Tokyo-based Clue announced in November the launch of a data management service for drones called DroneCloud. The service will offer a platform to manage drone data, such as tracking who operates which drone, managing projects and team members operating drones, as well as managing and sharing drone flight data.
In the platform, the project management menu allows users to create and manage a project such as assigning drone managers and selecting which drone to use. The data management menu can store photos and videos taken from drones, as well as manage flight plans and other project information. The flight log menu records weather conditions, and where and when drones are being operated. The individual management menu manages model specs of drones used, records total flying hours, and maintenance status. The service is available for a monthly subscription fee of 9,800 yen ($80).
DroneCloud’s dashboard
Ryosuke Abe, CEO and founder of Clue explains:
DroneCloud is a cloud service for companies using drones in their business. There are few peripheral services supporting their efficient drone operations such as managing drones and acquired data. We can support their safe and efficient operations by offering a service allowing them to manage various data in an integrated way. Since business use of drones are more advanced in the US and Europe, we will target the global market. That’s why we are offering the service in English as well as in Japanese.
He has a website called Drone Borg that covers drone startups and use cases from the world. Abe is a serial entrepreneur, having launched fashion sharing business Loving’Box. Abe is leveraging his aerospace engineering background in the drone space.
Abe says that DroneCloud will be a platform for data processing solutions in the cloud, acquiring flight data by integrating drones from different manufacturers via API (application program interface) or SDK (software development kit).
As the Aviation Law has been amended in Japan, when a company wants to use a drone, they must check flight restricted areas, apply for a flying permit, and register the drone. Clue will help users process these tasks, aiming to support overall drone operations for businesses.
Abe outlined their plans:
In addition to DroneCloud, we are looking at creating a whole “operating system” for business-use drones. Only Airware is running the business, but there is no outstanding startup in this sector. While the hardware business of drones will be commoditized in the future, I think the operating system software and the cloud will be the key to secure our competitive advantage. We intend to make DroneCloud a must-have cloud service for drone businesses, providing an OS control board that will enable seamless data integration with the cloud platform.
Translated by Moto Tsujino via Mother First Edited by Kurt Hanson
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Aquabit Spirals announced on Tuesday that it has fundraised 40 million yen (approximately $325,000) from K&P Partners in a seed round. Since its launch back in 2009, Aquabit Spirals has been developing O2O (online to offline) solutions using NFC (near field communication) technology. The company was selected to join the Spring 2015 Season batch of the Orange Fab Asia incubation program with its Smart Plate device which enables bookmarking on real objects using NFC-enabled IC chips. Having a unique QR code and IC chips inside, the device gives information linked with other Smart Plates through NFC-enabled / camera built-in smartphones. By managing linked information with codes via the cloud, the Smart Plate leads the user to the information by redirecting access destination, even enabling the NFC chip campaign owners to integrally manage information via the cloud with a specialized app. The company was selected a Top 10 finalist in the Startup Launchpad Area competition at Echelon Thailand 2015, a startup showcase event taking place in Bangkok last week. They also recently won the Shibuya second prize in the Tokyu Accelerate Program, a startup acceleration program by Tokyu Corporation, one of Tokyo’s leading private…
Tokyo-based Aquabit Spirals announced on Tuesday that it has fundraised 40 million yen (approximately $325,000) from K&P Partners in a seed round.
Since its launch back in 2009, Aquabit Spirals has been developing O2O (online to offline) solutions using NFC (near field communication) technology. The company was selected to join the Spring 2015 Season batch of the Orange Fab Asia incubation program with its Smart Plate device which enables bookmarking on real objects using NFC-enabled IC chips. Having a unique QR code and IC chips inside, the device gives information linked with other Smart Plates through NFC-enabled / camera built-in smartphones.
By managing linked information with codes via the cloud, the Smart Plate leads the user to the information by redirecting access destination, even enabling the NFC chip campaign owners to integrally manage information via the cloud with a specialized app.
A prototype of the Smart Plate device showcased at Orange Fab Asia Demo Day. This can be put on books laid sideways at bookstores and help customers reach supplemental information on mobile.
