 So we are gonna sit This is pleasant for you. Okay. Awesome. Now we're starting. Okay, the party's beginning boys. Yeah, now it's you know time to drink, right? It's some Tory time. Yes. Yeah Cool. So what are we gonna talk about? I don't know. So what are we gonna talk? Well, I mean we're talking about I guess the topic is starting companies. Yeah, you started a few of them, right? I'm kind of out of practice. I haven't started a company for seven years, right? So tell me what goes in your head when you want to start a company? I mean you just launched a new one even recently, right? Okay, so before that maybe some people don't know me. Yeah, introduction. So I just plus this, right? So I'm a founder and CEO of the Gumi. Gumi is making the mobile games and now We have a face all around the world and we have 700 employees and Then also, you know, we have many games And then also we have Gumi Ventures So this venture fund is you know 20 million fund and then maybe I think so, you know today We are going to talk about CDL entrepreneur or you know how to make new companies, right? Yeah, so The company on the left top candy the company is you know, I found it You know, yeah besides Gumi and then candy is you know making the live streaming and commas And then now growing very fast and already finalized 60 million And then another portfolio is also unique three minutes is you know Instagrammer and then live commas and then they just acquired by Gris about 43 million and they're also daily The company making the like tasty. Yeah, but you know Focusing on the mobile applications and then they just you know fund that is 30 million good huh and Then now we also, you know, put the effort onto the VR so we do incubation in Tokyo VR startup and so VR startup and Then also we have a fund in the States venture reality fund and then Yeah, presence capital. It's you know, he's fun. We also LP of presence capital And then internal development So for the beer and the air is you know now kind of we are collaborating together, right? Yeah, so that's you know for us and So Paul, could you introduce yourself? Yes, of course so I myself actually have started three companies as well I started through those companies in Silicon Valley and kind of globally I sold my last company in 2010 and then I made the shift to became an investor I started just slowly by doing small investments out of my personal money in Silicon Valley That has gone really quite well for us. I've done over 15 investments. Yeah, and a lot of very young companies In the United States I ended up falling in love with investing and I started going out there and wanting to invest in other parts of the world So in the last six years I've been going out there and actually kind of as a serial entrepreneur almost launching a bunch of different venture capital funds All around the world. So having you know, just one funny United States is now expanded to where I have six different funds on four different continents And so I have fun that you know here I want in United States one in Southeast Asia one in sub-Saharan Africa one in the Nordics kind of you know The home place of slush and I have one that does video games And then the one we're working together on presence capital does virtual reality and augmented reality Together in my portfolio of companies, you know via all these funds I've over 220 companies and growing I'd say we probably do an investment maybe one every single week maybe even more That's very unique, right? So I think I'm the only person doing this. Yeah. Yeah So nowadays many people many entrepreneur like you know become serial entrepreneur, right? But I never heard like, you know serial like you know BC investors and then doing at the same time, right? Yeah, I think I mean the model is pretty new. There are a few people that are launching funds around the world I mean one of our friends Dave was up here a little bit earlier with 500 startups There's somebody doing it founders Institute launching a lot of micro funds Tim Draper D of J is done in the past But it's a pretty new model and really not many people have done it before so yeah I'm taking the serial entrepreneur like met mindset and applying to venture capital of sorts. So, yeah So what do you think who is our audience? They are the entrepreneurs or VC or student. I'm guessing I'm hoping mostly entrepreneurs I'm guessing 60 70% so it's entrepreneur who is entrepreneur and Who is entrepreneur making the profit? Oh? No, nobody No, nobody making the profit. How about venture capitalists? How many investors do we have? Oh? Wow, okay Hmm. Hmm. So most people here are looking who wants to start a company who has not started a company yet Okay, so this is a lot of people are looking to take the leap. Okay. Now. We know our audience. Yeah, right? So maybe this is a good question. There's a lot of you know future entrepreneurs here When did you start your first company and like what made you start like what made you jump and kind of begin? You know starting a company. Oh, yeah, so I'm not 43 and then after I graduate high schools. I just you know ten years traveled all around the world Yeah, after like you know 1995 I move into the Shanghai and then I went to the schools for years And then after that I was a backpacker's and then I try yeah, we are back back a background, right? Yeah, so I back packing like you know from China and like Tibet India and Southeast Asia and from North North America and Central and South America that takes you know two years and then after moving to the Los Angeles They stay there, you know four years and then when I was 29 came back to Japan and Start to work. Yeah, so then you came back to Japan. You had ten years