This is the abridged version from our original article in Japanese
Tokyo-based Retty, a Japanese startup behind the restaurant finder app under the same name, announced today that it has fundraised 1 billion yen (or about $8.24 million) from Fidelity Growth Partners Japan and the startup’s existing investors. This follows their previous funding in a series B round securing 330 million yen ($3.2 million) back in 2013.
Retty’s monthly active users hit the 7 million milestone in February, increasing a million from January. According to the company’s CEO Kazuya Takeda, this was made possible without any paid promotion but they want to let the growth increase up to 15 to 20 million users on a monthly basis by leveraging the funds.
Retty plans to use the funds to strengthen their global expansion to North American and Asian countries, especially in cities where local people have a habit of dining out every day. Along with this announcement, Retty also rolled out a new design to the iPhone app, simplifying an interface so that article viewers can better see an author’s face of every article and find restaurants which they may like.
Renewed interface of Retty’s iOS app
Translated by Masaru Ikeda Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy
See the original story in Japanese. Attache is a mobile app that aims to disrupt the conventional job-hunting method for fresh graduates in Japan. It was launched by Tokyo-based startup Givery earlier this month, and is available for iOS on iTunes AppStore and for Android on Google Play. Based on the concept of helping users eliminate trivial tasks around their job-hunts, the Attache app allows users to download slides to eliminate the need to receive bulky printed pieces of company profiles at job fairs. With the app, users can upload their resume to their potential employers, find other job fairs, sign up to attend such events, and arrange interviews. See also: The Unwritten rules of job-hunting in Japan (Tofugu) Shūkatsu: Job-Hunting in Japan (Univ. in Japan) What’s remarkable about the Attache app is the feature using the iBeacon technology. By receiving a device-unique signal for one’s smartphone transmitted from an iBeacon device, one can find invitation-only events on the app. So if job-hunting students receive a signal when launching the app, all these users are automatically invited to designated job fairs or other events. Along with the launch of the Attache app, Gively held a big job fair for 500 soon-to-graduate university students at the Hikarie Building in Shibuya. Unlike conventional job-hunts, attendees were prohibited from wearing…
Attache is a mobile app that aims to disrupt the conventional job-hunting method for fresh graduates in Japan. It was launched by Tokyo-based startup Givery earlier this month, and is available for iOS on iTunes AppStore and for Android on Google Play.
Based on the concept of helping users eliminate trivial tasks around their job-hunts, the Attache app allows users to download slides to eliminate the need to receive bulky printed pieces of company profiles at job fairs. With the app, users can upload their resume to their potential employers, find other job fairs, sign up to attend such events, and arrange interviews.
What’s remarkable about the Attache app is the feature using the iBeacon technology. By receiving a device-unique signal for one’s smartphone transmitted from an iBeacon device, one can find invitation-only events on the app. So if job-hunting students receive a signal when launching the app, all these users are automatically invited to designated job fairs or other events.
Along with the launch of the Attache app, Gively held a big job fair for 500 soon-to-graduate university students at the Hikarie Building in Shibuya. Unlike conventional job-hunts, attendees were prohibited from wearing the typical navy blue formal suit when joining the event. Participating companies in the event on the employer side included notable Japanese companies such as Crowdworks (TSE:3900), DeNA (TSE:2432), Kakaku.com (TSE:2371), Recruit (TSE:6098), Vasily, and BizReach.
Givery’s post on Japanese social job search site Wantedly gave us a glimpse into what kind of people are working at their office. The average age of the development team is 26 years old, hailing from around the world such as Japan, Canada, Vietnam, mainland China, and Albania. Such diversity in the team might allow them to find inconvenience or waste that we have not been aware of, followed by development of technology-based solutions to these issues.
Going forward, Givery plans to develop the platform further, aiming to acquire 100,000 job-hunting students and serving 240 companies by the end of this year.
Translated by Masaru Ikeda Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Showcase Gig, the digital marketing startup best known for its mobile wallet and CRM (customer relationship management) platform ‘O:der’ (pronounced ‘order’), recently launched an IoT (Internet of Things) platform called O:der Connect, which connects the O:der app that consumers have on their smartphones with in-store hardware devices at retailers. See also: How a Japanese startup plans to disrupt the CRM industry with a mobile solution Japan’s digital marketing startup Showcase Gig fundraises from Loyalty Marketing Japan’s Showcase Gig invents new platform, aiming to streamline the restaurant business O:der Connect O:der Connect is an extensive feature of the O:der platform. By installing the O:der Connect app into cash registers, it will link up with the O:der platform so that store clerks can handle tasks such as mobile app-based payments, customer relationship management, and order management using a cash register. Customer visit notifications using Beacon as well as order and payment information from apps are shown on the screen of cash registers, enabling retailers to complete tasks, which previously required multiple devices, on a single device. Since order data will be analyzed online real-time, information such as more personalized coupons can now be sent out. Casio’s V-Regi is the…
Tokyo-based Showcase Gig, the digital marketing startup best known for its mobile wallet and CRM (customer relationship management) platform ‘O:der’ (pronounced ‘order’), recently launched an IoT (Internet of Things) platform called O:der Connect, which connects the O:der app that consumers have on their smartphones with in-store hardware devices at retailers.
