Japan Venture Capital - Disrupting Japan: Startups and Innovation in Japan

The Ultimate Guide to Raising Money in Japan [Updated]

by Tim Romero | Jan 7, 2023 | 10

There has never been a better time to be raising money in Japan than right now. Founders ask me...

How do you know if your startup idea is bad?

by Tim Romero | Mar 22, 2022 | 2

Coming up with ideas is easy. Spotting the bad one early is a rare skill. Today we talk with Yo...

DJ Selects: Why Your Startup Accelerator is Going to Disappear

by Tim Romero | Mar 31, 2020 | 0

Almost all startup accelerators are going bankrupt and going away. Hiro Maeda, the founder of two...

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...

What You Need to Know to Raise Money in Japan

by Tim Romero | Jul 9, 2019 | 8

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

Why I Turned Down $500k, Shut Down My Startup, And Joined the Enterprise

by Tim Romero | Sep 5, 2017 | 4

Welcome to our 100th show. If you are new, welcome to Disrupting Japan. If you are a long-time...

This Is Why Japanese Startups Can’t Pivot

by Tim Romero | Aug 1, 2017 | 0

Japanese enterprises are particularly susceptible to disruption, and Japanese startups have a...

Beneath the Cherry Blossoms with Dave McClure – 500 Startups

by Tim Romero | May 2, 2017 | 0

Today we sit down with Dave McClure under the cherry blossoms and talk about startups, funding,...

Startup Fundraising in Japan – Live & Unleashed

by Tim Romero | Sep 27, 2016 | 0

Disrupting Japan is two years old and ready to party. To celebrate, we gathered the leaders of...

Why Japanese VCs are Losing Out – James Riney of 500 Startups

by Tim Romero | Nov 10, 2015 | 3

500 Startups has been one of the driving forces behind the utter disruption of how seed funding is done. That shift is one of the reasons we have seen such large and diverse startup ecosystems emerging around the world. Japan, however, often changes more slowly than other nations.

Live & Unleashed – Our One-Year Anniversary

by Tim Romero | Sep 15, 2015 | 0

Disrupting Japan is one year old, and ready to party. To celebrate , we gathered some of the leaders of Tokyo’s startup community together in front of a live audience, had a few drinks, and talked about the future of startups in Japan.

Our panel included perspectives from software, IOT, and venture capital, which led to some interesting discussions.

Why Your Startup Accelerator is Going to Die – Hiro Maeda

by Tim Romero | Aug 4, 2015 | 8

Almost all startup accelerators are going bankrupt and going away.

Hiro Maeda, the founder of two of Japan’s most successful, and most different startup incubators explains both the brief past and precarious future of startup incubators and accelerators. We talk not only about the mechanics and challenges of what it takes to make an incubator successful, but Hiro has some practical advice on when founders should consider joining an accelerator and how they can avoid the 99% of them that provide no real value.