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  • Software alone can’t make us work together

    Software alone can’t make us work together
    2025/03/31
    Today we are going to break down some startup stereotypes. I sit down with Kunio Hara, co-founder and CEO of Beatrust and break apart the stereotypes of the uncreative Japanese enterprise and the young startup founder, and Kunio explains how Beatrust is already teaching old dogs new tricks. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes How Japanese enterprises are different from their US large counterparts Things to know when starting a company in your late 50s Why older founders lead to more successful outcomes Challenges in breaking the age-hierarchy in Japan Can software actually make people collaborate? What it takes to get Japanese firms to innovate and collaborate freely Does Japan's management style have to change or can innovation happen within it? Why American companies will also soon have to change their work styles What new founders need to keep their eyes on when starting a startup Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about Beatrust Follow Beatrust on X @jp_beatrust Beatrust on Note Get in touch with Beatrust Connect with Kunio on LinkedIn Friend him on Facebook Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me. I didn't really realize what this episode was about until I finished the editing. Oh, don't worry. I'll be introducing you to an innovative founder in just a minute, and we'll dive deep into their business and their market. But this episode is really about stereotypes, how much truth they really have and why they stay with us, and what we can do to change both the perceptions and the realities that underlie them. Today we sit down with Kunio Hara, co-founder and CEO of Beatrust, a startup that's focused on getting Japanese enterprises to break from their hierarchical structures and let their employees collaborate. Listeners who have spent time in Japan know that this is not an easy task, but as we explore this subject, it becomes clear that both the reality and the solutions are not as straightforward as the stereotype suggest. We also explore the stereotype of the young Rebel startup founder, and man that is a pervasive one. In 2007, a 22-year-old, Mark Zuckerberg famously declared that quote, young people are just smarter. Paul Graham explained in 2013 that investors tend to be skeptical of any founder who is over 32 years old. However, if you take the time to look at the real world results, the data actually show that older founders are much more likely to have a large value exit than younger founders. Kunio started Beatrust in his late fifties, and we talk about the positives and the negatives associated with that. But, you know, Kino tells that story much better than I can. So let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Kunio Hara, the co-founder and CEO of Beatrust, who is modernizing corporate collaboration and culture in Japan. So, thanks for sitting down with me. Kunio: Yeah, thank you, Tim. Long time no see. Tim: Yeah, it has been a while since you're at Google. So Beatrust is focused on helping employees collaborate. This is important. Everyone agrees it's important. But it's hard. So what is Beatrust doing differently in this space? Kunio: We call our service talent collaboration tools because we try to define the new space and compare with other HR tech, especially talent management. What we do is mainly to help large organizations drive and facilitate more autonomous collaboration like cross functions. Tim: Okay. Yeah, that's challenging and in a bit, I want to dive deep into exactly how you do that. But before that, tell me about your customers. So, who's using Beatrust? Kunio: Obviously, large enterprise customers. They want to transform the culture to more innovative oriented,
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    37 分
  • How AI employees are solving Japan’s labor shortage

    How AI employees are solving Japan’s labor shortage
    2025/03/03
    While American AI startups are dominating the headlines, one Japanese company has begun rolling out "AI employees" to famously cautious Japanese enterprise customers. Today we talk with Shota Nakagawa the CEO of Caster and discuss their model of human-AI collaboration, why Japan is positioned to lead real-world AI deployment, and the big steps needed for Japan to catch up with the West. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes Caster’s new model for gig-workers Why almost 90% of Caster's workforce are women How remote work is evolving differently in Japan than in the US Can remote work really revitalise rural Japan? Why Caster uses full time staff rather than gig workers How AI employees could be the solution to Japan’s labor shortage How Caster makes extensive use of AI in their workflow today What is responsoble for the low level of trust that Japanese have in AI and how to fix it Which tasks AI agents will take over and which they will never do Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about Caster Follow Caster on X @caster_jp Friend Caster on Facebook Friend Shota on Facebook Follow him on X @nakasy000 Leave a comment Errata Caster's percentage of female employees is about 87% not 95%. Caster was founded in Tokyo, later moved to Miyazaki, and then moved back to Tokyo after the IPO Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me. While American CEOs are competing to see how quickly they can leverage AI to replace both full-time employees and gig workers alike, one Japanese company is taking a different approach and they're already rolling out their AI workforce. Today we sit down with Shota Nakagawa, founder and CEO of