The company was selected a Top 10 finalist in the Startup Launchpad Area competition at Echelon Thailand 2015, a startup showcase event taking place in Bangkok last week. They also recently won the Shibuya second prize in the Tokyu Accelerate Program, a startup acceleration program by Tokyu Corporation, one of Tokyo’s leading private railway companies, in association with IMJ Investment Partners. With the support of Tokyu, Aquabit Spirals will start test marketing the Smart Plate device in January of 2016.
In addition, Aquabit Spirals started providing the showrooming experience for customers at two DIY shops in Tokyo and Osaka using the device, connecting items displayed for sales there with an online storefront where customers can buy afterwards. In Bangkok, the company has placed the device at Airbnb guest rooms, aiming to drive potential customers to Travee, an online activity matching platform in Asia, and bring additional revenue for guest room owners. It can be considered as a new affiliate business model that drives customer traffic into offline retailing.
A Smart Plate device located in an Airbnb guest room in Bangkok. (Image from Travee’s Facebook timeline).
Using the latest funds, Aquabit Spirals wants to enhance the function of the device and accelerate the penetration thereof in Japan and the rest of the world, aiming to connect various location spots and physical things to the Internet.
See the original story in Japanese. This is part of our ‘Tokyo Office Tour’ series (RSS), a modest attempt to better understand how folks in the local startup scene are working every day. Startups in the growth stage are often forced to relocate their office due to the rapid increase of their employees. As I wrote in this story before, since every district in Tokyo has its own characteristics in terms of property size or public transit access, it is common for startups to move to other district as they grow. However, Grooves, a Japanese startup providing human resources technology (HR tech) solutions, has been relocating its office only in the Omotesando district, sometimes referred to as Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées or Rodeo Drive, for over ten years. We recently visited Groove’s newest office facing a main road in the area to speak with their founder and CEO Yuhikiro Ikemi. He said that the this area’s presence as a startup hub has been gradually growing amongst Tokyo’s other major startup hubs like Shibuya and Roppongi. Our readers may recall that MerryBiz, Japanese crowdsourced bookkeeping startup, established its office last year in this area which we also called a fintech startup hub in Tokyo….
This is part of our ‘Tokyo Office Tour’ series (RSS), a modest attempt to better understand how folks in the local startup scene are working every day.
Startups in the growth stage are often forced to relocate their office due to the rapid increase of their employees. As I wrote in this story before, since every district in Tokyo has its own characteristics in terms of property size or public transit access, it is common for startups to move to other district as they grow. However, Grooves, a Japanese startup providing human resources technology (HR tech) solutions, has been relocating its office only in the Omotesando district, sometimes referred to as Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées or Rodeo Drive, for over ten years. We recently visited Groove’s newest office facing a main road in the area to speak with their founder and CEO Yuhikiro Ikemi.
He said that the this area’s presence as a startup hub has been gradually growing amongst Tokyo’s other major startup hubs like Shibuya and Roppongi. Our readers may recall that MerryBiz, Japanese crowdsourced bookkeeping startup, established its office last year in this area which we also called a fintech startup hub in Tokyo.
Since a typical office floor is about 200 square meters wide at most in this area, medium-sized companies move to towering buildings in subcenters of Tokyo such as Otemachi or Shinjuku when their office is to small for the increased number of employees. Because these companies typically leave furnishings or amenities when they move, the next tenant startup can take them over when renting these office without additional renovation or furnishings. When moving to the next location, these tenant startups would not need to restore the venue interiors to its original condition if they can find the next renter which can be satisfied with using it without changing the environment. This merits an original tenant company, a new tenant startup as well as an office room owner in terms of cost saving and renovation construction unneeded.
Guiding me inside his new office, Ikemi told us in a modest way that the new venue was far beyond their means but he could luckily rented the one having brilliant interiors and furnishings thanks to a real estate agent that he has known long.
