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ANRI General Partner Samata Anri revealed on the podcast “Investor’s Sunday” that his ¥600 million (approximately $3.8 million) investment in NOT A HOTEL was based not on the business plan but on trust in the entrepreneur’s individual capability and character. The investment, which began with a Twitter DM from Hamaguchi Hideo during the COVID-19 lockdown, was extraordinary in that the business plan consisted solely of a poetry collection, yet it was executed after thorough reference checks with ZOZO-affiliated individuals. The core of Samata’s investment philosophy rests on the premise that “business plans always miss the mark”—he looks only at the entrepreneur’s thinking and capability as revealed through the process of creating the plan. This philosophy has been consistent since ANRI’s founding in 2012 with just ¥20 million (approximately $130,000), producing success stories such as Stores (currently valued at approximately ¥92 billion, or $578.8 million) and Raksul. The experience of pivoting toward institutionalization following the Coincheck hacking incident (with damages of approximately ¥40 billion, or $251.7 million) symbolizes the transition from individual craftsmanship to organizational investment capability. The aesthetic of finding value in what the market has overlooked, the community strategy of fostering “healthy envy” in the incubation office, and the compounding effect born from trust in people have been the driving forces behind ANRI’s 15 years of growth.
Key Elements
Last year, one investment sent shockwaves through the global venture capital industry. As the travel industry was being decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a Japanese VC poured ¥600 million into NOT A HOTEL. The business plan consisted solely of a poetry collection titled “A Life with NOT A HOTEL.” The photos were free stock images from overseas. And yet, the investment went through. The man behind this decision was Samata Anri, General Partner of the independent venture capital firm ANRI. Appearing on the podcast “Investor’s Sunday,” Samata described the core of his investment judgment:
I don’t trust business plans one bit. They’re always going to miss the mark. But the process of creating them, the person’s thinking, their capabilities—all of that is packed into it. So I look only at that.
This philosophy has underpinned ANRI’s investment activities for 15 years.
An investor’s life that began with ¥20 million
Samata’s career deviates significantly from the standard path in the financial industry. His origin story begins with seeing people in the VC industry during his university years and thinking they were “cool.” After working at Recruit and gaining a year of hands-on experience at East Ventures, he founded ANRI in 2012 at the age of 27.
I didn’t want to be at a venture capital firm—I wanted to do venture capital myself. So I just created it.
The initial fund size was a mere ¥20 million. In an era still reeling from the aftermath of the Lehman Shock, no institutional investor existed that would entrust capital to a 27-year-old with virtually no experience. Fundraising relied entirely on support from individuals, soliciting ¥5 million (approximately $31,000) “allowances” from well-known entrepreneurs.
The initial investments were deeply rooted in his personal network. The first investment was Stores, a payments company founded by his wife; the second was Raksul, launched by a friend from his university days. The investment thesis of this period was clear: if you invest in the cluster where the most talented people of his generation were gathering at startups, then unless that cluster succeeded, the Japanese startup market itself would not exist.
| Investment Order | Company | Relationship to Entrepreneur | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Stores | Wife | Payments company valued at approximately ¥92 billion |
| 2nd | Raksul | University friend | Listed company |
| 5th | Coincheck | Third party | Listed on NASDAQ (under Monex Group) |
What the Coincheck incident changed
ANRI’s institutionalization was realized through crisis. In 2018, approximately ¥40 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from Coincheck, ANRI’s fifth investment. As the external lead shareholder and a member of management, Samata devoted himself to the company’s response for roughly four months.
When I came back to the company after being away for four months, it was running as if nothing had happened. That shocked me. I had thought the company absolutely couldn’t function unless I was the one pushing it, but it was running as if nothing had happened.
This experience became the turning point toward delegating authority to younger members and institutionalizing the firm. At the same time, to avoid the incident being summarized as “young people running wild,” he decided to expand the fund’s size and accept institutional investors (LPs). Without this incident, ANRI would likely have remained dependent on individual craftsmanship.
Coincheck itself is also a case that exemplifies the “people-first” approach to investment judgment. It initially started as a business-focused social network, broke through with a separate business called Birigyaru, and then pivoted to a cryptocurrency exchange. The eventual president was the phantom CTO whom the original president had said “let’s do this together” about but who ultimately never joined—and who happened to be Samata’s junior from his badminton circle. This individual later became the developer of “Palworld,” a game that recorded hundreds of billions of yen in global sales.
