THE BRIDGE

tag Nain

From Monozukuri Hub Meetup in Kyoto: Online platforms for Startups

SHARE:

This is a guest post by Takumi Ishii, an intern of Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp. The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis. Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by Kyoko Sunahiro, a wedding dress designer at Atelier 2du Monto. See the original article in Japanese. The Monozukuri Hub Meet Up was held for the 11th time on May 18th at MTRL Kyoto. This edition’s theme was “Online Platforms for Startups”. As opposed to startups dealing with software, issues unique to hardware startups were raised. One of the major themes of this gathering was “partnership, not competition.” Additionally, actual entrepreneurs of hardware startups took to the podium to share their stories, adding a degree of realness to the event. In order to solve the problem of mass production, which is akin to the “Valley of Death” for hardware startups, Makers Boot Camp recalled joining forces with Kyoto Shisaku to support the process startups must follow in mass-producing products. Makers Boot Camp has been collaborating with investors, start-ups and key institutions both in Japan and abroad, but concluded by emphasizing that there is a need to further strengthen this area….

This is a guest post by Takumi Ishii, an intern of Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp. The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis.

Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by Kyoko Sunahiro, a wedding dress designer at Atelier 2du Monto.

See the original article in Japanese.


The Monozukuri Hub Meet Up was held for the 11th time on May 18th at MTRL Kyoto. This edition’s theme was “Online Platforms for Startups”.

As opposed to startups dealing with software, issues unique to hardware startups were raised. One of the major themes of this gathering was “partnership, not competition.” Additionally, actual entrepreneurs of hardware startups took to the podium to share their stories, adding a degree of realness to the event.

In order to solve the problem of mass production, which is akin to the “Valley of Death” for hardware startups, Makers Boot Camp recalled joining forces with Kyoto Shisaku to support the process startups must follow in mass-producing products. Makers Boot Camp has been collaborating with investors, start-ups and key institutions both in Japan and abroad, but concluded by emphasizing that there is a need to further strengthen this area.

Presenting hardware startup ecosystems by three gurus

Greg Fisher of Hardware Massive began his presentation by asking the question, “Are there any among you who are developing a product for mass production, or anyone planning to?”

He related that mass-production by hardware startups has many problems, and emphasized that they are aiming to solve them through partnerships, that is to say collaborations rather than competition. Fisher then took up the problem of the enormous cost of engineering and introduced what Hardware Massive is doing to create an environment where startups can overcome it.

Greg Fisher, Founder of Hardware Massive

Fisher redefined hardware startups as, “a startup whose goal is to put physical products into full-scale distribution.” With that in mind, Hardware Massive listed the following as its missions:

  1. Networking
  2. Education
  3. Access to Resources

The company has branches around the world, with information on the branch, staff, and events available on their website. They also offer various resources including those about news and events, which shows that they have realized a global platform accessible to hardware startups.

Karlos Ishac, LifeChair

Next to take the stage was Lifechair’s Karlos Ishac, who is also a graduate student at the University of Tsukuba. Lifechair is the second startup begun by Ishac and they develop a product to solve problems such as physical ailments caused by long-term use of smartphones, computers, and desk work, as well as the problem of productivity deterioration. The product features a function to improve the posture of users by checking their posture and directing them to the correct posture using vibrations.

Ishac recalled his interest in inventing since childhood and how he was managing an informal business by the age of 14. He looked for a job after graduating from Sydney University but in his home country of Australia the majority of opportunities were in agriculture and maritime affairs which did not interest him. That is when he came across Tsukuba University’s OMECHA program, and decided to make the leap to Japan, where he has indulged his entrepreneurial spirit by inventing various products, including a medical robot.

He continuously emphasizes to his current team members, “Do not stick to just one product.” He believes that maintaining flexibility in creating numerous products is an important point for hard tech startups to survive.

Kentaro Yamamoto, Nain

Kentaro Yamamoto of Nain, a Japanese startup, rounded out the first half of the gathering. After studying complex systems engineering at Hokkaido University, he gained experience working for the Pioneer Corporation planning and developing car navigation systems and related materials.

