THE BRIDGE

Mobile

Japan’s mobile analytics startup Fuller gains $4 million to fuel global expansion

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This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. Fuller, a Japanese startup focused on the smartphone apps field which provides user research (pace, Survey Monkey) like App Ape Analytics and other services, has gained a total of 420 million yen in funding. Investors, in addition to Voyage Ventures and Global Catalyst Partners Japan not to mention Sega Games – all based in Tokyo – and Asahi Shimbun headquartered in Osaka (Global Catalyst and Asahi being existing investors), include local government-related entities like those from Ibaraki and Niigata prefectures. See also: Japan’s mobile app analytics startup Fuller raises $1.9 million for global expansion The currently Chiba-based venture, started in November of 2011 in Tsukuba, had just commenced comprehensive global marketing of its new product called Joren. Now, with added funding Fuller can avail more products abroad under its “Fuller 2.0” push, entailing not only expanding overseas and finding new partners with which to create novel app markets but also revitalizing the regions it is involved in, beginning with Chiba, Ibaraki and the like. Joren (pronounced “Jou-Ren” which refers to friendly and repeat customers in Japan) is a software tool…

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.


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CEO Shuta Shibuya stands in the middle in the back row. (earlier this year at SXSW, Austin)
Image credit: Fuller

Fuller, a Japanese startup focused on the smartphone apps field which provides user research (pace, Survey Monkey) like App Ape Analytics and other services, has gained a total of 420 million yen in funding. Investors, in addition to Voyage Ventures and Global Catalyst Partners Japan not to mention Sega Games – all based in Tokyo – and Asahi Shimbun headquartered in Osaka (Global Catalyst and Asahi being existing investors), include local government-related entities like those from Ibaraki and Niigata prefectures.

See also:

The currently Chiba-based venture, started in November of 2011 in Tsukuba, had just commenced comprehensive global marketing of its new product called Joren. Now, with added funding Fuller can avail more products abroad under its “Fuller 2.0” push, entailing not only expanding overseas and finding new partners with which to create novel app markets but also revitalizing the regions it is involved in, beginning with Chiba, Ibaraki and the like.

fuller-shibuya-at-orange-fab-asia
CEO Shibuya shared his insights for global expansion efforts with other avid entrepreneurs.
(Earlier this month at Orange Fab Asia in Tokyo) Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Joren (pronounced “Jou-Ren” which refers to friendly and repeat customers in Japan) is a software tool that can create apps with just an input of a website URL input. This item was unveiled Fuller’s booth laden with the Japanese Noren (roughly meaning the flag-like “standard” bearing the establishment’s mark, which is pronounced as is) this spring at SXSW (south by south west) in Texas. Fuller strategically has its eyes on the world including the US but will begin this journey from its “home turf” in Asia.

Fuller CEO Shuta Shibuya noted his outfit is targeting international artists and the media field occupied by them, in particular for Asia based on efforts out of the Japanese market; it is already expanding into Korea and Taiwan in preparation for more action in foreign locations like the Philippines, Indonesia and even Russia, reflecting the staff composition of his company among other things.

Shibuya – who was also able to make an impromptu pitch at the Austin event where the firm’s booth was decorated to play up the Chiba background with the staff wearing traditional Japanese festival garbs such as “Happi“… which was found to be an effective approach upon leaving an impression on visitors – stressed the affordability of Fuller offerings.

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Fuller signs with Korea’s Mobidays for the regional expansion. (In Seoul, May 2016)
Image credit: Mobidays

Mobile Gaming: Is it Gotcha time for Gacha?

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This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. Four years ago almost exactly to the day, I mused about this period of disruption and renewal signified by sakura (cherry blossoms). The blooming of the sakura in Japan marks the arrival of spring, representing not only a renewal of the seasons but also a rebirth of many facets of life: the start of a new school year, a recalibration of personal goals, and a reassessment of business objectives. Now, like then, we are also witnessing companies experiencing disruption in many forms, be it via innovation from new business models (transportation), new technologies (cable TV), or even new regulations (financial trading). Last time, I wrote about the disruption and renewal manifesting itself in the mobile gaming sector. We are facing now a new instance of disruption in this sector in Japan that seems to be…

mark-bivens_portrait

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.


illuminated-cherry-blossoms
CC BY-SA 2.0: Via Flickr by Danny Choo

Four years ago almost exactly to the day, I mused about this period of disruption and renewal signified by sakura (cherry blossoms). The blooming of the sakura in Japan marks the arrival of spring, representing not only a renewal of the seasons but also a rebirth of many facets of life: the start of a new school year, a recalibration of personal goals, and a reassessment of business objectives.

Now, like then, we are also witnessing companies experiencing disruption in many forms, be it via innovation from new business models (transportation), new technologies (cable TV), or even new regulations (financial trading).

