In this series “Startup Nation Japan,” Asia Society Japan aims to introduce and promote to our members the forces of change now shaping Japan’s new growth dynamics. After having looked at the role of venture capital in the first session, then, the challenges for activist investors in the second, our third session introduces a success story. Russell Cummer founded Paidy in 2014 in Tokyo, seeking to exploit opportunities in the Japanese cashless payments market. Paidy gathered momentum quickly, with Russell’s team navigating the tensions between proud and established Japanese players versus tech-based disruption and creativity. In September 2021, the incredible success was rewarded with US FinTech giant PayPal buying the company for 300 billion JPY, in what is the biggest ever global acquisition of a Japan-based startup.

For this session, we are honored to host the Founder & Executive Chairman of Paidy, Russell Cummer, to tell us his story, the challenges he faced, the threats he overcame, and why Japan is indeed a land of opportunity for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Please join us for this unique opportunity to learn from a master who turned his vision into reality here in Japan.

This event will be conducted in-person and online.
In-person participation is for members and guests only. Online participation is open to the public. Registration is required.

Speaker Bio

Russell Cummer

Paidy, Founder & Executive Chairman

Russell is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Paidy, Japan's leading BNPL service. After becoming a Unicorn in 2020, Paidy was acquired by PayPal in September, 2021 for 300 billion JPY—the highest valued Japanese venture M&A transaction ever.

At the start of his career, Russell spent 7 years in financial markets, first as a member of the Merrill Lynch Global Equity Derivatives Strategy Group in Hong Kong and then as a proprietary-focused trader on the Asia Credit and Convertibles Trading desk at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Russell was born in Singapore and grew up in Hong Kong and Canada.

Russell holds a B.Sc. in Physics from Imperial College London and an M.S. in Financial Mathematics from Stanford University.