He related that, personally, it is extremely bothersome to have to pick up his smartphone every time he needs to check it leading him to develop APlay, an eyes-free internet device. The company is interested in audio that can cooperate with smartphones, and they are looking to mass produce a device that is wireless and capable of voice recognition.

“You should break free from your isolation, open up, and challenge the world!”

The gathering has two panel discussions.

In the first panel, Hardware Massive Founder Greg Fisher and Narimasa Makino, CEO of Makers Boot Camp, sitting down to relay their viewpoints on assisting hardware startups. In comparison to software startups, they elaborated on the difficulties faced by hardware startups, such as funding and networks, and talked mutually about the importance of online platforms. Fisher emphasized,

A lot of pitch and other events are taking place, but I wanted to create a continuous community, not just a one-time event, so I started Hardware Massive. I believe in collaboration, not competition, and greatly value an open attitude.

Currently, there are all sorts of online platforms flooding the market, but the open attitude of Hardware Massive seems to be indispensable for the future of hardware startups. In the end, Fisher had this message for Japanese startups:

You should break free from your isolation, open up, and challenge the world without fear of failing.

Prior to the second panel discussion, Atsuhiko Tomita of PLENGoer presented their miniature robot PLENCube.

Tomita related,

I don’t believe technology will replace humans. I believe it will enrich our lives.”

He developed the assistant robot PLENCube that fits in the palm of a user’s hand and captures the important moments in their lives that they want to record and share. His team is looking to develop products that will make the lives of users more enjoyable.

See also:

Challleges for Hardware Startups

With that, the final panel discussion titled “Challenges for Hardware Startups” was delivered. Tomokazu Morisawa of The Deck, a co-working space in Osaka, facilitated, and Kentaro Yamamoto of Nain, Karlos Ishac of LifeChair, and Atsuhiko Tomita of PLENGoer talked about their startup efforts and future prospects. In this session, they also accepted questions from the audience using the service sli.do, which manages questions from online.

Upon Morisawa asking a question related to crowdfunding, PLENGoer’s Tomita had an innovative and very interesting response,

Although it is a great effort, there’s the danger that the team will become satisfied by the number of their supporters, which would interfere in future projects.

Following this, an audience member made the request, “Do you have any advice for what I should be doing while I’m still a student?” To which Lifechair’s Ishac, who is currently a student, replied, “You should get involved in the startup community as early as possible.” Regarding the question, “What are you doing to motivate your team?”

Nain’s Yamamoto had this unique answer,

Everyone on our team is lazy, so because of that we wanted to develop a product that is useful.

The panel discussion was especially interesting as there was a wide variety of opinions and the characteristics of each startup shone through. Wrapping up the second session and the end of the panel discussion, each startup stated what is necessary for their next step, what they need for financing and crowdfunding, as well as completing their final product.

Makino ended by remarking that they have created a significant hardware ecosystem, and he is determined to continue activities to support it, including meetups such as this. In the subsequent network sessions participants and presenters exchanged opinions  and it became a place to talk about future projects and ideas in a relaxed atmosphere while drinking.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

From 10th Infinity Venture Summit in Kobe: Here’s 14 teams at Launchpad pitch finals

SHARE:

See the original story in Japanese. This is a part of our coverage of Infinity Ventures Summit (IVS) 2017 Spring in Kobe. During the 10th edition of Infinity Venture Summit in Kobe, a semi-annual conference hosted by renowned startup-focused investment fund Infinity Venture Partners (IVP), the LaunchPad startup pitch competition was held on June 7th, where Tokyo-based Cluster developing the VR social room app won the top prize. here’s a quick rundown of the competition finals. Judges in the finals were as follows: Syogo Kawata (Advisor, DeNA) Takuya Kitagawa (Executive Officer, Rakuten) Yoshihiko Kinoshita (General Partner, Skyland Ventures) Hironao Kunimitsu (CEO, Gumi) Koki Sato (CEO, Septeni Holdings) Tetsuya Sanada (CEO, Klab) Ken Suzuki (CEO, SmartNews) Yoshikazu Tanaka (CEO, GREE) Kotaro Chiba (Angel Investor / CEO, The Ryokan Tokyo) Akiko Naka (CEO, Wantedly) Shinichiro Hori (CEO, YJ Capital) Ken Honda (Global CEO, FreakOut Holdings) Kotaro Yamagishi (CEO, Keio Innovation Initiative) James Riney (Head & Managing Partner, 500 Startups Japan) In addition, well-known Japanese serial entrepreneur Takafumi Horie took part as a special commentator. The prizes of this competition were: Amazon Web Services activate coupon worth $3,000 for all participants, and “True wish list” for top prize winner (provided by Amazon Web…