Last time, I wrote about the disruption and renewal manifesting itself in the mobile gaming sector. We are facing now a new instance of disruption in this sector in Japan that seems to be receiving little attention in the markets: newly self-imposed regulation by the Japan Online Game Association came into effect at the start of this month.

Gotcha, gacha!

The new rules govern the gacha mechanic in mobile games. Gacha is a monetization technique prevalent in Japan whilst remaining relatively unheard of until recently in the West.

The gacha mechanic derived from the original gashapon (ガシャポン) popular in Japan, in which vending machines would dispense capsule toys at random. The randomness of the distribution adds an element of chance which draws the obvious comparison of gacha to gambling. In mobile games, the gacha prize could be a special character, weapon, power, event-driven offer, or other rare item.

As I once discovered during a conversation with games expert Dr. Serkan Toto, game designers employ several different incarnations of gacha techniques, though all stem from the same lottery-like principles (see a more thorough explanation of the various gacha mechanisms from Serkan).

Whales make the business model

whales

With gacha techniques, mobile game makers target big-spending “whales.” The dependency of certain mobile games’ business model on whales cannot be understated. According to a new analysis conducted by marketing firm Swrve, the top 10% of players contribute to nearly half of all mobile game revenues, and 48% of revenues come from a mere 0.19% of all players.

On December 31st, a Japanese “whale” spent over $6,000 during a single evening in an effort to obtain a rare character on Cygames-produced Granblue Fantasy offered through a gacha technique.

A few European game studios have begun deploying gacha mechanics in their games, though the technique remains somewhat limited in Europe even today. Part of the explanation I believe comes from the slightly different process of mobile game development between Europe and Japan (see graphic in the bottom).

Anyway, undoubtedly in an effort to stave off more draconian government measures, the Japan Online Game Association imposed a new regulation that establishes two significant constraints on mobile games: a minimum 1% payout ratio, and a maximum 50,000 JPY billed per player. Technically, these industry “guidelines” are not law; however, game companies have understood that failing to adhere to them may trigger stricter government intervention.

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Has the stock market accounted for this yet?

I have a policy of not making stock recommendations so I will not name names, but if you take a look at the stock prices of many of the listed mobile gaming companies in Japan, there is a fairly consistent rise since the correction in mid-February. That’s when Cygames began voluntarily issuing refunds to players of Granblue Fantasy. The new self-imposed regulation dictated by the Japan Online Game Association came into effect on April 1, and hadn’t even been finalized until March.

Whatever your moral views are on the gacha mechanic, I suspect that these new self-imposed constraints — imposing a significant minimum gacha payout ratio and capping the pricing — will take its toll on the earnings this quarter. And I cannot figure out why the stock market has not adjusted further for this.

rudevc_mobile_gaming_development_process

KDDI buys Japanese mobile game marketing startup AppBroadCast

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Tokyo-based Mediba, an ad business-centric subsidiary of Japan’s leading telco KDDI, announced on Friday that it has gained a major stake in AppBroadCast, the company behind a mobile game media called GameGift. Details of the deal have not been disclosed but it seems like the valuation of the startup upon this acquisition is some one billion yen, or tens of million US dollars, according to several information sources. Since launch back in January 2013, AppBroadCast started the GameGift service in form of an Android app, which has surpassed 4.1 million downloads to date, offering users complimentary virtual items, news updates and strategic know-how for trending game apps. The company currently offers other services like Sakipre, which allows users to participate in beta testing of new game apps, as well as Hayatoku, a pre-registration platform for early downloads of new game apps with rewards. Prior to acquisition, AppBroadCast secured an undisclosed sum of funding in January 2014 from several sources including KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the startup investment fund jointly managed by KDDI and Japanese investment firm Global Brain. In addition, the company has also been participating in Syn. portal partnership, the mobile company alliance run by KDDI group company Supership….

appbroadcast-logo-gamegift

Tokyo-based Mediba, an ad business-centric subsidiary of Japan’s leading telco KDDI, announced on Friday that it has gained a major stake in AppBroadCast, the company behind a mobile game media called GameGift. Details of the deal have not been disclosed but it seems like the valuation of the startup upon this acquisition is some one billion yen, or tens of million US dollars, according to several information sources.

Since launch back in January 2013, AppBroadCast started the GameGift service in form of an Android app, which has surpassed 4.1 million downloads to date, offering users complimentary virtual items, news updates and strategic know-how for trending game apps. The company currently offers other services like Sakipre, which allows users to participate in beta testing of new game apps, as well as Hayatoku, a pre-registration platform for early downloads of new game apps with rewards.

Prior to acquisition, AppBroadCast secured an undisclosed sum of funding in January 2014 from several sources including KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the startup investment fund jointly managed by KDDI and Japanese investment firm Global Brain. In addition, the company has also been participating in Syn. portal partnership, the mobile company alliance run by KDDI group company Supership. The company says that it may expand the Gamegift business globally, focusing on the Asian market.

