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Line Corporation to establish new Fukuoka location to focus on Asia expansion

Rick Martin 2013.07.12

line-ceo-morikawa-620x430 — Line Corporation CEO Akira Morikawa

Japan’s Line Corporation has announced that it will be establishing a new location in the country’s western city of Fukuoka by the fall of 2015. This particular location is being built to help focus on the company’s Asia growth, it’s proximity to other Asian cities makes that a little easier.

Line’s popular chat app has 190 million users to date, and could possibly hit 200 million later this month.

The new building will be centrally located near Hakata Station, and is expected to be able to accommodate over 1000 people. This will also contribute to the local economy through job creation as well, as it looks like they are already hiring.

Our readers may recall that we spend some time in Fukuoka a few months back to cover the B Dash Camp tech conference. Interestingly, one of the headline speakers at that event was Line’s CEO Akira Morikawa, who at the time explained that his company does not plan to establish regional subsidiaries in many countries – but rather operate in a more flexible manner as a sort of borderless company.

So far the company has been very good at doing business in this way, and it will be interesting to see if they can keep winning with this game plan as they push for more share around Asia and other parts of the world.

Line will join a number of prominent Japanese tech companies have a presence in Fukuoka already, including CyberAgent, Gumi, Mixi, and Paperboy just to name a few.

For more information on the growth of Line, please check out our interactive Line Timeline which chronicles its growth from its launch back in 2011 up until the present day.

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Is Japan’s Terra Motors the Tesla of Asia?

Junya Mori 2013.07.12

See the original story in Japanese. Terra Motors is a Tokyo-based startup manufacturing mid-range and high-end electric bikes for Asian markets. The startup held a press briefing yesterday and unveiled a brand new model called the A4000i. The new model’s big feature is connectivity with iPhones. When you set your handset on the bike’s handlebar, it will keep you updated with real-time metrics during driving, such as fuel efficiency, tracking routes, and power consumption. With this new function, the startup aims to help courier companies become more efficient in their delivery work. Their strategy is to give consumers in Asia a high-end offering, so the new bike only supports iPhone, as opposed to other smartphone devices. Its price will be around 450,000 yen (about $4,500) in Japan, and will be about the same in other Asian countries. This means the bike will not be cheap for consumers in the region, so the startup hopes that their competitive edge can be in branding rather than pricing. For the company’s mid- to long-term vision, it plans to use data collected from users to develop a new service in partnership with big data solution companies. They’re still preparing a navigation feature as well….

See the original story in Japanese.

Terra Motors is a Tokyo-based startup manufacturing mid-range and high-end electric bikes for Asian markets. The startup held a press briefing yesterday and unveiled a brand new model called the A4000i.

The new model’s big feature is connectivity with iPhones. When you set your handset on the bike’s handlebar, it will keep you updated with real-time metrics during driving, such as fuel efficiency, tracking routes, and power consumption. With this new function, the startup aims to help courier companies become more efficient in their delivery work.

a4000i-interface — Metric monitoring interface (under development)

Their strategy is to give consumers in Asia a high-end offering, so the new bike only supports iPhone, as opposed to other smartphone devices. Its price will be around 450,000 yen (about $4,500) in Japan, and will be about the same in other Asian countries. This means the bike will not be cheap for consumers in the region, so the startup hopes that their competitive edge can be in branding rather than pricing.

For the company’s mid- to long-term vision, it plans to use data collected from users to develop a new service in partnership with big data solution companies. They’re still preparing a navigation feature as well.

In this space, we’ve already seen a trend in the integration of mobility and data, such as the Google/Waze acquisition and Toyota’s new big data mash-up service.

Terra Motors has developed a prototype for the new model, and plans to start mass production this winter. They expect to sell more than 100,000 bikes by the end of 2015, and they’re currently inviting potential retailers and distributors from around Asia to get in touch.

Terra Motors was founded back in April of 2010, and it received investment worth of 221 million yen (or about $2 million) back in 2011. The investors include Mizuho Capital and several angel investors such as ex-Sony and ex-Google Japan CEOs.

The startup’s CEO Toru Tokushige spoke of his aspiration to be Asia’s answer to Tesla Motors in the region’s electric markets. But he’ll have a big challenge ahead.

