I’ve got a special bonus episode for you this week. - Last month I was part of a panel discussion hosted by Stanford University and the Japan Society of Northern California. It was part of this year’s Japan-US Innovation Awards,

Startup founders claiming their company is going to “change the world” has become a cliche. But rarely do we see a product that could clearly and significantly make someone’s life better. D-Free is one of those products. However...

Japanese university and government venture funds play a much larger role in Japan than in the West. - I've always considered this difference to be, on balance, neutral, today's guest makes a convincing case that these funds are actually hurting the st...

Startups and venture capital work differently in Japan. - The rounds are smaller, the priorities distinct, and while the same terms are used, people quickly discover that the definitions are often subtly different.

Startup culture has crazy and contradictory views about failure. As founders we are told to fail fast, but also to never give up. We are told to follow our vision, but be ready to pivot. Somehow this macho-bullshit culture of “I never really fail and ...

I’ve got a special bonus episode for you today. - Last month, I moderated a panel discussion at Coral Capital’s “Bilingual’s and Gaijin in Startups” event.' - Our panel focused on what foreigners should expect when working at Japanese startups and wh...

The idea of computers capable of reading our emotions and responding to them is both fascinating and terrifying. Will this technology serve us or manipulate us? - Well, the speculation is ending because the technology not only exists,

It turns out that we are not willing to pay very much for simple convenience, so the technology is coming into our homes bundled with different agendas. 

Selling services in Japan is very different than selling products or software. - Everyone knows that relationships are important in Japan, but not many people understand why they are so important, and how you can use that understanding to build a succ...

This is a rather personal episode. We have no guests this time. - It’s just you and me. - New listeners might not know that for about one year, Disrupting Japan was sponsored and was my primary source of income. - So today,