DNX

Interview

• Connecting the Financial Rigor of Investment Banking to the Future of Startups
• From a Startup Internship to Investment Banking — in Search of Real-World Finance While at university, I had a vague but persistent anxiety about the future, and started studying for the CPA exam. But sitting at a desk without any real-world context to anchor the material was, honestly, a struggle. I wanted to see how accounting knowledge actually comes to life in a business setting. That curiosity led me to apply for an internship at Money Forward Kessai. I started the day after Money Forward listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, and worked on initiatives supporting financing for small and medium-sized businesses. That experience made something click: accounting knowledge, applied through corporate finance, could directly support how a business grows. I felt a pull toward larger-scale transactions — fundraising and M&A with real impact — and made the decision to join Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division. Even then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I kept a quiet intention to find my way back to the startup world someday.
• The Foundations of a Professional — Forged at the Front Lines At Goldman Sachs, I worked on advisory engagements covering fundraising and M&A for manufacturing companies and financial institutions. From my very first year, I was placed at the center of live transactions, operating in an environment where even small mistakes carried real consequences. The two and a half years I spent there were among the most intense I could imagine, working every day alongside professionals at the top of their field, in an environment that felt like a competition with no off-days. It’s an experience I’ll carry with me for the rest of my career. At the same time, between the memories of my student internship and watching the technology industry evolve at pace around me, a growing desire took shape: I wanted to be on the side of people creating something new. If I was going to use my finance skills, I wanted to apply them in a way that generated meaningful, positive impact on the world. That’s when venture capital came into view.
• Earning the Trust of Founders — One Step at a Time When I met the DNX team, what I found was a genuine commitment to taking founders seriously — a long-term, alongside-rather-than-above orientation toward support. That alignment turned what had been a strong interest into a conviction: this is where I want to take on the challenge. As a venture capitalist, I’m still at the very beginning. Even so, I want to earn the trust of the founders I work with, bringing together the finance knowledge built through investment banking and the deep interest in startups I’ve carried since my student days. I intend to keep learning, keep sharpening myself, and grow into someone who can make a real and lasting contribution to the startup ecosystem.