MG_8656 — Terra Motors’ CEO Toru Tokushige at press briefing on Thursday

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Top 5: Japanese Hairstyle Apps

SCORE 5,344

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.12

Photo via. Vivivi.com Japan has quite a few unique photo apps, as we have mentioned many times. Many of them are beauty-related applications, targeting the young female demographic. Below are five hair-related apps from Japan that might help girls on their quest to look cute. The majority are photo applications, and if you’re a fan of Japanese hairstyles, you’ll be sure to enjoy them! So here they are, in no particular order. Imecode ¶ This hairstyle simulation app has been downloaded over one million times. There are different hairstyles available from popular hair salons, and if you like one, you can make a reservation within the app. The simulated hair can be published in the app, and then entered into a popularity poll by other users. The resulting photo can be shared on Twitter, Facebook, or email, so that you can find out what your friends think. Imecode is available on iOS as a free download. Morigami Camera ¶ In just five seconds, this app lets you transform into a Kyabakura girl (or a club hostess). This style of big hair is called Morigami, and the list of girls available on the app are actual club hostesses. You can choose…

Photo via. Vivivi.com

Japan has quite a few unique photo apps, as we have mentioned many times. Many of them are beauty-related applications, targeting the young female demographic. Below are five hair-related apps from Japan that might help girls on their quest to look cute. The majority are photo applications, and if you’re a fan of Japanese hairstyles, you’ll be sure to enjoy them! So here they are, in no particular order.

Imecode ¶

This hairstyle simulation app has been downloaded over one million times. There are different hairstyles available from popular hair salons, and if you like one, you can make a reservation within the app.

The simulated hair can be published in the app, and then entered into a popularity poll by other users. The resulting photo can be shared on Twitter, Facebook, or email, so that you can find out what your friends think. Imecode is available on iOS as a free download.

Morigami Camera ¶

In just five seconds, this app lets you transform into a Kyabakura girl (or a club hostess). This style of big hair is called Morigami, and the list of girls available on the app are actual club hostesses.

You can choose one girl with a hairstyle you like, and then enjoy the morigami youself. Morigami can be downloaded for iOS.

Homegami Dresser ¶

‘Homegami’ means a hair style that people would give you compliments for. In this app you can chooise from over 30 hair styles, and the transformed image moves its eyes and neck making the photo look real. By registering over on Homegami.com website, you can also add frames to your photos. Homegami Dresser is available over on Google Play and on App Store.

Vivivi.com ¶

This app is provided by a hair salon portal called Vivivi.com. You can search for hair salons, hair styles, or even search for coupons and user reviews. Using GPS, the app will suggest nearby hair salons for you. You can also search for salons according to the kind of services they provide, by type of facilities, or by their specialities or popularity. Vivivi.com is available for free over on the App Store and on Google Play.

ChouChou ¶

With ChouChou, you can try out popular Kawaii (or cute) hairstyles in Tokyo, and its in 3D. The company behind the app is Motion Portrait, known for their facial technology that breathes in life into photos. The resulting portrait looks more authentic, giving you a better idea of what you would really look like with a certain hairstyle. Check out how the app works in the video below.

Bonus:

There are other hair-related apps out there that are a little on the wacky side. MustacheBooth 3D lets you see what you would look like with different styles of mustache — even if you’re a woman.

And then there is Zura Catch (‘zura’ means wig in Japanese), a casual mobile game. To play, you just hold the wig at the top of the screen, and try dropping it on the head of a moving ojisan (or older man)’s head. The ojisan is pretty nimble, and that makes the game harder than you would expect.

On sort of a related note, we came across an interesting offline promotion by a hair care product. Where did it take place? At stationary store. Near every pen/pencil section, a store usually sets up a white sheet of paper where shoppers can try out the products. Zero Scalp Shampoo placed white paper with an illustration of five bald-headed men on it. They drew some hair on the man on the far right, to inspire consumers to draw hair for other men. It was a very interesting choice of promotion location for hair care product company.

