Startupbootcamp FinTech FastTrack lands in Tokyo, opening to early-stage FinTech startups

Startupbootcamp FinTech

The Bridge 2015.11.12

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. All photos in this article are courtesy of the Startupbootcamp FinTech’s Mentor Augustus Loi. On the 10th November, leading FinTech accelerator Startupbootcamp FinTech arrived in Japan and got the opportunity to speak in the 7th FinTech Meetup, a large “mixer” near Tokyo station with several hundred participants hosted by FinTech Association Japan. Japanese fintechs were informed of the opportunity to gain “fast track” as startups, by pitching ideas for receiving feedback from experienced mentors from financial services, angel investors as well as the opportunity to get on the ‘watch-list’ for Startupbootcamp FinTech’s 2016 accelerator program. Interestingly, on the opening day of train-focused mass transit fair near Tokyo where many startups are participating in order to “get on track” in that business sector, the Startupbootcamp FinTech held next day on the 11th their FastTrack pitstop in Tokyo together with partner PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The event attracted startups focused on the different aspects of FinTech: cryptocurrency, wealth management and capital markets. This half-day event opened its doors to these innovative early-stage companies looking for expert advice and exposure. They are given direct access to an…

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

sbc-fintech-fasttrack-tokyo-steven-tong — Startupbootcamp Fintech’s Steven Tong

All photos in this article are courtesy of the Startupbootcamp FinTech’s Mentor Augustus Loi.

On the 10th November, leading FinTech accelerator Startupbootcamp FinTech arrived in Japan and got the opportunity to speak in the 7th FinTech Meetup, a large “mixer” near Tokyo station with several hundred participants hosted by FinTech Association Japan.

Japanese fintechs were informed of the opportunity to gain “fast track” as startups, by pitching ideas for receiving feedback from experienced mentors from financial services, angel investors as well as the opportunity to get on the ‘watch-list’ for Startupbootcamp FinTech’s 2016 accelerator program.

Interestingly, on the opening day of train-focused mass transit fair near Tokyo where many startups are participating in order to “get on track” in that business sector, the Startupbootcamp FinTech held next day on the 11th their FastTrack pitstop in Tokyo together with partner PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The event attracted startups focused on the different aspects of FinTech: cryptocurrency, wealth management and capital markets. This half-day event opened its doors to these innovative early-stage companies looking for expert advice and exposure. They are given direct access to an international network of mentors and partners to pitch to and get valuable inputs for one-on-ones.

Startupbootcamp selected Tokyo as one of 14 Asian destinations for the FinTech FastTrack tour after witnessing the robust growth in financial innovation for Japan.

When we first held a FastTrack in Tokyo 9 months ago, we found hardly any FinTech activity with very few startups and limited interest from the financial industry.

Now we see an influx of interest from finance professionals and investors, more noise being made by entrepreneurs and many events dedicated to FinTech and startups rising from Japan. The development of FinTech Association is a good sign to help grow this exciting industry and we are excited to be back in Tokyo.

Markus Gnirck, Global COO of Startupbootcamp FinTech commented on the quick ascension of FinTech.

FastTrack events are a bite-sized glimpse into the value of a Startupbootcamp program. Startups will have the opportunity to connect with top mentors, get feedback from other startups and meet the Startupbootcamp FinTech team. One-on-one sessions with local industry experts in the finance, investment and entrepreneurial space will provide advice on how to improve their product, business model and pitching skills.

By participating, startups also gains access to the Startupbootcamp FinTech global community. After the FastTrack tour, Startupbootcamp FinTech will select 10 startups to take part in their three month intensive 2016 FinTech accelerator in Singapore. StartupBootCamp FinTech’s last FastTrack tour resulted in 2 startups receiving investment based on connections they made at the events.

Marcus von Engel, Partner at PwC said,

In the ultrafast-paced world of disruptive technologies in the financial services industry, there are significant opportunities for financial institutions, startup companies, consulting firms and other industry stakeholders to compete and collaborate upon achieving success. Fast Track sessions are an important catalyst for bringing together ideas and industry experts. PwC is proud to be a part of this effort where we can also offer our insights in Fintech focus areas, whether it is cybersecurity, payment systems, peer-to-peer financing and new customer experience approaches in the new Digital World.

