

Ask HN: know any Japan-based startups? - corwinstephen

I'd kill to move to Tokyo for a while, and I think working for a startup with a location there would be a cool way to do it. Any thoughts?
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TheAntipodean
I lived in Japan for many years until recently and had my own start-up with
two other co-founders. The company is still going (and quite successfully I
might proudly add).

There are many start-up companies over there across all industries. There
isn't really a clique/community like there seems to be in San Fran, Sydney (my
home town) etc. Founders just start up out of opportunity and need.

There are also open desk places for start-ups. A lot of that seems to be
mainly occupied by creative design companies. In saying that I think you'll
find most start-ups are not tech based.

If you'd like to know more shoot through some specific questions and I'll see
if I can help you or even introduce you to the appropriate people.

\--

I seem to not have answered your question with the above.

If you are eligible for a work visa get it before heading over. A common way
to get a work visa if your two countries don't have a working holiday visa
agreement is to apply for an English teaching role in your home country and
then when you enter the country use that work visa to springboard into another
job (note: this normally means you have to teach English for several months
which can be hell if you don't like that sort of thing).

Already having a job ready for you when you arrive is the best way but highly
unlikely a start-up is going to go through the process of sponsorship for your
visa.

If you have 100K to spare you can go over there establish your own company and
then sponsor yourself. You can then pay yourself an annual salary of 100K and
get that money back. Little bit dodgy but within the law. At least the way I
did it was!

Expect to get 200,000-300,000yen/month for a real beginning of the journey
start-up company. If it already has a steady and growing revenue stream then
you can probably negotiate higher.

If you are open to one-step-above-a-backpacker's-hostel living arrangements I
suggest you get a room with SakuraHouse (if you plan to stay in Tokyo -- also
advised if you want to work in a start-up). As it is cheap and easy to cancel
the contract. Once you get a feel for the place then look to set up more
permanent digs. Also look through the classifieds on www.metropolis.co.jp
which is a local rag for foreigners living in Tokyo (you probably want to do
the whole complete Japanese immersion thing but finding a Japanese sharehouse
will be more difficult than a foreign sharehouse).

Winter is feezing, Summer is humid. Be prepared!

It is an amazing place.

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hiddenfeatures
@patio11 has <http://appointmentreminder.org> and
<http://www.bingocardcreator.com/> He's based in Japan, but targets the US
market.

He's got a blog at <http://www.kalzumeus.com/blog/>

\---------------------------------------------------

Sacha Greif lives in Japan, too. <http://sachagreif.com/>

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corwinstephen
You'd think I would have figured that out. Somehow I completely missed that
part. Amazing.

Thanks for the help!

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rdouble
Working for Rakuten would be an easier way than trying to work for a startup.

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tarof
AnyPerk.com (YC12w) has engineering team in Tokyo as well.

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marounbaydoun
I've been looking for the same

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davyjones
gengo.com

~~~
corwinstephen
PERFECT

