Most foreign SaaS companies struggle to land even a handful of enterprise clients in Japan.

Shay Khosrowshahi helped scale Yulife to 50+ B2B customers in just 18 months.

In this episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast, we break down how he did it.

Shay is now the Co-Founder of NXL and former Managing Director of Yulife APAC. After a $100M investment, he was sent to Japan to launch and scale the business in one of the most credibility-driven markets in the world.

We explore what partnerships really mean in Japan, how to align incentives with distribution partners, and why most founders underestimate the level of commitment required to succeed here.

Shay shares tactical insights on discovery calls, partner qualification, internal champions, cultural misalignment and how to create momentum that compounds over time.

If you are a SaaS founder, CRO, or GTM leader, this episode offers a practical partnership blueprint grounded in real execution.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• What a partnership actually means in the Japanese market

• Distribution partners vs strategic alliances
• Why hunger and ambition matter more than brand size
• The 70/30 discovery framework for qualifying partners
• How to forecast revenue impact to align incentives
• Managing harmony culture while still driving urgency
• Why early wins create long-term momentum
• When to double down or exit a partnership
• Why getting direct customers first gives you leverage

Guest Appearance:

🔗

🌐 NXL : www.yournextlevel.io

Show Notes :

00:01 Introduction to Shay and his Japan scaling journey

02:09 Defining partnerships in the Japan context

03:11 Types of partnerships that worked

06:39 How to vet partners and why hunger matters

10:47 The 70/30 discovery call framework

17:21 Training partners and building internal champions

29:20 Cultural hurdles and harmony-driven challenges

38:21 Measuring partnership health beyond revenue

45:32 Final advice on commitment in Japan

In this episode, we dive into Shay’s keynote on the "Revenue First" framework and why core business principles matter more than ever amidst the AI noise. We also share key insights from our panel of experts who are currently building AI-native businesses.

From the shifting math of CAC and LTV to the practical deployment of Voice AI, we break down exactly how to move from AI experimentation to tangible ROI.

LinkedIn Profiles:

• Shay Khosrowshahi
• Lewis Stock
• NXL Company Page

00:00 NXL Podcast Intro

00:36 Dubai Trip Reflections

01:56 NXL Dubai Breakfast Event Debrief

02:32 Core Business Principles - Revenue Engines

17:48 Practical Steps to Build an AI-First Business

35:55 The Future of AI in Business

In this episode, we explore the characteristics of high performing SDRs, building an AI outreach system and the future of the role.

Linkedin Profiles:

Shay Khosrowshahi

Lewis Stock

NXL Company Page

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:30 What is an SDR and what makes up the best?

14:16 Applying AI to supercharge Outbound Sales

21:35 The Future of the SDR Role

31:53 The Verdict

In this episode, we explore the characteristics of high performing content marketers, the importance of authenticity in creation and how to build AI systems that actually enhance content effectiveness.

Linkedin Profiles:

Shay Khosrowshahi

Lewis Stock

NXL Company Page

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to AI in Go-to-Market Strategies

0:36 Identifying High Performers in Content Marketing

10:26 The Importance of Authentic Content

13:24 Leveraging AI for Content Creation

16:42 Ensuring Authenticity in AI-Generated Content

25:17 Practical Applications of AI in Content Marketing

29:01 The Verdict

It is hosted by Shay Khosrowshahi & Lewis Stock. Over the past 5 years they have built a $20 million revenue engine for one the top startups in the UK and most recently used the latest in Revenue tech to launch a business in Japan where in 9 months we won 50 B2B clients and $200k of revenue. Most Recently they have founded NXL an AI Revenue business

This episode discusses the practical examples of how they built their AI revenue engine in Japan.

Chapters:

• Why AI, Why Now?
• Practical Uses of AI in GTM
• The Importance of Context in AI

If you are a Marketing, Sales and RevOps leader or executive this podcast is for you.