Via TechCrunch Japan

appbroadcast-management
The AppBroadCast management team: CEO Masashige Ohara (middle), Director Keijiro Nakamura (right)
Image credit: AppBroadCast

Japan’s DeployGate, test marketing tool for mobile developers, taking on the US market

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See the original story in Japanese. Japan’s DeployGate, offering a test marketing tool for smartphone app development under the same name, announced last month that it will establish a US subsidiary. DeployGate provides a testing and marketing function that allows mobile developers to distribute beta version of their apps to testing users and collects feedbacks from them before the official launch. Spun off from Japanese internet company Mixi (TSE:2121) just a year ago, DeployGate has been providing this service for more than three years. Currently, it proposes service plans for individuals or SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) as well as the ones for big companies managing multiple apps or many developers involved. It has been adopted by various Japanese internet companies such as Mixi, Recruit (TSE: 6098) and Cookpad (TSE: 2193), in addition to some major game developers. Together with AppBroadCast, a Japanese media company focused on helping mobile gaming developers reach potential users, DeployGate released a test marketing specialized service for these developers called SakiPre. Conventionally, development of console games often required prolongation in order to raise the degree of perfection thoroughly because user reactions or feedbacks could be obtained only after the launch. However, as the game industry…

deploygate_featuredimage

See the original story in Japanese.

Japan’s DeployGate, offering a test marketing tool for smartphone app development under the same name, announced last month that it will establish a US subsidiary.

DeployGate provides a testing and marketing function that allows mobile developers to distribute beta version of their apps to testing users and collects feedbacks from them before the official launch. Spun off from Japanese internet company Mixi (TSE:2121) just a year ago, DeployGate has been providing this service for more than three years. Currently, it proposes service plans for individuals or SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) as well as the ones for big companies managing multiple apps or many developers involved. It has been adopted by various Japanese internet companies such as Mixi, Recruit (TSE: 6098) and Cookpad (TSE: 2193), in addition to some major game developers.

Together with AppBroadCast, a Japanese media company focused on helping mobile gaming developers reach potential users, DeployGate released a test marketing specialized service for these developers called SakiPre. Conventionally, development of console games often required prolongation in order to raise the degree of perfection thoroughly because user reactions or feedbacks could be obtained only after the launch. However, as the game industry gradually shifts toward the mobile field, it has realized a new development method which facilitates beta testing so that games are elaborated on by both developers and consumers, or sales promotion conducted before the launch.

DeployGate CEO Yuki Fujisaki commented on the positive response for their product:

Recently, people in the game business often tell me that they have been using DeployGate. The shift toward mobile in the game industry had much influence on DeployGate in providing them a new development environment.

The number of consumers who had downloaded apps from Saki-Pre has already exceeded 40,000. Also from clients, we have been receiving testimonials such as “it became possible to predict whether the game will be a big hit or not before launch” and “for a game which scored more than 3.5 at the Saki-Pre questionnaire, an average of 3.9 on GooglePlay store can be expected” as well as “since the response rate of Saki-Pre participants is more than 30%, points to be improved can be pinpointed at the last minute for the launch.”

Moreover, the company has started providing linking functions with business chat tools such as Slack, Hipchat and Chatwork since July of 2015 for easier communication within companies that makes feedbacks for development smoother as well. They were nominated for CEDEC Awards 2015 in August, followed by having spread its service steadily among global developer communities while participating in conferences in the US such as WWDC or Google I/O as well as holding meetups in tandem with Crittercism, a crash reporting tool startup in San Francisco. The team had been communicating closely with developers at Crittercism or Github, and emphasizing service development for developers from a global perspective.

The service is currently being utilized in about 100 countries. Even at launch, developers with diverse backgrounds such as Americans, Europeans and Scandinavians had used it, while only half of the users were Japanese. Since starting the service for Android first, it has gained esteem from developers in countries with much Android share, like Brazil.

COO Kazuto Yasuda looks back on the first year:

We spent most of the year enhancing the business core. Thankfully we have finished the first period of second year in the black, and have been organizing systems for management and customer supports.

In this situation, the team felt the need for local bases to gain customer support and brush up the product leveraging opinions from local developers as reference for service plans aimed at enterprises. As the first step to global expansion, they announced the establishment of the US while appointing Yasuda as its CEO.

Also the team aims at function expansion while cooperating with other service operators for developers that are under consideration. These days, the service is being enhanced under the theme of ‘how much the development environment for app developers can be simplified’ such as implementation of automated building function from source codes,  called Dg Command. These updates can be checked out on the DeployGate blog.

The team is intended to continue operating their business on a bootstrap budget because they already have a good sales prospect and want to more focus on team building, investigating users’ needs, improving the product and user support.

To improve the product upon hearing feedbacks from developers using it directly, the company will set up an independent office this spring to make it easier to hold user meetups periodically. In addition to the three founders, the company has recently acquired new developers and designers, plus customer support representatives who work remotely from the office.

