Some of the most successful foreign business leaders in Japan train and advise participants to develop and present the plans to four senior JMEC judges.
“We use Silicon Valley development and techniques, but a Japanese level of QA/QC, or quality controls,” explains CEO and co-founder of SignTime K.K., Jim Weisser. Born in West Virginia and raised in Texas, Weisser came to Japan in 1993 with a plan that many other international Tokyoites can relate to: to take a few years out of their career path to teach English and experience life abroad. As the internet exploded in 1995, that short-term plan quickly evolved into what would lead him on an almost-30 year journey in entrepreneurial roles around digital transformation in Japan. 2020 marked the year Weisser launched his fourth Japan-based company, SignTime, which focuses on electronic contracts, e-hankoes and digital transformation in a global environment, alongside co-founder Jonathan Siegel.