L to R: Yukihiro Ikemi (CEO and founder), Minoru Kuriyama (MD, management strategy), Yuka Ouka (programmer), Akira Matsuda (MD, R&D), Takafumi Ohata (MD and co-founder)
Earlier this year, the company appointed Dr. Kenji Hirata, who has been involved in HR-XML (Human Resources eXtensible Markup Language) and standardizing the competence model for human resources development, as principal for the new research unit. And this time around, the company announced that Minoru Kuriyama, former McKinsey consultant and MBA lecturer, and Akira Matsurda, Japan’s only committer on Ruby and Ruby on Rails committer, have joined the board. Going forward, the company will more focused on expanding Forkwell, a platform helping engineers find new jobs by registering their skills portfolio, and CrowdAgent as channels for connecting general job seekers with recruitment agencies, in addition to developing HR technology solutions in the research unit.
Ikemi started the Omotesando Start-up Hub Project this year, encouraging as many entrepreneurs and startups as possible to run their business here together through organizing meet-ups at Apple Store Omotesando which is located in the very heart of the district. We are looking forward to seeing the high rise of the new startup hub, slightly different from conventional startup hubs in chaotic townscape like Shibuya or Roppongi.
Lovely array of books in the meeting space with clients.Staffers are aggressively working in cubicles.Engineers discussing in serious manner, surrounded by user voices on post-it notes.With a sheepish grin, Ikemi said “there’s even a room for me” and guided me inside it.
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Flect, a company providing a variety of cloud app integrations, unveiled in early November that they have secured a financial partnership with Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of Salesforce.com (henceforth referred to as Salesforce). While the details surrounding this partnership, for example funding, remain unclear, Flect has been participating in the Salesforce1 IoT (Internet of Things) Jump Start Program for quite some time now. Additionally, this summer they will be launching Cariot, a cloud service designed to handle data processing for the implementation of the connected car, as well as the launching of multiple other cloud services that use Salesforce’s cloud are expected. We had a chance to hear from Flect CEO Koji Kurokawa about the company’s progress as well as their future plans. System integration business without typical hierarchy Flect was established in 2005. At the start they were engaged in entrusted development of consumer-oriented web services for companies like Recruit Group. Taking on the agile style of app development by quickly adjusting the client’s evolving needs, Flect was designated a core partner by Recruit Group affiliated system development company Recruit Technologies. While remaining unaffected by the hierarchy of the SI (systems…
Tokyo-based Flect, a company providing a variety of cloud app integrations, unveiled in early November that they have secured a financial partnership with Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of Salesforce.com (henceforth referred to as Salesforce). While the details surrounding this partnership, for example funding, remain unclear, Flect has been participating in the Salesforce1 IoT (Internet of Things) Jump Start Program for quite some time now. Additionally, this summer they will be launching Cariot, a cloud service designed to handle data processing for the implementation of the connected car, as well as the launching of multiple other cloud services that use Salesforce’s cloud are expected.
We had a chance to hear from Flect CEO Koji Kurokawa about the company’s progress as well as their future plans.
System integration business without typical hierarchy
Flect was established in 2005. At the start they were engaged in entrusted development of consumer-oriented web services for companies like Recruit Group. Taking on the agile style of app development by quickly adjusting the client’s evolving needs, Flect was designated a core partner by Recruit Group affiliated system development company Recruit Technologies. While remaining unaffected by the hierarchy of the SI (systems integrations) business world, where distribution channels are often started by contractors, you could say that Flect has realized a more flexible method of app development using the cloud.
Flect is developing apps and services using a combination of multiple cloud platforms. For example, in a case where comparative stability and reliability are needed, Salesforce’s Sales Cloud and Force.com are used. For frontend and consumer-oriented services where the flexibility to handle sudden changes in traffic is required, they use Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). For Flect, because price ranges vary from one cloud provider to the next, the challenge is in taking into consideration the client’s budget concerns while finding the best possible configuration.
Koji Kurokawa shares,
For our company there hasn’t been many cases where we’ve actually stationed our dev engineers and programmers on location with a client. The orders we receive for apps are developed in the cloud, and are generally released in fifteen days to a month. Our engineers and programmers are in-house so, (compared to on-site SI) employees have access to all the technical know-how accumulated at Flect, also it’s easier for employees to share their expertise with co-workers.
