Day: August 3, 2025

• Shun Sagara moved from Tokyo to Bengaluru in 2023 to expand his Japanese VC firm.
• Sagara aims to invest in Indian startups with potential for global leadership and collaboration.
• He said that he and his wife love raising children in India because of the hospitality.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shun Sagara, a venture capitalist who moved from Tokyo to Bengaluru with his family in 2023. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in Japan and began my career at an enterprise software company in Tokyo. I spent five years at the company in various sales roles before I left in 2018. The following year, I joined my current venture capital firm, Genesia Ventures, and worked as an investment manager.

In my second year at the firm, there was serious interest in international expansion. We had a presence in Southeast Asia, and there was a growing consensus that India was our next logical destination. It aligned perfectly with my ambition to work in a fast-paced market, and I was keen to make a move.

My move to India wasn’t driven by a fascination with curry or Bollywood or anything like that. I always felt like India and Japan shine on the sidelines but don’t claim the center stage the way China or the US do. The trigger moment for me was when a Japanese founder told me I was the only VC among 20 to 30 meetings he had taken who truly understood enterprise businesses. It was flattering but rang alarm bells — if there was no competition around me, then maybe I was playing in the wrong league. Moving to India, where startups are not just building products, but are building the infrastructure of a rising economic power, felt like the next best step for me.

Moving with family wasn’t an easy decision. My wife was a flight attendant for Japanese Airlines and had been exposed to New Delhi, the capital, before — she didn’t like the air quality, the spicy food, and how it wasn’t safe for young single women. I had to convince her that Bengaluru was different from Delhi. Once she was on board, we moved to Bengaluru in the summer of 2023 so I could launch an India subsidiary for my VC firm.

Being a VC in India

I’m the company’s only employee in the country, and I’m tasked with making India investments for our Japan-based fund. Our average first check size is around $500,000, and we top it up with $1 million to $1.5 million investments.

My investment thesis is based on these three qualities rather than specific sectors: founders who understand the Indian context well; areas such as pharmaceuticals or precision manufacturing where Indian companies can become global market leaders; and areas where there is opportunity for India-Japan collaborations, like elder care or workforce shortage problems. Since launching our India office, I have invested in five companies.

There are big differences in how business is done. For example, Japanese culture is built around risk mitigation, while the Indian startup ecosystem is not. In Japan, our startup pitch decks have 40-50 slides and address every single objection a VC may have. In India, founders walk into meetings with a napkin sketch and unshakeable conviction. Both approaches work from my experience.

Another key difference is India’s “jugaad” mentality, which is all about improvising with what you have, versus the Japanese “kaizen,” which involves continuous optimization of existing processes. I’ve found that combining these mindsets in India-Japanese deals can produce extraordinary results.

Raising a family in India

Coming from Japan, cleanliness is one of the biggest differences about living in India, and it is also one thing my wife and children find challenging.

But when it comes to raising children, India, and in particular Bengaluru, is one of the best cities in the world. People are warm and kind toward foreigners, and most people love children. My two little kids — a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son — are well-treated by local people. There are also great international schools in the city, and raising children has been a great experience for my wife and me.

What surprised me most was the grassroots popularity of sports. I always knew that India was a cricket-loving country, but I was shocked to see how popular soccer is getting in the country. Two years into living here, I have a weekly soccer game with five friends. While I know lots of Japanese expats and other foreigners, 90% of my circle is local Indians.

The people I work with are collaborative and open-minded, and they have always been helpful when I encounter daily operational challenges.

My commitment to living in India is long term, and I don’t plan to come back to Japan in the next five years at least. Even if I move back home after 10 years, I want to continue to be exposed to India and Indian businesses. Bridging India and Japan is the goal of my entire life and career.

Are you a foreign founder or VC who moved to India in the last few years? Please reach out at sgoel@businessinsider.com.

• Some beachfront properties affected by the 2025 LA fires are on the market for millions.
• Real estate agents said the price is reasonable given the rarity of beachfront properties.
• But securing home insurance could be a hurdle.

Oceanfront Malibu homes burned to the ground after a wildfire tore through the area seven months ago.

Some of those now-empty plots are now selling for millions.

Although the seven-figure price tag for a lot with no house might feel exorbitant, real estate agents told Business Insider that these properties are still big-ticket purchases, even in the face of natural disasters and reluctant home insurers.

“They’re not making any more beachfront properties,” Josh Flagg, a real estate agent in Los Angeles, said. “There are only so many properties available, and the smart people will be taking these lots now before the demand picks up, which it inevitably will.”