See the original story in Japanese.

This is a part of our coverage of Infinity Ventures Summit (IVS) 2017 Spring in Kobe.

During the 10th edition of Infinity Venture Summit in Kobe, a semi-annual conference hosted by renowned startup-focused investment fund Infinity Venture Partners (IVP), the LaunchPad startup pitch competition was held on June 7th, where Tokyo-based Cluster developing the VR social room app won the top prize.

here’s a quick rundown of the competition finals. Judges in the finals were as follows:

  • Syogo Kawata (Advisor, DeNA)
  • Takuya Kitagawa (Executive Officer, Rakuten)
  • Yoshihiko Kinoshita (General Partner, Skyland Ventures)
  • Hironao Kunimitsu (CEO, Gumi)
  • Koki Sato (CEO, Septeni Holdings)
  • Tetsuya Sanada (CEO, Klab)
  • Ken Suzuki (CEO, SmartNews)
  • Yoshikazu Tanaka (CEO, GREE)
  • Kotaro Chiba (Angel Investor / CEO, The Ryokan Tokyo)
  • Akiko Naka (CEO, Wantedly)
  • Shinichiro Hori (CEO, YJ Capital)
  • Ken Honda (Global CEO, FreakOut Holdings)
  • Kotaro Yamagishi (CEO, Keio Innovation Initiative)
  • James Riney (Head & Managing Partner, 500 Startups Japan)

In addition, well-known Japanese serial entrepreneur Takafumi Horie took part as a special commentator.

The prizes of this competition were:

  • Amazon Web Services activate coupon worth $3,000 for all participants, and “True wish list” for top prize winner (provided by Amazon Web Services)
  • One year’s worth of Yebisu Beer for top prize winner (provided by AGS Consulting)
  • Use right of Freee worth 500,000 yen for top prize winner (provided by Freee)
  • Settlement fee of PayPal worth 1 million yen (provided by PayPal)

Cluster (top prize)

Cluster CEO Naoto Kato

Cluster provides a social VR (virtual reality) service under the same name, enabling large scale event in VR space gathering many users. By sharing URL, only invited users are allowed to enter a VR room and to share the experience there. The users can view the same virtual screen as other users in the VR room. The screen can display game plays or YouTube videos, so that users can discuss or share experiences while viewing the same video contents or sports matches.

See also:

iNAIL by BIT (2nd place)

iNAIL by BIT

iNAIL is an auto-nail art print service. The conventional nail art applying procedures at salons require the time and cost to design in handwriting by nail artists; on the other hand, this service provides smart nail art printing by the exclusive nail printer only within 15 seconds in the same method as 3D printer.

The firm plans to expand its service at hair salons, nail salons, or esthetic salons. Due to the high reputation for Japanese nail arts, the firm pursues global development eagerly as well.

Town WiFi (3rd place)

Town WiFi CEO Takehiro Ogita

Town WiFi (formerly provided with the name of WiFiShare) is a mobile app enabling smart devices to connect automatically to private and free WiFi services to reduce the data communication fee. Besides Japan, the firm provides its auto-WiFi logon service in 200 locations in the US, Korea, Taiwan, or Macau. The firm aims to monetize by the push advertising when logging on and the sales commission for charged WiFi services within the app.

