The cash dried up. The dream nearly died.
So I told myself, “One last try.”

I’m Fumiko, a Japanese founder based in Malaysia, building Bee Informatica—a platform to improve financial access in Southeast Asia.
I believed in my mission. But investors didn’t seem to.

Not knowing why the answer was “no” slowly eroded my confidence.
I began to wonder—was my business model flawed?

Over three years, I spoke with nearly 100 advisors and investors.
Each conversation brought me a little closer to clarity.
In May 2024, it finally paid off—I met our lead investor.

Here’s what I learned in the journey from invisible to investable:The missteps, the mindset shifts, and the moments that changed everything.

How Persona Changed the Game

The turning point came when I finally started asking for feedback.
One mentor’s advice stuck with me:
“Don’t just talk numbers. Show the person. Show the emotion.”

It made sense. Many Japanese investors had never even been to Malaysia.
Without a clear, emotional persona, the borrowers remained invisible.
That’s when I discovered the power of persona.

At first, my focus was clear—women entrepreneurs.
It felt right. Women face real barriers in finance, and I wanted to fix that.
But VCs kept asking, “Why only women?”

Wrestling with the Shift

Letting go of the women-only focus wasn’t easy.
That had been my core.
When an advisor suggested broadening the target, it felt like I was betraying everything I stood for.

But this wasn’t meant to be an NGO—I wanted to build a business.
And to grow, it needed real funding from real VCs.

The gap soon became clear.
Malaysia has a quarter of Japan’s population.
Women make up half of that—but female founders are even rarer.
From an investor’s view, the market looked too small.

So I broadened my lens and rebuilt my persona—not just their job title and income, but their mindset, struggles, and ambitions as well.
Clarity wasn’t just nice to have. It was essential—for trust, for storytelling, for marketing.

Today, 60% of users are men—and it works.

When the pitch started to smell like business, investors finally started to bite.

From Invisible to Investable

In the early days, my pitch was simple.
I had a mission—but not the mindset.

Angel investors wrote small but life-saving checks—just enough to keep the lights on.
But I knew that wouldn’t be enough forever.
The business couldn’t survive without external funding.

So, the goal had shifted.
It was about getting real investors to turn their heads—and open their wallets. That meant becoming razor-specific.

My pitch deck grew from 5 slides to 45.
Every number, every risk, every partner—backed by data.
I had 15 minutes to convince them. And no second chances.

After 100+ investor meetings, a pattern formed: same questions, same doubts.

Then it hit me: if I kept hearing it, it wasn’t personal—it was market reality.
To build something lasting, I had to learn how others saw me—and pitch from that perspective.

What I’d Tell My Past Self

Pitching is a skill. You learn it through practice, feedback, and trial and error.
If it’s not working, it’s rarely the mission—it’s how you’re telling it. 

Startups don’t come with manuals. Unlike exams, there’s no set path.
You’re thrown in and told, “Figure it out.” 

To win support, you have to see your pitch through their eyes.
When you don’t know who to ask, meet someone new.
The right advice often comes from unexpected places.

Fumiko Inada is a Japanese entrepreneur who has called Malaysia home for the past six years. As the founder and CEO of FundingBee, a digital financing platform launched in 2019, she is committed to empowering Malaysian SMEs and entrepreneurs through fair and timely access to funding.

Let us fund your next dream.Get in touch with our group of experts at www.fundingbee.my or whatsapp us at +60 17-509 2672