of traveling You had a lot of fun, but was there something that said fuck it I want to start a company now. Was it an idea or was it some people you want to work with? What was the beginning that made you start because it's kind of scary to start a company, right? Yeah, but you know You know I was I was just you know traveling and studying, you know like until you know 29, right? So have to work Maybe and so I did nobody want to hire you and you're like I'm Unemployable I have to start my own company. Is that what happened pretty much? Yeah So I think you know nowadays, you know, maybe Japan and Finland is you know, very similar Young people is you know looking for the life, right? So used to used to in Japan like you know young people like you know Study her and then go to that good, you know Junior high school high school and go to you know good universities and then go to like you know big company This is a life, right? But you know this life is you know sucks, right? I mean for me Yes, I think you know going kind of following somebody else's path is not the best way, right? What's really cool about being an entrepreneur is you get to create your own path Right, if you want to go out there and start a company in the middle of Africa You can you want to start the company in your hometown and create jobs you can I think that's the power of being an entrepreneurs You control your own destiny in some way of course there's outside factors But you at the end of the day are the one that chooses your path, right? Yeah. Oh, so Maybe many student is here, right? Hey, so for the student Okay, we got a lot of students. Okay, so who want to join the big companies? like Toshiba One we have one, okay, right? This is good. This is good. Okay, so the attitude is changing, right? So let me so there's a lot of students here and a lot of them seem like you guys want to start companies Let me give you one piece of advice that I think is really important I tell it to a lot of people when they're thinking about starting company, right? So the worst thing that happens if you start a company is that you get a better job, right? So let's say you're working at a big company or you never even had a company before you never even had a job If you go out there and start a company and you work on it for six months a year or two years And you fail and you get a zero, you know, don't sell the company You still will become so much more employable, right? Like I know for me when I was hiring people in my company I was always looking for people that had a very entrepreneurial attitude people that actually would do things without being told People that took it upon themselves to go out there and create value, right? So if you are in the audience thinking about starting a company, I'd say fuck it and just do it There is no downside. There's only upside the worst thing that happens. As I said is you get a better job That sounds like a pretty good option, right? Yeah so So you are the investor from you know Silicon Valley, right? So maybe you know many people want to know how can they get money from you know US investors? So so what is your criteria to invest to the company where you see? Yeah, I mean so The best way obviously is like you have to show up, right? So the first thing you have to do to get money is you have to start asking, right? And I say you have to start asking a lot of people, right? You can't just go talk to one investor or two investors You should go out there and try as many contacts as possible, right? And how you do that is you ask your friends you go to a conference you make connections and always ask people Help me out. Can you connect me to somebody else, right? Oh, so so so how can they connect to you guys? Yeah, I mean so I think the same thing it for you, right? How do they get to people like us, right? I mean the best strategy is not to go out there and just run to somebody at a conference, right? The best way if you can is find a connection, right? We have amazing tools, right? We have Facebook we have LinkedIn we have other social networks you could go find out how we're connected, right? So so so if you know here have you know student want to get to invest from you Just you know using the Twitter or you know LinkedIn and just mail you and you can respond I mean this actually works a lot of times if they find a way so do you respond just you know young student I read every single one and sometimes I do right and so if you guys go out there and show up a quick story I will and I get excited I might respond right another way to increase your chance of a response is Find something that I know right so maybe another entrepreneur I invested into or another friend of mine that I've worked with in the past if you can find a connection to him and Get a recommendation then I will for sure to take the meeting especially if it's from a very close friend For instance, if you sent me a company tomorrow, I would take the meeting I mean because I respect you as a person I would take the meeting so the same thing works for all my other friends my former employees Or even my portfolio. I said I have 220 companies and every company is one or two founders Maybe three so like five or six hundred people in this world that if you find Them you could then connect to me, right? So this is actually a way of getting in touch That's I also you know understand So if you know you guys want to start the companies and you guys want to get the invest Introduction introduces, you know, so important, right? So let me ask question. How about yourself? Do you take meetings? I mean you're a very famous entrepreneur here in Japan and there's a lot of you know Japanese or future Japanese