Tokyo vs the Bay Area

This was drafted back in January amidst a fundraise that kept me busy, and I finally found time to complete it. Last December I was on a panel hosted by Innovation Weekend discussing the differences between Silicon Valley and Tokyo. Here’s a digest-edition of what I shared.

Startup ecosystems around the world understandably look to Silicon Valley — whether to gawk or be inspired. As access to capital gets easier regardless of geography, some of you may be considering your next entrepreneurial adventure and where to do it. Here are some personal perspectives gained after 10+ years traveling and working between the Bay Area and Tokyo. YMMV!

As an entrepreneur currently based in Tokyo who’s also lived and regularly visits the Bay Area, here’s how I see the advantages & disadvantages of being in Tokyo.

Opportunities / Advantages

It’s easier to be an attractive startup using new technology.

There’s still a large base of strong technology talent within the depths of enterprise technology companies like Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic. These environments are less amenable to allowing new technologies like Golang, Node.js or services like GitHub, Datadog, or even Slack being used inproduction environments. Can you imagine trying to hire top engineering talent in the Bay Area for a team using CVS for source control management (or no SCM at all)? And yet, that’s still the case with traditional tech companies in Japan. Young engineers who’ve joined the established, big-name companies to appease their risk-averse families are realizing their entrepreneur peers are zooming ahead experimenting with and adopting newer technologies that are becoming defacto processes and tools in leading technology companies. And so these young, talented Japanese engineers perk up with puppy-dog eyes when they hear the possibility of using new tools and programming languages they’ve only read about. Done right, new tech and services can be a seriously competitive edge in building the right engineering team in Tokyo.

Awesome hack-a-thon locations — from temples to onsens to remote islands.

Hack-a-thons are not only fun, they’re important functions in growing a healthy engineering team. But why is Tokyo an ideal city for them? Because there’s no other city with the combination of 100Mbps internet available on serene Zen temple grounds accessible within an hour radius from the city center. With a bit more planning you could take your team to a differentisland, eat some of the healthiest cuisine known to man, and hack away.

A less diverse workforce.

The irony of a broadly less diverse work environment is that those who value it have a better chance of reaping the benefits. There’s less competition for the “eccentric” — the bilingual, tech-talented, sociable, engaging entrepreneur. It’s a lot easier to stand out and be helpful if you’re able to bridge languages & cultures. If you’re a foreigner in Tokyo, you can have an edge (whether it’s sharp or dull is up to you); who cares if you’re a foreigner in the Bay Area? The wave of US-educated Chinese returning to their home-country highlights a similar point. This advantage probably has the shortest lifespan though.

Measured simply by time-commitment, the Japanese workforce is more loyal.

Obviously there are a number of factors both controllable and not that affect workforce mobility, but in general I’ve found Japanese employees to be more loyal to their existing environment. Which means it can take longer to bring a desirable candidate in, but also means you’ll generally be given a few months notice if someone decides to leave. There are fewer surprises and less scrambling from the 2-weeks (and often less!) notice common in the Bay Area. There’s a flip-side to this of course, covered under disadvantages.

Tokyo is the world’s most livable city.

Clean, safe, world-class service, friendly people, something for everyone — Tokyo is the world’s best-kept secret (for now … 😉 Enough has been written about the people and culture so I’ll just say no city is perfect, but if you can navigate the language, Tokyo is close to it.

Tokyo’s density allows for 2–3x the number of meetings per day.