How Bespoke faked AI until it actually worked (w/ Akemi Tsunagawa) | E2320
Summary
This episode centers on how Bespoke built a real business by starting with a human-powered version of its AI travel concierge before the chatbot was technically ready. Akemi Tsunagawa explains that this “fake it till you make it” approach helped them validate demand, improve the product, and win major customers like Narita Airport. The conversation expands into Japan’s tourism boom, the weakening yen, and the country’s severe labor shortage and population decline, which Bespoke sees as the core market opportunity behind all three of its businesses. Beyond chatbots, the company is using smart glasses and multilingual workflows to turn expert labor into training content, and developing robots to handle repetitive safety inspections in shipyards and construction sites. The episode also touches on the social and political tradeoffs of importing foreign labor versus automating work.
Key Takeaways
- 1Bespoke’s first product solved a real pain point: helping travelers get multilingual support before, during, and after trips in Japan.
- 2The team initially relied on humans behind the scenes to answer questions until the AI system became good enough.
- 3Japan’s labor shortage is the strategic foundation for all of Bespoke’s businesses.
- 4BeTrained uses smart glasses and video workflows to capture expert know-how and turn it into multilingual training materials.
- 5Bespoke’s robotics effort targets repetitive, dangerous inspections in shipyards and construction sites.
- 6Japan’s labor policy debate shows the tension between economic necessity and social cohesion.
Notable Quotes
""We've faked it. Yes. Multiple occasions. Yes.""
""After 2017 when Narita Airport signed us. It's one of the largest airports.""
""Every year we lose population like almost like 1 million.""
""We send out smart glasses. And then have the wallpaper specialist ... record how they do things.""
Episode questions
Why did Bespoke initially rely on humans instead of pure AI?
Because AI was not mature enough in 2015 to reliably answer travel-related questions. Human support let the team validate demand, refine responses, and keep customer trust while the technology caught up.
What economic trend made Japan a stronger tourism market for Bespoke’s first product?
The weakening yen made Japan more affordable while still offering high-quality experiences. Combined with food, culture, shopping, and skiing, that helped drive tourism growth to around 60 million visitors a year.
How does BeTrained help companies onboard foreign workers?
It uses smart glasses to capture expert workers performing tasks, then turns the footage into multilingual training videos. After that, the system generates quizzes so HR can verify comprehension.
Why is robotics the next logical step for Bespoke?
Some tasks in shipyards and construction are repetitive, boring, and dangerous, yet they are not being inspected regularly because there are too few workers. Robots can automate those inspections repeatedly and at low marginal cost.