See also:

One Visa by Residence (4th place)

Residence CEO Albert Okamura

Albert Okamura born in Peru, once encountered a scene where his friend was forcibly deported to Peru due to irregularities upon acquiring his visa, and that motivated Okamura to solve the problem of visa acquisition. Since Japan’s immigration inspectors are just public employees who basically only speak Japanese and the application documents are written in Japanese, it is difficult for foreigners who cannot understand Japanese to communicate using this language.

Okamura had himself worked for Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, and been involved in visa-issuance work. Leveraging the experience obtained there, he developed Residence, now known as One Visa. The service displays questions that are required for terms utilized upon visa acquisition in the users’ native language, and outputs them as a form written in Japanese.

The firm aims to monetize by credit clearance service for foreigners based on the registered information and launched the open beta version on June 6th. The firm was born out from Tech Lab Paak 4th batch.

See also:

LION Project by Hyper8 (5th place)

Hyper8 CEO Keiji Isogimi

Hyper8, also known for services such as Mespo or Tabeniiku, offers a new internet service called LION Project.

LION Project is a Uber-like service for hostess bars, allowing girls to be called up to parties after events.

The service shows the amount purchased by each user is 27,000 yen (about $240) and the repeat ratio within 30 days is 68%, with 40% month-on-month growth ratio since its launch back this February. More than 820 girls have registered the service.

See also:

Astool by Smooz

Astool CEO Yuichi Kato

Astool developed a “chain-reaction” type web browser Smooz available for iOS. Through text extraction, morpheme analysis, ranking and related term extraction for the current web page, it recommends search terms which will be required next by the user or suggests bookmarking to him / her by recognizing and reviewing reactions on social media.

Player! by Ookami

Ookami CEO Taiyo Ogata

Player! is a sports-centric social network app which provides information of ongoing status or results of live sports matches and allows users to share the excitement with other users viewing the same match in real-time.

See also:

HoloEyes

HoloEyes CEO Naoji Taniguchi

HoloEyes aims to make an information revolution in the medical field using VR. Its technology will be helpful for the medical world by sharing information of human bodies in 3DVR form. The medical VR database will be constructed through collection of CT scan data and forming 3D human body models, then accumulating such data.

If a search on the terms “male, 60s, prostate cancer” is made, 3D images of matched cases will be output and doctors can utilize them for diagnosis references of similar cases or training upon surgical operations. The team expects a business model providing VR viewers for hospitals and selling collected data, after obtaining patients’ consent, to medical colleges or pharmaceutical companies.

See also:

APlay by NAIN

APlay by NAIN

APlay is a Bluetooth earphone having a voice assistant function capable of conveying smartphone notifications by voices. It notifies Twitter timelines or LINE messages while listening to music or telephone conversation.

Cansell

Cansell CEO Kyohei Yamashita

Cansell is a P2P (peer-to-peer) commerce platform for non-refundable accommodation reservation rights between guest users. In Cansell, exhibitor users who want to cancel reservations can sell accommodation rights for users who look for hotels.

The exhibitor users receive reselling money after deducting the commission for Cansell and can save the cancellation cost compared with paying the cancellation cost to travel agents or hotels; on the other hand, the purchaser users can make reservations in comparatively cheaper price.

See also:

Matcher

Matcher CEO Kohei Nishikawa

Matcher is an “alumni visit” matching service for Japanese job hunting activities. With the watchword “do me a favor in return for advising about job hunting?”, the service connects students who want to consult about job hunting and businesspeople who have favor to ask on the web only by one-click.

For students, there is a merit that they can easily visit employees currently working at intended companies other than graduates of the university. For companies, they can use the service as an effective method for approaching incoming employees. Matcher, launched last February, acquired 10,000 users as of this April and has been adopted by more than 100 companies.

Scouty

Scouty

Scouty is a AI-powered human resource matching service, especially focused on engineers. Monitoring engineers’ information on social media and crawling open data on the web, the service integrates personal information about 800,000 engineers. It predicts the probability of retirement utilizing AI analysis for corrected data and matches them for the best companies.

For people potentially changing jobs, Scouty offers his / her profile email based on the template.