Fujisaki concluded:

DeployGate has grown as a tool essential for developers. Since there is substantial need not only in the IT industry but also in the game industry, many companies and developers are beginning to understand the importance of pre-launch test marketing.

By giving them more opportunities to communicate between developers and their users through our tool, we want to help developers continue developing apps that meet users’ expectations.

Translated by Taijiro Takeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

deploygate-team
The DeployGate management team: From left, COO Yasuda the second one, and CEO Fujisaki the third.

Japanese mobile in-line video ads startup App-CM secures $1.2M seed round funding

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See the original story in Japanese. The round in the title was updated based on the claim from App-CM (May 13th, 2016). Tokyo-based App-CM, the Japanese startup developing in-line video ads platform for smartphones, today announced that it has secured about $140 million yen (about $1.2 million) from Yeahmobi and several angel investors in a series A seed round. Yeahmobi is one of the world’s largest ad networks based out of China. App-CM was founded by Atsufumi Otsuka whom we previously introduced in our story about mobile video-viewing app Vimet. After launching App-CM, Otsuka handed over the management of Emet Creation, which developed the Vimet app, to So Yanagimoto, president and representative director of Emet, so he could devote himself to developing a video player engine for mobile at App-CM. Typical video ad networks for mobile use the CSS Sprites format to display in-line ads in a mobile web browser. The format makes sense in terms of allowing users to stay in a web browser while viewing video ads without switching to other video viewer apps. However, it displays a video clip consisting of independent still images in a manner similar to playing a flip book animation, its data volume…

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App-CM team on the roof of their office located opposite the University of Tokyo.
CEO Atsufumi Otsuka stands second from the left in the back row. (Courtesy: App-CM)

See the original story in Japanese.

The round in the title was updated based on the claim from App-CM (May 13th, 2016).

Tokyo-based App-CM, the Japanese startup developing in-line video ads platform for smartphones, today announced that it has secured about $140 million yen (about $1.2 million) from Yeahmobi and several angel investors in a series A seed round. Yeahmobi is one of the world’s largest ad networks based out of China.

App-CM was founded by Atsufumi Otsuka whom we previously introduced in our story about mobile video-viewing app Vimet. After launching App-CM, Otsuka handed over the management of Emet Creation, which developed the Vimet app, to So Yanagimoto, president and representative director of Emet, so he could devote himself to developing a video player engine for mobile at App-CM.

Typical video ad networks for mobile use the CSS Sprites format to display in-line ads in a mobile web browser. The format makes sense in terms of allowing users to stay in a web browser while viewing video ads without switching to other video viewer apps. However, it displays a video clip consisting of independent still images in a manner similar to playing a flip book animation, its data volume being typically larger than that of QuickTime or MPEG video format because frame-to-frame delta compression is not applied.

To address this issue, App-CM has developed an original video format based on VP9, an open-source video compression codec originally developed by Google. Corresponding to in-stream video ads protocol VAST, the new format enables compression of up to one-tenth to one-twentieth in data volume compared to typical formats which are conventionally used for mobile video ad networks. During the first launch, a video viewing plug-in compatible to the App-CM format will be installed on a viewer’s mobile web browser. A video clip, which typically weighs 4 megabytes on average in a conventional video format, can be compressed down to 200 kilobytes while the compression efficiency depends on how many frames are sub-sampled out of 30 frames per second in the typical NTSC video format (see the video below).

Having been adopted on over 200 mobile media websites in Japan, App-CM leverages its unique video-player technology without requiring a large data traffic, planning to expand to emerging markets where mobile broadband is available on an uncertain basis. In addition to the expansion into the Chinese market in cooperation with Yeahmobi, App-CM will be in a hurry to expand into the Indian market based on a partnership with Green House Ventures (GHV), the Indian local startup accelerator that the mobile video company partnered with last month.

Represented by CTO Miki Yagita, many students from Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, has joined the engineering team to develop the App-CM platform. In order to strengthen the engineering resources, App-CM recently relocated its headquarters to opposite the Red Gate (aka Akamon) of the University of Tokyo. They are currently applying for a patent on their AI-powered optimized ad distribution algorithm and mobile video player engine.