Caster. Now, Caster is a remarkably progressive and innovative Japanese company. They were a strong and vocal advocate of remote work years before the pandemic hit, and even after their IPO, their 800 person workforce remains fully remote with our corporate headquarters located in a shared office space in Tokyo. Caster has now begun rolling out its AI workforce, and they're taking a very Japanese approach. Rather than leveraging a collection of flexible gig workers or freelancers, Caster continues to build a long-term full-time workforce who is co-developing and already working alongside their AI employees. If history is any guide, Caster’s thinking today might tell us what the Japanese market will be thinking 10 years from now. Shota and I talk about the long-term AI trends in Japan, how Caster solve the problem of corporate, Japan's deep skepticism about AI and whether or not AI can really provide a solution to the economic problems associated with Japan's declining population. But, you know, Shota tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Shota Nakagawa, the founder and CEO of Caster, who is creator of an outsourcing platform and a relentless advocate of remote work. So thanks for sitting down with me. Shota: Thank you very much. Tim: So, I explained very briefly what Caster did in the intro, but I think you can explain it much better than I can. So, what does Caster do? Why is it unique? Shota: People are all work remote every day, every day. Tim: So, the entire company is remote. Shota: Yeah, yeah. All people. Tim: That's pretty unusual. And we're here today actually sitting in a share office space to have this conversation. Well, actually let's talk about that in detail later. But first, let's talk a little more about Caster. So, what do you do for your customers? Shota: BPO, business process outsourcing, client about SMB small business, want back office service. Tim: So, what kind of back office services, is it like recruiting, accounting? Shota: Many types. Tim: So,
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    26 分
  • Welcome to Disrupting Japan (Podcast Trailer)

    Welcome to Disrupting Japan (Podcast Trailer)
    2025/02/17
    Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight talk from Japan’s most innovative founders and VCs. I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me. There is so much happening in Japan right now. Startups and innovation are beginning to reshape Japan with the same dynamism we saw during the post-war boom or the Meji-era re-opening. And I’ve been in the middle of this for a long time. I’m now a partner a JERA Ventures, but over the over 30 years that I’ve lived in Japan, I’ve started four startups here, worked at TEPCO Ventures, ran Google for Startups Japan, and, of course, I’ve been running the Disrupting Japan podcast for more than 10 years. Every episode, I sit down with friends, VCs, founders, and leaders who are shaping Japan’s startup ecosystem to give you an inside look at what’s really happening here in Japan. So, please subscribe and join me on this journey. I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for listening to Disrupting Japan.
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    1 分
  • The catalyst (finally!) pulling industrial Japan into the digital age

    The catalyst (finally!) pulling industrial Japan into the digital age
    2025/02/03
    Japanese business loves paper. From fax machines, to business cards, to massive project binders. Paper processes are slow to die in Japan, especially in industrial facilities. Today we talk with Jumpei Yoshida of Kaminashi who explains why that's finally changing and how foreign workers are driving the transformation. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes What is Kaminashi, and who is using it? Why it took Kaminashi four years to to gain traction The biggest challenge in digitizing blue-collar industries Advice for selling software to Japanese companies How foreign workers are driving digital transformation in Japan How to reach analog customers The sales cycle for SMB and enterprise software Why enterprise sales in Japan is fundamentally different from in the West Kaminashi’s global expansion plans Real innovation comes next Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about Kaminashi ... and about their products Connect with Jumpei on LinkedIn Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Japan is unquestionably one of the most advanced nations in the world, and yet corporate Japan's love of paper processes and its resistance to going digital has become kind of a running joke even within Japan. At the more traditional industries all over Japan, at corporate headquarters, regional offices and frontline facilities you'll still see people rushing about carrying thick three ring binders to prove to the rest of the office that they are busy and productive. It seems some things never change. So, why? Explaining this kind of thing is a cultural difference is a cop out. It doesn't actually explain anything. It ignores potentially valuable business opportunities. And more important, it overlooks the startups that are finally beginning to change things. And so today we sit down with Jumpei Yoshida of Kaminashi - a name that literally means paperless - and he explains how Kaminashi is pulling factories, food processing, and other critical industrial processes into the digital age. We talk frankly about why it's taken Japan so long to begin this transition and the recent trigger that has really kicked open the market. Jumpei also shares some great advice about how to sell innovation to conservative Japanese companies, the importance of foreign workforce to Japan's future prosperity and what to expect