On this episode of The Coral Capital Podcast, Founding Partner James Riney and Investor Tiffany Kayo were joined by Phil Wickham, co-founder of Sozo Ventures—a globally-minded VC firm that’s backed breakout U.S. companies expanding into Japan, including the likes of Coinbase, Square & Palantir.

Philip shares rare, behind-the-scenes insights from decades spent bridging Silicon Valley and Tokyo, explaining why Japan is suddenly hot again for global startups—and how to navigate its famously complex corporate and cultural terrain.

Topics explored:

The four pillars that make Japan a high-margin & high-loyalty market worth cracking
Lessons from backing companies like Palantir, Square, Coinbase, and Need in Japan
Why corporate money on your cap table can be more risk than reward—especially in Japan
What founders consistently get wrong when entering Japan, and how to avoid wasting years