Makers on a Mission: Recent Episodes
Makers on a Mission
Join Jarrod, Olivier, and Risa as they take you on their start-up journey to Japan and share the lessons they learn along the way. The team explores topics from entrepreneurship to Japanese culture to social impact, and they discuss great books & authors and interview leaders & mentors who inspire them.
Follow us on Instagram @makers.on.a.mission!
Learn more and support at https://makersonamission.org
To gain full access to all episodes, our Patreon exclusive content, and direct opportunities to connect with us, visit our Patreon page where you can sign up for just $2 a month!
This week, we have a fun discussion about The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, author of the blog “Life Advice That Doesn’t Suck”. Manson cuts through self-help literature that asks us to always seek positivity and instead offers a practical mindset when facing the hard realities of life.
We explore how we can take these lessons and apply them to our business and life. We discuss self-help, naivete, consciousness of death, playing the long game,
Thank you so much for your support. Your contributions help us with production costs, the time required to record and edit podcasts and organize interviews, and the fees required to run our website. We are excited to say that excess profits go toward our startup project in Japan. For this, we thank our Patreon subscribers always.
Links to Resources:
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Mark Manson’s Blog
Good to Great
The Four Noble Truths
Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast
Stoicism
Ernest Becker
Immortality Projects
Good
Jocko Willink
Akiya Company on IG
Makers on a Mission Patreon
Follow us on Instagram @makers_on_a_mission! Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Patreon Exclusive Episode!
To gain full access to this episode, all of our Patreon exclusive content, and direct opportunities to connect with us, visit our Patreon page where you can sign up for just $2 a month!
We have some cool updates about our business development and the target market we are honing in on. We have also been getting our foot in the door of the Japanese rural real estate industry, which has been a great learning process.
For the main part of the podcast, we dive into an incredibly influential book to us: Lost Japan: Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan by Alex Kerr. The legendary Mr. Kerr details his life as a young man in Japan and the last glimpses of beautiful Japan he witnessed before the urban growth and sprawl accelerated to detrimental levels. His analysis of Japanese culture of the early periods compared to the culture of Meiji and onward is deep and profound.
If you want to learn about the ancient arts of Japan, the radical changes of the 20th century, and how China differs from Japan, then this book is perfect for you. It is no surprise that he was the first foreigner to be awarded the Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for the best work of non-fiction published in Japan in 1994 for this work.
Thank you so much for your support. Your contributions help us with production costs, the time required to record and edit podcasts and organize interviews, and the fees required to run our website. We are excited to say that excess profits go toward our startup project in Japan. For this, we thank you always.
Links to Resources:
Kobe Noson
Good to Great
Hedgehog Concept
The Lean Startup
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Our Landing Page
Makers on a Mission on IG
Lost Japan: Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan
Alex Kerr
Woodstock of Kominka
Minka Houses
Kominka Japan Community
Noh Drama
Kabuki Theater
Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo)
Iya Valley
Chiiori House
Shikoku
Haiku
Renga
Dogs and Demons
Countries With the Highest National Debts
One Straw Revolution
Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana
Hosomi Minoru
Tamasaburo
Shirasu Masako
Makers on a Mission Patreon
Follow us on Instagram @makers_on_a_mission! Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Patreon Exclusive Episode! Today, Jarrod and Olivier answer questions from our Patreon subscribers!
To gain full access to this episode, all of our Patreon exclusive content, and direct opportunities to connect with us, visit our Patreon page where you can sign up for just $2 a month!
We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Website: Makers on a Mission Patreon
Follow us on Instagram at @makers_on_a_mission
Visit Makers on a Mission.org to explore more
This episode is a must-listen for any aspiring entrepreneur wondering how to start up a business in Japan, especially as a foreigner! Today, Jarrod and Olivier speak with David Brulotte, the Delegate General of Quebec in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.
David was also the Delegate General of Quebec in Tokyo for almost three years. He developed relationships between Japan and Quebec in different sectors and economies, but also in education, culture, and public affairs.
David recently moved to Los Angeles to hold the same position and support trade between Quebec and California and support SMEs in their business development in Silicon Valley.
