Why Moving to Japan is 5x More Expensive Than You Think - Andrew Sharifikia

Why Moving to Japan is 5x More Expensive Than You Think - Andrew Sharifikia

In this episode of the Produck Podcast, Lee Jean sits down with Andrew Sharifiki, the co-founder of Terano AI, to discuss the stark realities, political shifts, and bureaucratic hurdles of relocating to and building a life in Japan. Andrew shares his deeply personal journey from Iran to Tokyo after COVID-19 upended his academic plans in Germany, shedding light on the isolating cultural norms, systemic housing discrimination, and sudden visa tightening that foreign entrepreneurs face today. The conversation explores how global right-wing political shifts are affecting Japan's immigration policies and why Andrew believes the country’s demographic crisis will ultimately force its borders back open.- The N5 Visa Hurdle: Why Japan now requires you to pass the N5 JLPT exam before you can enter the country to study the language. - The "Pokemons" of VC Portfolios: Andrew explains why he is glad Tarano AI didn't get pre-seed VC funding from programs like Antler, choosing to remain true hustlers rather than trophy investments. - The Dreadful Housing Process: A deep dive into the hidden fees of Japanese real estate, from "key money" scams to being rejected by guarantor companies for not having a traditional corporate job. - Robotics in the Rice Fields: How Japanese startups are utilizing modular robotics and visual inspection AI to automate abandoned agricultural lands as the domestic workforce collapses. - Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC): Why Andrew is self-studying the mathematical defenses required to secure global cloud data before quantum computers scale to breach all modern encryption walls in minutes. - The Culture of "Meiwaku": How the societal obsession with not bothering others limits everyday serendipity and leaves trains completely silent.Andrew Sharifiki is a Tokyo-based tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Terano AI, and a B2B sales strategist for local AI service providers. After moving to Japan via a sponsored work visa during the peak of the pandemic, he has dedicated his work to smoothing the landing process for foreign nationals attempting to navigate Tokyo's complex legal and residential landscapes.Connect with Andrew Sharifiki on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alireza-sharifikia/Subscribe to the Produck Podcast for more raw, unfiltered conversations with global tech founders making waves in Japan and beyond!#produckpodcast #japan #tokyo #startupjapan #taranoai #foreignersinjapan #ai #robotics #quantumcryptography #antler #immigration #movingtojapan

Anyone Can Make a Video Game Now. This Startup Is Proving It - Marc Cellucci

In this episode of the Produck Podcast, Lee Jean sits down with Marc Cellucci, founder and CEO of Tempesta, for a 25-year tour through the gaming industry - from producing titles during Sega's Dreamcast era to building an AI platform in Japan where anyone can create a full, playable game world from a single sentence in under two minutes. Marc's career started at Sega in 1999, ran through learning Japanese from scratch and passing the hardest proficiency certification they offer, getting hired at Koei Tecmo, returning to Sega Japan as an arcade producer, and eventually starting an app company the exact week Steve Jobs announced the iPhone - which he later sold. Then he looked around and asked: what can AI do for gaming that has never been done before? That question became Spindle. They cover why Japan's arcades went from cutting-edge gaming machines to crane games and why it makes total business sense, what actually goes into making a AAA title (a lot of spreadsheets and not much that's glamorous), how Spindle generates a full interactive world from a one-line idea, and why Marc thinks most AI gaming is slop and what it takes to do it differently. Marc also walks through his path through the Antler cohort in Japan, funding from Shizen Capital, and the Supercell AI Innovation Lab - which included a trip to Lapland and a reindeer sled. His theory on Japan: let Silicon Valley build the cassette player. Japan builds the Walkman. Connect with Marc Cellucci on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-cellucci/ Check out Tempesta / Spindle: [Website URL] Marc's Blog: https://www.cellucci.world/ #produckpodcast #aigaming #startupjapan #gamedev #entrepreneurship #leejean #tempesta #spindle #gaming #japanstartup #founders #aitools #ugc #gamecreator

Confidence Isn't Born. It's Built From Being Broken - Ayaka (Aya) Murai

When Aya was a teenager, she was bullied for being too tall and not fitting Japanese beauty standards. Instead of collapsing, she drew up a vision of her "ideal self" and reverse-engineered every step to become her. What followed was one of the most relentless reinventions you'll hear this year.In this episode of the Produck Podcast, Lee Jean sits down with Ayaka (Aya) Murai, co-founder and country manager of Idea Boxes Japan, to unpack a journey that includes self-taught English, a beauty pageant stage, a startup betrayal that left her unable to eat for three days, and a worship song on Instagram that changed everything. Aya is still early in her story, but what she has already lived through is worth every minute of your time.What we get into:- How Aya created a detailed "ideal self" vision as a teenager and built a plan to become her- The hostel trick she used to teach herself English with zero scores and zero safety net- Becoming a beauty pageant finalist as someone who was told she never fit the Japanese beauty mold- The startup betrayal that left her broke, alone in Japan, and stuck in bed for three days barely eating- How a worship song on Instagram found her at her lowest and led her to Christianity- Why she attended 100 to 150 startup events in a single year to rebuild her entire world from scratch- Why confidence is something you earn through hardship, not something you are born withAyaka (Aya) Murai is the co-founder and country manager of Idea Boxes Japan. Idea Boxes is a startup studio headquartered in New York, with offices in Armenia and London, that helps founders build companies from 0 to 1 with no upfront cost, providing tech in exchange for future revenue share or equity. Aya is also developing a 3-week workshop program to help aspiring entrepreneurs in Japan turn passion into practical action.Connect with Aya Murai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayakagrace/Check out Ideaboxes: ideaboxes.app#produckpodcast #entrepreneurship #startupjapan #womenfounders #selfimprovement #mindset #confidence #founderstory #japanstartup #leejean #ideaboxes #faith #selfbelief #buildyourself

