Growing Luminar's revenue in Japan 37× in three years

I landed in Japan in July 2018, in the middle of a hot, humid summer. I had just relocated from Taiwan to help Skylum grow Luminar across Asia-Pacific. Japan was our 36th market by revenue, and the team had never adapted the product for any region.

The CEO and I took a hard look at world markets and picked our bets. Japan, South Korea and China came first, with Hong Kong and Taiwan in support. Japan was mine, end to end. I kept the plan simple. One objective: grow Luminar's revenue in Japan. One key result to judge it by: Japan's revenue and its rank among all countries. Every lever I pulled had to move that number.

Much of the work was about people. I built relationships with key Instagram, YouTube and blog creators, led workshops and photowalks, and built learning resources in Japanese. We signed a major reseller and renewed and expanded our deal with a second. Inside the team, I pushed for Japanese-centric design and purchase flows, a regional focus the company never had. I also ran the day-to-day: pricing, promotions, customer support, activations and referrals.

The biggest bets were two major photography exhibitions in Yokohama. Exhibitions are normally run by either the brand or the reseller, and our reseller didn't have our scale or marketing muscle. So I proposed combining the best of both. We designed the stand, all the marketing materials and every demo. The reseller brought local staff to run the demos and talk with customers in Japanese. In return, they got extra attribution on sales. It's rarely done this way. I proposed it and ran it.

Beyond Japan, I advised the CEO on expansion into China, South Korea and other regions, always with an eye on results for shareholders.

In early 2020 I moved back to Canada and kept leading the team remotely, across the Pacific. By 2021, Japan's revenue had grown 37×. It ranked 3rd, right behind the US and Germany, and had become a critical market for the company.

Along the way I was promoted to Chief Growth Officer, leading growth worldwide. In 2021 I left to start Sloika.