Ep. 23: Danish Service Design Applied in Japanese Preventive Healthcare with Esben Grøndal
Featuring guest
Esben Grøndal
We explore the fascinating intersection of Danish design methodology and Japanese healthcare markets with Esben Grøndal, co-founder of Public Intelligence's Japanese subsidiary. Throughout our conversation, we dive deep into the business opportunities within Japan's relatively untapped welfare and preventive healthcare sector. We examine how cultural assets like omotenashi and teinei can actually accelerate rather than complicate the design process. Our discussion covers the practical challenges of conducting user research in Japan's fragmented healthcare system, the misconceptions around Japan's relationship with technology, and the potential for design arbitrage. We also explore effective Denmark-Japan collaboration models and how to meaningfully involve citizens in service design processes, providing valuable insights for anyone interested in cross-cultural business development and human-centered design.
Themes of Inquiry
- Cross-cultural service design
- Japanese healthcare market
- Denmark-Japan business collaboration
- User research methodology
- Cultural assets in design
We explore the fascinating intersection of Danish design methodology and Japanese healthcare markets with Esben Grøndal, co-founder of Public Intelligence's Japanese subsidiary.
Episode Summary
We explore the fascinating intersection of Danish design methodology and Japanese healthcare markets with Esben Grøndal, co-founder of Public Intelligence's Japanese subsidiary. Throughout our conversation, we dive deep into the business opportunities within Japan's relatively untapped welfare and preventive healthcare sector. We examine how cultural assets like omotenashi and teinei can actually accelerate rather than complicate the design process. Our discussion covers the practical challenges of conducting user research in Japan's fragmented healthcare system, the misconceptions around Japan's relationship with technology, and the potential for design arbitrage. We also explore effective Denmark-Japan collaboration models and how to meaningfully involve citizens in service design processes, providing valuable insights for anyone interested in cross-cultural business development and human-centered design.
The Guest Biography
Esben Grøndal
Esben Grøndal is the co-founder of the Japanese subsidiary of Public Intelligence, a Danish healthcare and welfare agency. Based in Japan, he oversees all aspects of the business from sales generation to delivering service design and innovation consultancy that bridges Denmark and Japan. As a human-centered design professional, Esben specializes in navigating the complexities of Japan's welfare and preventive healthcare markets while leveraging cultural assets to enhance design processes. His work focuses on identifying opportunities within Japan's fragmented healthcare system and facilitating effective cross-cultural collaboration between Danish design methodologies and Japanese business practices.
Continue the Dialogue
Ep. 24: The Tireless Task of Building Niche Markets with Tracey Northcott
We spoke with Tracey Northcott, an Australian serial entrepreneur who has built multiple successful businesses in Japan by identifying and serving highly niche markets. We explored her journey from supporting her brother's software business in the 90s, which focused on multilingual mobile solutions, to creating a seven-figure short-term rental empire that grew from 1 to 24 properties over five years. We discussed how she navigated the devastating impact of 2020 when the pandemic derailed her booming rental business just as Japan prepared for the Olympics. We learned about her resilient pivot to digital marketing consultancy and her strategies for building multicultural teams, maintaining motivation during tough times, and designing a lifestyle-focused business approach. Throughout our conversation, we discovered valuable insights about entrepreneurship, market adaptation, and creating success on your own terms while living abroad.
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