Can AI Ever Replace Human Drivers? Max Frenzel, CTPO of Track Titan Answers

After one session using Track Titan's AI coaching tool, drivers improve their lap time by more than half a second on average. That's 150,000 laps analyzed every single day, more than one million kilometers of racing telemetry, all feeding an AI system built to turn anyone from a Gran Turismo casual into a competitive sim racer.In this episode of the Produck Podcast, Lee sits down with Max Frenzel, CTPO of Track Titan, a physicist-turned-AI-researcher who spent 12 years going from a Tokyo postdoc fellowship to leading AI at Mercari before finding his dream intersection of technology and motorsport. Max breaks down exactly how Track Titan works, where the sport is heading, and why the rest of the world is sleeping on what sim racing can actually do for your driving career.What we cover:- How Track Titan captures 250 telemetry channels per session (brake pressure, tire temps, throttle, steering angle) and translates them into actionable coaching that beginners and pros can both use- Why most beginner drivers brake too late and how that one fix alone saves enormous lap time, explained through Track Titan's trail braking data- The sim-to-real pipeline: why jumping from iRacing to a real racetrack is actually easier than the other way around, and how Max's team includes a GT Academy winner who raced at Le Mans- Why AI will never replace human race drivers (and what the Sony Gran Turismo AI, Sophy, is actually teaching us about the ceiling of human performance)- Max's best-selling book "Time Off" and why your rest ethic is just as important as your work ethic, especially in Japan's work culture- The Future of Speed event: Japan's first motorsport tech event, and why the AI and software side of professional racing teams is surprisingly underfundedMax Frenzel is the CTPO of Track Titan, the leading AI coaching platform for sim and real-world racing drivers. He holds a PhD in physics from Imperial College London and a postdoc from Tokyo University, and has spent over a decade working across AI research, engineering, and product at startups and companies including Toyota and Mercari. He is also the co-author of "Time Off," a best-selling book on the science and philosophy of rest that hit number one on Amazon in multiple categories and has been translated into five languages.Connect with Max Frenzel on LinkedIn: [LinkedIn URL]Check out Track Titan at tracktitan.io and pick up "Time Off" wherever books are sold.Support the Show: If you enjoy the Produck Podcast and want to help keep it going, becoming a Patreon supporter is the best way to do it. Starting at just $5/month, your support directly shapes the future of the show. We'd love to have you in the community: https://www.patreon.com/c/ProduckPodcast 🙏#produckpodcast #tracktitan #simracing #aicoaching #motorsport #iracing #granturismo #timeoff #restethic #formulaone #racingtech #futureofsport #tokyostartup #maxfrenzel

87% of AI Agents Have Already Been Hacked. Is Yours One of Them? - Achraf Jday

87% of AI agents deployed worldwide have already been attacked. 80% of companies say their agents are doing things out of control. And the average cost of a data breach? Nearly $6 million. The problem is here, it's growing fast, and most people have no idea.In this episode of the Produck Podcast, Lee sits down with Achraf "Ash" Jday, co-founder of Antitech, a startup building AI agents that hack other AI agents in order to secure them. Ash is a Tunisian-born engineer who coded his first mods at 10, started his first startup at 15, and went on to work with Microsoft, NASA, Credit Suisse, Mitsubishi, and more before founding the world's most needed startup in the AI security space. Currently in Antler JP6, Ash breaks down exactly why your AI stack is more vulnerable than you think and what it will take to fix it.What we cover:- How Antitech's "Fight Club" system works: red agent attacks blue agent, both learn, and new defenses deploy instantly to all clients- Why AI jailbreaking is really a form of social engineering, and why guardrails alone are never enough- The real-world attack vectors you need to know: prompt injections, MCP hijacking, API exploitation, and indirect injections hidden in website comments- How Antitech hacked Sakana AI in a single prompt and turned it into a sales strategy- Why Physical AI (robots, drones, humanoids) is the biggest AI security risk nobody is talking about yet- What everyday business people need to watch out for when deploying AI tools in their workflowsAsh Jday is the co-founder and CEO of Antitech, a Tokyo-based AI security startup currently in Antler JP6. He holds a master's degree in AI and robotics from Sorbonne University, was recognized as the top cybersecurity talent in Paris by the mayor of France, and has worked on projects ranging from satellite collision prediction at NASA to AI governance at Swiss scale-ups. He started his first company at 15 years old with the same co-founder he's building Antitech with today.Connect with Ash Jday on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/achrafjday/Learn more about Antitech and follow their journey as they head toward their IC in June.Support the Show: If you enjoy the Produck Podcast and want to help keep it going, becoming a Patreon supporter is the best way to do it. Starting at just $5/month, your support directly shapes the future of the show. We'd love to have you in the community: https://www.patreon.com/c/ProduckPodcast 🙏#produckpodcast #antitech #aisecurity #cybersecurity #agentic #llmsecurity #jailbreak #tokyostartup #antler #physicalai #promptinjection #startupfounder #aistartup #futureofai