O:der Connect is an extensive feature of the O:der platform. By installing the O:der Connect app into cash registers, it will link up with the O:der platform so that store clerks can handle tasks such as mobile app-based payments, customer relationship management, and order management using a cash register.
Customer visit notifications using Beacon as well as order and payment information from apps are shown on the screen of cash registers, enabling retailers to complete tasks, which previously required multiple devices, on a single device. Since order data will be analyzed online real-time, information such as more personalized coupons can now be sent out.
Casio’s V-Regi is the first model as a cash register linkable with the O:der Connect platform, which was exhibited at RetailTech Japan 2015 from March 3rd to the 6th in Tokyo.
The above screen will appear in a cash register using O:der Connect. When a customer places an order using the O:der app, a new order will be added to the ‘newly arrived orders’ section on the retailer’s interface. By tapping on the order in that, its details will appear on the next screen.
When a store clerk accepts receiving the order on this screen, the user will be notified with a confirmation that the order has been received, while the store begins preparing an item based the order. When the item has been prepared, retailers can send the user another notification simply using the cash register they usually use.
When the user visits the store, Beacon will detect the approach so that retailers can promptly hand the item over to the user. Store clerks can check out profile details of O:der customers visiting at storefront, which allows retailers to issue a discount coupon for a customer’s birthday purchase or understand how often or frequently the customer has visited their store.
Showcase Gig wants to expand the applicable scope range of the O:der Connect platform from cash registers beyond to hardware devices, wearable devices, and connected cars.
As more smart devices will be introduced in the future, the O:der connect app will allow more consumers to easily place orders and payments, while it will also enable retailers to make a different promotional effort to every single customer thanks to the analysis from acquired data about customer behaviors.
These are good enough to excite us, but the Showcase Gig team still have some more news releases which will give us a big surprise. They have been proposing new forms of in-store retail practices every year, so it will be really interesting to see what they will bring next.
From the right: Showcase Gig CEO Takefumi Nitta, producer Akira Nakano
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 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 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.)
TennisCore
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.
See the original story in Japanese. Fukuoka-based Reevo, a company that provides a smartphone-based car rental service called Veecle!-experience (Veecle), announced in February that it had fundraised from Daiwa Corporate Investment and Sagin Capital & Consulting. [1] While details of the investment have not been disclosed, Reevo’s capital was increased to 93.3 million yen ($768,000) after securing the funds. Some resources say that the funding amount was estimated to be $570,000. Veecle provides a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from camper vans to imported luxury cars, allowing users to complete the entire process from search to booking confirmation using their smartphones. Reevo has acquired about 3,000 automobiles available for rent in partnership with 80 car rental service providers as of February 2015. Veecle had been initially delivering vehicles to user’s homes upon their booking via smartphones, but subsequently pivoted its business model. In their current model, they are a fabless company but can provide users with car rental services in Kyushu as well as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Shimane, and Ehime, in partnership with other car rental service providers. Reevo CEO Ryoma Matsuo told The Bridge what is behind the funding: Japan’s domestic car rental market is valued at 510 billion…
Fukuoka-based Reevo, a company that provides a smartphone-based car rental service called Veecle!-experience (Veecle), announced in February that it had fundraised from Daiwa Corporate Investment and Sagin Capital & Consulting. [1] While details of the investment have not been disclosed, Reevo’s capital was increased to 93.3 million yen ($768,000) after securing the funds. Some resources say that the funding amount was estimated to be $570,000.
Veecle provides a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from camper vans to imported luxury cars, allowing users to complete the entire process from search to booking confirmation using their smartphones. Reevo has acquired about 3,000 automobiles available for rent in partnership with 80 car rental service providers as of February 2015.
Veecle had been initially delivering vehicles to user’s homes upon their booking via smartphones, but subsequently pivoted its business model. In their current model, they are a fabless company but can provide users with car rental services in Kyushu as well as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Shimane, and Ehime, in partnership with other car rental service providers.
Reevo CEO Ryoma Matsuo told The Bridge what is behind the funding:
Japan’s domestic car rental market is valued at 510 billion yen ($4.2 billion). In addition, I believe it will grow because of the change of consumers’ mindset from ownership to usership in the use of vehicles for their daily lives. On the other hand, more than half of all 500,000 vehicles for rent in Japan are dealt by fragmented service providers that are typically small, and their systems are outdated and cause low operational efficiency. Leveraging special-purpose trucks or low-priced autos that these providers have, we can help improve their business and acquire more customers.
