Taking the investor’s role overseas.
Support for launching in Dubai and managing tax matters after relocation.

I have been involved in venture capital since my student days. I began an internship at F Ventures when I entered Kyushu University, then gained experience investing in startups at East Ventures. Seeing entrepreneurs take on challenges at close quarters made me want to establish something of my own one day.

I put that ambition into practice by starting a business in Dubai in 2022. Kenji helped us establish our Dubai presence as we launched FLICKSHOT, a business supporting blockchain startups.

Supporting globally ambitious entrepreneurs from overseas

I had heard Web3 entrepreneurs speak about the difficulties of operating their businesses in Japan. Could we create an environment where entrepreneurs pursuing overseas opportunities could come together and concentrate on building their businesses? As an investor, I wanted to move abroad and take on that challenge myself.

At FLICKSHOT, we invested in early-stage businesses and worked to build a community connecting entrepreneurs. Based at HIVE JVC, a residential community in Dubai, we created an environment where entrepreneurs gathered and interacted in everyday life. We shared our own relocation experience with those who came next. Rather than just looking at portfolio companies’ numbers, we valued living locally and working alongside their founders.

However, assessing businesses as an investor is different from establishing your own business overseas. Where should the company operate? How should we relocate our own lives? What Japanese tax procedures would remain? Turning the idea into reality required concrete decisions on all these issues.

Considering overseas business expansion and personal relocation together

Our discussions with Kenji were not limited to the procedures for incorporating overseas. We began with how to connect the business structure with legal and tax considerations as we built an overseas business supporting blockchain entrepreneurs.

Cross-border businesses need to consider the laws and taxes of both Japan and their destination. For us, Dubai was meaningful not only in terms of tax costs, but also as a regulatory choice: a place to invest in and support overseas entrepreneurs under the local framework. We worked through the relationship with Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and other rules, alongside the legal and tax considerations required locally.

In investment-related businesses, where and how you operate are not the only questions. Who provides the funds and what activities you carry out also matter. We needed to distinguish the issues requiring legal review from those requiring tax analysis as we moved forward.

It was reassuring to discuss our own Dubai expansion with someone experienced in supporting entrepreneurs overseas. Although our role was to support founders, we were ourselves starting a new overseas business at that point. We could discuss the business and our personal relocation together.

From departure-year tax returns to ongoing tax representative support

Moving abroad does not end every connection with Japan’s tax system. My partner Kataoka and I asked Kenji’s firm to prepare our individual tax returns for the year we left Japan. The firm also acts as tax representative for both of us.

When you are establishing a new life and business overseas, new issues constantly demand your attention. Having someone to consult about Japanese tax matters is helpful. Beyond the support before we left, we have continued to rely on the firm for procedures required after departure.

A drink at the office when I return to Japan

During visits back to Japan, I have sometimes stopped by Kenji’s office for a drink. Other young entrepreneurs would gather, and we would talk about our businesses and recent developments over drinks. It was an opportunity for relaxed conversation, different from our usual tax consultations.

When you work overseas, it is good to have somewhere to share your news when you return to Japan. I consulted Kenji when moving to Dubai, continue to rely on his firm for tax matters after relocating, and stop by his office when I am back. That is the kind of relationship we have.