The full story of the NOT A HOTEL investment
The NOT A HOTEL investment is the case where Samata’s investment philosophy manifested most sharply. In May 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, CEO Hamaguchi Hideo reached oute time consisted solely of a poetry collection titled “A Life with NOT A HOTEL,” with photos sourced from overseas free stock image sites. There is an anecdote that Hamaguchi himself was so moved by the poetry that he cried at home
The investment decision process involved thorough reference checks with ZOZO-affiliated individuals. He spoke with six to seven people—ZOZO employees, business partners, customers, and management—about Hamaguchi’s character, and after confirming that all stakeholders held him in high regard, he committed to the ¥600 million investment. Investing in the travel industry while it was being decimated by COVID-19 was something that could not be rationally explained from an external perspective, but Samata speaks with confidence: “No venture capitalist anywhere in the world could possibly make this investment.”
The office as a “hot spot”
ANRI’s office in Roppongi Hills features an unusual design for a financial institution. The single floor spans 1,200 square meters with 130 seats, but only 25 seats belong to ANRI itself—the rest are used by entrepreneurs, university students the firm supports, researchers, and artists. The space was taken over from Mercari after it moved out, furniture and all, at a bargain price.
There are clear rules governing the office’s operation. Essentially, everyone must vacate within one year, preventing stagnation and avoiding a situation where “the atmosphere turns sour.” The design is such that as successful individuals graduate one after another, those who remain develop a “healthy envy” that drives further growth.
Incubation is irreversible, so an egg that stays for two years in an irreversible state is probably not good.
This “hot spot” theory is also applied to the investment strategy itself. Samata has observed numerous cases where interns at exciting companies later went on to found successful startups. He cites the example of a university student who participated as an intern at Campfire’s launch and later founded a hugely successful company called Base, noting that people in hot spots “will all manage somehow as long as they’re doing something.”
The aesthetic of undervalued things
At the foundation of Samata’s investment philosophy lies an aesthetic of finding value in what the market has overlooked.
It’s an aesthetic where finding brilliance in undervalued things is cool. I think the only truly beautiful act is discovering truths that no one else has found—like Conan.
This aesthetic permeates not just investment selection but all of ANRI’s activities. In addition to startup investments as a fund, the firm also provides scholarships, NPO support, and photography awards to young creators and researchers who have not yet started companies. Samata likens this to being a fan of “Oshi no Ko,” describing the ideal position as watching one’s favorite grow from the back of the venue rather than the front row of a live concert.
This approach does not contradict the pursuit of returns as an investor. A virtuous cycle has emerged in which supported creators collaborate on film productions for portfolio companies, and talent from different fields interconnects to enhance the value of the entire network.
Fifteen years of institutionalization and the road ahead
ANRI’s 15-year history is a story of transition from individual craftsmanship to organizational investment capability. The first five years depended on Samata’s personal abilities, and the fund bore his own name for the reason that “as long as I’m doing it alone, no matter what name I give the fund, people will call it ‘Anri.'” However, as institutionalization progressed, last year he reportedly heard for the first time: “So there was someone named Anri at the fund called ANRI.”
Samata explains that this institutionalization follows the same pattern as legendary partner-named VCs such as Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz, which ultimately survived as organizations. Today, a member who was entrusted at age 25 with a first-year investment in Loop (now a GP at ANRI) serves as a GP of the fund, demonstrating that the culture of investment judgment has permeated the entire organization.
On the other hand, challenges of replicability remain with this approach. As Samata himself admits that the NOT A HOTEL investment “absolutely has no replicability,” the question of how to systematize investment decisions that depend on individual intuition and personal relationships into organizational capability will be crucial for ANRI’s future growth. Additionally, how the incubation office’s rule of everyone vacating within one year reconciles with building long-term relationships is another point worth watching. Sustaining the compounding effect born from trust in people as an organization—that will be the challenge that determines ANRI’s next 15 years.
Full content available at:Venture Capitalist Henri Samata (ANRI) on Why They Invested in NOT A HOTEL
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