Harnessing Japan's startup potential in Southern California!

Los Angeles is home to a variety of businesses, including entertainment and media, tech, gaming, music, life sciences, aerospace, and more. San Diego is an ideal location for biotechnology, life science, and software companies looking to expand their operations in the United States. It has close ties to the Mexican border city of Tijuana, which is home to research universities, an abundance of highly educated personnel, and low manufacturing costs.

Southern California is not only the largest economic region in North America, but also a talent pool that produces the largest number of engineers, content creators, artists, and life science researchers in North America. It's startup ecosystem will be a great weapon for existing companies to explore new business models and communicate the value of their brands through collaboration with the world's top creators.

San Diego is the second most populous city in California after Los Angeles, with a mild climate year-round and one of the largest naval bases in the United States. It has an ecosystem centered on life sciences and software. In recent years, the city has seen the emergence of organizations and initiatives aimed at fostering the software industry, which has attracted the attention of startups in the software field.

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OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Leveraging extensive startup experience in both Japan and North America, Launchstarz focus on founder development and support startups from zero to launch and growth. They provide customized support tailored to the founder’s experience and the company’s stage. Not only do they address the startup growth cycle—building and selling products—but also place strong emphasis on coaching and guiding founders to overcome unexpected challenges arising from cultural differences and business practices unique to the North American market.

Brian Swords provides strategic market entry support to Japanese companies aiming to expand into the United States. Particularly strong in the environmental and mobility sectors—areas in which California plays a leading role nationwide, he has built robust networks with local government agencies, municipalities, NGOs, and subject-matter experts, especially in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions. He offers comprehensive support to a wide range of clients, from startups to mid-sized and large enterprises, including regulatory compliance and legal risk mitigation. Actively contributes to building Japan–U.S. business alliances by linking Japan-affiliated firms with appropriately scaled and specialized services, collaborators, partners or potential investors, and is highly trusted by the Japanese government.