Some industries need to be dragged kicking and screaming to innovation.
When margins are tight and profits are small, CEOs often don't want to spend a dime on the promise of increased efficiencies or long-term savings, and so external leverage is needed.
Today we talk with Shinya Shimizu, founder and CEO of Elephantech, who explains how he found that leverage in his mission to make the global technology supply chain more environmentally friendly.
We explore how Elephantech and other startups are helping the world meet net-zero targets, strategies for scaling manufacturing startups, and how you can make money while doing good in the world.
It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Show Notes
The surprising impact of circuit boards on global CO2 emissionsGrowing from a kickstarter camping into a multi-million dollar startupHow to raise debt financing rather than equity financingHow Elephantech is selling eco-friendly solutions in a low-margin commodity industryHow they built their first factory, and Shinya never wants to build another oneHow to scale a manufacturing startupAdvice on successfully selling to and collaborating with Japanese enterpriseHow to take a deep tech startup global without massive amounts of capitalAdvice for sustainability startups on how to survive and thrive in cost-conscious industriesWhen government regulation is good for startups and when it's damagingThe danger of the wrong kinds of founder role models in Japan.
Links from the Founder
Everything you ever wanted to know about ElephantechFollow Shinya on Twitter @shinyashimizu_eConnect with Shinya on LinkedIn
TranscriptWelcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight Talk from Japan's most successful entrepreneurs.I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.Circuit boards are one of those things that are everywhere, but that we really don't think about very much. Personally my only direct experience with circuit boards was years ago and involved a fair amount of cursing and a lot of solder burns.But printed circuit boards or PCBs, or a $90 billion global industry that is highly standardized, tightly controlled, and surprisingly damaging to the environment.Well, Shinya Shimizu and the team at Elephantech are changing that, they've not only developed the technology to re-engineer PCB manufacturer to be more environmentally friendly and less expensive, but they've also built their first factory and are now selling to some of the world's largest manufacturers.Elephantech is a great example of how startups can succeed while making a positive contribution in this world. And Shinya also gives some great practical advice about how to sell to large enterprises as a new startup. How to raise money for capital intensive growth, and how to introduce new innovation into a low margin cutthroat industry. It's really quite an amazing story of their journey from a small Kickstarter project 10 years ago to make a pen that lets you draw working electrical circuits to selling PCB technology to some of the world's largest manufacturers today, to just maybe fundamentally changing the way circuit boards get made tomorrow.But, you know, Shinya tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview.
InterviewTim: So, we're sitting here with Shinya Shimizu, the CEO and founder of Elephantech. The first company in the world to mass produce printed circuit boards using an inkjet printing, echo friendly, sustainable manufacturing process.Shinya: Yeah. Sure.Tim: That's longer to say than I thought. But thanks for sitting down with us.Shinya: You're welcome. So, I'm really happy to be here.Tim: Well, I try to explain what you do in that big mouthful of an introduction, but I think you can probably explain it better than me. So, what does Elephantech do?Shinya: So, Elephantech is going to completely change the way of manufacturing electronic circ...
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