if you're a startup selling to SMBs in Japan. But, you know, Jumpei tells that story much better than I can. So let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Jumpei Yoshida, the CFO of Kaminashi, who's digitizing frontline and field service work. So, thanks for sitting down. Jumpei: Thank you for inviting me. Tim: It's a pleasure to have you on. Now I gave a really high level explanation of what Kaminashi does, but I think you can explain it much better than I can. Jumpei: Sure. Kaminashi is a company focused on providing SaaS solutions to empower frontline workers. Our main offering include tools that digitize and streamline paper-based workflows. Tim: What is the primary focus? Is it mostly just checklists? Is it inspection comments, like approval, workflow? What kind of things does it cover? Jumpei: The application itself is checklist, but there are so many variety of usage. Tim: And what about the hardware runs on, is it iOS, Android, is it onsite terminals? Jumpei: Initially it was only for iOS and iPad, but now our products can use any devices like Windows or Android. Now it's on the web-based software. Tim: Now a bit later I want to get into more detail about the business model and the value you're providing beyond just the checklists. But tell me about your customers. Jumpei: Regarding our flagship product Kaminashi report,
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    32 分
  • How CVCs and startups are decarbonizing energy

    How CVCs and startups are decarbonizing energy
    2025/01/20
    Most outside of the energy industry are (pleasantly) surprised to learn how aggressively startups and CVCs are pushing decarbonization forward. Decarbonization is a fascinating and incredibly important issue, so please join me on this short but special episode. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. This is a short episode. I wanted to share with you a panel discussion I moderated at the Global Corporate Venturing Asia Congress on the role that CVCs are playing in the green energy transition. It's an inside look at what some of the leaders in the field are thinking. You'll hear from Sophia Nadur, the managing director of APAC and Middle East at BP Ventures. Nicole LeBlanc, partner at Woven Capital, and Jim Aota, chairman of Yamaha Motor Ventures. You know, outside of the industry, a lot of people are surprised to learn just how active and supportive of startups global energy and transport companies can be and how they're working to push meaningful innovations into the marketplace. So here are some quick insights into how some of the world's leading energy related companies are working with startups to green our power system and transition us all to a sustainable future. We talk about the specific kinds of startups we're looking to invest in, the different ways we have to support and work with startups and what we see is the most exciting energy startup trends for the next three to five years. But you know, the panel tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: Okay, thank you so much. I am really looking forward. We're going to be talking about how CVCs are supporting and fueling the growth of energy startups all over the world. And to start off, I'd like to do brief, brief introductions because there's four of us here. So I'm Tim Romero, I'm a partner at JERA Ventures. JERA is a Japanese electric utility. We generate about a third of Japan's electricity. We're investing in decarbonization, new business models and energy and looking for the best companies globally to bring to Japan. I also, for the last 10 years, have been running the Disrupting Japan podcast that talks about VCs and startups in Japan. And this is important because this is being recorded to release on the podcast. So, you are all part of the show. Nicole: Hi everybody. Nicole LeBlace. I'm a partner with Woven Capital and longtime listener of Tim's podcast. So, we're the Growth Venture fund for Toyota. So, we look at growth stage companies typically that are able to work with Toyota across a number of different sectors. So energy that we're about to talk about here is certainly one, but also looking at supply chain automation. And if you think about mobility 3.0, connected cars, that sort of thing. Our team is mainly based here in Tokyo, including myself, but we also have people in the US and in the UK. Sophia: Hi, I'm Sophia Nadur, MD for Asia Pacific and Middle East at BP Ventures. BP Ventures is a global energy company. I am delighted to have Masaki Kaison, who's the head of BP Japan with me, such as the importance that we are placing on looking for investments in Japan right now. We have $850 million assets under management. We invest $150 million at least every year from our balance sheet. We invest in series A, series B, potentially series C companies who are scaling up energy transition related offers, which could include battery storage, offshore wind, solar, hydrogen, mobility, even retail and convenience. Even these areas are of interest to us and we are actively looking to invest in in Japan. We have two, nearly three investments in India, two in China, and two in Australia. Just in this region alone. Jim: Right. So, my name is Jim Aota and I am the chairman of the Yamaha Model Ventures,
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    21 分
  • How AI startups can compete with the AI giants

    How AI startups can compete with the AI giants
    2025/01/06
