Hiroyuki Goto ventured into what appeared to be a high-risk business nearly two decades ago when, at the age of 28, he started providing rent guarantees for foreign nationals living in Japan.

“Everyone around me strongly advised me not to do it and tried to stop me. They thought I was a bit crazy,” said Goto, who founded Global Trust Networks (GTN) in 2006.

Goto was somewhat optimistic because of personal experience.