The company plans to use the funds to increase the number of available vehicles and expand its coverage area of car rental services. They want to expand the service nationwide in Japan by this summer, aiming to partner with 500 car rental service providers with 10,000 automobiles.
Matsuo added:
Daiwa Corporate Investment has love and passion for us, especially for our business and relationship with each other. It is said that the ideal relationship between an investor and an entrepreneur is like a marriage, so I asked Daiwa “Would you marry us?” when we decided to receive the funds from them. Regarding Sagin Capital, a key factor in the decision was we wanted to make a solid connection with local businesses in the Kyushu region through the deal.
Car rental service is obviously part of the vibrant “sharing economy” movement. So it may give the younger generation more chances to enjoy leisure activities or holiday trips.
Sagin Capital & Consulting is the investment arm of Saga Bank, a regional bank in Japan’s Kyushu Island. ↩
Translated by Sumi Yo via Mother First Edited by Masaru Ikeda and Kurt Hanson
See the original story in Japanese. An increasing number of online services for beauticians and hair salons are emerging. Good examples include Minimo, Mixi’s search engine for hairdressing models, and Coupe that helps beauticians find their hairdressing models. I’d like to introduce a new service called Hairstudy, which has recently rolled out a new interface. See also: Japanese service matches novice hairdressers with those who need a cut Japan’s Coupe helps beauticians find hairdressing models online More than 3,000 beauticians are learning Since its launch back in June 2011, Hairstudy has been offering beauticians with an online video-based hairstyling learning platform. Premium plans for individual users are reasonably available from 2,500 yen to 3,700 yen (about $20 to $30), so it receives a lot of support from beauticians based in rural areas and self-employed beauticians who are likely to have less opportunities to attend a seminar to learn new hairstyling techniques. Gradually growing a user base, the service has acquired over 3,000 beauticians from about 1,500 salons in Japan. The platform has over 120 uploaded case study videos and received more than 1.5 million views from users so far. Typical use cases include junior stylists watching these videos in the…
An increasing number of online services for beauticians and hair salons are emerging. Good examples include Minimo, Mixi’s search engine for hairdressing models, and Coupe that helps beauticians find their hairdressing models. I’d like to introduce a new service called Hairstudy, which has recently rolled out a new interface.
Since its launch back in June 2011, Hairstudy has been offering beauticians with an online video-based hairstyling learning platform. Premium plans for individual users are reasonably available from 2,500 yen to 3,700 yen (about $20 to $30), so it receives a lot of support from beauticians based in rural areas and self-employed beauticians who are likely to have less opportunities to attend a seminar to learn new hairstyling techniques. Gradually growing a user base, the service has acquired over 3,000 beauticians from about 1,500 salons in Japan.
The platform has over 120 uploaded case study videos and received more than 1.5 million views from users so far. Typical use cases include junior stylists watching these videos in the back room or during a commute to prepare for their after-hour technique training, as well as beauty salon chains offering it for their employees as an educational platform. There are also Japanese beauticians based in the U.S. or Australia using the platform to keep up with the latest hairstyle trend in Japan.
Poised for global expansion
The purposes of the new interface roll-out are for optimizing the Hairstudy platform for browsing on multiple devices including smartphones as well as multilingualization preparing for global expansion. Beauticians have to work long hours and are busy for attending seminars even after their business hours or when they have a day off work. In order for these busy beauticians to use the service leveraging their spare time, all functions including payments in the app are designed as simple as possible for intuitive operations. We were told that they have an increasing number of users from beauticians in Southeast Asia, Korea and Taiwan as well as Japanese beauticians working outside Japan.
Prior to launching Hairstudy, Kenichi Kamata, CEO of the platform’s operator Akubi, had been previously working as a sales representative at a beauty product company, after being a beautician after graduating from a vocational school.
He explained about what prompted him to launch the platform:
Many beauticians quit their jobs, and I heard that one of the reasons why they do so is the lack of opportunities to learn hairstyling techniques. Hence, I thought things could be driven more readily using online videos which started becoming vibrant at that time. Since I myself used to be a beautician, I rediscovered how fascinating that job is after I quit. So I wanted to help beauticians see their job as awesome before they give up.
Japanese hairstyling techniques are highly reputed
Kamata asserted that the skill level of Japanese beauticians is the highest in the world so their techniques are often imitated by beauticians outside Japan. For example, as beauticians in Korea are very interested in attending seminars, many of them are eager to learn the skills of well-known beauticians in Tokyo.
Upon roll-out at this time, Akubi plans to add more content for hair coloring or perming, with more designed ones for assistant beauticians and salon owners. They aim to acquire 10,000 premium users in Japan and Southeast Asia. It will be interesting to see how the company helps improve the techniques of beauticians around the world.
Takeshi Hirano
Yukari Mitsuhashi
Junya Mori
Masaru Ikeda
Shintaro Eguchi