Steven Tong, Managing Director of Startupbootcamp FinTech said,

We are only on our second leg of the FastTrack and we have seen promising startups that we are keeping an eye on and want to mentor to be accelerator-ready. We encourage startups, at whatever stage in their early development, to apply to join us for the unprecedented opportunity to connect with Startupbootcamp FinTechs global community and access worldwide opportunities.”

Successful FastTrack startups will join the watch list and have the potential to be selected for the Startupbootcamp FinTech accelerator program, in addition to receiving:

Extensive mentorship from 200+ entrepreneurs, investors and partners
Access to top markets in Europe, US and the Asia-Pacific region
3+1 months’ free office space
24,500 Singapore dollars (about 17,000 US dollars) in cash per team
Exposure to 200+ Angels & VCs
Invitation to the Startupbootcamp global alumni network and growth program

For more information, visit the Startupbootcamp FinTech website.

Here are some of startups which delivered their awesome pitch at this event:

Quick Money Recorder by Smart Idea

Quick Money Recorder, provided by Tokyo-based startup Smart Idea, is an app for household account book with the very concept of ‘simple is best.’ It focuses only on simple input of articles and money amount, while other similar apps have been enhancing automatic reading receipts or cooperation with online systems.

See also:

Japan’s Quick Money Recorder, personal budgeting app, exceeds 3M downloads worldwide

One Tap Buy

Previously known as MyBanker, One Tap Buy has been focused on developing mobile app which specifically helps people manage their savings and investments more easily. The company has fundraised from Mobile Internet Capital (backed by NTT Docomo and Mizuho Securities), DBJ Capital (the investment arm of Development Bank of Japan), Mitsui Life Insurance’s Sansei Capital, and other undisclosed VC firms.

Crowdify

Launched by Tokyo-based New Zealander Michael Q Todd, Crowdify is to help startups grow by gathering together a community of 5-10,000 influencers in major cities in the world about several categories of technology such Cleantech, Mobile, Ecommerce, Fintech, Biotech, and Healthtech.

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Smaller Japanese ventures seeking to project themselves overseas

RISCON

The Bridge 2015.11.05

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. With the arrival of October, many small-sized Japanese SMEs – especially venture businesses honing in on safety as well as security needs – have been actively showcasing their new products at exhibitions and symposiums in Japan. From October 12th many small firms supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government gathered at Asia’s largest security and safety exposition RISCON – targeting everything from automotive hazards to natural disasters – held alongside the restricted-access [luggage examination and ID/passport required] SEECAT (Special Equipment Exhibition & Conference for Anti-Terrorism) geared towards the more specialized businesses. The RISCON Tokyo SME Support Center corner and clusters nearby had several eye-catching ventures, running the gamut from Challenge, an earthquake early warning systems producer established by a former Japanese telecoms monopoly engineer, and Port Denshi, an electronics maker now availing handy “checkers” for structural integrity of buildings, to Starlite, a car parts maker unveiling a “floating garage” and Sea Enterprise, a firm offering a Tsunami shelter, among many purveyors of apps/devices to inform of other such hazards. Challenge Challenge is a venture business started up by Mr. Kazuo Sasaki,…

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

riscon-stage — Challenge’s Sasaki presents on the RISCON stage.

With the arrival of October, many small-sized Japanese SMEs – especially venture businesses honing in on safety as well as security needs – have been actively showcasing their new products at exhibitions and symposiums in Japan.

From October 12th many small firms supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government gathered at Asia’s largest security and safety exposition RISCON – targeting everything from automotive hazards to natural disasters – held alongside the restricted-access [luggage examination and ID/passport required] SEECAT (Special Equipment Exhibition & Conference for Anti-Terrorism) geared towards the more specialized businesses.

