Can Japan’s “Anti-Uber” disrupt global airport transport?

Once the disruptors become the incumbents they are ripe for disruption.

Uber, Grab and rest of the ride-sharing startups have clearly disrupted the global taxi industry, but that doesn't mean they got it right. That doesn't mean their market position, or even their business model, is secure.

Today we sit down with Sota Kimura, founder of SmartRyde, a Japanese startup focused on getting airport ground transfers right.

We talk about building a business based on quality and brand in a traditionally price-sensitive, low-margin market, what Japanese universities are doing to support startups, and how getting ripped off at the airport inspired Sota to start a startup.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.


Show Notes

Why airport transfers are ripe for disruption & what Uber is missing
Pivoting from B2C to B2B during the pandemic
How getting ripped off at the airport inspired a startup
Japan's University startup support outside the majors
Entrepreneurship share-houses
How to compete on quality in a low-margin business
Can ridesharing work in Japan
Why Hiroshima was an ideal launch market
How to create more university startups in Japan


Links from the Founder

Everything you ever wanted to know about SmartRyde

The SmartRyde video 
Coverage of recent fundraising


Follow Sota on Twitter @kimura5008
Friend him on Facebook
Connect on LinkedIn
The Entrepreneurial Sharehouse Fespa Kyoto




Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs.
I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Today, we're going to talk about how to disrupt a fragmented market. I mean, that's a startup founder's dream, right? You find a market with low quality, confusing products, and no global coverage, and then disrupt it with an innovative business model and establish a trusted global brand. 
That's the dream. But as you'll see today, sometimes markets are fragmented for a reason. 
Today we sit down with Sota Kimura, founder of SmartRyde, who's trying to solve the problem of airport transfers and of foreign travelers being ripped off at local airports, and Sota's up against some strong competition, not only from business challengers but from human nature itself. 
Let's face it, ripping off travelers has been a popular custom for a long time. Herodotus was complaining about it 2,500 years ago. 
We talk about why Uber is not a threat, the new entrepreneurship share houses popping up in Japan, and how Japanese universities can better support founders. But most of all, we look into the question of whether quality can win if quality can act as a differentiator in a market traditionally focused on price competition. 
But you know, Sota tells that story much better than I can so let's get right to the interview. 

Interview
Tim: So I'm sitting here with Sota Kimura, who is the founder of SmartRyde, who is changing the nature of airport transfer and ground transport service. So thanks for sitting down with us. I really appreciate it.
Sota: Yeah, I appreciate too.
Tim: So that's a really brief explanation of your company. But can you tell us a bit more about what SmartRyde does?
Sota: We are operating airport transfer service around the world, mainly business-to-business sectors. For example, we integrated with online travel agency OTA, such as booking.com, and Expedia. And also, we are connected directly local transportation company like taxi and limousine and buses.
Tim: So fundamentally, this is the airport transfer when you get off a plane and you need to get into a cab.
Sota: Yes. So we focus on the airport transfer. So from airport to hotel, or hotel to airport.
Tim: I agree, like, airport transfers, the ground transport, it's a messy process right now. But is your main competition rideshare companies like Uber and Grab?
Sota: Similar business model. Transfers are a very fragment of business. And also,