    Japan is lagging behind in AI, but that might not be the case for long. Today we sit down with Jad Tarifi, current founder of Integral AI and previously, founder of Google’s first Generative AI team, and we talk about some of Japan's potential advantages in AI, the most likely path to AGI, and how small AI startups can compete against the over-funded AI giants. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes Why Jad felt Google was not pursuing the best path toward AGI The fundamental AI scaling problem and likely solutions Why robotics is critical for the advancement of AI (and the not the other way around) Why Japan is the ideal place to build a new AI startup The reason it is so difficult for robotics startups to make money Why humanoid robots are a dead-end How AI startups can compete with the foundation-model comnpanies How we get to AGI from our current AI Solutions to the alignment problem The challenge of making AI fundamentally benevolent The biggest challenge in AI development is not technological Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about Integral AI Stream product announcement Follow Jad on X @jad_tarifi Friend him on Facebook Connect on LinkedIn Check out Jad's new book The Rise of Superintelligence ... and the companion Freedom Series website Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Japan is lagging behind in AI, but that was not always the case. And it won't necessarily be the case in the future. Today we sit down with Jad Tarifi, current founder of Integral AI, and previously founder of Google's first generative AI team. We talk about his decision to leave Google after over a decade of groundbreaking research to focus on what he sees as a better, faster path to AGI or artificial general intelligence. And then to super intelligence. It's a fascinating discussion that begins very practically and gets more and more philosophical as we go on. We talk about the key role robotics has to play in reaching AGI, how to leverage the overlooked AI development talent here in Japan, how small startups can compete against today's AI giants, and then how we can live with AI, how to keep our interest aligned. And at the end, one important thing Elon Musk shows us about our relationship to AI. And I guarantee it's not what you, and certainly not what Elon thinks it is. But you know, Jad tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: I am sitting here with Jad Tarifi, founder of Integral AI, so thanks for sitting down with me. Jad: Thank you. Tim: Integral AI, you guys are “unlocking, scalable, robust general intelligence.” Now that's a pretty big claim, so let's break that down. What exactly are you guys doing? Jad: So, when we look at generative AI models right now, they usually operate as a black box. And because they have minimal assumptions on the data, they have to do a lot of work and they tend to be inefficient in terms of the amount of data they need and the amount of compute. We're taking a different approach that's inspired by the architecture of the neocortex, which roughly speaking follows a hierarchical design where different layers produce abstractions and then feed into higher layers that create abstractions of abstractions and so on. Tim: Okay, so this is not an LLM architecture or is this a kind of LLM architecture? Jad: When people talk about LLM, usually they talk about auto regressive transformer networks. So this would be a different type of architecture than that. However we can use transformers or other models like diffusion models as building blocks within that overall architecture. Tim: It's interesting that you took a different path than LLMs because you're not new to AI.
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    52 分
  • Why Japan is looking to France for startup inspiration

    Why Japan is looking to France for startup inspiration
    2024/12/09
    While the rest of the world is copying Silicon Valley, Tokyo is looking at Paris. Today we sit down with Mark Bivens and Matt Romaine, the co-founders of Shizen Capital to talk about Japan's new startup policies, the changing role of M&A, the main force behind the changing attitudes about startups in Japan. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes Why Japanese startups need to start buying other startups The root of Japan's odd attitudes towards M&A and the forces changing it Structuring investments into foreign startups making a Japan market entry Why the Japan's angel investing tax-break is not really about taxes What Japan plans to import from the French startup ecosystem The best way to win the hearts and minds to change startup culture What's driving the recent explosion in startup events, and will it last? The best Japanese startup ecosystems outside of Tokyo Can authenticity scale? Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about Shizen Capital Connect on LinkedIn Follow Shizen Capital on X @shizencapital I highly recommend Mark's blog Rude VC Follow Mark on X @markbivens Follow Matt on X @quanza Check out Mark's Nostr https://rude.vc/nostr Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. Everybody wants to be Silicon Valley. Regional and local governments the world over proudly announced that they will be the Silicon Valley of, you know, whatever. We've seen Silicon Glen, Silicon Beach, Silicon Harbor, and countless other less publicized variations. Now, politicians calling out to Silicon Valley works fine as a metaphor, but you know, it's not really a plan. Well, the Japanese government has a plan and they are not looking to San Francisco, but to Paris. And today we're going to talk about that plan and so many other things as well. When we sit down with Mark Bivens and Matt Romaine, the co-founders of Shizen Capital, an early stage fund focused exclusively on Japanese startups. Now, Matt and Mark are both startup founders who became VCs, and that's still pretty rare in Japan. These VCs tend to be overrepresented on disrupting Japan because I don't know, it's a small group and I'm friends with a lot of them. But founders turned, investors are critical to the success of any startup ecosystem, and they're playing an outsized role in shaping what's happening in Japan right now. Mark, Matt and I talk about what's driving the changing attitude around M&A in Japan, which part of the government efforts to support startups are actually working and Japan's potential advantage in becoming a startup powerhouse in the coming years. But you know, Matt and Mark tell that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: We're sitting here with Mark Bivens and Matt Romaine, the two founding partners of Shizen Capital. So, thanks for sitting down with me. Matt: Delighted to be here. Mark: Yeah, pleasure. Tim. I think I mentioned this privately to you before, but I'm pretty still relatively new in Japan. Seven years ago I moved here and you were my first source as I wanted to learn about the Japanese startup ecosystem. Tim: Well, thank you. Mark: Somebody introducing me to your podcast, so thank you. Tim: Well, no, thank you. It's been a great project and I'm glad this has kind of come full circle and I get a chance to sit here and interview you on it. Mark: I also have to say, in a past life I was a radio DJ. You have a great radio voice, Tim. Tim: Thank you. It's funny, people tell me that all the time, but this is just the way I talk, like normally. Well, thank you. So, let's get into it. So, tell me about Shizen Capital. Who are you investing in and why? Matt: Yeah, well, so I first met Mark in 2015 at a conference in Fukuoka. It was the B dash conference.
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    35 分
  • A game plan for working artists to beat AI in the marketplace

    A game plan for working artists to beat AI in the marketplace
    2024/11/11
    Today, we are going to talk about AI, but not in the way you expect. Today, I’m going to give creatives a solid three-point plan to beat AI in the marketplace. I’m going to explain how musicians, podcasters, authors and other artists can survive and even thrive amidst the unstoppable flood of AI generated slop we will all be forced to wade though for the foreseeable future, And to maybe do some good in the process. It’s taken me over a year to write the script for this episode, and like so many of my solo episodes, I originally planned on it being very different from how it turned out. But sometimes the scripts takes on a life of its own, and I have to follow it to what always ends up being a far more interesting place. Those episodes tend to be my most popular I hope you enjoy it. Introduction This is a solid three-point plan for beating AI in the marketplace. I’m going to explain how musicians, podcasters, authors and other artists can survive and even thrive amidst the unstoppable flood of AI we will be forced to wade though for the foreseeable future. Artists, don’t kid yourself, generative AI is here to stay. There is no going back. But there is a way forward. This is a personal topic for me. I used to be a professional musician. I put myself though college playing in bars and clubs. I was Japan’s first professional podcaster. I also love generative AI and am excited about the amazing creative potential it promises. I want to see all of these things thrive. AI will be fine, of course. It’s supported with practically unlimited funds and by lawmakers and industry leaders around the world. Artists, however, could use a little help. What exactly does AI create? People asking if AI can create real art are asking the wrong question. Artists who need to put food on the table need to be asking what artistic needs AI meets in our economy. With those parameters, let’s look at what exactly AI is creating, using podcasts as an example. Google NotebookLM can take any textual input (your website’s FAQs, a press release, last quarter’s sales reports, anything) and create a convincing podcast from that input. A male and a female voice will smoothly and professionally banter about the topic and tease the listener that they won’t believe what’s coming up, and they express broadcast-caliber levels of surprise and admiration over the most trivial bits of information. It’s really good. NotebookLM has very high production standards. But there is nothing really inside. After a minute or two, it’s just not that interesting to listen to — even when the input information was interesting. This is because NotebookLM is incredibly good at imitating the structure and affect of a quality podcast. This is how all LLMs generate art, music, and video. They imitate a particular structure and affect, but the quality of the content is irrelevant. Structure and affect are the logical and emotional cues that let us classify a work as a particular type of art. The structure is the logical parameters; a pop song should be about three minutes long, it should have an identifiable melody. An image should be rectangular. An email should start with a greeting and end with a signature. Those kinds of things. The affect is the emotional parameters. It refers to the emotional reaction we have to a given work. It’s the vibe. Rock and country covers of the same song will have a different affect. They will feel different. Generative AI is successful today in those areas where structure and affect are important but quality is irrelevant. Saying “quality is irrelevant” is not an insult or a backhanded way of saying that quality is poor. The key fact is that AI-generated art (whether it is of high or low quality) excels in situations where quality is irrelevant, and human-generated art (whether it is of high or low quality) excels in situations where quality is relevant.
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    34 分