Photo via. Markezine

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Japanese online ticketing service Peatix secures $3M in series A funding

Masaru Ikeda 2013.07.11

NYC-based Japanese startup and online ticketing service provider Peatix announced today it has secured series A funding worth $3 million from Fidelity Growth Partners Japan, the VC and private equity arm of Fidelity Worldwide Investment. Fidelity’s Japan representative David Milstein will join the management board. The other investors include 500 Startups, Draper Nexus Venture Partners, DG Incubation, Itochu Technology Ventures, Sunbridge Global Ventures, and Zenshin Capital [1]. Peatix was co-founded back in 2009 by four Amazon.com/Amazon Japan alumni: Naofumi Iwai, Taku Harada, Emi Takemura Miller, and Yuji Fujita. To date, it has been providing an online ticketing service, facilitating over 10,000 meet-ups, conferences and events. As part of its business strategy, the startup focuses on optimizing its interface for smartphone devices, and now more than 60% of user traffic is coming from mobile. With these new funds, the startup’s CEO Taku Harada explains that the company will intensify system development, improve user experience, and push for global business expansions. The startup has moved its headquarters to NYC early this year, and recently established a subsidiary, Peatix Asia, in Singapore. DG Incubation is the investment arm of Tokyo-based startup incubator Digital Garage. Zenshin Capital is an investment fund which was founded by Silicon…

peatix-team-at-echelon2013 — Peatix Team at Echelon 2013, Singapore
(Naofumi Iwai on the left, and Emi Takemura Miller on the right)

The other investors include 500 Startups, Draper Nexus Venture Partners, DG Incubation, Itochu Technology Ventures, Sunbridge Global Ventures, and Zenshin Capital [1].

Peatix was co-founded back in 2009 by four Amazon.com/Amazon Japan alumni: Naofumi Iwai, Taku Harada, Emi Takemura Miller, and Yuji Fujita. To date, it has been providing an online ticketing service, facilitating over 10,000 meet-ups, conferences and events.

As part of its business strategy, the startup focuses on optimizing its interface for smartphone devices, and now more than 60% of user traffic is coming from mobile. With these new funds, the startup’s CEO Taku Harada explains that the company will intensify system development, improve user experience, and push for global business expansions.

The startup has moved its headquarters to NYC early this year, and recently established a subsidiary, Peatix Asia, in Singapore.

The growth of events using Peatix for their attendee management — The growth of events using Peatix for their ticketing

DG Incubation is the investment arm of Tokyo-based startup incubator Digital Garage. Zenshin Capital is an investment fund which was founded by Silicon Valley-based Japanese entrepreneur Takeshi Mori. ↩

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Japan’s Netprice.com launches new ‘Beenos’ incubation program

Masaru Ikeda 2013.07.11

Japanese internet conglomerate Netprice.com announced today that it has launched a new incubation program called Beenos, which will provide hands-on support to promising young entrepreneurs. Netprice.com has another incubation program called Open Network Lab (aka OnLab), led by MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito and jointly operated with Digital Garage. So a natural question to ask here is why would Netprice need to run two different incubators at the same time? How do they differ? I had an opportunity to visit the Netprice.com office and hear from key members of the program’s team: Hiro Maeda, Bora Savas, Daisuke Imai, and Kazuya Kawakami. How is the Beenos incubation program different from OnLab? At OnLab, we’ve been helping as many startups as possible to launch and [grow], because it’s a seed acceleration program. In terms of helping participating startups learn more about what they have to do, they can receive advice from our mentors. For the Beenos program, we formed a 15-person hands-on team with the aim of committing ourselves to working with entrepreneurs. Most members of the team have previously launched their own startups, so they know what entrepreneurs are going thorough based on their own experience. What do you provide…

So a natural question to ask here is why would Netprice need to run two different incubators at the same time? How do they differ? I had an opportunity to visit the Netprice.com office and hear from key members of the program’s team: Hiro Maeda, Bora Savas, Daisuke Imai, and Kazuya Kawakami.

How is the Beenos incubation program different from OnLab?

At OnLab, we’ve been helping as many startups as possible to launch and [grow], because it’s a seed acceleration program. In terms of helping participating startups learn more about what they have to do, they can receive advice from our mentors.

For the Beenos program, we formed a 15-person hands-on team with the aim of committing ourselves to working with entrepreneurs. Most members of the team have previously launched their own startups, so they know what entrepreneurs are going thorough based on their own experience.