The RISCON Tokyo SME Support Center corner and clusters nearby had several eye-catching ventures, running the gamut from Challenge, an earthquake early warning systems producer established by a former Japanese telecoms monopoly engineer, and Port Denshi, an electronics maker now availing handy “checkers” for structural integrity of buildings, to Starlite, a car parts maker unveiling a “floating garage” and Sea Enterprise, a firm offering a Tsunami shelter, among many purveyors of apps/devices to inform of other such hazards.

Challenge

Challenge is a venture business started up by Mr. Kazuo Sasaki, a former NTT engineer who quit the ICT giant – a rare breed indeed in this “employment-risk-averse” nation still dominated by “public servants.” Mr. Sasaki first started out by producing a “terrorist attack warning system” based on an on-campus communication network but found that more lives could be saved through early earthquake warnings, as he explained at the RISCON stage event.

His company, with assistance from the public corporation backing up the SME Support Center, is already slated to deploy its EQ-Guard II network in Indonesia. According to their tech chief Yamaimaiti Nizhamudong the company already has nearly a dozen languages available for systems announcements and are targeting quake-prone countries in Eurasia as future markets.

Port Denshi

Port Denshi is headed by Mr. Katsuhiko Hibino, whose company until recently was mainly focused on producing electronic components until he realized that he could use his products to “sound out” structural flaws in buildings. The electronic “one-stop” tapping system developed by Port Denshi, a typical “Denshi” meaning “electronics” in Japanese, uses a “metal xylophone stick” which enables pinpointing of problems with concrete deterioration upon hitting the surface, and unlike the Schmidt hammer is able to fathom deeper inside the building structure.

In recent years Japan – whose postwar reconstruction results are showing wear and tear – has witnessed a spate of problems related to urban infrastructure. There has also been a marked lowering in workmanship among constructors, perhaps due to a lack of human resources brought on by the sudden building rush of recent years. As an aside the event this year at Big Sight took place alongside Tokyo Aerospace Symposium and a reference to airport buildings in need of periodic checks – like the older Tokyo area ones as well as the sinking one offshore of Osaka – cannot but be stressed.

Starlite

As it turned out, adjacent to the Tokyo SME area was located Starlite of Osaka, which availed a new type of sturdy garage. The car parts provider, in view of recent flash downpours that have caused floods and swept away communities, decided to attach drum cans underneath a garage clad all around with protective sheathings. It is said to float long enough until water subsides.

As a disaster still fresh in the minds of many Tokyoites there are also the tidal waves that struck the shores north of the metropolis. Several companies were focused on providing schemes to deal with such hazards as well. One of these, Sea Enterprise, looked to disseminate its Tsunami shelter system which provides for longer “riding out” of waterborne disasters.

As for automotive hazards countermeasures we will look in depth on these in the Tokyo Motor Show story to follow soon. In any event it is hoped there will be less cases of major disaster situations, although we need to be prepared well at all times.

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How venture capitalists can help entrepreneurs? [NES 2014 panel]

Masaru Ikeda 2014.04.14

This is a part of our coverage of the Japan New Economy Summit 2014. You can follow our updates on Twitter as well at @thebridge_e. On day two of the New Economy Summit here in Tokyo last week, we heard a panel about how venture capitalists can help entrepreneurs both here in Japan and abroad. Moderated by Daisuke Iwase, the president and COO of Lifenet Life Insurance Company, the session included: George Kellerman, managing partner and fire chief at 500 Startups Akio Tanaka, partner at Infinity Ventures LLP David Lee, co-founder and managing partner at SV Angel SV Angel’s David Lee kicked off the session by making a brief introduction to his firm. Since its launch back in 2009, SV Angel have been investing in tech notable startups including Twitter, Pinterest, Square, Dropbox, and Airbnb in their early stages. Akio Tanaka introduced Infinity Venture Partners’ recent activities in nurturing the start ecosystem in China. He gave us a look at the Chinese answer to Angellist, 36kr (one of their portfolio startups), as well as their recently established startup hub in Beijing, TechTemple. To accelerate the startup ecosystem in Japan, he emphasized that large companies should play a key role. In…

venture-capitalist-panel — From the left: David Lee (SV Angel), Akio Tanaka (Infinity Venture Partners), George Kellerman (500startups)

This is a part of our coverage of the Japan New Economy Summit 2014. You can follow our updates on Twitter as well at @thebridge_e.