entrepreneurs. How do they get in touch with you same thing or different? Oh, so are you hard to reach? Yeah, so so so for me, you know, baby simple so many young people You know I have a meeting with them, right? so the best best part is We use in the Twitter or you know Instagram or like, you know Facebook, right? And then some people always, you know do that nice to me and you know good comment to me And then if you know keep continuing like, you know one month two months, then I feel Nice, right? It's a relationship. I mean you're getting the you see that are following. They're respecting you Yeah, you want to give them time as well, right? Yeah, so, you know, my advice is you know If you guys want to get you know investment from investor or like, you know serial entrepreneurs just you know find their Twitter or you know Facebook or Instagram and then every day what he say just you know Nice and also some time is you know comment. Oh, that's good idea. That's nice. Oh, that's beautiful Then keep continue one month. Then I feel Hmm Make him feel good and he'll then but this is true actually right this actually brings a little bit higher level point, right? If you bring value to an investor or you bring some kind of nice feeling or like some cool introduction Then we actually will be way more incentivized to want to help you out, right? So don't always come into a meeting saying give me give me give me you should always try to give first And then sometimes you get amazing things in return, right? I know when I was beginning my career I would always try to help other people out make introductions make connections, you know Give them time, you know help think about their problem And then I wouldn't ask for anything but then maybe five years ten years later I would get something in return So always help people out and people remember this person's a good person this person's giving me a lot of their time I want to help them out too because you always want to help out good people You don't want to help out shitty people, right? So right, right, right, right? So maybe you know important thing is, you know Joining the good communities, you know, very important, right? This is so so what do you think how? Young people they don't have any communities. How can they get you know? Well, they have a community right here Everybody here is connected to startups, right? You're not going to some like, you know conference for I don't know for like automotive You know construction type of stuff, right? But like you guys are all here you're all interested So what I would say is turn to the person next to you say hi be friendly, right? You know later's gonna be a party talk to each other, right? This is how the community starts I know for me like when I was starting my career Being a CEO and founders very lonely sometimes, right? So what I would do is actually I would host dinners all the time I would email other founders and say hey guys you want to go grab a beer or you want to go out to a dinner It doesn't be expensive. It could be some cheap ramen. It could be even McDonald's It doesn't matter but go out there meet each other and you guys all grow up What's really cool is as you get older your friends become more important like we are all losers like when I started my first company I was nobody my friends are all nobody's but now my friends are some really impressive people You're like holy shit. I knew you when you sucked, right? So it's key thing is for you guys to meet each other and you guys will all grow together and help each other out It's very very important. So yeah, so When I start my companies so 29 I come back to Japan's and you know my previous companies, you know movie and TV production companies My friend is a founder and CEO and then I'm a co-founders and then I did you know four years and then after that I decide you know start own companies, right? So until that, you know, I don't have any connection to the internet industries, but That time I Can read you know English and I really like you know internet and new technology, right? So always, you know, I just you know check-in like you know venture beat or you know take crunch and I just you know writing the blogs like you know Maybe many people doesn't know but you know 10 or you know 12 years ago I was very famous blogger tech blogger in Japan and then that time, you know many Not many but you know some people some entrepreneurs, you know writing the blog tech blog and then many many of them is you know What they writing is just you know post about the kids or you know dogs or care, right and the food So only few people few like CEO, you know entrepreneurs, you know writing real tech blog, right? So among those people become like you know friend So so my first you know connection to the internet companies is You know mel curry yes, I know yeah mel curry is you know Only one, you know Japanese unicorn, right? So founder and CEO of the mel curry is you know Shintaro and then Shintaro is you know also the blogger famous bloggers and then I read you know his blog and then he read my blog and We just you know, I forgot you know full sender message first but like oh I Reading your blog Yeah, I like your blog then you know we have a dinner right and then also, you know we get you know close together So Gumi is you know founded I spent like you know 80% So say manju manju. I spent 80k and then my previous companies, you know spend 10k and Then Shintaro is spent 5k and then Shintaro's you know company previous company called Uno Spend you know invest you know 5k's and then we start together and then he That time 15 years ago his company Uno. They are running Copycat of the flicker that doesn't work