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Japan’s mobile analytics and marketing tool Repro gets $2.6 million to expand to US

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Repro, the provider of mobile analytics tool under the same name, announced today that the company has fundraised 300 million yen (about $2.6 million) from Jafco (TSE:8595), Voyage Ventures, and several angel investors. This follows their previous funding round where they raised 100 million yen (about $835,000) from DG Incubation, Brain Pad (TSE:3655), and Shift (TSE:3697) back in May of last year. Repro provides an SDK (software development kit) to support the development of apps for improved retention rate of users and UI (user interface) based on user behavior on mobile apps. When a user operates an app with an SDK installed, information such as the user’s method of operating the interface, the track record of that operation and the user’s facial expressions during that time are recorded. Based on these functions, the platform provides developers with not only quantitative analysis such as funnel and retention analysis but also qualitative analysis like reproducing user actions in the app leveraging recorded play-by-play video so that developers can instantly find what the problem is. Implementing in-app marketing features like push notification and in-app messaging, the platform helps developers improve the retention and conversation rates of…

repro_featuredimage

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Repro, the provider of mobile analytics tool under the same name, announced today that the company has fundraised 300 million yen (about $2.6 million) from Jafco (TSE:8595), Voyage Ventures, and several angel investors. This follows their previous funding round where they raised 100 million yen (about $835,000) from DG Incubation, Brain Pad (TSE:3655), and Shift (TSE:3697) back in May of last year.

Repro provides an SDK (software development kit) to support the development of apps for improved retention rate of users and UI (user interface) based on user behavior on mobile apps. When a user operates an app with an SDK installed, information such as the user’s method of operating the interface, the track record of that operation and the user’s facial expressions during that time are recorded.

Based on these functions, the platform provides developers with not only quantitative analysis such as funnel and retention analysis but also qualitative analysis like reproducing user actions in the app leveraging recorded play-by-play video so that developers can instantly find what the problem is. Implementing in-app marketing features like push notification and in-app messaging, the platform helps developers improve the retention and conversation rates of their apps.

Since its official release in April of 2015, the platform has been adopted by major e-commerce sites, games, news media and other various apps from the IT industry, according to Repro CEO Yusuke Hirata.

The lastest funding is to strengthen the foundation of our system development and hiring talents. At the same time, we would like to start our global expansion efforts, planning to conduct a test marketing in the overseas market followed by launching an overseas office next year.

Repro CEO Yusuke Hirata
Repro CEO Yusuke Hirata

While many users are app developers in Japan, the company has been receiving numerous inquiries from overseas developers despite no massive promotion and adopted by more than 1,400 mobile apps from 18 countries. Upon funding at this time, the company wants to expand the implementation of its mobile app growth hack solution to fashion, real estate, automotive, human resources, marriage counseling, among other non-IT sectors.

Leveraging their past experience of developing and implementing the solution, Repro provide wants to provide app developers with a more comprehensive solution rather than just offering an SDK.

Hirata explained:

When developers release their app, many of them definitely want to gain sales, customer satisfaction, or touch points with their users. Based on these strategies, we will offer a growth hacking expertise for mobile app development such as setting KPIs (key performance indicators) or magic numbers, which we have learned through serving 1,400 mobile apps.

Repro recently introduced a new API (application program interface) supporting mobile push notification. This allows business owners to integrate statistics from other sales channels like a website or a real store with their mobile app so that they can conduct more personalized marketing to each and every customer.

Hirata continued:

For e-commerce sites offering both a website and a mobile app, they can push a mobile notification via our platform to the smartphone of the users who have selected items to buy but not yet completed the purchase on the website. By connecting the two interfaces, we can allow e-commerce sites to offer a cross-channel experience for their customers.

As of now Repro is focused on mobile growth hacking, but they may expand its support to a desktop or website interface in the future. Using the funds, the company plans to prepare for a global expansion without pause.

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Japan’s Appliv, mobile app discovery platform, expands to India and Singapore

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Nyle (previously known as Volare) has been providing a mobile app discovery platform called Appliv since 2012. The company announced earlier this month that it will launch Indian and Singaporean versions of the platform during this month. Nyle unveiled in September that it would start working on the global expansion of the platform. Followed by launch of the platform in Japan, UK, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Kenya and Ireland, the latest addition will allow them to have a presence in nine different markets. See also: Japan’s Appliv, app discovery platform for mobile users, preparing for global expansion The platform is now available in English only but localized by country because every country has a different language system and unique market circumstance. In our previous interview with Nyle, they claimed that they were to acquire several million users by this spring. English articles reviewing mobile apps are primarily being prepared by the employees at Nyle Asia Pacific, a Filipino subsidiary founded last year. According to the statement, Nyle wants to increase the number of review articles to 10,000 in every market by this summer, to achieve the aforementioned milestone by publishing as many review…

appliv_featuredimage

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Nyle (previously known as Volare) has been providing a mobile app discovery platform called Appliv since 2012. The company announced earlier this month that it will launch Indian and Singaporean versions of the platform during this month.

Nyle unveiled in September that it would start working on the global expansion of the platform. Followed by launch of the platform in Japan, UK, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Kenya and Ireland, the latest addition will allow them to have a presence in nine different markets.

See also:

The platform is now available in English only but localized by country because every country has a different language system and unique market circumstance. In our previous interview with Nyle, they claimed that they were to acquire several million users by this spring. English articles reviewing mobile apps are primarily being prepared by the employees at Nyle Asia Pacific, a Filipino subsidiary founded last year.

