This has been a hot topic recently here in Japan. Very happy to see more attention being paid to the entrepreneurial environment in Japan.
However, it's important to point out that the web/high-tech entrepreneurial industry is still fairly young and seems to be in its infancy compared to areas referenced in another comment regarding government subsidies and whatnot.
For the past four years, I worked as a head-hunter recruiting Japanese talent for companies in the web space. I've met and spoken with over 3,000 industry professionals ranging from company owners, entrepreneurs, engineers and designers. Here's what I've learned:
1. Those most considered risk-takers, confident and willing to forgo the security and stability for more entrepreneur-driven opportunities are normally educated outside of Japan, or have spent a significant amount of time outside of Japan.
2. Start-ups created in Japan, in the web space or high-tech space are considered too risky. Even foreign companies that have been successful in other markets have a stigma attached to them and are not considered as attractive options.
In my experience, most Japanese like to see either a track record of success in Japan as well as a partnership with or backing from a major Japanese company in order for the start-up stigma to be removed.
3. Tokyo is beginning to have a great start-up and entrepreneur community in the high-tech space however, there is a language barrier that, in my opinion contributes to the slow growth of the community. For example, there was recently a conference title New Context Conference 2010, in which several companies from a new YC Clone seed accelerator (Open NetworkLab) were able to demo their start-ups. A part of the program is that companies receive mentoring from international and Japanese investors, founders and the like to help improve their start-ups. Watching the presentations, it's clear that the Japanese start-up founders for the most part were struggling most with presentation skills.
My point is, when your language ability is limited and you can only access resources in Japanese, it's tough to really push and challenge yourself, especially when a lot of the most exciting things happening in this space are in English. It's unfortunate, but Japanese is not the language of business outside of Japan.
4. Have you tried starting a company here? With the long set-up time at least 1 month, expensive office space, taxes, banking fees, not to mention the difficulty in closing a company down-- they don't make it easy to take a risk.
5. If you're a former founder of a failed start-up here, unless you have a great network it's highly likely that the only companies that will find your failed start-up experience highly attractive are foreign owned. Most domestic companies would be too blinded by your failure and/or the fact the founder is used to being independent and most senior in their company, and may not be able to adjust to a team environment again.
I could go on, but overall there's a lot that contributes to the current state of Japan's lagging entrepreneur state.
This is great, just in time for my testing :), I'll definitely give it a try! I would love for one of your pricing packages to include speaking directly with an optimization consultant, or perhaps receiving a detailed report that includes optimization recommendations.
Indeed. Starting a business in Japan is a hurry-up and wait game. There was a recent panel sponsored by the ACCJ last month which invited several government officials to a panel discussion to inquire into why things were so burdensome and to come up with solutions. At the conclusion of the panel we had a long list of ways the 'start-up' process and culture of Japan could be improved-- among them was updating laws, making banking and related matters for small business (bank transfer fees) easier, encouraging the media to cover more entrepreneurs, and engaging college students in the start-up process more.
I'm a start-up founder based in Tokyo and the most popular questions I receive is, why are you founding a start-up focused on a market outside of Japan? Market research aside and my being American who will be returning to the US some time in the very near future, Japan is not the easiest company to start and run and successful small operation in. A Rank of #91 for such an advanced country is an indication of the system being broken and burdensome.
I'm a 29 year old start-up founder in Tokyo, I'm also carrying my first child.
I don't know all of the stats regarding women and start-ups and to be honest, I don't care. I have learned that in order to be successful in anything-- sacrifice, hard work, knowing your stuff and the right people goes a long way and opens up a lot of opportunities, especially for Americans or start-ups in the US. The amount of support I receive being pregnant and founding a start-up is unbelievable, and I'm and American in Japan.
Penelope is known for writing articles like these, which do more harm than good in my humble opinion.
If you want to start a company, male or female, recognize that it won't be easy, be prepared to work harder than anyone else and dismiss the naysayers.
Gilt is fantastic and it is also gaining a popular following here in Tokyo.
As a female consumer who loves fashion, I have been disappointed with the lag in fashion companies to adopt new technology and ideas online, I love this idea and would like to see a service like this devoted solely to shoes.
I hope to see even more services focusing on the massive group of women consumers online.
However, it's important to point out that the web/high-tech entrepreneurial industry is still fairly young and seems to be in its infancy compared to areas referenced in another comment regarding government subsidies and whatnot.
For the past four years, I worked as a head-hunter recruiting Japanese talent for companies in the web space. I've met and spoken with over 3,000 industry professionals ranging from company owners, entrepreneurs, engineers and designers. Here's what I've learned:
1. Those most considered risk-takers, confident and willing to forgo the security and stability for more entrepreneur-driven opportunities are normally educated outside of Japan, or have spent a significant amount of time outside of Japan.
2. Start-ups created in Japan, in the web space or high-tech space are considered too risky. Even foreign companies that have been successful in other markets have a stigma attached to them and are not considered as attractive options.
In my experience, most Japanese like to see either a track record of success in Japan as well as a partnership with or backing from a major Japanese company in order for the start-up stigma to be removed.
3. Tokyo is beginning to have a great start-up and entrepreneur community in the high-tech space however, there is a language barrier that, in my opinion contributes to the slow growth of the community. For example, there was recently a conference title New Context Conference 2010, in which several companies from a new YC Clone seed accelerator (Open NetworkLab) were able to demo their start-ups. A part of the program is that companies receive mentoring from international and Japanese investors, founders and the like to help improve their start-ups. Watching the presentations, it's clear that the Japanese start-up founders for the most part were struggling most with presentation skills.
My point is, when your language ability is limited and you can only access resources in Japanese, it's tough to really push and challenge yourself, especially when a lot of the most exciting things happening in this space are in English. It's unfortunate, but Japanese is not the language of business outside of Japan.
4. Have you tried starting a company here? With the long set-up time at least 1 month, expensive office space, taxes, banking fees, not to mention the difficulty in closing a company down-- they don't make it easy to take a risk.
5. If you're a former founder of a failed start-up here, unless you have a great network it's highly likely that the only companies that will find your failed start-up experience highly attractive are foreign owned. Most domestic companies would be too blinded by your failure and/or the fact the founder is used to being independent and most senior in their company, and may not be able to adjust to a team environment again.
I could go on, but overall there's a lot that contributes to the current state of Japan's lagging entrepreneur state.