

How to Create A Startup in Japan (In 10 Easy Steps) - robert_mygengo
http://blog.500startups.com/2011/01/24/how-to-create-a-successful-startup-in-japan-in-10-easy-steps/

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scottcard
Love the quote "if the probability of 'risk X' is lower than the probability
of your company not surviving to the next milestone, forget about it." It's
like an extreme transformation of the 80/20 rule to apply to the world of
startups.

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robert_mygengo
I have to credit Steve Blank with that one — and I recommend his book The Four
Steps to the Epiphany unreservedly.

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davemc500hats
Robert: how do programming talent & costs in Japan compare with US / other
locations?

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robert_mygengo
Programming talent: The yen is super strong right now, so what looked cheap a
year ago ain't so cheap now. But even if you take this into account, Japan dev
salaries are lower than the Bay Area. Healthcare/insurance costs are also much
lower given Japan's national health system. I know one senior/CTO level
developer who was happy to come here and work for a Japanese company for
almost 1/2 the salary and one of the reasons why he was happy with it was the
healthcare cost reduction for his family.

Fixed costs: Office rent — You must get used to having a smaller space to move
around in than some of the cavernous office spaces that (successful) SFO
startups enjoy. But all in all value for money is roughly similar to other big
cities. As a guide, we pay about US$3,000/month for a 700sq ft office
w/kitchen/bathroom etc.

Travel etc except for cabs is cheaper I think.

Food is, hmm. Well you can eat for really cheap, or you can blow all your
dough on one meal. Up to you.

Utilities etc — probably the same as anywhere else.

Hosting, accounting, whatever — As you might have seen
(<http://hackerne.ws/item?id=2115203>) we use a whole bunch of US services for
this stuff. We pay about $400/month for our accountant.

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po
_Food is, hmm. Well you can eat for really cheap, or you can blow all your
dough on one meal. Up to you._

Lunch is usually pretty cheap, dinners are expensive. Also, drinks are very
expensive! I drink a lot of water because I refuse to pay ¥600 for my meal and
then ¥650 for an iced tea.

For startups, I highly recommend living out of the combini. I would never eat
in an American 7-Eleven but here, you can feast.

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mono
Thanks for this post and the funny title. Main lesson: take your business
serious but focus on more than this. "The great path has no gate". -Masanobu
Fukuoka

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ique
I'm in Tokyo myself and this post made for some very interesting reading! Even
though I want to be in Tokyo my biggest problem in thinking about startups is
a reason to be here as you said.

You should come to the hacker news meetup in February! I'm sure there are a
lot of people who would love to meet you guys!

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mskyrm
Very sound advice from some outstanding entrepreneurs with a great business
here in Tokyo!

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Schmelsson
Cool! Looks like these guys are really doin it!

