authored by Bangkok-based Japanese entrepreneur Kazuki Kamiya. This article was first appeared in Japanese on Bsearch News but translated and edited by The Bridge for republication.

Since 2014, he has been running a startup called HubAsia in Thailand for offering crowdsourced translation and interpretation services. In June of 2016 he released Thai-focused Japanese-language business portal site BSearch.

Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by photographer Fumi Tanaka aka Bunshow.

On Friday, a group of Japanese and Thai startups responsible for generating new industries, along with their respective governments, established the Japan-Thailand Innovation Support Network (hereafter referred to as JTIS) in order to promote cooperation between startups and larger companies. 10 startups from each country participated along with more than twenty big names including Toyota Motor Thailand and Thailand’s largest supplier of raw materials, Siam Cement Group (SCG).

The government of Thailand has been supporting startups as an essential means of economic growth by hosting events throughout the country and creating a fund of several billion baht (tens of millions US dollars). In order to reach the objectives for both countries, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and the Japanese Embassy in Thailand also recently held (August 31st) Embassy Pitch, a separate event that helps connect Thai startups with Japanese and Thai large corporations.

After attending Embassy Pitch, the Thai Minister of Science and Industry, Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj shared his impressions on social media.

I’m with (Japanese) Ambassador Sadoshima in thinking that ‘innovation’ is what will drive the economic development of our country. We believe by connecting startups and big business Thailand will be able to continue its economic growth.

Dr. Durongkaveroj described the event as, “an event that should be admired” and reportedly rushed to be a part of the inaugural JTIS event on Friday.

JTIS is served by Omise’s CEO and founder Jun Hasegawa, who took the position of President, working on fostering an environment to aid the growth of Thai startups, and will continue to play a role in recommending the relaxation of regulations and the development of laws to the government.

See also:

Omise secures $17.5M to become Southeast Asia’s largest online payments gateway

On the same day, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko, Thailand’s Minister of Science and Industry Dr. Durongkaveroj, and Japanese Ambassador Sadoshima oversaw the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Thailand Tech Startup Association (TTSA), as well as entered into cooperation.

In addition, prior to the signing ceremony Minister Seko had an opportunity to exchange opinions with Japanese entrepreneurs working in Thailand, with the entrepreneurs explaining the current state of the Thai startup scene to the minister. Participants were also able to make demands for deregulation and support measures.

The minister himself actively questioned the entrepreneurs, and conveyed that he recognizes it is in the national interest for the government to boost Japanese big business and startups abroad, encouraging them.

JTIS intends to prepare for the next Embassy Pitch event by strengthening their call for large companies and startups from both countries and recruiting broadly for interested parties.

JTIS executives:

President: Jun Hasegawa (Omise)
Administration officers: Shinsuke Wakai (BuzzCommerce), Hiroyuki Okamoto (Withfluence)
Secretaries: Secretary-General Yojiro Koshi (TalentEx), Kazuki Kamiya (HubAsia)

JTIS secretaries:

Secretary-General: Yojiro Koshi (TalentEx)
Deputy secretary: Kazuki Kamiya (HubAsia)

Startup members:

Japanese startups: Omise, BuzzCommerce, Withfluence, TalnetEx, HubAsia, etc.
Thai startups: Drivebot, Anywhere 2 Go, Siamsquared Technologies, etc.

Supporting companies and organizations:

Japanese companies: Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi Electric, Sharp, dmLab (Dentsu Media Laboratory), Panasonic, NTT Communications, Fuji Film, Mitsui & Co., Itochu, Sumitomo Corporation, Nomura Research Institute, ABeam Consulting, etc.
Thai companies: Siam Cement Group (SCG), ThaiBev, Saha Group, AIS, True, Singha Group, Amata Group, Charoen Pokphand Group, etc.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

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Anja König, Novartis Venture Fund, Basel

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Japanese Lifestyle Podcasts

Japanese Business & News Podcasts

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Japan, Thai startups unite to support younger selves; Inaugural meeting held with ministers

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