An app developed in the cloud by Flect
Pioneering enterprise-oriented IoT business
Aiming to differentiate themselves as an SI, Flect has been participating in the Salesforce1 IoT Jumpstart Program since 2014, and have since become pioneers in the field, from conventional contract-based app development, to enterprise-oriented IoT services. When we refer to IoT, in general, what we typically see in the consumer-oriented business model are sold-out models of hardware and development of subscription-based services adopting SORACOM, a mobile service for IoT service developers. That is the present state of consumer IoT, but what kind of services would come from enterprise-oriented IoT?
Koji Kurokawa shares,
We developed a construction equipment IoT service for Tokyu Construction. Typical construction companies want to increase the productivity of their construction equipment. For example now, they have a sense of productivity to some extent, but they don’t have any accurate data to show for it. While there are existing IoT solutions for managing productivity being offered by construction equipment makers, with respect to temporary rentals of equipment from multiple different makers, there wasn’t any unified solution for managing productivity.
We have developed a system that can manage productivity using data uploaded to the cloud, just by attaching a sensor device containing a data SIM to the construction equipment. While using hardware from a third-party maker and SIM cards from Connexio, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Japan, we’ve been focusing on development of the cloud part.
The machine connection device installed on a piece of construction equipment.
(caption)The machine connection device installed on a piece of construction equipment.
Flect has adopted the aforementioned construction equipment IoT platform as a POC (proof of concept) model based on the client’s order. If it is determined that there is a demand, commercializing the service and outward expansion will begin. One such service developed in this way is Cariot, an optimized IoT cloud service that handles data sent from cars.
Koji Kurokawa explains,
“We even attach the device to our own cars and collect data. As for possible client use cases, it can be used for operational management of company vehicles, for example one of our customers outside Tokyo is using it to track the shuttle busses it uses to send employees from the factory to the train station, so the employees can see how many minutes until the shuttle arrives.
An app providing bus service information using Cariot
In Japan, from 2008 for new-type cars, and from 2010 for continued sales cars, it has been required that they come equipped with the OBD-II (on-board diagnostics second generation) interface, so even without a digital tachometer or special telecom device, Cariot can be integrated easily.
The Cariot API is publicly available, so users can develop various apps and services to integrate with their vehicles and personalize to their own needs.
Koji Kurokawa shares,
Besides just cars, we’re also working on POCs for IoT services that handle other types of vital data as well. I think this will result in an increase of retail trade businesses creating big data companies, and things like interdisciplinary joint business in this field. At Flect we are repeating the SI process of creating a POC, and advancing it to a service if the demand is there, and in this way we want to broaden the variety of cloud services.
In comparison to the development of consumer-oriented IoT using crowdfunding to measure the level of user interest, prototyping using that funding and then planning advancement to mass production, enterprise-oriented services that go though POC to then be brushed up and launched after having already gathered potential users may yield more control for businesses over risk. You could say that also in terms of the amount of time it takes to verify new technology, and the high level of reliability expected in enterprise-oriented services, this method of development may have some considerable advantages.
We’re looking forward to seeing what new IoT cloud services Flect develops in the future.
See the original story in Japanese. We are told that one out of five drivers in urban areas in the US is constantly driving in circles hunting for a parking space. As problem solvers, parking-sharing services, such as Akippa in Japan, JustPark and Park Circa in other countries, are emerging. Released in early November, eCoPA is an Internet of Thing (IoT) solution that uses sensor cameras for parking lots. Users can browse spaces before leaving home and book one of them if the parking has a reservation system. Using the mobile app, they can check how long they have parked and how much they have been charged, and even make a payment. eCoPA does not require car-locking units typical in Japan. eCopa does not adopt a flapping metal plate to trap a vehicle, which is typical for wheel blocking in the parking lot but sometimes annoy the drivers by damaging their cars or making them struggle to park in the right position. eCoPA installs in each parking lot a pole with a built-in camera and sensors that can read a license number on the plate. These poles enable drivers to see the on their smartphones how many lots are available…
We are told that one out of five drivers in urban areas in the US is constantly driving in circles hunting for a parking space. As problem solvers, parking-sharing services, such as Akippa in Japan, JustPark and Park Circa in other countries, are emerging.
