Innovators in Japan: Weekly Digest 8/27/2018
Good morning, readers. We’ve been discussing the Japanese startup scene, and the companies and people that make it possible in our Weekly Digest. In doing so, we’ve found that in addition to people, there needs to be a culture of entrepreneurship that promotes the startup mentality in order for Japan (or any other nation) to successfully become a global technology leader.
In this Weekly Digest, we’ll be taking a look at Japanese startup bootcamps that have supported and evangelized the notion of tech entrepreneurship.
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Fixing Entrepreneurship with Education:
Entrepreneurship education, from tech bootcamps to product development intensives, have inserted itself into the general vocabulary of Silicon Valley. You’d know a few people who quit their jobs to study JavaScript for a few months, coming out with a new job and career if you live in the Bay Area or New York.
Not so much in Japan. In fact, not at all.
In a country where switching jobs is considered a risky move, where working for a startup is a sign of your inability to get a corporate job, technology entrepreneurship has taken a back seat to more traditional fields of work, stifling what creativity and ingenuity this land of the rising sun could have conjured into the world.
Until very recently, students were told to study hard in order to enter good universities, get a good job, and stay at that company until they retired. There are many small reasons adding up to one gigantic system that’s been in place since the 40s, and you’ll see very quickly how each of the following bullets reinforces other points:
- Seniority-based promotion system
- Lifetime employment
- Lack of human resources movement
- “Don’t rock the boat”
Macro View:
The Japanese SaaS market grew at 15% compared to 20% overseas according to B2B marketing startup smartcamp. More here: https://bit.ly/2OWCAtt
New Rounds:
BitStar, Japanese influencer marketing startup, raised ¥1.3bn (~$11m) from Global Brain (lead), ABC Dream Ventures, Coloplnext, Wright Flyer Live Entertainment, INTAGE Open Innovation Fund, Makers Fund, Asahi Shimbun, and Nagoya TV Ventures. More here: https://bit.ly/2N3LG6S
Blockchain Lock, enterprise-ready public blockchain startup, raised an undisclosed amount from Nomura Research Institute and the TIS Intec Group. More here: https://bit.ly/2MIyGH5
Boxed, bulk-sized groceries and miscellaneous shopping startup, raised $111M led by Japanese retail giant Aeon to take on Costco in bulk shopping; rejects Kroger’s $400m acquisition offer. The company had participation from Alpha Square Group, CDIB Capital, and consumer technology investor Gabriel Naouri and existing investors. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2MrL2np
Cansell, a hotel reservation reseller startup, raised ~¥200m (~$1.8m) from DG Incubation, DK Gate, Monex Ventures, and individual investors. More here: https://bit.ly/2w2Yioo
CookpadTV, recipe sharing site CookPad’s video content arm, raised ¥4bn (~$36m) led by Mitsubishi Corporation; hints at new joint venture. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2BCq0gT
Data Dock, north-Japanese cold-climate data center service, raised ¥525m (~$4.8m) from 5 companies including Media House Holdings, Tokyo Juki, Yoda Lease. More here: https://bit.ly/2MKuVkc
FashionPocket, an AI-based fashion trend analytics and customer experience startup, raised ¥260m (~$2.3m) in series A funding from Tokyo University Edge Capital, and more. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2nOGcSD
LastRoots, operator of crypto rewards startup for video viewers c0ban channel, raised undisclosed amount from SBI Group, and plans video advertisement business as well as international expansion. More here: https://bit.ly/2LcHGPY
Limar, a real estate transaction support Cloud service, raised ¥100m (~$900k) in seed funding from Nissay Capital and Kanshin Mirai Fund. More here: https://bit.ly/2Lk2Hbg
MAKOTO, Japanese venture accelerator, set up a ¥1bn (~$9m) early stage fund for Tohoku-based startups in the north-eastern region. Plans to finalize funding by 2020. More here: https://bit.ly/2w4gTR8
Metro Engine, a deep learning-based hotel pricing optimization SaaS, raised ¥700m (~$6.3m) for data science team expansion and product development acceleration. Participants included SBI Investment, NEC Capital Solutions, Evolable Asia, and JR East Startup. More here: https://bit.ly/2LomTsz
MoneyForward, a personal bookkeeping FinTech startup, added a back office support SaaS startup Wakufuri as a subsidiary after acquiring a majority stake in the company. More here: https://bit.ly/2LnqMOl
Quick Updates:
Akatsuki, a mobile entertainment startup, entered the eSports field with launch of pro-league through their Spain-based subsidiary. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2wljyFa
Dear Media Inc, a digital production and sales management SaaS for freelencing creatives, launches eponymous public app DearMedia. More here: https://bit.ly/2OYLlTB
LegalForce, a contract review AI startup founded by ex-lawyers, launched a public beta app. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2vWa0RR
Kaonavi, a cloud talent management startup, released a new feature to integrate with recruiting candidate databases. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2LkixCT
monooQ, a personal storage sharing service, announced a partnership with short-term rental startup Teritoru. More here: https://bit.ly/2L7kzGh
Proff, a resume builder and professional portfolio service, officially launched their public app. More here: https://tcrn.ch/2wbmfcq
Progate, a coding MOOC, established an Indian entity as first step to international expansion. More here: https://bit.ly/2Mn1BAW
Raccoon, a B2B oayment startup, partnered with FinTech company GMO Payment Gateway. More here: https://bit.ly/2PsFZ3W
TATERU, a real estate FinTech startup, launched their new blockchain research office TATERU Tech Lab. More here: https://bit.ly/2PrD8sd
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