We discuss what makes Japan’s business world exceptionally unique, when Japan will re-open its borders after Covid, depopulation and again problems, opportunities for entrepreneurs in Japan, Japanese startup and business ecosystems, the resilience of the Japanese people, remote work in Japan, how to build business internationally, and the future of international business in Japan.
Website: international.gouv.qc.ca/
Links to Resources:
Negative Tokyo Immigration
Akiya & Inaka
Canada Chamber of Commerce
Diamond Princess Cruise Ship
Japanese Corporate Venture Capital
$1T Covid Stimulus
Sogo Shosha
Japanese Trading Houses
CVCs
Japan Startup Visa
Startup Montreal
Work From Home in Japan
Cleanliness in Japan
Low Crime in Japan
California Chamber of Commerce
Patreon Exclusive Episode! To celebrate Father’s Day, Jarrod and Olivier interview Richard Suda — Jarrod’s Dad.
Richard Suda M.D. was born in Fresno, California and studied cardiac surgery across the United States, from Oregon to Texas to Missouri to Los Angeles. After running his own private practice in Glendale, CA for many years, he retired in 2008 and began a new project: remodelling his home into a beautiful Japanese style.
We listen to his stories about his father’s (Jarrod’s grandfather) sego palm tree and transplanting it from Fresno to Los Angeles. We learn about the origins of his interest in Japanese culture, life as a Japanese American, his love for architecture, his trips to Japan, the professionalism of Japanese carpenters, Japanese home design, multi-functionality, changes from the old home to the new home, Japanese rock gardens, how to plan and manage a remodel project, and what it means for his son to return to Japan.
Today’s Patreon-only episode is released in full, as a little celebration for Father’s Day. Please consider supporting our work and listener-supported podcasts on our Makers on a Mission Patreon!
Your contributions help us with production costs, the time required to record and edit podcasts and organize interviews, and the fees required to run our website. We are excited to say that excess profits go toward our startup project in Japan, so, please become a direct supporter if you enjoy the work that we are doing.
Website: Makers on a Mission Patreon
Links to Resources:
Photos of the Suda Home Remodel on Patreon
Fresno Buddhist Church
Tokonoma
Engawa
Japanese Dry Garden — Karesansui
Toshi Kawabata — Barrban Woodworks
Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka
Not So Big House Podcast — Makers on a Mission
Follow us on Instagram at @makers_on_a_mission!
Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Jarrod and Olivier retell the story of Minka: My Farmhouse in Japan by John Roderick.
We first discovered the story of John Roderick through a Kickstarter-funded documentary that retold the life of the journalist and long-time resident of rural Japan and his relationship with the Takishita family. With his book in our hands, we learned about the details of the story and how the beautiful and now-famous Minka came to be.
We learn about Japanese architecture, the hyper-industrialization of Japan, the strength of rural Japan, how to buy a Minka, how to build a Minka, the lifestyle of daiku and tobi, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Shinto ceremonies, and the power of beauty and love.
Support our work and listener-supported podcasts on our Makers on a Mission Patreon! Your contributions help us with production costs, the time required to record and edit podcasts and organize interviews, and the fees required to run our website. We are excited to say that excess profits go toward our startup project in Japan, so, please become a direct supporter if you enjoy the work that we are doing.
Links to Resources:
Minka: My Farmhouse in Japan
John Roderick
Minka: The Documentary
Yoshihiro (Yochan) Takishita and list of works
Japanese carpentry
Japanese tobi
The Order of the Sacred Treasure
The Great Buddha of Kamakura
Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography
Architecture for a Restorative Future with Architect Johan Wijesinghe
Makers on a Mission Patreon
Follow us on Instagram @makers_on_a_mission!
Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Jarrod and Olivier discuss Sustainability in Contemporary Rural Japan: Challenges and Opportunities by Stephanie Assmann.
We discuss how towns are introducing social entrepreneurship to stimulate their economies, how schools are being repurposed, why young people are interested in moving to rural parts of Japan, and how art can revitalize island communities.
This episode is full of tangible case studies that Japan can teach the rest of the world, which will face again population crises and rural-urban brain drains of its own.
Support our work and listener-supported podcasts on our Makers on a Mission Patreon!
Links to Resources:
Sustainability in Contemporary Rural Japan: Challenges and Opportunities
Kuromatsu
2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Can Anything Stop Rural Decline?
