Ryo Umezawa spent 10 formative years in the Philippines before university and later served as Japan country manager for global consumer platforms like Tinder and HomeAway, giving him hands-on experience with how to adapt international products for the Japanese market that most VCs lack. He combines his venture investing role at Antler with active corporate leadership positions, including VP roles at both Vector (leading M&A) and Mercari India, plus maintains a "day zero and global from Japan" philosophy that encourages founders to design for international expansion from the start. Ryo Umezawa spent 10 formative years in the Philippines before university and later served as Japan country manager for global consumer platforms like Tinder and HomeAway, giving him hands-on experience with how to adapt international products for the Japanese market that most VCs lack. He combines his venture investing role at Antler with active corporate leadership positions, including VP roles at both Vector (leading M&A) and Mercari India, plus maintains a "day zero and global from Japan" philosophy that encourages founders to design for international expansion from the start.