By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


In recent years, much has been written about entrepreneurship and the "Silicon Valley" startup or new venture philosophy and framework.

In turn, many companies and countries have attempted to mimic or emulate this successful Valley model (although previously I've questioned the true success of the Valley model as it's a "Stacked Model" focusing on "Brute Force Human Wave Attacks" reminiscent of the Korean War). 

Regardless of the efficacy of the Valley model, it would still greatly behoove us to ask and investigate if there are perhaps any other viable or proven models, methodologies or frameworks available that we could borrow from and draw upon And if so,exactly what are they and how do they work?

One of the other highly vibrant and extremely dynamic startup centers, both in terms of raw numbers of startups and subsequent success stories, is not only in Israel, it is Israel -- which in turn has lead to Israel being dubbed the "Startup Nation".

What is most fascinating about the "Israeli model" is that it often takes a much different approach and has a very different flavor than the Valley model and yet it has produced dozens upon dozens of very successful startups in the high-tech space.

To tap into this wealth of knowledge and alternative startup methodology, Professor Kenneth Grossberg, Professor & Director of the Waseda Marketing Forum at Waseda University, has developed and lead the very innovative Startup Nation, Israel Study Tour which is now in its third year.

This study tour offers a unique and unparalleled opportunity to learn more about Israel’s extraordinary and arguably world-beating startup-nurturing environment.
 
Inspired by the NY Times bestseller Startup Nation, this trip open doors and pulls back the curtain to places not generally open to the general public as it teaches how a small country in a challenging environment has grown more companies listed on NASDAQ than any other nation in the world except the US. 

Through this unique opportunity to learn about Israel’s remarkable R&D and venture capital infrastructure you'll find ways that can then be applied back in one's own organization.

For more information, click on the button below:

If you've been attention lately you may have noticed that we've been in the process of completely rebooting FirstPoint Japan.

We expect the full reboot to be completed by October 1st.

Now, many have asked, "Why are you rebooting FirstPoint Japan and in what direction are you taking it?"

The answer is this: FirstPoint Japan is being taken back to its original direction which was and is to serve as the first and only English-language portal that helps you Accelerate Your Japanese Business With Expert Advice™. 

Ultimately, FirstPoint Japan™ is to be the place Where Japanese Business Begins™.

Specifically this means several things:
1. We will focus only on business related themes. Very rarely will consumer themes (e.g., what's the "hottest bar" or "best night spot") or "hey, isn't Japan weird?" themes be discussed unless such information is very relevant and would be of interest to our readers whereby they could better understand the Japan marketplace or cultural expectations.

2. The core readership for FirstPoint Japan is primarily Gaishikei (foreign firms) either entering the Japanese market, building out existing operations, accelerating growth, maintaining themselves in a sustaining phase or rebooting.

3. An additional target readership is (primarily) Japanese-language bilinguals (i.e., people of any nationality or ethnicity who are bilingual with one of their business level languages being Japanese) who are working for or would like to work for a gaishikei firm in Japan.

4. Given that Japanese firms are moving overseas and investing again in such operations again, another target readership is foreign individuals (non-Japanese or overseas Japanese) who are interested in working for a Japanese firm in a local market. For instance, such as a local person working for or interested in working for a Japanese firm like Honda in Vietnam.

5. The hottest topics previously as well as now include market entry and company build-outs. This centers much attention on issues such as hiring and the use of third party agency recruiters. Previously we maintained a large reviews database of "good eggs", "neutrals" and "bad eggs" recruiting agencies.

However, since the industry is so opaque and "rough and tumble" (to put it mildly) we found ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time maintaining reviews that, for the most part, were just "bad egg" recruiting firms which was just a waste of everyone's time.

We are now reversing the model. 

This means that now everything is considered and deemed suspect unless it is on FirstPoint Japan. We will be talking to, reviewing and placing on our site recruiting firms and other vendors with whom there is some level of trust, ethics and professionalism.


By the same token, any vendor that isn't on this site you can approach at your own risk since we'll consider them "radioactive". 


The list will start out small, it may even remain small, but rest assured we do the best we can to vet the lists and collect feedback on the firms listed.

6. The vendor directory will include recruiting firms, training and coaching firms, paralegals and lawyers (incorporation paperwork, IP issues, visa issues and so on), accountants and CPA's, HR consultants, translators, interpreters and so on.

We have a lot planned so we hope that you'll check back in frequently or if you'd like get the FirstPoint Japan Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox click on the button below.

Sincerely yours,

Publisher
FirstPoint Japan

Japan's electronic giants once ruled the world. Sony, Panasonic, Sharp were household names. Now those same companies are in deep trouble, losing billions of dollars a year. How have the mighty Japanese companies fallen so low? The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo looks at what went wrong.

If you want to get an idea of what's gone wrong with Japan's electronics industry go for a ride on the Tokyo metro.

The Tokyo metro (or a lot of it) now has 3G mobile reception. But you're not allowed to talk on your mobile phone on public transport in Japan, so everyone in my carriage was busily texting away on their 3G devices.

And what particular device were they using? A quick survey of the carriage I was in found about 80% were holding an Apple iPhone.

That's admittedly not a scientific result - but the evidence is pretty stark. Where once everyone would have been listening to a Sony Walkman, today it is Apple and Samsung that dominate, even here on Sony's home ground.

The evidence can also been seen in their financial results. Japan's electronic giants are bleeding red ink.

Sony may make a small profit this year, its first since 2008. Panasonic (formerly Matsushita) is expected to post a $9bn (£6bn) loss this year. Sharp, which is much smaller, is losing money so fast it will not survive another year without a major infusion of cash.

So what went wrong?

Japan Readies 'Third Arrow'
New Government Wants Silicon Valley-Style Disruption to Help Revitalize Economy

BY DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI AND MAYUMI NEGISHI

TOKYO—Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the scion of a political dynasty and embodiment of the Japanese establishment, and Hiroshi Mikitani, an Internet billionaire and iconoclast, make for unlikely allies. But they are joining forces to bring a little Silicon Valley disruptiveness to the country's Old Guard.

Since Mr. Abe took office in December, Mr. Mikitani, founder and chief executive of Japan's biggest online retailer Rakuten Inc., has been one of the main corporate backers of his government's push to deregulate and overhaul the regimented Japanese economy.

The structural measures are meant to be the "third arrow" of Mr. Abe's economic strategy, ...

By Jay Alabaster

So-net Entertainment said its 'Nuro' fiber service for home use will also offer 1Gbps uploads, for about US$50 per month.

IDG News Service - A Sony-backed ISP in Japan has launched a 2Gbps Internet service, which it said is the world's fastest for home use.

So-net Entertainment began offering its "Nuro" fiber-based service on Monday to homes, apartments, and small businesses in Tokyo and six surrounding prefectures. Nuro will cost AY=4,980 ($51) per month on a two-year contract, plus a AY=52,500 installation fee that it is currently offering for free for those that apply online. The upload speed is 1Gbps.

The company said the service includes rental of an ONU (optical network unit) designed to handle the high speeds. ONU devices are commonly used in homes and business to convert fiber to broadband Internet. Individual users of the service are unlikely to see 2Gbps speeds on their devices, as it exceeds the capacity of most consumer network adaptors.

According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to move its Tokyo headquarters to the Roppongi Hills complex from its current location in Shinjuku as early as April, according to two people familiar with the iPhone maker’s plan.

Apple plans to take one or two floors in the office tower at Roppongi Hills, a $2.2 billion development owned by Mori Building Co., Japan’s biggest closely held developer, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the information hasn't been made public.