Urban Migrants in Rural Japan
Kazuyo Sejima
Yanagi Yukinori
Inujima Art House Project
Art Base Momoshima
Abandoned Homes in Japan
Ninenzaka Starbucks Kyoto
Makers on a Mission Patreon
Follow us on Instagram @makers_on_a_mission!
Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Patreon Exclusive Episode! Today, Jarrod and Olivier discuss The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. Beloved by Jarrod, the book changed his life:
When I was working in Kyoto as an English teacher, I was employed by the terribly bureaucratic and rule-ridden Kyoto City Board of Education. Arbitrary regulations meant that I was often sitting in the teacher's office with no work to do, no classes to teach, and no agency in my lesson planning. Our English supervisors even once used an entire seminar to provide ideas on how to make good use of your free — how pathetic is that?
Living my desk job nightmare, I spent much of my time reading profusely, hoping that personal development might ease my sense of stagnancy and worthlessness at work. I came across the 4-Hour Work Week, triggered (like most) by the title. What followed were rational and tangible answers to my existential work-related questions. I read it in one day.
The book has since influenced many of the decisions and habits I make and maintain in my life today. It is not without its flaws. But the book has ultimately rewired my brain to view retirement, not as a life goal, but as a last resort. It helped push me to pursue entrepreneurship over academia or public sector work. As I look back at my time as a millennial in Japan, I can confidently and unapologetically say that stumbling upon the 4-Hour Work Week presented me with a crossroads and helped me to change my life trajectory.
Today, we walk through the 4 main arguments made in the book and reflect on the good (and controversial) ideas in the book. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Website: Makers on a Mission Patreon
Links to Resources:
English Teaching in Japan
The 4-Hour Work Week
The Tim Ferris Show
How to Write a Dreamline
Pareto Principle
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
Venywhere: Work From Venice
Follow us on Instagram at @makers_on_a_mission!
Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Jarrod and Olivier speak with Yihana von Ritter, the Associate Director of Private Market Investments at Align Impact. She joined Align Impact in 2019 after completing her graduate studies at Yale and holding impact investing roles at Agora Partnerships in Colombia and Investing for Good in the United Kingdom.
Previously, Yihana had gained extensive experience working with various non-profit organizations in the United States, Panama, and Colombia. She was the Country Associate for Clinton Health Access Initiative where she led national-level operations in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. Yihana also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay as a Community Mobilizer and Health Educator. Yihana holds an MBA and a Master of Global Affairs from Yale University and a BA from Stanford University.
We discuss what makes Align Impact unique from the rest of the impact investing industry, the myth of having to sacrifice financial return for ESG impact, how to lower financial risk as entrepreneurs, how to measure impact accurately, actions being taken to scale impact investing, what we can do as entrepreneurs to attract impact investments, and how you can invest your own money responsibly: As You Sow.
Website: alignimpact.com
Links to Resources:
Catalytic Investment
Concessional Finance
Professor Timothy Swanson, The Willingness to Pay for Property Rights for the Giant Panda: Can a Charismatic Species Be an Instrument for Nature Conservation?
Basic Economics
Forest Trends - Pioneering Finance for Conservation
The Rockefeller Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation
Global Impact Investing Network
Program-Related Investments
IRIS
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
B Corporation Certification
Blended Finance
R20 (R20 Regions of Climate Action)
Convergence - The Global Network for Blended Finance
The UK Sets the Scene for Mandatory ESG Laws in the Western World
As You Sow
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Jarrod and Olivier discuss Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change, written by Sir Ronald Cohen.
Known as "the father of British venture capital" and "the father of social investment", Sir Ronald Cohen takes us through his journey of establishing social impact bonds in the UK, enforcing public ESG reporting for corporations, and reforming the rules of capitalism into a system that generates social impact.
We discuss the ‘impact revolution’, how private actors have put their skin in the game beyond corporate social responsibility campaigns, and the role of entrepreneurs in this future.
Can we build a more just and environmentally sustainable world and make money doing it? Sir Ronald Cohen argues that we can indeed have our cake and eat it too.