Released in early November, eCoPA is an Internet of Thing (IoT) solution that uses sensor cameras for parking lots. Users can browse spaces before leaving home and book one of them if the parking has a reservation system. Using the mobile app, they can check how long they have parked and how much they have been charged, and even make a payment. eCoPA does not require car-locking units typical in Japan. eCopa does not adopt a flapping metal plate to trap a vehicle, which is typical for wheel blocking in the parking lot but sometimes annoy the drivers by damaging their cars or making them struggle to park in the right position.
eCoPA installs in each parking lot a pole with a built-in camera and sensors that can read a license number on the plate. These poles enable drivers to see the on their smartphones how many lots are available in real-time. With a patented technology that can read license plates, eCoPA also serves as a security system to prevent unpaid parking. Compared with a conventional parking system having the aforementioned locking units, eCoPA saves space owners some 40 percent in the initial cost if they install the system in parking lots accommodating 7 vehicles.
In November, two companies decided to adopt the eCoPA system. S-cubism Technology, the Japanese startup behind the system, aims to install it in 100 parking lots in a year. To bring adequate traffic to eCoPA-installed parking lots, the company plans to distribute information to mobile car-navigation or map apps.
Masanori Takeshita, President of S-cubism Technology, says:
Currently, Times and Mitsui’s Repark are the only car-parking brands in Japan that provide apps for drivers to find parking spaces using mobile map apps. eCoPA provides a parking system at a reasonable price. We will help smaller parking lot operators, who have a limited budget for IT investment, publish their available spaces online and get drivers to find them.
Tekeshita developed eCoPA because he found it difficult himself to search out a parking space when he drove with his family to parks, supermarkets or other places, as car parks of those facilities were often full. He could release eCoPA thanks to declining costs of cameras and sensors as the IoT is growing fast.
A conventional parking system usually costs millions of yen to implement car-locking units and automated pay stations. But eCoPA requires only 120,000 yen ($1,000) for a pole, plus an installation fee starting at 200,000 yen ($1,600) for integrating with the mobile app and the cloud system. eCoPA enables landowners to use even their small spaces effectively.
Watch the video below to see how eCoPA works.
Translated by Shinobu Ishikawa Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy
See the original story in Japanese Tokyo-based Coconala, previously known as WelSelf, offers an online platform under the same name where you can buy and sell knowledge, skills and, experience from users who are willing to teach. The company announced on Tuesday that it has fundraised a total of 540 million yen (about $4.4 million) from Jafco, Nissay Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, and Voyage Ventures in mid-November. This follows their previous $1.5 million funding from four investors back in September of 2013. Since its launch back in July 2012, the platform has acquired more then 200,000 registered users and over 50,000 micro jobs that you can ask, which has massively increased from 30,000 micro jobs registered as of April. Coconala CEO Akiyuki Minami says, Coconala has been steadily growing in the last three years, keeping a growth rate of 13% on a monthly basis. Since this relies in large part on word-of-month effects, now we can expect that our users recall and recognize our brand. Skills marketplace in affordable prices He claimed that Coconala connects individuals for buying and selling their skills, aiming to fulfill needs and solve problems unlike typical crowdsourcing platforms. Coconala provides a broad range of services…
Tokyo-based Coconala, previously known as WelSelf, offers an online platform under the same name where you can buy and sell knowledge, skills and, experience from users who are willing to teach. The company announced on Tuesday that it has fundraised a total of 540 million yen (about $4.4 million) from Jafco, Nissay Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, and Voyage Ventures in mid-November. This follows their previous $1.5 million funding from four investors back in September of 2013.
Since its launch back in July 2012, the platform has acquired more then 200,000 registered users and over 50,000 micro jobs that you can ask, which has massively increased from 30,000 micro jobs registered as of April.
