Expanding from Japan into Asia

Overview

‍Even companies with a strong track record in Japan face new challenges when entering overseas markets. How do they find their first customers and build trust? Does their solution address local needs? Answering these questions requires direct conversations and connections with people in the market.

This case study explores how Japanese startup find took a step toward expansion across Asia through the Start2 Asia Accelerator.

We spoke with CEO Akira Takashima about why the company decided to expand overseas and what it gained through Start2 Group’s support.

‍Bringing Experience in Japan to a New Market

‍Find Inc. is a startup with a vision of building a world where lost items are always found. Its B2B cloud platform, also called find, uses AI and technology to streamline lost and found management at railway stations, retail facilities, and other transport hubs. In Japan, the platform has been adopted by railway companies, department stores, and other operators.

For Takashima, the company’s long-term growth meant looking beyond Japan’s shrinking population. Lost items are a challenge that people face across borders. He wanted to draw on the company’s experience in Japan to bring its service to more people. Nearby markets in Asia offered a starting point for that ambition.

A domestic track record, however, does not automatically carry over into a new country. Understanding local customers, building relationships, and securing the first implementation all require fresh effort. Takashima describes this process as “starting a business for the second time.” For find, the next step was to understand local markets and business practices and begin meaningful discussions with people interested in its service.

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‍How Start2 Group Helped

‍Through the Start2 Asia Accelerator, find connected with potential customers, distributors, investors, and public sector organizations. These introductions were informed by the company’s business and its initial ideas about entering the market.

What Takashima particularly valued was the opportunity to turn introductions into actual meetings. When find identified an organization it wanted to speak with, Start2 helped arrange a meeting and move the conversation forward. These direct exchanges allowed the team to meet people who shared its vision and explore the local challenges its service could address. Support continued after the program, helping find maintain momentum in its plans for Asia.

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‍Results

‍At the time of the interview, find had not yet secured overseas orders. Nevertheless, the program had delivered tangible progress. The team had built connections with potential customers and local stakeholders, met people who shared its vision, and gained firsthand insights into local needs. It had also developed greater confidence in the potential to grow overseas—a confidence shared by both the CEO and the team.

‍“The biggest takeaway was developing a ‘we can do this’ mindset. And it wasn’t just me, the team felt the same way.” Akira Takashima, CEO, find

Conversations in the market helped the team see that its service could have a place beyond Japan. That confidence is now informing its next steps.

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‍What This Means for Japanese Companies

‍For companies considering expansion into Asia, Takashima’s message is to look beyond Japan when addressing a challenge that crosses borders. Taking that step can create opportunities for the company’s own growth.

This case highlights the importance of speaking with prospective customers and partners early in the expansion process to understand which local needs a service can meet. That lesson is also relevant to Japanese companies seeking to develop their business in new markets.

Find’s overseas expansion is still at an early stage. Yet meeting people, listening to their needs, and building confidence as a team have laid a foundation for its next steps.