Unique Challenges Face Japanese Social Media and Technology Start-up Companies
There are several factors that make Japan a particularly difficult environment for fledgling companies in social media and technology sectors. Although this has been especially true in the last decade, many experts believe that cloud technology and the many social media breakthroughs in recent years could allow Japan to regain its leadership in technological innovation.
Japan has been looking towards Silicon Valley for inspiration
Some of the most successful programs in recent years have involved learning from Silicon Valley in order to enable a better environment for tech start-ups. While talent and infrastructure are undoubtedly available, new ways of thinking may require getting used to in order to motivate entrepreneurs and innovators. Important concepts Japanese social media and tech companies should embrace to improve innovation include better design thinking, more agile development, consumer-focused product design approaches, and mastering the art of prototyping. Of course, learning to pitch ideas to venture capitalists and investors is also an essential part of any start-up.
Venture capital and Japan
One of the factors that start-ups in Japan will need to focus on is gaining access to venture capital. This is a specific challenge to Japan because, compared to other countries such as the United States, Japan has a lower proportion of venture capital. In fact, the conservatism of Japanese venture capitalists contrasted with the innovative ideas of exciting young start-ups make Japan a very attractive option for venture capitalists and investors from the rest of the world. Due to the lack of competition, there are many promising young companies with great ideas that require financial backing today. One of the reasons why Japanese start-ups in the tech sector tend to struggle is because of the need for a relationship that is the backbone of Silicon Valley: mentorship. Successful tech entrepreneurs in the West will often want to share their experience with the new generation in the form of a mentor-protege relationship. Unfortunately, this is still a relatively new concept in Japan.
The winning formula for a successful start-up social media or tech company in Japan
The fact is that funding and mentorship should be integrated for best results. Because of that, one of the keys to starting up a successful tech-sector company in Japan is finding financial backing and mentors from international sources. While recent years have seen a rise of these in Japan, there is still more that can be done to foster a more competitive, propitious environment for tech start-ups in Japan, particularly in the social media sector, where the Japanese market is among the most lucrative in the world.
Another important challenge for fostering a healthy environment for innovation in Japan will also involve building a community. Finding a way for tech entrepreneurs to communicate, support, and work together will be one of the most important ways of taking the Japanese tech sector to the next level. After all, innovation seldom happens in a vacuum. A complicated ecosystem is necessary in order to foster the necessary conditions for fresh new ideas and start-up companies willing to bring new ideas to the market. This is especially true in areas like cloud computing and social media, where innovation is measured in days and weeks due to the fast-moving nature of these markets. For starters, you will need to know the local environment and how players in this industry, and in this country communicate and conduct business. One valuable research that GMO Cloud provides is a presentation of the Japanese Gaming Market. Take a look at this presentation and learn more about the trends and forecasts.
Apart from mentorship, it will also be necessary to find ways to take products that are highly localized for Japanese social media idiosyncrasies, and re-calibrate them for the worldwide market. While we’ve seen this can be successfully applied to sectors such as game development, there are still many areas in social media where finding ways to create worldwide appeal have not been found.
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About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
