"Startups" Articles (56)

When a VC Goes Forward-Deployed: What It Means and How Founders Should Vet It

In October 2026, US venture capital firm Theory Ventures described its "Forward Deployment" approach, in which it embeds people in portfolio companies to help build sales and hiring. This article separates what has been published from what rests on the firm's own account, and sets out what it means for a VC to move from advice to execution, and five points a founder should check beforehand.

2026-10-21Ryuta Hamamoto

Tech Trends

I read all 236 companies in YC Summer 2026: AI agents became the customer, and two-person teams are building factories

I went through all 236 companies in Y Combinator's Summer 2026 batch using the public directory data. Median team size is two people, industrials make up 23%, and a cluster of companies sells to AI agents rather than to humans. Here is what is happening and what it suggests for anyone building something, with links to every company.

2026-08-26Ryuta Hamamoto

AI Consulting

Japan's bid to double KAKENHI for FY2027: what would grow, and was it really KAKENHI that got cut?

Japan's education ministry has formally requested 455.2 billion yen for KAKENHI in FY2027, against a current budget of 247.9 billion, with 204.2 billion of it in the uncapped "Strong and Prosperous Japan" investment framework. Here is what the official documents say would grow, how the Finance Ministry says it will review the request, what its October 22 council document raised, the timeline to December, and whether the belief that KAKENHI was slashed holds up against the published data.

2026-08-23Ryuta Hamamoto

AI Consulting

Secondary transactions in private company shares: what changed in Japan, and what it means for founders

Smartround Securities has completed registration as a Type I financial instruments business, clearing the way to handle secondary transactions in private company shares. Here is what a secondary transaction actually is, why the market never developed in Japan, what the 2024 amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act changed, and what founders should decide before the first request lands on their desk.

2026-08-23Ryuta Hamamoto

AI Consulting

A 50% R&D tax credit arrives in Japan: what the amended Industrial Technology Enhancement Act changes, and what gets missed

Japan's amended Industrial Technology Enhancement Act (Act No. 41 of 2026) adds a 40% R&D tax credit, rising to 50% for joint research with certified institutions. But the credit is capped at 10% of corporate tax, eligibility requires confirmation that commercialization is expected early, and the law's effective date is still awaiting a cabinet order. Here is what the statute and the tax outline actually say.

2026-08-23Ryuta Hamamoto

AI Consulting

Who Drives Discontinuous Growth? Four Turning Points for Japanese Companies to Take Risk at the Next Level [SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026]

Who Drives Discontinuous Growth? Four Turning Points for Japanese Companies to Take Risk at the Next Level [SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026].

2026-04-29Ryuta Hamamoto

AI Consulting

Inside Japan's Symbiotic Society Policy (April 2026 Update): What Tighter Business Visas, JESTA, and Land-Acquisition Rules Mean for Founders

Inside Japan's Symbiotic Society Policy (April 2026 Update): What Tighter Business Visas, JESTA, and Land-Acquisition Rules Mean for Founders.

2026-04-29Ryuta Hamamoto

AI Consulting

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 Summary Report: 60,000 People, 770 Startups, 55 Cities

Ryuta Hamamoto, CEO of TIMEWELL, delivers an on-the-ground summary of SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, held at Tokyo Big Sight from April 27 to 29, 2026.

2026-04-29Ryuta Hamamoto

WARP

The New Rules of AI Entrepreneurship — The One-Hour Company Era and How to Win in It

Six new rules of entrepreneurship proposed by Greg Isenberg — "One-Hour Companies," "Founder-Agent Fit," and more — explained with real examples from WARP alumni.

2026-02-24Ryuta Hamamoto

Tech Trends

Will AI Kill Venture Capital? When OpenClaw Becomes Autonomous — The New Frontier for Founders and Investors

With the rise of autonomous AI agents like OpenClaw, how is the relationship between startups and venture capital changing?

2026-02-18Ryuta Hamamoto

Tech Trends

The End of the Hustler-Hacker-Hipster Era — In 2026, Maybe All a Startup Needs Is a 'Sellable Engineer'

A Framework That Made Sense When It Was Invented. The hustler-hacker-hipster model became standard startup advice for a reason.

2026-02-17Ryuta Hamamoto

WARP

The New Formula for Winning in the AI Era — "20x Company" and TIMEWELL's Full Automation Commitment

A deep dive into the "20x Company" concept introduced by Y Combinator's Garry Tan, with real-world examples from Giga, Legion Health, and Fazeshift.

2026-02-14Ryuta Hamamoto