What it’s really like to be a female VC in Japan

Disrupting Japan

Progress is not only slower in Japan, it is often different. Looking at the numbers, it's clear that venture capital is even more male-dominated in Japan than it is in the West. Our guest today explains not only how that's changing, but how she's changing it. Sophie Meralli is a Partner at Shizen Capital and co-founder of Tokyo Women in VC. We sit down and dive deep into the keys to developing a creative, global mindset among Japanese founders and VCs, the role immigrants have to play in developing Japan's startup culture, and what really works in changing, not only minds, but actions related to the role of women in startups and venture capital. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes The kind of startups Sophie and Shizen are looking for Why Japanese AI startups need to be especially careful The percentage of Japanese VCs are women, and how it's changed over the past 5 years Why more and more VC funds are being started by women in Japan What Women in VC does, and how you can get involved The main things holding back women in VC in Japan today The critical next steps for women in VC Is it easier for foreign women to defy gender stereotypes? Are Japanese women founders making faster progress than women VCs? What a “global mindset” really means for startups How to develop cultures of creativity and innovation Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about Tokyo Women in VC Tokyo Women in VC Job Board Tokyo Women in VC Research: The 7 Stats Shizen Capital Friend with Sophie on Facebook Follow her on Twitter @Soph_VC Info on rate of Japanese Passport holders Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. Finance and venture capital in particular has always been male dominated, and in Japan, well, it's even more so, but things are changing here and not quite in the way you might expect. Today we sit down with Sophie Meralli, a partner at Shizen Capital, and co-founder of Tokyo Women in VC. And we have a frank discussion about what it's really like for female founders and venture capitalists here in Japan. And some of it is surprising. In some areas it seems that Japan is ahead of the west and in others, well, not so much. The conversation is at times both frustrating and hopeful. Sophie explains the one thing holding female VCs back more than any other, how things are changing for female founders and for male founders as well, and why so many new Japanese venture funds are being founded by women. But you know, Sophie tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: So we're sitting here with Sophie Meralli, a brand new partner at Shizen Capital. So, thanks for sitting down with me. Sophie: Thank you so much, Tim. It's a pleasure to be here. Tim: You're not new to VC, but you're new to Shizen. So, tell me a little bit about your new role, what kind of things you're looking for. Sophie: Yeah, sure. For me, it's kind of interesting because I was in early stage in Boston and then when I came back to Japan, I was with Eight Roads Ventures for about five and a half years looking more into growth stage startups in FinTech, Enterprise SaaS. And those are really the area that I think are super interesting to me in Japan where I see a lot of potential. And so at Shizen, given this is much more like early stage, there are tons of ideas for which there are already unicorns abroad, but in Japan, those haven't surfaced yet. And I'm really excited to either incubate new businesses or just be able to be a partner for very early stage startups in those sectors. Tim: Now, you mentioned your experience back at InSpark in Boston? Sophie: Yes. Tim: If I recall back then you were looking at AI startups and sort of the previous generation of AI startups.