Podcast Archives - Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan

Outside of the Bubble with Japan’s Startup Girls: Mone Kamishiraishi

by Tim Romero | Aug 20, 2019 | 0

Those of us who spend our lives working with startups live in a bubble. Whether you spend your...

Live from Stanford: Where are Japan’s Unicorns?

by Tim Romero | Aug 13, 2019 | 0

I’ve got a special bonus episode for you this week. Last month I was part of a panel discussion...

DJ Selects: IoT, Japan, and the Uncertain Future of Poop

by Tim Romero | Aug 6, 2019 | 2

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…

How Government Money is Hurting Japanese Startups

by Tim Romero | Jul 23, 2019 | 2

Japanese university and government venture funds play a much larger role in Japan than in the...

What You Need to Know to Raise Money in Japan

by Tim Romero | Jul 9, 2019 | 2

Startups and venture capital work differently in Japan. The rounds are smaller, the priorities...

DJ Selects: The Myth of the Successful Startup Failure

by Tim Romero | Jun 25, 2019 | 8

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 ‘m not afraid of failure.” has become dominant amount founders. But it’s the result of denial. Trivializing failure is a way of not thinking about it’s effects.

The truth is that failure sucks. Failure is painful. Failure …