At any rate, we are still getting used to each other.
Normally, Kengo-san is a behind-the-scenes person, and it is a rare case for you to appear in this way,
But today, I am being interviewed.
For some reason, we are both in the same space, but this is the first time we have dared to use this tool for this purpose. I look forward to working with you.
Q: Where are you from, Patrick?
I am always at a loss when people ask me where I am from, but to give some background, my father is Japanese, and my mother is from the Philippines.
My father is Japanese, and my mother is Filipino, so it is a little difficult to say where I am from,
I spent a long time in the Philippines and of course in the U.S. when I was a child, and returned to Japan when I was in high school, and I think I spoke Japanese when I was a child, but after living abroad for such a long time, I forgot or could no longer speak Japanese.
So, I studied Japanese, entered a regular Japanese high school, studied Japanese, took the university entrance exam, entered university, graduated from university, and at the time, I thought that Internet ventures were a growing industry in Japan. Before the mobile phone was popularized, I was most shocked by the amazingness of the "Galaga-Kei.
Everyone was already using cell phones before smartphones came out, and there were games, ringtones, video ringtones, and all sorts of other things that were common.
I thought that Internet ventures would grow in the future, and I was told by many new graduates that it would be better to join a major company or a foreign-affiliated company. So I joined a venture company because I wanted to be a global player in a field that is going to grow.
I never thought I would end up on a smartphone, to be honest.
However, I knew that the Internet industry itself would not disappear in the future.
I thought that if I placed myself there, Japan would naturally be the most advanced, especially at the time, and if I gained experience in the most advanced places, I could use that knowledge and experience to play an active role globally.
However, I remember that (overseas), things were not as developed as they were in Japan. Content itself was not as developed as in Japan.
I don't have the impression that content is as advanced as it is in Japan. Maybe it's just that we haven't moved yet.
I was mainly in the Philippines from the age of 6 to 16, and then I went to the U.S. and so on.
After that, I went back to Japan, worked for a Japanese venture company, went to the Philippines, went to Malaysia, and so on.
I never really thought I would be working abroad.
I really had a lot of trouble getting used to communication, culture, etc. after coming to Japan, but I am glad that I had that experience,
I think I naturally acquired diversity and flexibility in that sense as well.
Q: How did you become an investor?
I don't have a track record as an investor yet, and I haven't yet stepped into the shoes of an investor, but it all started four years after I returned to Japan from Malaysia.
It was September of 2020 when I returned to Japan, so I originally wanted to start my own business in the Philippines. I didn't know much about it at the time, but the company I worked for had an in-house venture program, so I applied for it and took on various challenges. As a result, I decided to start my own business in the Philippines, and I received an investment.
As I experienced various things, I remember that the startup environment in Southeast Asia was not yet as rich as it is today, and it was difficult to raise funds.
I remember that it was difficult to raise funds. I had experienced what a start-up was originally, or rather, I had experienced it once, and I had experienced various kinds of start-ups (0-1, 1-10).
At that time, I had no idea what I was doing, but I just got through it with my youth and spirit,
I chose the Philippines because I could understand the language and was familiar with the culture, so I thought that if I localized a business model that worked in Japan, it would work in the Philippines,
But it was too early, and I had the bitter experience of failing within two years.
That was when I started looking at startups and started following the startup environment in Southeast Asia.
After my failure, I went back to Japan and got involved in ad-tech, which at that time was a growing field in Japan,
I had some regrets in the Philippines, and I wanted to take revenge. I had never been to Malaysia, but I asked if they understood English, and they said they did, so I said I would go.
I had never been to Malaysia before, but I asked if they could speak English, and they said they could, so I went. Of course, there were many peaks, valleys, and troughs,
I had experienced different phases there, and when it was decided that I would return to Japan in September 2020, after Corona and other things happened, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do for the next 10 years and the next 10 years to come, I also like startups,
I had already had experience with startups, and I like startups, so I read a book called "Angels" and learned the term "angel investment" for the first time.
Of course, I had a vague idea of what a VC or investor was, but I heard that there was such a thing as angel investing, and there was a guy named Jason Calacanis who started angel investing and became successful, I was inspired by his story of how he started his own VC firm and created a fund after his angel investment success.
I thought that being a capitalist was a great job, and when I asked myself what I wanted to do with my life for the next 10 years, I knew that I wanted to try something new, and that was being a capitalist.
Why a capitalist? I had spent more than half of my working career, or rather, more than half of the time I had spent in Southeast Asia.
So, I thought that if I could support Japanese corporatization to compete globally with my experience on the business side, English ability, and financial support, this would be a job I would really like to do.
So, as I was doing various things, I thought, "Well, how can I do that?
I came back to Japan and raised my hand to be an investor or a capitalist at CBC, but I didn't have a chance to be an investor or a capitalist there. I was told that I would be involved in the launch of a venture capital firm, an independent venture capital firm,
That's how it all started.