APPLIED-AI PRODUCT & GROWTH · TOKYO
SDTR is a Tokyo-based applied-AI product and growth consultancy. We start with the what and why before the how. Then we help you ship it, grow it, and make it stick.
We work with seed-to-growth teams that need speed and focus, corporate innovation groups that want startup-style execution, and cross-border launches between Japan and the rest of the world.
SDTR — 育てる (sodateru), to nurture growth.
We start every engagement by sharpening the question — toward the problem, the customer, and the evidence — before any conversation about architecture or features.
Four ways SDTR helps teams turn AI capability into products that ship and grow.
A clear, defensible plan: what to build, in what order, and how you’ll know it’s working.
A go/no-go decision grounded in real signal, not opinion — and saved build time on the ideas that don't hold up.
AI products built for production, with evaluation, guardrails, and operating controls included.
A product that pays off, not just launches — with the growth loops and pricing to sustain it.
Representative engagements. Company names, project names, and identifying details are omitted for confidentiality.
FINTECH · AI PRODUCT & GROWTH
A multi-product FinTech portfolio with weak engagement, unclear positioning, and spend that wasn't converting — several products competing for attention without a clear core user.
~2.5× user growth and doubled revenue; +55% engagement and 40% shorter time-to-market.
APPLIED AI · PRODUCT STRATEGY
A consumer conversational-AI product built on a strong proprietary language model, but with stalled engagement and weak monetization — strong technology, unclear product-market fit.
On the consumer side, ~3× early-week retention and ~50% longer sessions in a matched cohort, within weeks. The B2B line went from proposal to PoC and a limited pilot, reducing mentor queries ~20% and time-to-answer ~65% while maintaining answer accuracy.
CONSUMER / DTC · PRODUCT
An established but conservative premium-goods category, dominated by heritage players, sold almost entirely offline through intermediaries. Little product innovation at accessible price points, and no direct relationship with a younger, digitally-native buyer.
Profitable in year one; 250% ROI by year two. A signature product sold out at launch and drove unpaid coverage in major international media; +50% awareness YoY, +25% sales, and development cycles cut from 18 to ~4.5 months.
Most engagements begin with a defined project. From there, they deepen as far as the work requires.
SDTR takes on a small number of engagements at a time.
The usual starting point is a single scoped project with fixed outcomes and a fixed timeline — typically 2–6 weeks — ending in a clear go/no-go decision.
Start in weeks — without waiting for a full-time senior hire, or committing to a permanent role before the problem is understood.
SDTR is founder-led by Daniel Jimenez — a hands-on product leader, and co-founder and former CPO of an international DTC brand, who has built real products across applied AI, FinTech, and consumer businesses. Published AI researcher and TEDx speaker; co-created and launched smartyPants after it won the Google Japan × DeepLearning.AI AI Voice Agents Hackathon; products featured in The New York Times, WSJ and Bloomberg. About →
Start with a 30-minute conversation — no deck required.
