Finally broke into the El Segundo network.
I was planning to head to Texas, but I’ll probably start my next venture here in El Segundo—it’s on another level.
Just saw firsthand how different the U.S. and Japan’s DefenseTech structures are. We’ve been playing the game all wrong from the start.
I’ve noticed a stark difference between the U.S. defense tech scene and Japan’s landscape. In the U.S. (El Segundo), many defense tech founders don’t start out as industry or military experts. Instead, they become experts through deep obsession and by moving fast enough to outpace competitors.
A well-known VC partner told me that speed is the critical factor. In his view, the teams in El Segundo will outcompete you simply by pivoting to address your problem, rapidly prototyping to secure funding, scaling, then repeating the cycle over and over. His advice was clear: build a product immediately—assemble a design and engineering team, and start executing.
El Segundo, for example, is full of warehouses where startups can prototype quickly. Many engineers there are ex-SpaceX, carrying forward Elon Musk’s culture of speed and relentless execution. They’re monsters. But to compete, we’ll need to become monsters too.
Decided to head to the US on July 21 (Mon).
Realized we're stuck in Japan's cozy startup culture, where raising just 1/10 of what's truly needed earns easy praise. The second we settle for this lukewarm applause, our vision dies forever.
We don't need compliments or claps—just brutal deadlines and merciless metrics.
Your unusual interests aren't distractions. They're your edge.
Build what you desperately want that hasn't been built yet, and that's the stuff that other people will want too.
Steve Jobs never thought of work and play as separate— and that made all the difference.
The future is here.
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