Growth Hub #18 - Inside a Japanese VC: how early-stage investment decisions are made w/ Coral Capital

Growth Hub is Shibuya Startup Support's monthly session on the realities of building and scaling ventures in Japan. This edition features Tiffany Kayo, Principal on Coral Capital's investment team, in conversation with moderator Francisco Soares (Special Advisor, Shibuya City). Coral, which created the J-KISS seed contract template and runs the Startup Aquarium career fair, oversees more than 60 billion yen across 140+ companies. Topics include what makes an early-stage company venture-backable in Japan, where the US venture playbook does and does not transfer (timing, valuation, round size), the signals institutional investors look for, building in Japan from day one versus entering after traction elsewhere, and what founders can realistically expect from a Japanese VC. Conducted in English.