The Story of Lifestack: How This Univ. of Tokyo Grad is Building His Company in the US - Nao Yukawa

In this episode of the Produck Podcast, I sit down with Nao Yukawa, a University of Tokyo graduate who took an unconventional path from Japan to the U.S. and is now building a fast-growing startup at the intersection of health, wearables, and productivity.Nao shares his journey from studying AI and neuroscience in Tokyo to launching a company in the U.S. during COVID, starting with a bold (and ultimately failed) crypto meditation app — and how that failure led to the creation of Lifestack, a calendar that syncs your wearable data to optimize how and when you work.We dive deep into:- What it’s really like being a Japanese founder building in the U.S.- Why his first startup failed and what it taught him- How Lifestack uses wearable data to create context-aware productivity- Why many of Lifestack’s most active users are neurodivergent and ADHD- Differences between the San Francisco and New York startup scenes- Raising money from Japanese investors vs U.S. investors- Advice for Japanese founders who want to go global- The long-term vision to build a “Notion for health-conscious professionals”This episode is packed with honest insights about startups, pivots, fundraising, and building globally as a non-U.S. founder.🔗 Connect with Nao:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naoyukawa/🚀 Check out Lifestack:Website: https://lifestack.ai/If you’re a founder, builder, or someone curious about startups, wearables, or going global from Japan, this one’s for you.#ProduckPodcast #StartupPodcast #FounderStories #ProductJourney #JapaneseFounder #BuildingInTheUS #StartupLessons #FounderLife #StartupPivot #ProductBuilding #GlobalFounders #HealthAndProductivity #WearableData #EarlyStageStartups #FounderMindset