I call it "disruption management". A strong assistant knows your priorities, often times better than you when you're being bombarded. They help manage the firehose of requests, logistics, details, and information to keep you focused on what's important.
I appreciate what Tim has done and continues to accomplish to raise the profile and acceptance of startups as a viable career choice in Japan.
I've first-hand experience with the many challenges of startups in Japan. Finding talent who understand how startups are different. Convincing larger partners you're not simply another "supplier" they can grind margin out of. Explaining to potential investors the tradeoffs of quality, speed, and confirming product fit.
Educational platforms like what Tim has built through podcasting are needed to help close these gaps.
Thanks to Tim for the insightful post on "how the sausage was made" and looking forward to seeing good things coming out of Tepco's innovation platform.
Wow. Thank you for that. I love putting the podcast together, and I enjoy it more now that I've taken the show non-commercial.
I like to think I'm having an impact on the ecosystem here, and as I mentioned in the article, four Japanese startup founders have told me that listening to the guests on Disrupting Japan is a big part of what gave them the courage to start their own companies. I kind of teared up when they told me that. I'm not sure exactly why.
These open, personal episodes are emotionally draining to publish. I'm a nervous wreck right up until the moment they go live. The feedback is almost always wonderful, so I don't know why it's still so hard to share, but it is.
I guess I'm fine with that.
Maybe part of connecting is just accepting that we are all kind of basket cases on the inside. And that's perfectly OK.
Indeed, thank you very much. I listen to a lot of podcasts while commuting and exercising, and I'd wondered about how the business end worked. I receive an extraordinary amount of great content for nothing more than the price of ads (which I skip a lot of; sorry but it's true).
I have gone out of my way to purchase products that advertise on podcasts: I'm typing this as I eat a lunch flavored with hot sauce from FuegoBox.
I don't know how well most podcasters do from that. You had a wonderfully lucrative target audience; most of what I listen to has a larger market but with less money. I don't know how many Casper mattresses and MeUndies they can possibly buy. The impression I get from the IHeartRadio-branded ones hint that by the time the marketers and support get their cut, it's poverty-level wages.
Again, thanks for the look behind the scenes. That was incredibly informative and very well written.
I think the same basic strategy could work for any true niche podcast. But "niche" is different than "small."
Two guys talking about the NFL to 3,000 listeners would be very hard to monetize, but a sports podcast that focused on local HS sports teams, or one that talked about MLB from the LGBTQ perspective? Those would be pretty easy to monetize using the same basic strategy I used.
I think the biggest advantage I had was not my specific audience, but the decades I've spent selling new products and starting companies. Of course, that is also my audience, so I can't be completely sure.
I've worked on "Bring Your Own Device" concepts together with Honda.[1] There are plenty of wins for consumers in this type of setup.
Automakers have taken notice that people are using their phones for an increasing share of infotainment functions.
The tough, time-consuming parts are working through the supply chain to build out the connectivity and "happy coexistence" of phone and car. Also, I've yet to find a UX which blends physical, voice, and touchscreen controls while accounting for their strengths, weaknesses, and learnability. Tesla included.
I spent my past life at a fund of funds and partially agree.
In general though, hedge funds are more likely to be up to some strange or "non-traditional" activities.
At times, our notes about fund manager visits and due diligence read more like the investment version of National Enquirer. Private investigators. Massive power struggles. Odd characters.
Where can I find information about the potential requirement for evacuation within a 150+ mile radius? I didn't downvote, just interested in learning more.
The whole of Congress gets statistically impossible returns on the stock market, but Martha Stewart got to do time over a five-figure sum obtained by information gained at a party. That's not equitable.
Martha did time for lying to law enforcement. Never lie to law enforcement! Clam up and ask for a lawyer, every time. They may act friendly, but that's just psychological manipulation, they are not your friend.
I agree. But you also have to factor in that when the insider trading went down, she was sitting on the board of directors of the NYSE. So she knew what she was doing and I'm sure that factored in to the decision to prosecute.
I mean, what do you expect congress to do — pass laws restricting their ability to do this? Because it’s not illegal today, and it’s literally the reason a lot of them got into politics in the first place. Even guys like Bernie can’t help themselves.
Agree the essay was a great read. I didn't see anything to suggest the OP missed that fact so much as had a reaction to a specific part of the essay and wished to discuss it.
Being a part of the SV startup ecosystem myself, I also see the term "lifestyle business" used as a soft-perjorative for "not ambitious enough".
That's exactly how OP was using it though, with full awareness. OP's mindset at the time was "I failed: I meant to start a billion dollar business, and I only have a crummy lifestyle business"
They now have come around and appreciate their success. Their use of "lifestyle business" was chosen to convey their own negative attitude at the time.
The comment I replied to totally missed that the author wasn't critcizing their own business! They just felt badly about it a few years ago. See the part of the comment where they praise gumroad.
A more self aware comment would have merely decried the prevailing VC attitude that led the founder to feel bad. Instead the commentor seems to think the founder needs cheering up and convincing.
I see your point. The admonishment to Sahil at the end to "stop using" the term "lifestyle business" does seem to miss Sahil's self-awareness of the internal conflict between knowing about the misuse of the term and yet still allowing it to affect him at one point in time.
It's refreshing to see this perspective from founders. It's a story not often told and does well to characterize the grinding rollercoaster of hard decisions you won't easily find in the sea of "A-co raised $40mm!" press releases.
There have been calls to move the fish market out of Tsukiji[1] for close to a decade at least. Advocates for the move have concerns about the aging facility and desire to re-purpose high-value real-estate.
The olympics are just the impetus that finally pushed it through. I agree about the market being an iconic facility and I have good memories there myself. Hopefully the new one will be similarly accessible to tourists and an upgrade for wholesalers.
The WSE2 is much larger obviously, but I would also think it can result in a large performance boost given everything is on a single chip.