Yeah, you change right you adapt, right? So yeah, and then Yeah, so that time you know we get you know know each other than you know But you know he have you know good connection to the internet industries and he introduced me you know many like you know good connections Then after that, you know, I also you know have many friends a very good point actually so if you start being comes like Successful don't forget your friends, right? So when you're working together and you all suck in the beginning we all suck in the beginning, right? But if one of your friends or you start doing good, don't forget about your friends Help them out right make connections for them help them with investors help there with their deck I this is very important, right? This is actually how the community works So one thing it's very great about Silicon Valley and it started happen here in Japan's like people help each other out Like I know when I first came to Silicon Valley. I didn't know anything, right? But some of the guys who are older they were nice to me, right? So I remembered oh, they were so nice to me I should go out there and help and that's actually why I do all these investments around the world I want to help and connect to because people were so nice to me So don't forget who you were part of right and help each other out That's actually how the Japanese or just a Texas ecosystem grows together even faster. So yeah, so this is so called Ecosystem right I guess it's an ecosystem of course, right? Yeah So okay, so You know you kind of have all your friends you're working together with right and so you're doing a lot of investments So when you're investing what are you looking for are you looking to help people out as well too? Are you only looking for financial gain? Like what makes you interested in helping people out? Oh For that is first of all I'm look for the market So I think you know team is of course important But you know market is you know way more important than the team, right? so So I only invest you know that area that I know I understand So like you know like gummy venture is you know only only invested to the mobile video and Then now you know our fund is you know invested to the VR and AR right so first You know I decided to the market and then team So let me ask you I mean obviously we're both very interested VR AR what got you excited about it What made you start wanting to invest so much into the space? Oh, so So I think so, you know all of you guys is you know if you know you guys want to make the companies Be our air it a place that's because like you know from 2007 like Smartphone is a star right and then already spent you know 10 years and People thinks you know smartphone is very convenient, but no right always, you know like this But you're in the future is you know be out on the air on the MR, right? So our eyes is you know connected to the internet and then we do the internet in here, right? So this is the futures. So I think if you know we can go back to 2007 What we're gonna do that's simple, right? We do something related to the smartphone, right? And then what we're gonna do is a smartphone fast smartphone only right so now device is going to be changed so This is you know very good timing to you know start no I mean we have the same thesis right whenever there's a new platform There's many big companies that come out of that platform, right? So whenever things change if you're there at the beginning of the change You have a very high chance of becoming a huge company if you know or let's say just today You want to start building a mobile company or mobile game company? Whatever you be in deep shit, right? But if you go out there when the platform is being created, there's a huge opportunity, right? Yeah Yeah, so another thing that was very important for me is that I was seeing actually a lot of my smart friends We're getting really excited about the platform, right? When I see really smart people getting excited and they kind of very geeky kind of engineering level I think that the consumers will come a little bit later too, right? So it shows that this is gonna be an exciting place to be and they'll be really cool big opportunities And hopefully you talk to one of us too and we can be part of your story as well too, right? Yeah, so I think you know now but you know For the Japanese like you know startup since you know going to be very Develop like, you know when I start Gumi is 2007 that time in Japan only six angel investor Only six angel investors? Yeah, let's change the lot, right? Yeah, and then that time Fundalizing one million is Deal, yeah, holy cow, right? Yeah, right, but you know now it's you know 10 million It's you know not that difficult right and the angel investor there is so many angel investors is there, right? So what you're saying? It's a great time now to be a startup entrepreneur. It is a lot more money There's more opportunities. There's guys like this who you could learn from right guys like me I come in a couple times a year. You hopefully we could teach you something, right? Yeah, and we are here to offer ourselves as well, too Yeah, so so, you know if you know you guys want to start a company's best way to you know every day is Put you know nice in it to my Facebook account and then I will be happy and then I can talk and you know I introduce you should give me lots of likes as well, too I want all my ego to be pumped up as well, but no, but seriously like Come approach people like us. Don't be shy talk to each other and you know you could do some amazing things together That's what's really cool. People are powerful. We could do it together, right? Hey, I think we're done. Thank you guys. Thank you