海外のAI企業を、日本市場へ。
Tokyo and New York
We’re two operators who, in Tokyo, built how job seekers and employers connect on Indeed, the world’s largest job marketplace. Now we help AI companies find Japanese customers, partners and hires.
Built atMacromediaAdobeMozillaIndeedRed VenturesMakeMyTripDirecti
Most AI companies that try Japan stall between the first meeting and the first contract.
We spent years building products in Tokyo for Japanese companies and the people who work in them, and we know where the stalls happen.
Who we are. Jet Villegas and Aditya Pandya. In Tokyo, Jet ran engineering and Aditya ran product for Indeed Apply, how job seekers and employers connect on Indeed. Jet went on to lead Search Advertising, and Aditya to lead product at Red Ventures.
What we do. We help AI companies decide whether Japan is right for them now. Then we find the first customers, partners and hires, adapt the product and the pitch, and get through procurement.
Where we are. Tokyo and New York. Jet is on the ground in Tokyo for meetings, partners and hiring. Aditya works from New York, in your hours if you’re in the Americas.
How to start. A 30-minute intro call. Tell us what you’re building and why Japan, and we’ll tell you honestly whether now is the time.
Indeed Apply is how job seekers express interest in a job and how employers hear from them, at the heart of Indeed’s mission to help people get jobs. We built it together in Tokyo, Aditya on product and Jet on engineering. JungleCode is that partnership, pointed at your company.
Jet Villegas has shipped software since 1998. He spent 13 years on Flash at Macromedia and Adobe, then 7 at Mozilla leading Firefox layout and rendering, with teams across Asia. In 2018 he moved to Tokyo to run engineering for Indeed Apply, and later led engineering for Indeed’s Search Advertising until 2026. He holds three US patents.
Aditya Pandya builds consumer and marketplace products. He ran product for Indeed Apply from Tokyo, then led product teams from San Francisco, and was most recently SVP of Product at Red Ventures. Earlier he built travel products at MakeMyTrip and messaging and web products at Directi. Since 2023 he has advised AI-native startups and investors.
Japanese companies are slow to sign and slow to leave. A customer won properly tends to renew for years, and becomes the reference the next buyer asks for.
Sources: Recruit Works Institute, Future Predictions 2040, Teikoku Databank, May 2026, Cabinet Office, AI Promotion Act
These are the places where we see good companies lose a year, and what we do about each.
ringi 稟議
At large Japanese companies a purchase usually moves as a ringi, a written proposal that each manager involved approves in turn. Your champion has to write it, and it must answer questions you’ll never hear asked. We give that champion the Japanese-language case, references and risk answers the ringi needs.
nemawashi 根回し
By the time a decision meeting happens, the outcome has usually been settled in quiet one-to-one conversations. We map who needs to hear what, in which order and from whom.
PoC-domari PoC止まり
Japanese companies run many proofs of concept and convert few of them. We design pilots with written success criteria, a named budget owner and a path to production agreed before the work starts.
shinrai 信頼
Buyers want to know you’ll still be here in five years. A local entity, support in Japanese hours, Japanese documentation and a named person in Tokyo all count. We help you decide which you need now and which can wait.
APPI 個人情報保護法
Japan’s Act on the Protection of Personal Information sets the rules for using personal data and for sending it to a third party abroad, and procurement teams check. We prepare clear answers with you and bring in specialist counsel when you need it.
Every engagement moves through the same four stages. Each one ends with something your team can use, so stopping at any point still leaves you better off.
Where are you on the route?
Two to four weeks
We test whether Japan fits your product now, with real conversations rather than desk research.
You leave with A go or not-yet decision and an entry brief
Four to six weeks
We choose the segment, the positioning, the price and the partners, and name the first accounts to pursue.
You leave with An entry plan your team can staff
Three to six months
Introductions, first meetings, pilots built to convert, a localized product and pitch, and your first local hire.
You leave with A live pipeline and pilots with conversion terms
Ongoing
A local entity and team, channel partners, enterprise procurement and renewals.
You leave with A Japan business that runs without us
Four weeks
For companies deciding whether to enter Japan.
Week one Listen
Week two Ask
Week three Test
Week four Decide
A typical sprint. We shape the details around your product on the intro call.
Six months
For companies ready to land their first customers.
Monthly
For companies already selling in Japan.
Recent work includes Japan market-entry advice for a North American AI visual-inspection company.
Nearly three in ten people in Japan are 65 or older, and the health system is short of hands. We help healthcare AI companies reach the hospitals, partners and approvals that adoption depends on.
We’ll tell you honestly whether it’s time.
Jet VillegasTokyo, local time
Aditya PandyaNew York, local timePrefer email or a call?
We reply within one business day, from Tokyo or New York.