According to the statement, Nyle wants to increase the number of review articles to 10,000 in every market by this summer, to achieve the aforementioned milestone by publishing as many review articles as possible.

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Open8, Japan’s mobile video ad network, acquires app prototyping startup The Clip

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Open8, a Japanese female-targeted mobile video ad network, announced earlier this month that it has acquired The Clip, an app prototyping and engineering startup. Details of the acquisition have not been disclosed. The Clip was founded in 2013 by CEO Kento Yamamoto (designer) and managing director Hisatake Ishibashi (engineer). They have been producing design concepts for large companies and startups. [1] After the acquisition, Yamamoto and Ishibashi will continue to manage Open8 in its design and engineering work and will also be involved in the company’s business and human resource development. See also: Japan’s Counterworks launches Shopcounter, Airbnb for retail spaces Acqui-hiring in Japan In October 2015, Open8 fundraised 800 million yen ($6.6 million) from Jafco, TBS Innovation Partners, iStyle and Excite Japan. [2] The acquisition project started right after the fundraising. Yukou Takamatsu, CEO of Open8, recalls the negotiation of this acquisition. Harikita [Yohei Harikita, executive officer of Open8] and Yamamoto were originally friends and that gave us an idea of this acquisition. Our business has gone well, the next thing we needed was talented people. We needed a group of professionals. It is not so easy to meet this kind of group…

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Front-row L to R: Hisatake Ishibashi (Managing Director of The Clip), Kento Yamamoto (CEO of The Clip)
Back-row L to R: Yohei Harikita (Executive Officer of Open8), Yukou Takamatsu (CEO of Open8)

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Open8, a Japanese female-targeted mobile video ad network, announced earlier this month that it has acquired The Clip, an app prototyping and engineering startup. Details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

The Clip was founded in 2013 by CEO Kento Yamamoto (designer) and managing director Hisatake Ishibashi (engineer). They have been producing design concepts for large companies and startups. [1]

After the acquisition, Yamamoto and Ishibashi will continue to manage Open8 in its design and engineering work and will also be involved in the company’s business and human resource development.

See also:

Acqui-hiring in Japan

In October 2015, Open8 fundraised 800 million yen ($6.6 million) from Jafco, TBS Innovation Partners, iStyle and Excite Japan[2] The acquisition project started right after the fundraising. Yukou Takamatsu, CEO of Open8, recalls the negotiation of this acquisition.

Harikita [Yohei Harikita, executive officer of Open8] and Yamamoto were originally friends and that gave us an idea of this acquisition. Our business has gone well, the next thing we needed was talented people. We needed a group of professionals. It is not so easy to meet this kind of group of talented people in mid-career recruitment. It took us about 2-3 months to conclude this negotiation.

The startup scene in North America tends to acquire corporates in focusing on its human resources, not on its services – it is called “Acqui-hiring”. This Open8 acquisition was not exactly the same way but the purpose was quite similar.

the-clip-portfolio
The Clip’s production portfolio of websites and apps

This method makes it possible for startups to find experienced managers under difficult circumstances. But it might not work well if both companies’ culture do not match. In Japan, there were several cases where the managers in unprofitable companies were acquired but broke up after being acquired.

However, it is one of the advantages that The Clip is in a growing phase and in a good state.

Yamamoto said:

At first we started as freelance. Once we incorporated, we started to have a wide variety of clients especially for projects of setting up new business. In the second term we increased sales and it became profitable. Then we started thinking about what to do next.

They could have chosen to continue receiving outsourcing orders in recruiting new staff. Yamamoto and Ishibashi are about 30 and young enough to stand the strain. When asked if Yamamoto could simply have chosen to continue the outsourcing job, he replied:

I simply thought it might be interesting.

the-clip-kento-yamamoto-hisatake-ishibashi
L to R: The Clip CEO Kento Yamamoto and managing director Hisatake Ishibashi

When I talked with Yamamoto and Ishibashi, I felt that they have a new career image of specialized professionals as designers and engineers. Talented person who can stay at the same company until retirement and continue the same profession is very rare. To survive in the field, we all have to face management issues.

Yamamoto continued:

I think it is not so bad that there will be more designers who can deal with those management issues. We can emphasize it in remaining in our company after the acquisition. It is a kind of “exit”.

On the other hand, it was very difficult for Takamatsu who had to pass a board resolution, because the board members simply thought that they could just entrust the works to The Clip.

Takamatsu added:

As a resolution of the board, it was not so simple and they said “Why don’t we just entrust the works to them?” We needed time to make them understood, and we also needed time to make Yamamoto and Ishibashi understood this process.

It looks that there are more and more people or scenes with new concepts of career or working styles around Japanese startups. It might be a crowdsourcing, a startup, or this type of acquisition.

While continuing professional works on a small scale, you might take action if there is a great opportunity like this. When it comes to the end, you can move on.

