A few observations about doing business in Japan as a foreign tech company (and a gaijin 😃)

Doing business in Japan is dreadful and great at the same time — you’re nothing without a warm introduction (🙏🏻 500 Global and Aichi Government), but once you establish trust and show value, you’re sure for the deal to happen and last.

- Because there is such a large cultural difference, there is MUCH less competition than in the UK or the US. One Japanese investor told us that when he’s evaluating and looking for comparable businesses in the area he wants to invest, there are only handful options.

- There is even less female-founded tech businesses than in the West. It’s changing, but very slowly.

- Corporate investors define and fund early stage startups as > series A (right David Biga 😃?) Valuations are also much more conservative with lower multiples than those in the West. IPOs are the most popular exists.

- Negotiation style differ and are the opposite to the western ones: in the West you tend to first discuss terms of the deal and once you agree on everything, you then relax in casual chatting over a 🥃 or two. In here (and many other Asian countries like #China) you first 🥃 (#nomikai) and do NOT talk about business. This is to let your guards are down. If a Japanese client likes you and feels that they can trust you, then they agree to do business with you.

- The Japanese take a very long time to reach a decision as they need to collect all the information up front. It’s never taken from an individual level, you need a group consensus.

- You must localise your product and operations, from language to hiring a Japanese country manager who can understand cultural nuances and serve as a bridge between the two worlds.

- #digitaltransformation is the most favourite Japanese corporate term, it seems. They have lots of paperwork and a huge need for automation. Great news for Untrite.

- Learn how to play 🏌🏼‍♀️🏌🏼‍♂️ — golf is the most popular sport here.