Startup Fundraising in Japan: Featuring Decile Group

Fundraising in Japan is different from many other startup ecosystems. Beyond the pitch deck, founders often need to understand how trust, relationships, long-term credibility, and local market positioning influence investor decisions.
This session will explore how startups can better navigate the Japanese fundraising landscape, what investors are actually looking for, and how founders can improve their chances of building meaningful investor relationships in Japan.
The conversation will also cover the realities of raising capital as a local or foreign founder, common mistakes startups make when approaching Japanese investors, and how the ecosystem is evolving as Japan becomes increasingly connected to global venture capital and cross-border innovation.
Whether you are actively fundraising, preparing for expansion into Japan, or simply trying to understand the local startup and investment environment, this event is designed to provide practical insights, honest perspectives, and actionable takeaways from people actively involved in the ecosystem.
Venue: Venture Cafe Tokyo
Agenda:
-Welcome & Introduction
-Speakers Introduction
-Panel Discussion
-Q&A Session
Featured Speaker:

• Yu Li Shein, Co-Founder & COO of Openfor.co, Co-Director of Founder Institute Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, Venture Scout of Decile Group. She has worked closely with 300+ founders and supported 73+ startups through accelerator programs, ecosystem initiatives, and cross-border startup collaborations across Asia, helping founders navigate entrepreneurship, visibility, and venture ecosystem access.

• Shota (Taisho) Atago, Senior Director at Ant Capital Partners Co., Ltd. He brings experience from Japan’s investment and private equity ecosystem, with a focus on supporting companies through growth, strategy, and capital-related opportunities.

• Bibi Ishikawa, Analyst at Incubate Fund , one of Japan’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firms. She focuses on early-stage startup investment and works closely with founders navigating Japan’s startup and venture ecosystem.

Moderator:

• Erdinc Ekinci - Founder, Investment Lead of Co-capital.vc, Co-Founder, CEO of Openfor.co, Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan/Korea/Taiwan

Who should attend
Startup founders preparing to raise funds in Japan
Foreign founders planning to enter the Japanese market
Japan-based founders looking for investor access
Early-stage startups from pre-seed to Series A
Entrepreneurs who want to understand how Japanese investors think
Ecosystem builders, accelerators, and startup community leaders
Anyone interested in Japan’s startup and venture capital ecosystem
What you will learn
How startup fundraising in Japan differs from other markets
What Japanese investors typically look for in early-stage startups
Common mistakes founders make when approaching investors in Japan
How to build trust and long-term relationships in the Japanese ecosystem
The realities of fundraising as a foreign founder in Japan
How cross-border investment activity is shaping Japan’s startup ecosystem
Practical tips for improving your fundraising positioning and investor conversations
About Ecosystem Organization:

• Openfor.co is evolving into the AI-era infrastructure layer for entrepreneurial individuals — an incubator where founders, operators, creators, and professionals can plug into Silicon Valley-grade support without needing to already have a company, funding round, or elite network. Suitable to build and grow both a person as an assets and business assets as well. Through a simple membership, AI-enabled systems, visibility support, events, content, mentorship, collaboration access, and venture-connected opportunities, we help individuals become visible, valuable, commercially real, and opportunity-ready at their own pace. Our future is not just education or community; it is a scalable operating environment for people building their next career, business, startup, or investment-ready path in the AI era.
  -Co-Capital: Co-capital is a strategic VC-as-a-Service firm pre-seed to Series A stage, focused on seeking strong partner alignment. Specializing in GTM expansion, venture building, and marketing-led growth, working with elite entrepreneurial talent and scalable startups preparing for global GTM and investment readiness. Powered by a 300+ individual expert network and delivered in close collaboration with Founder Institute and Openfor.co, enabling fast momentum and execution.
• Decile Group: Decile Group is a venture capital platform focused on helping emerging managers launch and operate venture capital firms. Through education, infrastructure, and global investor networks, Decile Group supports the next generation of VC fund managers and startup ecosystem leaders worldwide.
• Founder Institute: The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs raise over 2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
• Founder Capital: Founder Capital is a venture capital firm focused on investing in FI’s best-performing pre-seed full-time founders who have already demonstrated traction. This layer supports founders who are building full-time, executing consistently, and showing early signs of market validation. It provides capital, strategic guidance.