Takamatsu was the one who marked an epoch as one of executives at style with his colleagues. It is impossible that the same profession and the same growth continue forever.

The way to start a startup for young professionals is not only to create a new application in taking a risk with one’s own money. Rather than the transaction value, this acquisition might look very meaningful in terms of new style and concept of working.

Translated by Minako Ambiru via Mother First
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy, Kurt Hanson, and Masaru Ikeda


  1. The Bridge logo was designed by The Clip team.
  2. Jafco is a leading Japanese VC firm. TBS Innovation Partners is the investment arm of Tokyo Broadcasting System.

Japanese mobile game developer Akatsuki files for IPO

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Akatsuki, the mobile developer behind game titles like Cinderella Nine and Thousand Memories, announced that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange was approved on Friday. The company will offer 2.2 million shares for public subscription and sell 495,000 shares in over-allotment options for a total of 1.1 million shares. Nomura Securities will lead the underwriting. Its share price range will be released on 26 February with bookbuilding scheduled to start on 1 March and pricing on 8 March. According to the consolidated statement as of July 2015, they posted revenue of 4.3 billion yen ($38 million) and an ordinary profit of 601 million yen ($5.3 million). In the latest fiscal quarter, they posted revenue of 3.9 billion yen ($34 million) and an ordinary profit 1.4 billion yen ($12.3 million). Led by the company’s CEO, Genki Shiota, (holding a 39.92% stake), its major shareholders include the company’s COO Tetsuro Koda (19.52%), Globis Capital Partners (4.54%), Link and Motivation (4.03%), and Globis Fund (2.72%). Since its launch in June 2010, Akatsuki has been seeing a rapid growth in mobile social game titles through game distribution platforms like Mobage and Gree. The company introduced…

aktsk-genki-shiota-tetsuro-koda
R to L: CEO Genki Shiota, COO Tetsuro Koda (Photo: Akatsuki’s website)

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Akatsuki, the mobile developer behind game titles like Cinderella Nine and Thousand Memories, announced that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange was approved on Friday. The company will offer 2.2 million shares for public subscription and sell 495,000 shares in over-allotment options for a total of 1.1 million shares. Nomura Securities will lead the underwriting.

Its share price range will be released on 26 February with bookbuilding scheduled to start on 1 March and pricing on 8 March. According to the consolidated statement as of July 2015, they posted revenue of 4.3 billion yen ($38 million) and an ordinary profit of 601 million yen ($5.3 million). In the latest fiscal quarter, they posted revenue of 3.9 billion yen ($34 million) and an ordinary profit 1.4 billion yen ($12.3 million).

Led by the company’s CEO, Genki Shiota, (holding a 39.92% stake), its major shareholders include the company’s COO Tetsuro Koda (19.52%), Globis Capital Partners (4.54%), Link and Motivation (4.03%), and Globis Fund (2.72%).

Since its launch in June 2010, Akatsuki has been seeing a rapid growth in mobile social game titles through game distribution platforms like Mobage and Gree. The company introduced mobile role-playing game Thousand Memories in November 2013 for iOS, followed by an Android version in December 2013, which acquired 2 million users in only six months after the launch.

The company announced in May 2014 that former partner at IBM Venture Capital Group, Hisashi Katsuya, and former Mixi CFO, Fumiaki Koizumi, have joined the management board. Koizumi is involved with many startups, including Japanese mobile flea market startup Mercari.

See also:

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by Kurt Hanson

Monomy: Japanese mobile app that lets you create accessories of your own design

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See the original story in Japanese. Monomy is an iOS app that offers an online marketplace for creatives, allowing people to make accessories they like with ease using smartphones. The platform was recently launched by Fun Up, the Tokyo-based company which has been running several online services since 2011. We interviewed Eri Yamaguchi, the company representative, about their upcoming app. Users can design accessories with over 1,500 parts The Monomy app enables users to design their own accessories by putting accessory parts together in your own style. Over 1,500 kinds of parts including rhinestones, natural gemstones and charms are provided in the app. More design-active users put up their accessory designs for showcasing on “Monomy MyPages” for other users. When one finds a design one likes, it can just be purchased by inputting credit card and address details. The difference between trendy marketplaces for handmade goods and Monomy is that users only need to design the accessories they want. What happens is that Monomy takes care of the whole process from receiving orders through production in their own workshop. They can take large orders such as orders for 1,000 items and make them all in their workshop, with the accessories…

monomy_featuredimage

See the original story in Japanese.

Monomy is an iOS app that offers an online marketplace for creatives, allowing people to make accessories they like with ease using smartphones. The platform was recently launched by Fun Up, the Tokyo-based company which has been running several online services since 2011.

We interviewed Eri Yamaguchi, the company representative, about their upcoming app.