Website: sirronaldcohen.org
Links to Resources:
Sir Ronald Cohen
Impact Revolution
Kyoto Startup Summer School
The Lean Startup
Long Term Stock Exchange
War Bonds
TOMS
Start Something That Matters
SDGs
The Lessons of History
Will Durant
Adam Smith
Wealth of Nations
Invisible Hand
Theory of Moral Sentiments
Invisible Heart
Abandoned Homes in Japan
Follow us on Instagram @makers.on.a.mission!
In this episode, Jarrod and Olivier speak with Johan Wijesinghe, an architect at Lever Architecture in Portland who specializes in the timber supply chain and applying machine learning to architecture.
We discuss Johan’s work in timber production, the ‘Forest to Frame’ project, and how it presents a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete. We also gain examples of circular economy design, practical uses of timber, and community restoration projects in Inujima, Japan. We gain inspiration on how the Architecture 2030 Challenge is accelerating carbon neutrality, how to make trade-offs, and how to launch a restoration project of our own.
Website: johanwijesinghe.com
Links to Resources:
LEVER Architecture
Forest to Frame
Sustainable Northwest
Ecotrust
Wood Innovations Grant
Wood Innovation Project
USDA
The Three Es
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
Architecture 2030 Carbon Neutral Challenge
The Wicked Problem
Rebuilding Ise Jinja Shrine
Kazuo Sejima
Sidewalk Labs
Reviving Inujima
Naoshima
SANAA
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In this episode, Jarrod and Olivier discuss The Omnivore's Dilemma, a profound and beautifully written book by Michael Pollan.
Sustainable agriculture and food are deep interests shared by @rinda.124, @jarrod.zen, and @oli.flamand. The values discussed in the book shape much of the mission that we are on today.
What is the omnivore's dilemma? We, as humans, have the exceptional ability to process a wide range of food from meat to fungi to plants.
Pollan begs the simple question: What should we have for dinner? As an investigative journalist, he breaks down the supply chain of three kinds of meals:
🍔 an industrial fast-food meal made mostly from corn,
🥬 an organic meal made from locally-sourced products, and
🐗 a hunter-gatherer meal made from living things that Pollan cooked himself.
Listen in to learn about Pollan's food journey and how we can break our daily bread with greater introspection.
Website: michaelpollan.com
Links to Resources:
WWOOF Switzerland
The Graduate Institute, Geneva
Polyface Farms
Slow Food International
Cooked on Netflix
Jarrod's Dissertation on Swiss Landscapes
Eat Local Kobe
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In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod speak with Sushi Suzuki.
Sushi is an associate professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology and KYOTO Design Lab where he researches, coaches, and practices Design Thinking, Product Development, and Innovation.
He was the lead instructor for the nine-month ME310/SUGAR program at Stanford University, which is a global program for students to take on innovation challenges posed by some of the world’s leading corporations.
He is also the founder of Kyoto Start-Up Summer School (KS3), a two-week intensive program for aspiring entrepreneurs. and Japan’s most international entrepreneurship education program. It was at KS3 that Jarrod, Olivier, and Risa met Sushi and gained tremendous training from the course.
Enjoy the show!
Website: https://www.kyotostartupschool.org/
LinkedIn: Kyoto Startup Summer School
Facebook: Kyoto Startup Summer School
Links to Resources:KS3
Kyoto Institute of Technology
Stanford Design Thinking School
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel
Garden Lab Kyoto
JETRO
Japan Startup Visa
Taberugo 食ベルゴ
Yelp
The BIT Summit
Honne and Tatemae 本音、建前
Nemawashi 根回し
Informal Nijikai 二次会
Bushido 武士道
Eigyō 営業 — account management
Omiyage お土産
IDEO Design Thinking — Tim Brown
David Kelly
The Lean Startup
The Lean Launchpad — Steve Blank
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In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod discuss the second part of Good to Great by Jim Collins. Jim Collins is an American researcher, speaker and consultant focused on business management, company sustainability and growth. He is also a best-selling author, having sold over 4 million copies of Good to Great.
In the book, Collins walks through his rigorous research and uncovers a well-articulated corporate strategy to achieve greatness. What does it take to be great and why do most companies only settle for ‘good’? Collins interviews great CEOs, employees, and other experts to provide us with the principles and the practices to break through into greatness.
