Why so many Japanese VCs won’t invest in Japan

Why so many Japanese VCs won’t invest in Japan

From Disrupting Japan by Tim Romero

October 13, 2025 · 37 min · Episode 243

About this episode

The episode discusses the reluctance of Japanese VCs to invest domestically despite the growing interest in Japanese startups from foreign investors.

Japanese startups is hot right now, and more and more foreign money is flowing in. But many Japanese VCs remain stubbornly outward-looking. Today we sit down with Shri Dodani, who after a series of highly successful American startups, decided that Japan is the best place to invest right now, and co-founded of Global Hands-On VC, to make those investments. We talk about the unique advantages startups have in Japan and why Japanese founders often have trouble leveraging those advantages. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

People in this episode

Host: Tim Romero

Guest: Shri Dodani

Topics covered

  • Japanese startups
  • venture capital
  • investment strategies
  • global mindset
  • founder challenges
  • innovation

Keywords

  • Japanese VCs
  • startups
  • investment
  • global VCs
  • founders
  • innovation
  • mentorship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Global Hands-On VC

Places: Japan, US

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