Naotaka Nishiyama, a Japanese entrepreneur and founder of Tech Japan, recently shared his transformative journey since relocating to Bengaluru, India, a year ago. In a heartfelt LinkedIn post, he detailed his lessons, challenges, and cultural shifts that reshaped his perspective on entrepreneurship, diversity, and personal growth. “Exactly one year ago, I landed in India with just a suitcase and a dream.
On March 25, 2024, I left Tokyo International Airport in Japan and landed in Bangalore in the early hours of March 26. As I stepped out of the airport, pulling my suitcase, I found myself standing in a completely new world,” Nishiyama wrote.
His journey was not without challenges. As a Japanese startup founder in India, he found himself a rarity. “There aren’t many Japanese people in India to begin with, and most of those living here are corporate expats from the automotive, electronics, or banking industries,” he explained.
Nishiyama shared an amusing anecdote about how people often assumed he worked for a well-known Japanese company. “When I meet someone for the first time, I’m frequently asked, Toyota? Suzuki?
I smile and reply, “No, I run a company called Talendy. Then comes that look of ‘What’s that?'” he wrote. Over the past year, Nishiyama said he gained invaluable insights that transformed his business approach and personal mindset.
Insights on adapting in India
He outlined three key lessons that India taught him:
1. The power to move forward in complexity.
2. The mindset to embrace unpredictability.
3. How to build trust in diversity. He noted that his perspective on stability and change evolved significantly. “Something inside me has definitely shifted this year.
Instead of ‘challenging myself within stability,’ I’ve learned to ‘create value within change.’ And that mindset has become part of me,” he wrote.
Reflecting on the ambition and energy of India’s younger generation, he expressed his optimism for the future. “Of course, I’m still learning. But the people I’ve met in India- especially the younger generation’s incredible energy and ambition- keep me moving forward with the belief that we can create the future together.
Since being shared, Nishiyama’s post has garnered over 7,000 reactions and more than 400 comments, with many users resonating with his thoughts on India’s complexity and vibrancy. One user commented, “You are 100% right. India is diverse, which creates complexity and unpredictability. So, life is not monotonous at any time. Every day is new, and you (anyone) can start your new life at any moment.”
Another user reflected on the adaptability and improvisation essential in India, writing, “Very well summarised – ‘Perfect is the enemy of progress’ and ‘Things rarely go as planned.’ Improvisation skills, I think, are unheard of in Japan, but in India, we are used to these things, and despite it all, we come out successful. I think we both have a lot to learn from each other.”
According to his LinkedIn bio, Nishiyama completed his BCom from Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan before furthering his education at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
His entrepreneurial journey began in 2005 when he founded his first company. In 2019, he founded Talendy Holdings, an AI-based HR platform.
Photo by Mitchell Ng Liang; Unsplash