Beyond Curry & Cricket: A Japanese VC Finds Home (and Opportunity) in Bengaluru 

Driven by professional ambition rather than cultural curiosity, Japanese venture capitalist Shun Sagara relocated from Tokyo to Bengaluru in 2023 to establish his firm’s India office, seeking a more competitive arena after realizing limitations in his home market. While initially needing to convince his wife—wary after a prior Delhi experience—they discovered Bengaluru offered a surprisingly welcoming environment for raising their young children, marked by exceptional warmth towards families and quality international schools.

Professionally, Sagara identified potent synergy between Japan’s methodical “kaizen” (optimization) approach and India’s resourceful “jugaad” (improvisation) mindset. His investment strategy targets founders deeply rooted in India, sectors poised for global leadership like pharma, and ventures facilitating India-Japan collaboration, such as solving Japan’s elder care needs. Integrating deeply beyond expat circles, Sagara now finds community through weekly soccer with predominantly local friends.

Committed for at least a decade, he views “bridging India and Japan” as his life’s mission, leveraging their complementary strengths from his Bengaluru base, where both career ambition and family life have found fertile ground.

Beyond Curry & Cricket: A Japanese VC Finds Home (and Opportunity) in Bengaluru 

Shun Sagara’s journey from Tokyo’s structured corporate world to the vibrant chaos of Bengaluru’s startup ecosystem wasn’t fueled by a love for Bollywood or butter chicken. It was a strategic leap driven by a stark professional realization: to play in the major leagues, he needed to be where the future was being built. Today, as the head of Genesia Ventures’ India office, Sagara isn’t just investing capital; he’s building bridges between Japan and India, discovering unexpected joys in raising his family, and redefining his own career on Bengaluru’s dynamic terms. 

The Catalyst: Playing in the “Wrong League” 

“My move wasn’t driven by fascination,” Sagara clarifies. “It was strategy.” While working in Tokyo VC, a pivotal moment occurred. A Japanese founder confided that Sagara was the only VC among dozens who truly grasped his enterprise business. “It was flattering,” Sagara admits, “but it rang alarm bells. If there was no real competition around me, was I playing in the wrong league?” 

This epiphany coincided with Genesia Ventures’ strategic push beyond Southeast Asia. India, with its audacious startups building not just products but the infrastructure of a rising global power, emerged as the undeniable next frontier. “India and Japan often shine on the sidelines,” Sagara observes. “Here was a chance to step onto a main stage defined by immense growth and ambition.” 

The Family Equation: Convincing Tokyo to Embrace Bengaluru 

The professional logic was clear, but the personal hurdle was significant. Sagara’s wife, a former JAL flight attendant, had experienced New Delhi and recalled challenges: air quality, intensely spicy food, and safety concerns for women. “Convincing her Bengaluru was different took work,” Sagara recalls. Highlighting Bengaluru’s reputation as India’s tech hub, its relatively better air quality, cosmopolitan nature, and welcoming environment for families was crucial. 

Their leap of faith landed them in Bengaluru in the summer of 2023. Sagara arrived as a solo operator, tasked with establishing Genesia Ventures’ India presence and deploying capital from their Japan-based fund ($500k initial checks, scaling to $1-1.5M). 

Bridging Business Philosophies: Kaizen Meets Jugaad 

Sagara quickly identified profound cultural contrasts shaping business approaches: 

• Risk Mitigation vs. Unshakeable Conviction: “In Japan, pitch decks are 40-50 slides, preemptively addressing every conceivable objection,” he explains. “In India, founders might walk in with a sketch on a napkin and absolute belief. Both work, but the energy is fundamentally different.” 

• Kaizen vs. Jugaad: The Japanese ethos of “kaizen” (continuous, incremental improvement) collided with the Indian spirit of “jugaad” (innovative, resourceful improvisation). “These aren’t opposites,” Sagara emphasizes. “They’re complementary superpowers. Combining Japanese process optimization with Indian agility and resourcefulness in deals creates something extraordinary.” 

His investment thesis reflects this bridge-building: backing founders deeply rooted in the Indian context, targeting sectors where India can dominate globally (like pharma or precision manufacturing), and specifically seeking opportunities for India-Japan collaboration (e.g., solving Japan’s elder care or workforce shortages with Indian innovation). 

An Unexpected Haven: Family Life in the “Garden City” 

While acknowledging adjustments (cleanliness remains a notable difference from Japan), Sagara and his wife discovered Bengaluru as a surprisingly nurturing environment for their young children (5 and 3). 

“The warmth towards children here is exceptional,” Sagara shares. “People are genuinely kind and welcoming to foreigners, and especially to kids. My children are treated wonderfully.” He highlights the quality international schools and the overall positive experience of raising a family. “Bengaluru, for us, has become one of the best cities in the world for this stage of life.” 

Beyond family, integration came through an unexpected passion: soccer. “I knew cricket was huge, but the grassroots explosion of soccer surprised me,” he says. Now, weekly games with a circle of friends – 90% of whom are local Indians – anchor his social life, demonstrating deep community integration. 

The Long Game: A Lifelong Bridge 

Sagara’s commitment is resolute. “This isn’t a short-term assignment,” he states. “I see myself here for at least the next five years, likely longer. Even if I eventually return to Japan after a decade, my connection to India and its businesses will be permanent.” 

His mission transcends individual investments. “Bridging India and Japan – that’s the goal of my entire life and career,” Sagara declares. He sees immense potential in the synergy between Japanese precision, capital, and global reach, and Indian innovation, talent, and market scale. For Shun Sagara, Bengaluru is no longer just a posting; it’s the vibrant, challenging, and unexpectedly welcoming home where his professional ambition and family life have found fertile ground to flourish together.