Why your product won't work in Japan (yet)
Session 1 of 6
Most foreign products that win at home stall in Japan. Founders blame the visa, the language, the long sales cycle. Those are real. But there is a deeper reason your product stalls, and it is in the product itself.
This is the opening session of the GDZ Japan series, the one that reframes how you see your own product before you spend a yen on entry.
We open on what actually wins in Japan: looking at the local product scene, who won, who lost and how incumbents can get started with this market.
You leave seeing your own product differently, with a clear read on which of the three walls, expectation, quality, or trust, is most likely to stop you.
What you'll walk away with:
The Japan Readiness Scorecard, a simple tool to audit your own product against the three walls.
Who it's for:
Founders weighing up Japan, or early into it, who want to know what they are walking into before they commit. No prior Japan experience needed.
Format:
Live, and recorded. Join us live or watch it back, either way the session and the scorecard are yours to keep.
Your hosts:
Matt Ainsworth - GTM Expert and experienced Product Leader
Founder of GDZ and GDZ Japan. Nine years building in Tokyo, fluent in the business culture rather than just visiting it. He has built sales and GTM functions from zero and works across the Australia and Japan startup corridor.
Josh Easten - Tech Product Specialist
Eleven years in Japan, ten-plus years building digital products, most recently scaling a streaming product past one million monthly active users. He has shipped and partnered across Japanese tech including DeNA, Sony, and ByteDance, and holds an MBA from GLOBIS Tokyo.
Operators, not consultants. No equity, ever.
This session is $99, or take all six for $449.