
Kickstarter set to launch in Japan, where hardware startups are finding it hard - williswee
https://www.techinasia.com/kickstarter-japan-hardware-startup-struggles
======
Kurtz79
This is still one of the most fascinating writeups of Japanese business
culture I have read, from fellow HNer patio11:

[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2014/11/07/doing-business-in-
japan/](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2014/11/07/doing-business-in-japan/)

~~~
ue_
Thank you for the read, it was informative and a little scary (especially the
obligations of the employee to his/her employer).

This is rather tangentially related, but is there any information on how to
get a job in Japan as someone from a Western country, either to teach English,
or as a programmer? I imagine this is a popular question though answers to it
I think are scarce.

~~~
GuiA
Any native english speaker with a Bachelor's degree and a pulse can get a gig
as an English language assistant. Many starry eyed young people who go down
that route find themselves very frustrated/bitter at their situation after a
while; I'd do careful research about it to make sure that's something you're
seriously interested in doing. Blogs, YouTube videos, etc. about this are easy
to find. Note that this is very, very different from being an actually English
teacher, which would require local accreditations etc.

As a programmer, get on LinkedIn, find recruiters for Japanese
startups/companies you're interested in, and start sending messages. Speaking
conversational Japanese (and being able to prove it, e.g. by having a JLPT
certification) and being already in the country (e.g. through a working
holiday visa) will improve your odds manyfold. This is also a good resource:
[https://jobs.gaijinpot.com](https://jobs.gaijinpot.com)

Doing a graduate degree in Japan might also be worth it, depending on your
circumstances - it gives you a few years to see how you actually like being in
Japan, letting you leave easily after completion of your degree with something
to show for it; it will make getting a local job dramatically easier if you
want to stay in Japan longer; and it will give you a few years to build up
your Japanese etc.

~~~
ue_
Thank you for your advice, it's something I'm entertaining the possibility of
doing, I haven't committed to anything yet, so I'll take a look at past
experiences of other people. Actually getting in and applying seems to be an
issue, because as far as I can tell working holiday visas require a certain
amount of money in the first place. Do you know if it is possible to job hunt
(apply, not work) and get a visa sponsorship while on a holiday? Or is that
disallowed?

And do you know how for example a TEFL might help with the process, if at all,
and if there is any path available to increase one's position to become an
actual English teacher?

Again, thanks for the advice.

~~~
mattnumbe
You definitely don't need TEFL to find a teaching job easily in Japan but it
would give you more options. I taught in language schools, a junior high, and
did corporate classes as well. It's also quite easy to get hired from abroad,
and getting a job while on working holiday/travel visa is a bit of a grey
area, although I know plenty of people who have done it.

If I can suggest, from experience, skipping the initial 'just teaching
English' thing and apply for undergraduate/graduate school here and teach on
the side. I made more money from scholarships (very easy to get) and teaching
than I'm making now as a salary man.

~~~
ue_
Thank you. As much as I would like to take your advice about
undergraduate/graduate school, I'm not sure how I would fare as I am already
an undergraduate, and my knowledge of Japanese isn't that great (it's been on
the backburner for a very long time, usually I haven't paid attention to it)
and I'm not sure how I'd fare doing a course in Japan; I don't think I would
like to be studying the subject I do (ECE) much more beyond graduate level,
though I guess I'll see about that. If it's not too much to ask, what are
Japanese university fees and ease of entry like?

Do you have any advice or ideas where to look if I want to go into a career
teaching English in Japan, if such a thing isn't too laughable? :)

Edit: one of my biggest concerns is whether I can apply from abroad, as
getting into Japan in the first place is an issue.

~~~
mattnumbe
For jobs teaching English (it's not really a career choice unless you end up
getting a proper teaching degree or happen into something special) check out
www.gaijinpot.com it's, despite the name, one of the most credible sources for
English teaching jobs. For universities, public universities in Japan are
incredibly cheap when compared to universities in the US. Tuition for the
university I went to was less than 5,000usd/yr (a tenth of what I paid in the
us/year for undergrad) and there are scholarships a plenty. Check out the MEXT
scholarship or JASSO. I ended up getting both which paid for my living
expenses as well as school. Like I said, working part time on top of that I
was living very comfortably. So, going to school will grant you a very
affordable apartment, gym membership, very good intensive Japanese lessons, an
education, friends, the chance to work up to 28 hours a week, and if you get a
scholarship, spending money, on top of the education of your choice.

Search for the G30 program. There are a bunch of public universities here that
participate in G30, which is made for foreign students, in English and it's
very well funded.

------
vocatus_gate
Ah, now our friends in Japan can be scammed and disappointed by nonexistent
fly-by-night vaporware Kickstarters just like we in America have been for some
time now.

~~~
soapdog
I have joined many kickstarters. I received all of the rewards promised to me,
some with a lot of delay but no kickstarter I joined was ever cancelled.

People approach kickstarter with the wrong mindset. It is not an
alibaba/aliexpress/taobao market where you can buy interesting things. When
you're joining a campaign, you're investing on makers, helping them develop an
idea. You are not buying stuff, ideas might not pan out, you're in essence an
investor.

If you approach it like an investor and analyze each campaign with cold eyes,
looking if the team behind it can actually deliver the goods, if it is worth
the risk of investing and if you actually have a personal investment in the
idea as in "I want this product to exist", then you will not be frustrated,
even when things don't pan out.

I am somewhat tired of people approaching kickstarter with the idea of "I am
buying stuff and they turn out to be vapor". This is not understanding what
kickstarter is.

~~~
derefr
> This is not understanding what kickstarter is.

It's a more universal problem than that. The concept of a stock market was
originally supposed to be very similar to Kickstarter, but with dividends
rather than rewards. But average Joes were convinced that _the stock market
itself_ was a kind of store to buy future products in (with hucksters there to
help them toward that conclusion), and tons of people lost their life-savings.

To avoid this, we have divided investors into "accredited" (usually, people
whose job is investing) and "unaccredited" (the regular Joes); and companies
into "private" (companies that actually _need_ investment to become viable)
and "public" (companies that would do just as well without anyone's help); and
then we don't let the _unaccredited_ investors invest in the _private_
companies. Which was, y'know, the whole original point: to let people help
companies get off the ground, in exchange for potential reward if the company
_does_ get off the ground.

