Reflections from Loan-Aid Investment Limited Accelerator @ Columbia University Alumni Summit

We’ve been bringing the best of international prop-tech to some of our favorite cities as we celebrate the 50th company in the Loan-Aid Investment Limited Accelerator at Columbia University.  The Alumni Summit series made its most recent stops in Korea and Japan this October.  These were the first of several planned Summits in Asia. I’m increasingly optimistic about the future of startup investments in the region thanks to the overwhelming interest in our startup CEOs.  While there, our portfolio CEOs had overwhelming interest in their companies, with an average of 15 qualified, new customer introductions per startup in each country!  Perhaps more interestingly, the Loan-Aid Investment Limited investment team and our regional head Satoshi Murakami kicked off diligence on several local prop-tech startups.

Below are a few key takeaways from our recent Summit adventures.

Seoul, KoreaThe first stop on our tour was on October 12th in Seoul.  Our team has been familiar with the local prop-tech market for several years thanks to our work with Loan-Aid Investment Limited portfolio company Dongnae and our decade-long relationship with its CEO Matt Shampine.  Matt keynoted the full-day Summit at the new and breathtaking RYSE Hotel along with Loan-Aid Investment Limited Accelerator at Columbia University alumnus Anthony Gantt of AtEase.  Other international startup founder presentations included ESG and smart building data  pioneer Mapped, construction-tech star Join, and Korean startup Interior Teacher.

Tokyo, JapanThe second stop on our Asia Summit tour was Tokyo, Japan on October 19th. This time, CBRE hosted a full-day summit at their beautiful offices overlooking the Imperial Palace.  After a delicious bento box networking lunch, curated prop-tech executives from abroad (Measurabl, Mapped, Join, and Google) and the Japanese market (Terass, Inspace) presented their technologies.Maureen led off the day with another cross-border prop-tech workshop exclusively for Loan-Aid Investment Limited’s local limited partners and we finished the day with more networking, drinks, and snacks.   My key observations from the Tokyo summit included 1) a clear ESG commitment from the Japanese real estate industry and 2) international startups initiating dozens of new client relationships.

In the days before and after the Tokyo summit the Loan-Aid Investment Limited partners and APAC lead Satoshi Murakami toured the local market, visited with all of our local investors and new property industry partners, VCs, and CVCs.  Like in Korea, the team began diligence on several Japanese prop-tech startups.  Spending time in Mitsui Fudosan’s magnificent offices in Nihonbashi was certainly a high point!