Users can design accessories with over 1,500 parts

eri-yamaguchi-of-monomy
Eri Yamaguchi

The Monomy app enables users to design their own accessories by putting accessory parts together in your own style. Over 1,500 kinds of parts including rhinestones, natural gemstones and charms are provided in the app. More design-active users put up their accessory designs for showcasing on “Monomy MyPages” for other users. When one finds a design one likes, it can just be purchased by inputting credit card and address details.

The difference between trendy marketplaces for handmade goods and Monomy is that users only need to design the accessories they want. What happens is that Monomy takes care of the whole process from receiving orders through production in their own workshop. They can take large orders such as orders for 1,000 items and make them all in their workshop, with the accessories being made by experienced craftspeople by hand.

Yamaguchi explained:

The market for handmade items has been growing a lot recently with some items surpassing 1,000 orders a month. However, they are all handmade items so individual craftspeople make the accessories, meaning that even if they worked without any sleep, they wouldn’t be able to keep up with production; it’s not unusual to see items sold out or with a waiting time of several months.

Using the Monomy app, it takes about a week on average for a product to arrive after placing the order. The whole process is taken over by Monomy’s operation department so users can just enjoy designing and gaining their own accessory brands. The app offers a system where the item one wants to give someone can be delivered when one wishes.

The impression Monomy gives is one of femininity and cuteness, but its user interface is very simple. The main focus is on the user’s own accessory brands. The company aims to offer an app design and user interface that is reasonably simple so that their platform doesn’t distract users from the true function of the site.

Also, the key factor when representing real items and actions online is how to replicate the actual feel on a flat smartphone display. A good example is an electronic book reader which emulates reality by turning pages on books and magazines using fingertips. It is indeed a challenge.

Touching the app, you can see how well it has been made by gaining a feel of ‘making accessories by hand’: through use of a gaming engine with technology that can calculates truelife physics and replicates gravity, parts can be moved delicately using fingertips while naturally wobbling a little when parts are added. A lot of time has been spent to make this app, so the feel of making something seems real.

Yamaguchi added:

I think that the most important thing is for users to experience joy by making items and enjoy being part of the community before selling. There are some users that just silently design on the app when they can’t really get to sleep. We are aiming for a service where users get into designing so much that they can’t keep their hands from designing.

Building a platform for creating things

When Yamaguchi was studying at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo and experienced purchasing and sales, product development and commerce business, she thought about challenging the apparel field one day by creating something new. She traveled around the world and visited parts of Asia including Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong for two years to conduct market surveys, enabling her to come up with the inspiration for making the Monomy app.

Yamaguchi elaborated:

It is not easy to find accessories that one likes in accessory shops and online in Japan. For example, without pierced ears even if what one finds and likes earrings if they are only for pierced ears, you couldn’t buy anything. Similarly if one is allergic to metals there is no alternative. There still isn’t a market that specializes in accessories, so it would be great if we could solve such problems through Monomy.

17 parts distributors are associated with Monomy; it has created its own system for receiving orders and delivering products without the risk of carrying stocks of accessory parts. By applying this system, it can lessen the burden on the user by making it cost almost nothing. Yamaguchi’s concept is to laterally expand the model by associating with production plants in Japan in a variety of areas, including made-in-Japan furniture, bags, glasses, nail polish and ceramics. Accessories are just the beginning.

Yamaguchi continued:

There are so many areas that cost too much from planning through to product sales at the shop. I could have made the name prettier-sounding than Monomy, but I gave it a name that is unisex, Monomy, to make it mean “starting a revolution” on ordinary production in the future. I hope to build a new ‘platform for making things’ which is closely intertwined with production plants and general consumers.

Community building first, group buying in the future

Monomy is going to add more functions like following users or items. Another function is trying-on items to let users find what they want. For promotions, the plan is to utilize Fun Up’s existing business, influencer marketing, while mulling brand development through reader models and bloggers. Also, the plan aims to enhance the community by holding a contest for posting accessories that suit the new releases of popular brands.

After establishing the community, introduction of a group-buying and incentive system is on the drawing board. Currently the scale has difficulty handling orders that take time and effort. Group-buying could allow a certain number of people who want the same products during a period to decrease the cost per item as they’d be made in bulk, allowing items to be offered at reasonable prices.

Accessories where the cost price is cheap can be halved in price if the number of items being produced increases to 20. If the number of buyers increases, then the price could decrease by 30% to 80%. We are considering something where any user who post their designs could be given incentives in the future.’ Upon launch monomy is just an MVP (Minimal Viable Product).

Yamaguchi says.

The focus is on user experience first, so ‘users can enjoy designing accessories and Monomy can receive recognition’; the next move will be deliberated upon a look at user reactions and feedback, she added.

If you make the design and deliver it, then that limits how much they can produce and how many people would want to do it. But Monomy’s ‘design only’ business model can allow more things to be made. We look forward to the feedback from people and how many ladies will go for Monomy.

Translated by Chieko Frost via Mother First
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy and Masaru Ikeda