Hiro Kiga is the Co-founder and CEO of Wallex, a B2B cross-border payments startup. They were recently acquired by M-Daq, a Singapore-based fintech.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

My work job consists of putting out fires, making sure the team is happy and motivated in achieving goals, and that we don't get into any trouble running a licensed business in three countries.

My "real" job as a husband and father is to make my family happy. Provide my kids with what my dad (who passed away when I was 10) couldn't give, and devote myself as a lifelong partner to my wife. :)

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I can pitch Wallex in Bahasa, English, and Japanese. As well as do card magic (those who have seen it will know).

As for my job, even with the recent outcome, I must admit that I was never good at fundraising. This was something my co-founder and I came to terms with, as every round was extremely difficult for us.

We're definitely better operators, but I lacked that spark as a founder when it came to raising funds.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Definitely the recent acquisition by M-DAQ. When I first joined GREE Ventures (now called Strive), I didn't have any startup experience. It was during those days of interacting with ambitious founders when I made it a personal goal to go through the journey as a founder first to become a better investor.

The Peter Thiels and the Andreessens were all founders before becoming investors. To me, being able to empathize with founders was one of the most critical skills I lacked.

I definitely want to go back into investing, and hopefully, the founders will see me differently compared to who I was ten years ago.

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

B2B SaaS is a segment that's starting to get traction in the region. I personally am bullish on platforms that support the creator economy.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

There was a tweet I came across recently: "If you own 80% of your company and sell for $50M, you'll net about the same as a founder who owns 4% of their company and sells for $1B."

Before you take any external funding, have a deep think about what your priorities are. If you want to sleep peacefully at night, then the first type of company may be the way to go.

The other piece of advice is, don't be afraid to ask for help. More often than not, even if it's random people that you reach out to, they will help you in some way. I wish I had done that earlier.

🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Startups, startups, startups!

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Wall Street and Drive To Survive

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Cookies n Cream