Hidaryu is the founder of Zenhouse, an U25 founder sharehouse in Tokyo with a focus on mental and physical wellbeing.

Hidaryu himself is a founder under 25 and has dedicated himself to startups ever since he dropped out of university a couple of years ago. There were two aspects which motivated me to talk to him.

Firstly, Hidaryu took the very unconventional path in Japan to quit university and pursue his dreaws in entrepreneurship. After his first business in Tokyo, he  decided to challenge himself by moving to Egypt which is even rarer. So I wanted to understand his mindset and future plans better.

Secondly, I was curious about the young founder scene in Japan. What kind of businesses are they working on? What are they struggling with? As Hidaryu spends his time living and coaching these founders, I had to talk to him to learn more.

So lets dive in an see what he can share about these topics and much more!

Thanks for listening and please enjoy my conversation with Hidaryu!

This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy

It was brought to you by Kento: https://twitter.com/kentaki_fried

For feedback, please reach out to jvl.podcast@gmail.com

GUEST INFO

Hidaryu’s twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryuheimatincjp

Other Hidaryu links: https://linktr.ee/ryubvb 

OUTLINE

1. About you and Zenhouse

[01:42] Why did you shave your head?

[04:00] What’s Zenhouse and why did you start it?

[05:37] What’s the difference between the two sharehouses you have started?

[07:20] What does a normal day at Zenhouse look like?

[08:55] What kind of feedback did you receive from the Zenhouse residents so far?

[10:04] What is one mental health advice you would give founders?

[12:06] What is the vision for Zenhouse?

[13:44] What motivates you?

2. Japan's U25 Founder Scene

[18:45] What’s the mindset of U25 founders in Japan?

[20:30] What motivates young people to found companies?

[21:21] When do young founders usually start working on their business?

[22:30] Which industry are they interested in starting businesses in?

[24:00] How do they learn about how to start a company?

[26:21] Do japanese people also research startup information in English?

[27:58] Why don’t more people in Japan consume information in English?

[29:20] What do japanese founders need to succeed on the global stage?

[31:10] What’s the difference between founders in Japan and Egypt?

[32:55] How can people learn to build more self confidence?

[34:14] How can you balance having small and big goals?

3. Rapid Fire questions

[36:33] If you were not allowed to work on  anything startup related, what would you work on?

[37:00] Which advice would you give to U25 founders in Japan?

[37:08] What does Japan need to blossom?

Ryo is a Partner at Antler, a globally operating venture investor which helps founders from day zero. Antler has recently opened their office in Japan is launching their first cohort in January 2023.

As a Japanese native with a very international mindset, Ryo has been having a wide ranging exposure to the startup ecosystem. His responsibilities ranged various positions from being a founder, investor, country manager and CEO of various companies such as Tinder, Hailo, East Ventures and most recently becoming a partner at Antler where he leads the Japan rollout.

I am very excited to discuss the value of globally ambitious startups with him in today’s episode. Also, I am curious to find out more about his motivations to continuously challenge himself in the startup ecosystem and what his experience at Antler is like.

Thanks for listening and please enjoy my conversation with Ryo!

This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy

It was brought to you by Kento: https://twitter.com/kentaki_fried

For feedback, please reach out to jvl.podcast@gmail.com

GUEST INFO

Ryo’s twitter: https://twitter.com/umemac

Antler: antler.co

OUTLINE

1. About you and Antler 

[02:26] What got you into startups?

[05:10] What motivates you to take on entrepreneurial challenges continuously? 

[10:38] What was your biggest challenge in setting up the Antler office in Japan? 

[12:02] How would you advise founders looking to build their team? 

[15:30] Why is now a great time to open the Japan office for Antler?

2. Founding startups with global ambition 

[18:08] Why is it important to think globally as a founder in Japan? 

[21:26] Which aspects of the Antler curriculum encourage global thinking for founders? 

[22:22] Why do founders in Japan struggle to think globally? 

[24:30] Which advice would you personally give to a founder who wants to go global? 

[27:51] Should all founders think globally?

3.Rapid fire questions 

[29:00] What would you be doing if it’s not allowed to be startup related? 

[30:30] What advice would you give aspiring founders in Japan? 

[31:34] What does Japan need to blossom?

Urara is a Co-Founder of Omotete, an early stage startup building a solution to simplify access to menstrual pads.

Starting her own company comes to no surprise as she has a history of starting organisations while in school. For example, she founded an NPO called Your School which provides educational and social support to hospitalized children or Anchor to make school trips more joyful for students. She is also interested in urban engineering for which she recently started a PhD at the University of Tokyo before pausing it to pursue her passion with Omotete.

The reason why I wanted to talk to her is to better understand her entrepreneurial spirit and to get a pulse on the next generation of founders who are taking over the Femtech market in Japan.

Thanks for joining and please enjoy my conversation with Urara!

This podcast is presented by Japan's Venture Academy: https://linktr.ee/jvacademy

It was brought to you by Kento: https://twitter.com/kentaki_fried

For feedback, please reach out to jvl.podcast@gmail.com

GUEST INFO

Urara’s twitter: https://twitter.com/uraratakaseki

Omotete: https://en.omotete.jp/

OUTLINE

1. About you and Omotete

[02:20] What’s Omotete and how did you found it?

[03:55] Which product will you launch with Omotete?

[04:51] Are there existing solutions to access menstrual pads in public in Japan?

[06:46] Why did you choose this business and not another?

[09:06] What is your most memorable learning from running Omotete?

[09:37] What keeps you in Japan?

[12:07] What drives you to take on new challenges?

[13:42] What makes you Japanese and what does not?

2. The Femtech market in Japan

[15:40] What does Femtech mean?

[17:01] How would you describe the current state of the Femtech market in Japan

[19:17] What makes Japan’s Femtech market different from others?

[23:34] Which Femtech products do you find interesting in Japan?

[27:48] How do you evaluate which products to trust and which ones to not trust?

[29:45] Do most product innovations come from big companies?

[31:05] What should the Femtech market start, stop and continue doing to improve?

3. Rapid Fire questions

[35:46] What would you be doing if it’s not allowed to be startup related? 

[36:08] What advice would you give aspiring student founders in Japan? 

[36:42] What does Japan need to blossom?