An Internship at a Foreign Fintech Startup in Japan

by Michelle Choi Kim

A peek into my summer internship experience at a fintech startup in Japan:

I joined TOGGLE GK as an intern this summer break. Amongst my academi cohort, it is a rare event to join a startup as an intern. For this reason I found it all the more special to work at TOGGLE , as my experience differed from those of my friends. Here, I will introduce you to what it was like to work at a foreign fintech startup in Japan.

Background:

Before I dive into my experience, I will give you some background on TOGGLE. Based in New York City, TOGGLE also has an office in London. A year ago, TOGGLE just landed in Japan and opened TOGGLE GK with the intent of targeting Asian markets including Japan, Korea and China. Whilst TOGGLE GK is a relatively small operation with a team of two members , the company has already built a vast network, whilst growing fast and launching exciting new initiatives.

TOGGLE is an AI company. Using AI, the TOGGLE engine looks through millions of data points across all financial markets, identifies patterns and transforms them into easily understandable insight articles. The company’s goal is to help retail investors make informed investment decisions.

The Working Environment:

TOGGLE GK is located in a shared workspace for Fintech companies called “FINOLAB” at Otemachi Building. Each fintech company has its own office space here, but most favor working in the shared workspaces. At FINOLAB, anyone can work at any place in any style they want in the common areas: standing up in the standing area, sitting in the quiet concentration room, laying down on the colorful bean bags, and so on. The working space feels like a bright cafe, and this increases work efficiency - because staying and working in one spot the whole day does not help you do your best, especially for tasks that require some creativity. There are even terrace-like outdoor working spaces on the rooftop of the Otemachi Building, where workers can enjoy the fresh air while working or eating too. Moreover, there are beer events every Thursday, where people who work at FINOLAB mingle together and become acquainted with new people from other fintech companies while having drinks and nibbles provided by the space. I feel like this place is just the right space for a fintech startup to begin as the atmosphere is liberal and feels young.

A Foreign Company in Japan:

TOGGLE is a foreign fintech company in Japan, and its corporate culture differs somewhat from what you expect from a typical Japanese company. Interns are respected and treated equally to other regular members. In my time here I felt that TOGGLE fully supports interns as they grow and learn. From the first day of my internship, I was directly told by the head of TOGGLE Asia that TOGGLE wants my internship experience to be valuable and helpful for me. During my previous internship experiences, companies never offered to support my growth trajectory, and I was quite surprised to discover that TOGGLE made this a key point of my experience here. Other team members in the NY and London offices offered further support - like at my first marketing zoom meeting with the head of content and growth. This gave me the motivation and confidence to speak up and express my personal opinions and curiosities to my colleagues. Another aspect I felt was different is that even the smallest opinions of interns are regarded as essential and valuable to the company. Intern involvement and engagement are high compared to other companies - at least from what I hear from my friends who have had limited impact in similar roles elsewhere. Starting from my second day, I participated in live surveys on TOGGLE’s Japan App. I freely provided my opinion - both as an intern and as an investment beginner, unfamiliar with investment-related concepts. Because TOGGLE’s target audience is retail investors with varying degrees of experience, interns’ provide differing, new perspectives to the company and give potentially good inspiration.

What the Interns Produce and Contribute Are What Appears Officially:

In Asia, TOGGLE is a foreign startup company, so what the interns are responsible for producing content that reaches the end users. Interns are responsible for the localization of English contents to Japanese and Korean. As mentioned above, TOGGLE has just started expanding to Asian countries, so localization was a prime requirement when I joined. The reason TOGGLE established a new office in Japan is to expand into Asian countries by providing content in local languages. For most Asian retail investors, English is not their mother tongue. Thus, it can be challenging to access TOGGLE content in its original English format. Localization is not just a simple translation of work, but a process that requires high consideration of various factors, like culture, tone, customs, trends, etc. You can access examples of our work on the Korean and Japanese websites right now!

What I Learned:

In my time at TOGGLE I had a very steep learning curve, and I felt I gained a considerable amount of experience - for example during the localization process of the “Investment 101” content. The project gave me the chance to expand my knowledge of investment, TOGGLE services. Because “Investment 101” posts target investment beginners, they are written in a casual, friendly tone - for better understanding. I also encountered new types of companies and investments through B2B meetings and content production. Whether online or offline, interns attended B2B meetings - broadening their experience. Here, I became aware of new types of investment companies I did not know, such as point investment, information service companies that utilize alternative data to produce results, etc. Ultimately I felt like I have moved one step further to becoming a knowledgeable person. Finally one of my favorite experiences was our team lunches. On most working days, we had team lunches where we would try various foods inside and around the Otemachi building. These team lunches contributed to team-building , and provided the opportunity to freely ask, converse, debate, and answer questions on basically anything, whether work-related or not. My TOGGLE teammates were very open, and I felt comfortable in this working environment. During lunch, I got to know about the previous experiences of my superiors at Japanese banks, investment companies, and even totally different industries such as construction companies. Listening to their experiences and discussing work-related topics, I felt every day in the office was a learning experience.

What You Should Have in Mind:

• Be Ready For Anything To Come and Enjoy! There are appointed meetings with other companies a few days or weeks beforehand, but there are also meetings scheduled instantly, so it is important to be ready for sudden changes or events. We also have lightning talks, where we give short improvised speeches to train ourselves on storytelling and encourage people to discuss topics you choose. Also, these meetings are where you learn about random facts and practice speaking on point. You have team meetings every week (whether official or not) where everyone checks what you are working on, the progress of work, what you will work on in the future, and so on. Official but casual meetings are carried on in reserved meeting rooms, while unofficial meetings are carried out immediately on the spot: standing around the standing area, sitting in the sofa area, etc., so be prepared!

• Work Productivity is Key At TOGGLE, work productivity is crucial. I was constantly told to take appropriate measures that would increase my productivity: taking a rest, moving around the space, or even heading home a little earlier. That is how much TOGGLE highlights work productivity. The work you execute is valued, but to produce such, you should find a way to accomplish it. I found moving around the shared zone to help refresh my mind and reset my brain.

• Communication, communication and communication Having clear communication is crucial for work. During meetings, update everyone on the working progress and ask any questions you are stuck on because there are always answers or conversations ready to solve them. Also, always check slack and line to see if there are any specific alerts from other international teams.

To Finish Up:

Here, I feel like everyone respects and cares about you. Everyone is willing to provide more resources or share more knowledge with you for your personal growth and development, which would contribute to the team in some way. The working atmosphere is free, and the team works based on trust and belief among each other, which makes this TOGGLE team have a healthy corporate mindset.