Uber's Failure in Japan
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Uber's Failure in Japan
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Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#2I think in many countries companies like Uber and AirBnB are seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this!
I wonder if Uber could have achieved success in markets with more trusted governments (Germany, Japan) if they started with a softer approach.
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#3The article basically states that Uber's cavalier attitude towards the law was the wrong approach to use in Japan, because the Japanese public does not respect this attitude, and that they should have worked it out with regulators before they started operations.
I guess the broader lesson implied is that you need to put in the effort to understand the local culture, and adapt your strategies accordingly, before you try to enter a new country.
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#4[deleted]
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#5Better title would be "How Uber's Failure in Japan Can Help Multinational Corporate Expansions Everywhere". It's a bit of a stretch to still call Uber a startup, and even if you grant that, these lessons are not for startups.
I happen to have co-founded a multi-national startup. The best advice I have for going multi-national as a startup is don't.
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#6The article basically states that Uber's cavalier attitude towards the law was the wrong approach to use in Japan, because the Japanese public does not respect this attitude, and that they should have worked it out with regulators before they started operations. I guess the broader lesson implied is that you need to put in the effort to understand the local culture, and adapt your strategies accordingly, before you t…
The old put beet root on the cheese burger approach.
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#7I think in many countries companies like Uber and AirBnB are seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this! I wonder if Uber could have achieved success in markets with more trusted governments (Germany, Japan) if they started with a softer approach.
Really? I find that most people think it's the other way around, that Uber and AirBnB represent the democratic will of the people, challenging broken systems that the people do not endorse now that a better idea is available.
At least, that's how it looks over in USA/Canada.
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#8Better title would be "How Uber's Failure in Japan Can Help Multinational Corporate Expansions Everywhere". It's a bit of a stretch to still call Uber a startup, and even if you grant that, these lessons are not for startups. I happen to have co-founded a multi-national startup. The best advice I have for going multi-national as a startup is don't.
If the start-up core product isn't something that bypasses laws, why would it be bad?
Was dropbox not a startup when it went to become available outside the US? Their expansion plans didn't require offices in each country
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#9Sounds like Uber's failure in Japan is related to a reasonably honest and effective government.
The biggest failure of Uber that I'm familiar with of is ex-NYC New York, and that's essentially because the Feds are tapping every politician's phone at the moment[1], and it's difficult for their lobbyists to do whatever they do to "influence" outcomes.
[1][http://nypost.com/2015/05/04/state-majority-leader-dean-skel...]
Re: Uber's Failure in Japan
#10Better title would be "How Uber's Failure in Japan Can Help Multinational Corporate Expansions Everywhere". It's a bit of a stretch to still call Uber a startup, and even if you grant that, these lessons are not for startups. I happen to have co-founded a multi-national startup. The best advice I have for going multi-national as a startup is don't.
If the start-up core product isn't something that bypasses laws, why would it be bad? Was dropbox not a startup when it went to become available outside the US? Their expansion plans didn't require offices in each country
> If the start-up core product isn't something that bypasses laws, why would it be bad?
This seams like a pretty naive rhetorical question.
Regulatory burden is different in each country. Look at github problems with Russia in the past. Or Google and EU's "right to be forgotten," worse yet, local politicians that make your business model illegal.
Also, culture / sales process is different in every country. VP of sales for North America is not going is going to have a hard time making a dent in Asia. The sales culture in Japan is very different from the one in China.
Some places have a culture of bribery to get anything done. And you know what the SEC/FTC can go after you in the US because the money goes through a bank in the US.
Now if you happen to have employees in that market place (and in some cases you're require to sell locally) you have to follow local labor which vary tremendously from country to country. Then you have local taxation laws, then you have your home countries taxation laws that deal with foreign sales.
If you multiply these headaches by say 10 or 20 markets. That's something very difficult for most startups (or even mid-size companies) to tackle.
> Was dropbox not a startup when it went to become available outside the US? Their expansion plans didn't require offices in each country
Dropbox being a self service product over the web is not a great example. Sure that can be a replicated by some segment of SaaS companies... but there's a lot more segments out there then SasS.