Date of publication: May 20, 2019

Jane Uzunovski

Head of EmbedSocial Japan
EmbedSocial
http://www.embedsocial.jp

Date of birth: May 15, 1986

Hometown: Debar, Macedonia

Number of years in Japan (cumulative): 3 (as of May 2019)

Q1: What was your first encounter with Japan?
My first encounter with Japan was back in 1994 when I was a kid. A local karate club was formed and I joined the first batch of students. Wearing the kimono and counting in Japanese until 10 was amazing. In 2015, I won a Monbusho scholarship for doing research in venture capital at Kobe University. Very happy to have the ability to live and work in Japan.
Q2: Please state your motto in life and why you have chosen it.
Be able to be happy by default. If you can stay humble, appreciate everything that happens in your life, understand life as a journey, and most importantly, enjoy the moments — focus on the present and always carry a smile with you. Happiness is a state of mind where you are at peace with yourself and everything around you.
Q3 : Over your career, what achievement are you the proudest of?
There is no single achievement that I can point to as there are many that are dear to me. If I can summarize, living, learning languages and cultures, as well as working in different countries such as the U.S., Germany, France, Macedonia and Japan is my greatest achievement. The stories I have heard, experiences and friendships; all are indescribable and highly valuable. You see the world in different way.
Q4 : What are your goals during your time in Japan, your current position or in life?
As a head of the Japan team at EmbedSocial, my goal is to have happy employees and happy customers. Japanese brands lag in terms of fully leveraging digital marketing strategies compared to European or U.S. brands. On that note, we help these brands turn their customers into brand ambassadors. We connect their websites with user-generated content such as reviews, pictures with hashtags or stories from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google.
Q5 : What wisdom, advice or tips can you give to people living and working in Japan?
I would like to address my advice toward people starting businesses in Japan or thinking about doing it. Compared to Europe or the U.S., it takes more time and more understanding of the culture for the business to succeed. Therefore, it is critical to be shadowed or to have a Japanese business partner that can serve as a bridge and embed the specific Japanese business nuances in your organizational culture. The recipe for success requires setting up reasonable expectations, having a strong localization in your go-to market strategy, being polite and investing in customer support and customer success.
Last updated: May 20, 2019