Maki Nibayashi speaks to Andrew Lea of Iponics
Japan, an Internet business incubator that helps companies on an international scale.
Please tell us a bit about your company.
Iponics Japan is a new business set up and backed by funding from the Iponics network,
which has offices in the UK, India, Thailand, Bangladesh and now Japan-with other new
offices being developed around the world.
It funds and accelerates the development of selected Internet businesses worldwide, both
from plans developed in-house and with external entrepreneurs and partners. It uses the
skills available from its partner network to develop projects quickly and effectively and
launch in multiple countries. Partners are regularly brought into contact with eachother
in various locations to develop synergies and to discuss potential sharing of skills and
crossovers.
Iponics Japan was launched this month and will concentrate initially on three main areas:
bilingual Web development for the Japanese market, assisted foreign entry to the Japanese
market through translation, localization and consulting services and the development and
growth of the founder' existing websites, www.skijapanguide.com
and www.outdoorjapan.com
What will make your company different from other companies in your related field?
Iponics Japan is founded on the strength of two successful dot-com ventures in Japan.
Those businesses in turn are built on commitment to customer focus, quality, successful
and strategic marketing ventures, design and timely provision of accurate information. We
bring those skills to our client work-delivering what we promise. We are not just another
website designer-we learned the hard way how to make the Web work for our own business and
have succeeded. Applying the same commitment to our clientele means we can make the Web
work for their businesses, too.
On top of that we have access to global strategic assistance and funding, highly skilled
partner companies and excellent outsourcing relationships. We're here for the long-term
and want to build relationships over years with our clients, to help them grow their Web
businesses successfully. Our staff and management background (from Japan, the UK, the US
and Australia) means we have an awareness of global trends and excellent language skills,
and our strategic partner companies located around the world give us access to global
markets. We want to use our links to help our Japanese clients both at home and when they
are ready to go out to the world.
What positions are you seeking to fill?
We are interested in finding good people with the best resumes at any stage in their
careers. Our specific needs are for ambitious Japanese native salespeople who know the
Web, excellent designers with good HTML skills, and a skilled and motivated administrator
to keep the office running smoothly.
What responsibilities will these people have?
All will be responsible for building part of a global business. We will be in start-up
phase for a while, which means that no one is exempt from anything - this means everyone
has to learn new skills every day and rise to any challenge. It also means don't turn up
if you want an easy job. The salespeople will be developing relationships and explaining
how Iponics can add value to any company with or without an existing website. The
administrator/office manager will be holding it all together, helping us exceed our
clients' expectations.
Can you mention a little about the salary range and benefits?
The salary will be negotiated with the applicants and skills and experience will be taken
into account. We are interested in finding the right people with initiative and
creativity, so new graduates with flair and ambition and seasoned professionals with
developed skills and experience are equally as welcome. The benefits are many.
Short-term: The company is young and wants employee input, so you won't be a cog in a
machine but will be welcome and expected to help shape the growth of your company.
Medium-term: Our global partnerships mean that employees could be suitable for
skill-exchange trips abroad to work and learn with our partners and exchange ideas with
other creative teams around the world. We will be building more than one new business and
working alongside skilled and successful entrepreneurs; it is always in the building phase
where the most opportunities arise.
Long-term: There are employee share option schemes being developed for the people who make
the business work-valuable staff will become part-owners of a global business.
WORK IN JAPAN: