I’m very excited to share that I will be answering questions from Japanese readers weekly on the TechWatch Blog, a technology blog supported by East Ventures. This is a copy of my introduction post in English. If you can read Japanese, take a look here: http://www.evtechwatch.com/2014/04/y.html
“Software is eating the world.”
– Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and Partner at Venture Capital Firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Marc Andreessen wrote these famous words in 2011 and could not have been more right. As an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, I have seen entire industries disrupted by small groups of dreamers and product builders. Large organizations must adopt innovative, lean practices to enable them to design, build and implement products and programs. This is not a battle for growth, but for survival.
This disruption is not only felt on a macro level, but also a personal one. For example, I still remember the night before my high school prom. Covered in maps, my father and I sat at the dining room table, and I hand-wrote driving directions on a notepad. Today, I could have left the house the night of the event with only a smartphone and Google maps. In less than 10 years, all of that time, planning, and paper have been replaced by a single device.
Ever since graduating from Stanford University, I’ve played my role both failing and succeeding to disrupt large companies. I firmly believe that positive disruption has the potential to create jobs, improve living conditions, and change lives.
This is true in Silicon Valley, but also the rest of the world. As a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum, I have been lucky to visit entrepreneurial ecosystems and meet company builders from Rome to Madrid to Tokyo. In my eyes, promoting and enabling entrepreneurship internationally is a crucial next step.
When Satoru and I first discussed this opportunity to share Silicon Valley insights with the Japanese tech community, it excited me. I am humbled by the opportunity to help educate and grow the Japanese startup ecosystem. This will not be a one-sided dialogue; I very much want to learn from your stories and experiences.
To facilitate conversation, every Monday I will be answering questions that you send and care about the most. To submit a question please use this form or send them to me via Twitter.
I look forward to learning together and embracing disruption and positive change.