On day two of the New Economy Summit here in Tokyo last week, we heard a panel about how venture capitalists can help entrepreneurs both here in Japan and abroad. Moderated by Daisuke Iwase, the president and COO of Lifenet Life Insurance Company, the session included:

George Kellerman, managing partner and fire chief at 500 Startups
Akio Tanaka, partner at Infinity Ventures LLP
David Lee, co-founder and managing partner at SV Angel

venture-capitalist-lee — SV Angel’s David Lee

SV Angel’s David Lee kicked off the session by making a brief introduction to his firm. Since its launch back in 2009, SV Angel have been investing in tech notable startups including Twitter, Pinterest, Square, Dropbox, and Airbnb in their early stages.

venture-capitalist-tanaka — Infinity Venture Partners’ Akio Tanaka

Akio Tanaka introduced Infinity Venture Partners’ recent activities in nurturing the start ecosystem in China. He gave us a look at the Chinese answer to Angellist, 36kr (one of their portfolio startups), as well as their recently established startup hub in Beijing, TechTemple.

To accelerate the startup ecosystem in Japan, he emphasized that large companies should play a key role. In the US, such companies have been helping startups by circulating capital and human resources around the ecosystem. Even in China, larger organizations such as Baidu and Tencent are investing in tech startups more and more rather than buying them out or copying their business models.

venture-capitalist-kellerman — 500startups’ George Kellerman

500 Startups’ George Kellerman says that his firm has invested in more than 700 companies in the last four years. Noting that established companies in Japan reserve as much as 150 trillion yen (about $1.5 trillion) as their retained earnings, he insisted that they have to put at least 0.1% of it towards accelerating the startup ecosystem. That could either be by acquiring startups, forming funds, or investing in existing investment funds. Another important effort needed for the ecosystem can be made by inviting more women to the workplace, he says.

Addressing a question about how investors can help entrepreneurs, Lee said that one of the most important roles for investors is to serve as a mentor and role model:

In addition to providing money, investors need to help entrepreneurs hire good people, and advise with their business development and overall business operations, since younger entrepreneurs typically don’t have management experience.

Kellerman added:

A lot of VC people have operating background from the tech industry. My founder Dave McClure previously worked with PayPal as head of engineering, and I also worked with Yahoo and Dell. For investors, money is the easy part. That’s a commodity. Investors have to pass on their knowledge of operational experience to startups.

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What good is Silicon Valley to Japanese entrepreneurs? [NES 2014 panel]

NES2014

Masaru Ikeda 2014.04.14

This is a part of our coverage of the Japan New Economy Summit 2014. You can follow our updates on Twitter as well at @thebridge_e. On day two of the New Economy Summit here in Tokyo last week, we had a chance hear a panel discuss the benefits that Silicon Valley can have for Japanese entrepreneurs. This session was moderated by Gen Isayama, co-founder and CEO of WIL (World Innovation Lab), and the participating speakers included: Noriyuki Matsuda, CEO of Sourcenext Hironobu Yoshikawa, CEO and co-founder of Treasure Data Hitoshi Hokamura, chairman of Evernote Japan Satoshi Sugie, CEO and co-founder of Whill [1] Recently more Japanese investors and entrepreneurs have been moving to Silicon Valley. In order to get to the bottom of this trend, Isayama asked the panelists why they set up bases in Silicon Valley. Japanese software distribution company Sourcenext established a local subsidiary in Silicon Valley back in 2012, and has partnered with notable companies to distribute packaged editions of their software products. Since that office opened, Matsuda has spent more than a half of his time in Silicon Valley. He explained: I had no option but to come to Silicon Valley by myself. I used to…

entrepreneur-panel — From the left: Hitoshi Hokamura (Evernote Japan), Hironobu Yoshikawa (Treasure Data),
Noriyuki Matsuda (Sourcenext), Satoshi Sugie (Whill)

This is a part of our coverage of the Japan New Economy Summit 2014. You can follow our updates on Twitter as well at @thebridge_e.