What do you provide in the Beenos program?

We provide everything you need for launching your startup. If you have an idea but no team, we can help you build a one. If you have an app but no user base, we can give you ideas that help boost user growth. You can apply for the program even if you have no great idea because we think the idea is not a key factor in terms of making your startup succeed.

For early-stage startups, we typically provide operational support using our Netprice.com personnel. For mature-startups, we help you expand your business reach globally using our international network comprised of our investees, subsidiaries, and partners.

So what do you expect from entrepreneurs?

For entrepreneurs, we think the success of your startup very much relies on how much your idea fits your mindset rather than your skill set as a business owner. We expect you to have a mindset where many people can follow you, [including] good co-workers or ardent customers.

According to Mr. Maeda, a recent trend in the startup incubation industry has seen US incubators focus on acquiring high-profile people for their advisory or management board, such as Digg co-founder Kevin Rose who joined Google Ventures, or SuccessFactors’ founder Lars Dalgaard who joined Andreessen Horowitz. Beenos expects this trend to seep into the Japanese incubation industry.

The team consists of experienced people from various fields. Dr. Bora Savas is a Turkish entrepreneur and data specialist. Daisuke Imai can help you build up prototype based on your idea, and give you advice from a user experience point if view. Using his network of investors and entrepreneurs in South East Asia, Mr. Kazuya Kawakami can help you expand your business quickly in that region.

For the time being, they will focus on nurturing Japanese startups in their Tokyo office, but they aspire to do more regardless of geography or nationality as it becomes possible later on.

Netprice already boasts an impressive portfolio of services like group-buying platform Netprice, auction site Brandear, and localized e-Bay service Sekaimon. Some of our readers may recall that the company also recently invested in two Turkish Internet companies as well.

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Project Design Lab: Helping Tohoku’s reconstruction by crowdsourcing design

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.11

Two years have passed since the Tohoku earthquake hit Japan, and the region is still in the middle of reconstruction efforts. And just as in many other parts of Japan, there are many traditional crafts that have been nurtured there over hundreds of years. In order to support this kind of remarkable craftsmanship, as well as the region’s economy and reputation, a new website called Product Design Lab has just launched. A number of players are behind the initiative: Yahoo’s Tohoku reconstruction online mall, major crowdsourcing website Crowdworks, Daikokuya Business Consulting, and Yahoo Crowdsourcing. The four business aim to supplement the lack of design resources in the Tohoku region, marrying old craftsmanship with new consumer-generated ideas. Here is how a typical project will proceed. The details of the product will be decided based on a survey conducted on Yahoo Crowdsourcing, and product design will then be developed on CrowdWorks. After a vote on Yahoo Crowdsourcing, the item will be manufactured, and the final product can be bought at Yahoo’s Tohoku reconstruction online mall. At the time of launch, two companies from Tohoku will participate in the new initiative: a leather bag manufacturing company called Astro Tech in Miyagi prefecture, and…

A number of players are behind the initiative: Yahoo’s Tohoku reconstruction online mall, major crowdsourcing website Crowdworks, Daikokuya Business Consulting, and Yahoo Crowdsourcing. The four business aim to supplement the lack of design resources in the Tohoku region, marrying old craftsmanship with new consumer-generated ideas.

Here is how a typical project will proceed. The details of the product will be decided based on a survey conducted on Yahoo Crowdsourcing, and product design will then be developed on CrowdWorks. After a vote on Yahoo Crowdsourcing, the item will be manufactured, and the final product can be bought at Yahoo’s Tohoku reconstruction online mall.

At the time of launch, two companies from Tohoku will participate in the new initiative: a leather bag manufacturing company called Astro Tech in Miyagi prefecture, and the Kesenuma Dream Project which manufactures hand moisturizing cream that uses camellia oil from the region. Using Product Design Lab, Astro Tech will come up with an entirely new bag, and the Kesenuma Dream Project will design a new package for its popular hand moisturizer.

To see what kind of crowdsourcing projects might become available in the future on the site, take a look at Yahoo’s Tohoku Reconstruction online mall or check out the Fukko Department.

Line Corporation to establish new Fukuoka location to focus on Asia expansion

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