Website: jimcollins.com
Links to Resources:
Good to Great and the Social Sectors by Jim Collins
Jim Collins — A Rare Interview with a Reclusive Polymath by Tim Ferriss
The Flywheel Effect
The Not So Big House podcast by Makers on a Mission
Japan’s Rural-Urban Divide by The Diplomat
Kroger versus A&P
The Geneva Debate at The Graduate Institute
Admiral James Stockdale
Follow us on Instagram @makers.on.a.mission!
Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod discuss the first part of Good to Great by Jim Collins. Jim Collins is an American researcher, speaker and consultant focused on business management, company sustainability and growth. He is also a best-selling author, having sold over 4 million copies of Good to Great.
In the book, Collins walks through his rigorous research and uncovers a well-articulated corporate strategy to achieve greatness. What does it take to be great and why do most companies only settle for ‘good’? Collins interviews great CEOs, employees, and other experts to provide us with the principles and the practices to break through into greatness.
Website: jimcollins.com
Links to Resources:
Good to Great and the Social Sectors by Jim Collins
The Flywheel Effect
The Not So Big House podcast by Makers on a Mission
Japan’s Rural-Urban Divide by The Diplomat
Kroger versus A&P
The Geneva Debate at The Graduate Institute
Admiral James Stockdale
Follow us on Instagram @makers.on.a.mission!
Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod go in-depth into The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. Sarah Susanka’s best-selling first book, The Not So Big House, “has given homeowners the language they need to ask for the house that they want: a house that values quality over quantity, and emphasizes comfort, beauty, and a high level of detail.
Each book in the series, from Creating the Not So Big House to Home By Design, to Not So Big Remodeling, is unique and expands upon this message with fresh writing and new projects to illustrate the Not So Big Principles.” She calls the philosophy “A blueprint for the way we really live.”
Website: susanka.com
Links to Resources:
Measure and Construction of the Japanese House by Heino Engel
Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings by Edward Sylvester Morse
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick
Japanese ‘engawa’ verandas
UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design - Wurster Hall
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In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod speak with Alizé Aversano. Passionate about social entrepreneurship since forever and after a career start in impact investing, Alizé specialized in access to finance through crowdfunding. She has been supporting entrepreneurs make their ideas come true as a mentor, workshop facilitator and coach since 2015 and joined wemakeit in 2020, the largest crowdfunding platform in Switzerland.
Website: https://wemakeit.com/
Instagram: wemakeit
Facebook: wemakeit
Links to Resources:What is crowdfunding?
Impact Investing
Chuffed
Geographic Geneva by Jarrod
Start with 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
Check Out Alizé’s Crowdfunding Campaign!Les Murmures de la Nature by Alizé Aversano
Alizé’s email: alize.aversano@wemakeit.com
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In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod go in-depth into the Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Eric is an entrepreneur and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, which has sold over one million copies and has been translated into more than thirty languages. He is the creator of the Lean Startup methodology, which has become a global movement in business, practiced by individuals and companies around the world. This methodology was the inspiration behind his founding of the LTSE and his books The Leader’s Guide and The Startup Way.
He has founded a number of startups, including IMVU, where he served as CTO, and he has advised on business and product strategy for startups, venture capital firms, and large companies, including GE, with whom he partnered to create the FastWorks program. Eric has served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School, IDEO, and Pivotal, and he is the founder and CEO of the Long-Term Stock Exchange.
Website: https://leanstartup.co/
Links to Resources:
Kyoto Startup Summer School
Toyota Just in Time Production
Sir James Dyson on the Tim Ferris Show
How DropBox Started as a Minimum Viable Product
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In this episode, Olivier and Jarrod speak with Paul Speed. Paul is the cofounder of Kyoto Brewing Company, a small-scale brewery that manufactures original craft beer with a new interpretation of Belgian and American style traditions. In 2015, Paul and his friends Chris and Ben established Kyoto Brewing, a culmination of their taste for craft beer, entrepreneurship, and Japanese culture.
Website: https://kyotobrewing.com/
Instagram: Kyoto Brewing
Facebook: Kyoto Brewing Company
Links to Resources:
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
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