Maverick trades in Japan’s aging business model and escapes Corporate Japan

Quotes from a Japanese woman entrepreneur:

... “I think my family trained me to be an entrepreneur.  Dad told me to never join a big company, but always work for a company with fewer than 50 people, even if they have to use a dog as a staff member. Why? Because big Japanese companies are all the same.  Why would they give a top job to a woman when there are plenty of men around?”  One obstacle was that many small companies were boring.  “I always thought I would train myself up in a company and stay for perhaps ten years before leaving to do something on my own.  But the chance came much sooner.”

... “For the first four years I really struggled to employ good people,” Matsuzaki says.  “Then one day a university student came along for an interview.  He had won a place at some big corporation, but said he wanted to be an entrepreneur.  University graduates are great.  They know nothing, but they do everything.  Every year we bring more of them into the company. Ten people joined in April and we will get more next year.  You take them straight out of university and they are making a profit for you within three months.  I like them aggressive, because this is all about sales.”

Laurel here ... even the Japanese are escaping from Corporate Japan!

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