Receptionist by Delighted

Receptionist by Delighted

Receptionist provided by Delighted is a visitor reception service available for iPad. With this app, users can handle visitors using chat tool such as Chatwork or Slack. The app can also link with schedule / customer management system or labor management platform.

When a visitor is going to be late for an appointment, he / she can easily contact the intended person in charge via the app in a single operation. At a reception desk, any meeting procedure can be automated just by waving smartphone over the Receptionist app on iPad. Delighted plans to launch the app for smartphones in the future.

Translated by Taijoro Takeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

15 startups from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan join Orange Fab Asia’s latest accelerator batch

SHARE:

See the original story in Japanese. Orange Fab Asia, the startup accelerator program in Asia headed by a French telco, unveiled startups joining an upcoming batch called Orange Fab Asia Spring 2015, the third batch for Tokyo and the second batch for Taipei and Seoul. As Orange Fab Asia covers Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, the program has selected five startups from each of these countries for a total of 15 teams. Tokyo Aquabit Spirals: IoT (Internet of Things) platform that connects things and spaces via the Internet Capy: Unauthorized log-in countermeasure solutions for corporate users (see also these articles) Fuller: Mobile device management app, usage analytics service for mobile apps (see also these articles) Nain: Status sharing-based communication platform for smart watch users (see also these articles) Scentee: Scent-based communication using an aroma-spraying device attached to smartphones Taipei Absolute Tech: 3G/Wi-Fi signal amplifying solution Docceo: the next-gen solution for hotels Jrsys International: QR code-based payments system PowerWow Tech: Wireless power supply solution Staging Design: Augmented reality technologies for interior decorations Seoul Dot: Braille-based smartwatch for the visually impaired Frasen: Sleep mask and sleep meliorating service MtoV: Smart driving service using big data Neofect: Smart rehabilitation system Pied-Piper: Smart mini garden…

orange-fab-demoday-korea-2014-fall
Regional demo day event at Center for Creative Economy and Innovation in Gyongi, Korea (25 March, 2015)

See the original story in Japanese.

Orange Fab Asia, the startup accelerator program in Asia headed by a French telco, unveiled startups joining an upcoming batch called Orange Fab Asia Spring 2015, the third batch for Tokyo and the second batch for Taipei and Seoul. As Orange Fab Asia covers Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, the program has selected five startups from each of these countries for a total of 15 teams.

Tokyo

  • Aquabit Spirals: IoT (Internet of Things) platform that connects things and spaces via the Internet
  • Capy: Unauthorized log-in countermeasure solutions for corporate users (see also these articles)
  • Fuller: Mobile device management app, usage analytics service for mobile apps (see also these articles)
  • Nain: Status sharing-based communication platform for smart watch users (see also these articles)
  • Scentee: Scent-based communication using an aroma-spraying device attached to smartphones

Taipei

  • Absolute Tech: 3G/Wi-Fi signal amplifying solution
  • Docceo: the next-gen solution for hotels
  • Jrsys International: QR code-based payments system
  • PowerWow Tech: Wireless power supply solution
  • Staging Design: Augmented reality technologies for interior decorations

Seoul

  • Dot: Braille-based smartwatch for the visually impaired
  • Frasen: Sleep mask and sleep meliorating service
  • MtoV: Smart driving service using big data
  • Neofect: Smart rehabilitation system
  • Pied-Piper: Smart mini garden

These startups will have a three-month mentorship and the possibility to explore business collaboration with Orange group. At the end of this batch (scheduled in July), they will present their achievements in intensive development efforts to an audience at demo-day events in Tokyo and Paris.