Coconala CEO Akiyuki Minami says,
Coconala has been steadily growing in the last three years, keeping a growth rate of 13% on a monthly basis. Since this relies in large part on word-of-month effects, now we can expect that our users recall and recognize our brand.
Skills marketplace in affordable prices
Coconala CEO Akiyuki Minami
He claimed that Coconala connects individuals for buying and selling their skills, aiming to fulfill needs and solve problems unlike typical crowdsourcing platforms. Coconala provides a broad range of services for sellers including fortune-telling, relieving mental anguish, illustration, design, consultation for hobbies and travel destinations. Giving opportunities for users to ask about what they don’t know who they should ask other than their friends is the value proposition of the Coconala platform. That’s why many of services on the platform available for starting at 500 yen (about $4).
The repeat rate of their users is so high that they typically continue using a service once they start doing it. According to the company’s analysis regarding their repeat users, it saw more than 30% of heavy users have purchased services in five or more categories on the platform while over 70% of heavy users have purchased services in three or more categories. They also revealed that 25% out of all these heavy users have submitted their services to other buying users. Minami told that this tendency proves that the platform has our users’ daily lives through experiences starting with buying then submitting services followed by more buying from multiple categories.
Now we have remarkable figures. The average monthly spending per users is nearly hitting 6,000 yen (about $49). Users can sell a service for starting at 500 yen, but popular sellers are permitted to provide premium optional services as well as telephone consultation for starting at 100 yen (about $0.80) per minute. Some sellers can earn over 800,000 yen ($6,500) a month. In addition, many users purchase services several times in a month. Thanks to the synergistic effect from the increasing number of purchases, the high repeat purchase rate, and the rise in unit price, users’ monthly purchase amount (ARPU) has been increasing.
Minami explained:
This C2C (consumer to consumer) approach appeals to users with its low costs for both supplier and consumer. The low costs are enabled by its flexible cycles. This means the seller can purchase a service and the buyer can sell a service
At the same time, we have been trying to provide diverse categories, not depending on some specific category, which assures the users that they can find advise they need at Coconala of a wide range. We consider this funding to be a major turning point for us in taking another stride forward.
Upsell strategy
Coconala succeeded in establishing entrances for consultation services while they were adding various categories they deal in. They said the funding will be used not only to expand consultation services but also to solidify the foundation for creating a customer collection engine. In a press conference on Tuesday, they shared the “Coconala Platform Framework.”
By this business model, in addition to the commission fee to be collected when a deal is sealed under the current system, Coconala will charge a service provider to ensure income from advertisement, and will expand the business area to providing the solutions that are placed beyond consultations.
Minami added:
With the repeat rate we attained under the existing system and the unaided recall capacity of the service itself, we were able to set up the window for obtaining users. Now we are ready to connect with areas promising bigger business opportunities.
For example, we can show legal consultation ads to users who use fortune-telling services or divorce consultation services, and we can connect with the travel industry by providing a travel package to the user who comes to ask about possible travel destinations.
We can act as a bridge between an easy consultation and larger markets in various categories. With this framework, the user can first ask advise at Coconala, then go to purchase what they want or need without googling.
For upselling, the company may start selling services by themselves on the platform in addition to earning commission fees from ad sales and driving user traffic to service providers. Upon the investment from Voyage Ventures at this time, Coconala thinks that they will start massively investing in marketing efforts in partnership with Voyage’s media outlets and adtech business such as EC Navi, Pex, Research Panel, and Fluct.
Minami said, while covering entrances to various business areas, they will develop their own business and sometimes acquire EC services to make Coconala a real business “Coconala economy bloc.” Their goal is to go IPO during 2018.
We understand that Coconala has been establishing their service while looking further into the future of the C2C marketplace. We can expect their further growth based on the user community and culture that they have cultivated and nourished.
Translated by Moto Tsujino via Mother First Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy and Masaru Ikeda
Shintaro Eguchi
Masaru Ikeda
Yukari Mitsuhashi