Plumes of smoke rose above Los Angeles County in January after a wildfire burned much of Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood nestled near the Topanga State Park. Over 24 days, the wildfire ripped across almost 24,000 acres, destroyed over 6,800 structures, and damaged nearly 980 others. More than 200,000 residents were forced to evacuate during the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Structures along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu that overlooked Las Flores Beach were among those affected. Flagg is now selling a 6,200-square-foot empty lot with direct beach access and ocean views for $2.75 million. The property was originally listed for sale in 2023 for $3.44 million and again this May for $2.99 million.

“Before the fires, it would not have been possible to buy on the beach in Malibu at a price this low,” Flagg said.

A separate plot of land found down the road is listed at $3.55 million in June after selling in 2023 for $4.85 million.

Tami Pardee, founder and CEO of Pardee Properties in Los Angeles, said the price was worth it for some homeowners. “You’ve got a world-class coastline on one side and the Santa Monica Mountains on the other, perfect for surfing, horseback riding, hiking, private beaches, and those unreal sunsets.”

“Malibu lives at the intersection of raw natural beauty and refined privacy. It attracts everyone from creatives to CEOs, but still feels like a small town,” Pardee told Business Insider. “That blend of casual luxury and connectedness makes Malibu different.”

Pardee said those perks, along with the limited supply, are why those houseless oceanfront properties cost so much.

“Strict coastal regulations and limited land keep inventory low, which keeps value high,” Pardee said. “That’s why seven and eight-figure listings aren’t the exception. They’re the average.”

That still applies, Pardee said, even for fire-damaged properties perpetually threatened by natural disasters, rising sea levels, and erosion.

“It’s all about the land. If a burned home is listed for millions, the structure isn’t what’s driving the price. It’s the lot,” Pardee said.

However, it’s not just money or natural disasters that potential homeowners must navigate.

Home insurers are dropping coverage as the threat of wildfires grows

As the Palisades Fire and others tore across Los Angeles County, home insurance companies landed under the spotlight.

Business Insider reported in January that since 2022, some insurance companies have stopped writing new policies, cut back coverage, or altogether dropped California residents as wildfires and other extreme weather events become an increasingly unavoidable reality.

Max Dugan-Knight, a climate data scientist at Deep Sky Research, told Business Insider that some home insurers’ decision to weed out Californians is “precarious.”

A report published by Deep Sky Research in June found that 1 in 5 homes located in “extreme fire risk areas of California” have lost coverage since 2019. Home insurance premiums, meanwhile, rose 42% in California’s “most fire-prone areas” since 2009.

“If insurance companies are worried, we should all be worried,” Knight said. “They have the most advanced modeling, they have the latest data, and they are highly motivated to get this right, because if they don’t, they risk their entire business.”

Knight said buying property is a long-term investment, one that some Californians may not be able to secure due to the lack of available insurance.

“One of the first things the mortgage lender will ask is, ‘Do you have home insurance?'” Knight said. “If you cannot afford home insurance or it’s simply unavailable in your area, then the lender will almost certainly not approve your loan, and that buyer will exit the market. That will happen to lots of buyers simultaneously in these high-risk areas.”

“If you can’t sell a property, the value goes down,” Knight said.

Locals who can’t obtain insurance from traditional companies often rely on California’s FAIR plan, a syndicated fire insurance pool established in 1968. But that’s not always enough.

“Most homeowners and buyers end up turning to the California FAIR Plan, which is basically a last-resort option,” Pardee said. “But the coverage limits are low, especially for Malibu’s higher-end homes, and that leaves a big gap.”

Pardee said some buyers try to “piece together multiple policies through specialty brokers. But even then, it’s not guaranteed.”

“It can be incredibly expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes not even possible,” Pardee said. “We’re talking about people who can afford multimillion-dollar homes who are still struggling to get the right coverage.”

Knight added that cutting emissions is critical, but Californians and many others will still likely face the fallout of the climate crisis.

“If a buyer is paying any attention to that, they might think twice about buying in a high-risk area,” Knight said.

For now, beachfront properties in Malibu remain a hot commodity

Even with wildfires and insurance issues, Pardee said most people searching for homes in the area understand the risks.

“In Malibu, most buyers know the terrain, both literal and emotional,” Pardee said.

Pardee said the lifestyle and outdoor living in the area outweigh the risks for most potential homeowners.

“Malibu has dealt with fires for decades. It’s part of the rhythm here, and buyers come in with their eyes open,” Pardee said.

So far, Flagg said several people have expressed interest in the $2.7 million plot of land.

“Buyers will have the opportunity to build from scratch,” Flagg said, adding that a disaster recovery initiative by Los Angeles County can also expedite the permit process.

More than 800 homeowners in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other affected areas have applied for rebuilding permits, according to a July report by The Los Angeles Times.