Meanwhile, the accelerator showcased the teams born out of the previous batch at a demo day event in Tokyo last November, followed by the program’s regional briefing events at Center for Creative Economy and Innovation in Gyongi, Korea in late March as well as the Innosquare incubation center in New Taipei City, Taiwan in early April. Check out graduated and participating teams on the Orange Fab Asia Facebook page.

orange-fab-demoday-taiwan-2014-fall
Regional demo day event at Innosquare, New Taipei City, Taiwan 8 April, 2015)

Edited by Kurt Hanson

5 Apple Watch apps and platforms from Japanese startups that you don’t want to miss

SHARE:

See the original story in Japanese. Apple Watch was officially introduced earlier this week. Because its planned shipping volume will overwhelmingly exceed that of Android Wear or other smart watches, Apple Watch is the main topic everywhere in the tech community for the first half of this year. As the launch of Apple draws near, people are more likely to be interested in what Apple Watch apps crop up in the future. We collected plans of Apple Watch app launches from Japanese startups, primarily involving our reader base. We couldn’t collect a lot of information as it is so soon after the official announcement of Apple Watch. However, this will provide a clue in assuming what kind of user experience will be delivered as well as what startups will bring these apps. So I hope this will help provide a future outlook for this space. Dr. Wallet (by BearTail) Dr. Wallet is a cloud-based household accounting solution that lets one track personal finances by simply scanning receipts. Dr. Wallet’s Apple Watch app allows entry of expenses from the wrist and sync with Dr. Wallet’s smartphone app. If a scanned receipt is used with the smartphone app, one can receive notification…

apple-watch-briefing
Via Flickr by Rosa Jiménez Cano. Licenced under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

See the original story in Japanese.

Apple Watch was officially introduced earlier this week. Because its planned shipping volume will overwhelmingly exceed that of Android Wear or other smart watches, Apple Watch is the main topic everywhere in the tech community for the first half of this year.

As the launch of Apple draws near, people are more likely to be interested in what Apple Watch apps crop up in the future. We collected plans of Apple Watch app launches from Japanese startups, primarily involving our reader base.

We couldn’t collect a lot of information as it is so soon after the official announcement of Apple Watch. However, this will provide a clue in assuming what kind of user experience will be delivered as well as what startups will bring these apps. So I hope this will help provide a future outlook for this space.

Dr. Wallet (by BearTail)

Dr. Wallet is a cloud-based household accounting solution that lets one track personal finances by simply scanning receipts. Dr. Wallet’s Apple Watch app allows entry of expenses from the wrist and sync with Dr. Wallet’s smartphone app. If a scanned receipt is used with the smartphone app, one can receive notification via Apple Watch app when BearTail’s operators finish digitalizing the scanned data so one can handle expense records in the app. If a monthly limit of expenses is set with the app, one can easily see with the Apple Watch app what percentage has already been consumed.

Seeing is believing. Check out the video below.

Prott(by Goodpatch)

prott-apple-watch

Prott is a prototyping tool for smart devices apps, and now supports designing user interfaces for Apple Watch apps. This doesn’t mean one cannot control Prott with Apple Watch. However, as more startups develop Apple Watch apps, the more users Prott can acquire.

Nain

Nain is a Tokyo-based startup launched in November 2014, currently developing a social network service for smart watches. The above slides show what they intend to do. We will provide more details later on.

SnapDish (by Vuzz)

SnapDish is one of popular food photo apps from Japan. In contrast with other apps, their users are more likely to take pictures of their homemade dishes, so Vuzz, the company behind the the SnapDish app, thinks that developing an Apple Watch app syncing with “hunger pangs” is possible. (Photo below is the smartphone version of SnapDish.)

snapdish_screenshot

TennisCore

tenniscore_screenshot

Yuichi Kato previously worked at Rakuten as a project manager for their recently-acquired chat and messaging app Viber. He quit the e-commerce giant and is currently developing an AppleWatch app for tennis players, called TennisCore.

When tennis players get ahead in their game, they tend to forget counting their scores. To prevent this, Kato developed an iPhone app that allows players to count their scores. But as it is hard to play the game while holding a smartphone, he planned an Apple Watch app that lets them keep counting with their wrist.


Towards April 24th when Apple will launch the smart watch product here in Japan, we are told that more startups are preparing release of Apple Watch apps soon. We also heard undisclosed updates regarding these apps from several Japanese startups, so people will receive user experiences never before experienced.

The Bridge’s editorials expect to be overwhelmingly busy covering more Apple Watch apps from Japanese startups over the next 6 weeks.

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy