The Japan Startup Factory – Casey Wahl – Red Brick Ventures

Casey has been on the founding team of several Japanese startups in markets ranging from from retailing, to recruiting, to information sharing, to private social networks for pachinko parlors. Add to that the fact that he's just published a book on Japanese startup founders and their stories, and you won't be surprised to find that this turns out to be a pretty interesting discussion. We talk about changing attitudes among both Japanese investors and entrepreneurs, and explore the desire to maintain corporate control in depth. In Casey's research, he discovered that many Japanese founders are still reluctant to give employees stock options, and many investors still seem to prefer to deal with a man who sees himself as President for Life. Of course this is changing as more companies are founded by teams, but is it changing fast enough?