Japanese SaaS Companies vs. Global Comps Introduction SmartHR, one of Japan’s unicorns, recently hit the 15b JPY ($100m assuming 150 yen to dollar exchange rate) mark, a huge milestone for any SaaS business. This got me thinking about SmartHR’s US comps and when they crossed the 100m USD mark. SmartHR offers cloud-based labor/human resource management founded in 2013. Workday, founded…

The Ringisho Method: Japan’s Unique Sales Process Understanding cultural nuances is crucial for the success of sales in Japan. Within the Japanese context, the Ringisho method and the Nemawashi concept are two integral components that shape the sales landscape, each contributing unique insights into the intricacies of doing business in Japan. The Ringisho method is a manifestation of Japanese business…

Insights on the Japan SaaS Market from G2 and ITReview G2 is a common place for buyers to go when evaluating software. It provides helpful reviews and an easy-to-interpret grid of the product’s position within its category. The Japanese equivalent of G2 is ITReview. Comparing these two review sites provides interesting insights into the state of software in Japan. Comparing…

Japan’s Unique Call To Action: “Download Documents” Landing pages in Japan have similarities with global landing pages, but parts of the landing pages are unique to Japan. There’s one CTA (call-to-action) that is unique to Japan. Calls to action vary based on who you’re targeting and the desired behavior you want the visitor to take. Depending on the product and…

A Possible Reason for Fewer Startups in Japan: Lacking Entrepreneurs Introduction There are many possible reasons that people may or may not pursue to be an entrepreneur. In this post, we’ll be exploring possible reasons that Japan has fewer startups than countries that have a robust startup ecosystem. From a global economic perspective, Japan is positioned to be a global…

The State of Venture Capital in Japan The Venture Capital environment is growing at a rapid rate in Japan, but the VC investments are still a small fraction compared to developed ecosystems. Venture Capital in Japan Taking a look at the numbers, there were 3,062 investments at a total value of 945.9 JPY (7.28b USD assuming an exchange rate of…

The State of SaaS in Japan 2022-2023 Click here for the The State of SaaS in Japan 2023-2024 version. SaaS in Japan is a growing market in multiple perspectives. The total addressable market for SaaS is growing. The awareness and adoption of SaaS solutions are growing. The SaaS market in Japan is still very nascent, but it is growing with…

The State of the Startup Ecosystem in Japan Startup Ecosystem in Japan A startup ecosystem is said to have general factors, the business environments, entrepreneurs, opportunity, and funding. The business environment is the local infrastructure including laws, regulations, government initiatives, etc. The business environment essentially should provide ease in building a startup. Entrepreneur is the availability of the people who…

Path to Innovation: Japan’s Startup Development Five-year Plan Startup Development Five-year Plan’s Goals In early 2022, Prime Minister Kishida announced the Startup Development Five-year Plan (you can check the progress of the Startup Development Five-year plan here). The ultimate goal of the plan is to drive innovation through startups. Japan is in need of a healthy cycle of creative destruction.…