'venture capital' Category
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The West is waking to Japan tech
September 10, 2021I’d love to claim that I saw this coming, but the reality is that I relocated to Japan five years ago for largely personal reasons. It just turned out that once I dived into the nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem here did I realize that I had uncovered the best kept secret for early stage venture investing. […]
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VC internships are back !
September 1, 2021Now that vaccinations are finally ramping up here in Japan, and people have adapted to operating under this endemic (which was always essentially the case in Japan much more than in western countries), we are enthusiastic to resume our VC internship program. Japan’s border restrictions still remain quite tight, however, so we are unfortunately not […]
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Rude VC Summer reading list 2021
August 1, 2021Even though 2021 is already half over, I’m still processing 2020. Reading helps. So, as per tradition, here are the Rude VC summer reading recommendations. For reading lists from prior years, see 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, as well as the special pandemic edition of 2020). May you all enjoy a […]
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In Japan’s vaccine rollout, the startup ecosystem delivers
June 27, 2021Having regular contact with people on the ground in several countries spanning four continents, i’ve had the opportunity to witness how the COVID-19 pandemic response varies across societies. Some societies comprise governance structures which fall short in crisis management. Others reflect a populace with mixed levels of compliance and solidarity. And yet, heroes emerge in […]
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New investment: Braid
June 19, 2021Earlier this month we enthusiastically closed on our seed investment in Braid Technologies. When we first meet Guido and Ivo in 2020, we were impressed with their technical prowess and open minds. It took us a few months to finally grasp the transformative potential of the technology they were building. Braid is building the next […]
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Investing based on incomplete information
May 20, 2021Early in my VC career, I’ll never forget a piece of criticism that I received from my boss at the time (in that inimitably well-intentioned French manner). He told me that I hesitate too long to make investment decisions because I’m waiting for complete and perfect information. That stung, mainly because it was accurate. Venture […]
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Asset managers double down on ESG
April 25, 2021It appears to be morning in AM for ESG. Asset Managers are waking up to a moment of truth for Environmental, Social, and Governance principles in their investment activities. Obviously, corporations and financial institutions have been talking about ESG for years. It’s hard to find corporate website without language like, “We place fiduciary and ESG […]
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Clubhouse in Japan: catching fire like flash paper (and fizzling out equally quickly)
April 11, 2021We were having an interesting discussion this week about the rise and fall of Clubhouse in Japan. I was fortunate to be enlightened by a couple brilliant individuals who are much more in tune with the phenomenon here. In late January Clubhouse launched in Japan and quickly shot up to first among free apps on the […]
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Announcement of new investment scope
March 17, 2021Today, March 17, 2021, we are proud to announce our new and refreshed investment scope as follows:
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Sugoku rare: NFTs in Japan
March 3, 2021An undercurrent of interest in non-fungible tokens in Japan remains below the waterline but is rapidly gathering force. Part of the reason that we haven’t yet climbed the hype wave here, in my wild guess, is due to the suppression of street art in Japan. Don’t get me wrong. Talented street artists are abundant here […]
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Venture Café on Smart Cities
February 24, 2021If you were intrigued by my recent interview on smart cities, next Thursday, March 11 you have an opportunity to hear directly from the expert himself Rubén Vela. Rubén will be speaking at the Venture Café at our very own CIC premises in Tokyo. This will be a hybrid event, so if you’re operating remotely […]
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New year predictions from some pros
January 25, 2021Often as a new year dawns I like to imagine what the future holds, and so I solicit advice from people whose livelihood is linked to predicting new trends in technology innovation, typically entrepreneurs or fellow VCs (prior editions of this column can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). Of course […]