On day two of the New Economy Summit here in Tokyo last week, we had a chance hear a panel discuss the benefits that Silicon Valley can have for Japanese entrepreneurs. This session was moderated by Gen Isayama, co-founder and CEO of WIL (World Innovation Lab), and the participating speakers included:

Noriyuki Matsuda, CEO of Sourcenext
Hironobu Yoshikawa, CEO and co-founder of Treasure Data
Hitoshi Hokamura, chairman of Evernote Japan
Satoshi Sugie, CEO and co-founder of Whill [1]

Recently more Japanese investors and entrepreneurs have been moving to Silicon Valley. In order to get to the bottom of this trend, Isayama asked the panelists why they set up bases in Silicon Valley.

Japanese software distribution company Sourcenext established a local subsidiary in Silicon Valley back in 2012, and has partnered with notable companies to distribute packaged editions of their software products. Since that office opened, Matsuda has spent more than a half of his time in Silicon Valley. He explained:

I had no option but to come to Silicon Valley by myself. I used to make having short trips there, but I subsequently figured out that it’s difficult to arrange appointments with locals unless I have a base there. During the several months that I’ve been there, we made a lot of good partnerships. So finally I decided to hand my previous role at headquarters over to some reliable people and I started living in Silicon Valley.

Sourcenext's Matsuda — Sourcenext’s Noriyuki Matsuda

The discussion moved on to Hokamura-san, who is known to have worked at Apple as director of marketing in the early 1990s when it was far less common for Japanese businessmen to work in Silicon Valley. He looks back at that time, explaining:

I had no intention to launch a business during the time. Why do I still stay there? Maybe because I can meet many exciting people. In Japan, I think we need to consume more of our energy on trivial tasks.

Evennote Japan's Hitoshi Hokamura — Evernote Japan’s Hitoshi Hokamura

Prior to launching his next-gen wheelchair startup, Sugie previously worked at Nissan, and also as a Japanese teacher for non-Japanese speakers. He explained his relocation:

Compared to the electric vehicle industry, the US market is 15 times larger than that of Japan. If you look at the number of vehicles sold annually, it’s 300,000 in the US versus 20,000 in Japan. So we decided to launch our first prototype in Silicon Valley. The area has a larger base of early adopters and it’s easier to arrange interviews with people, including investors and consumers.

entrepreneur-sugie — Whill’s Satoshi Sugie

Yoshikawa previously worked with the investment arm of Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. Isayama asked him why he abandoned such a good position to launch a startup. Yoshikawa explained:

Since I was investing in tech companies, it was natural for me to be in Silicon Valley. But I subsequently found huge potential in big data, so I launched a startup doing that business by myself.

Treasure Data's Yoshikawa — Treasure Data’s Hironobu Yoshikawa

Isayama also asked about the challenges of doing business in Silicon Valley. Wheel’s Sugie confessed he had many difficulties hiring local talent.

Hiring is so hard in the US. When we interview potential employees, they try to sell themselves saying “I’m very confident I can fill a role at your company” or “My skills are a great fit for your company.” It’s not like Japan where employers can believe in a resumé from an interviewee. We definitely need to speak to at least three people that they have worked with before prior to hiring. I think there’s a huge cultural gap around hiring.

Sugie wrapped up the session by speaking about the attraction of Silicon Valley and encouraged audience members to launch their business there:

Silicon Valley is obviously awesome. But the geography doesn’t matter so much. Europe is great. China is also great. I think the mindset that entrepreneurs have in Silicon Valley is pretty important. Once you have it, you can go anywhere and launch your business anywhere in the world.

entrepreneur-panel2 — WIL’s Gen Isayama moderates the panel

You can check out our exclusive interview with Sugie in this article. ↩

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Japan’s SlideStory movie maker app off to a hot start

Rick Martin 2014.03.10

SlideStory is a movie and slides how creation application from Japan-based nanameue [1]. That developer has previously done some photo application development for the likes of Line and WeChat, as well as the uber-strange Kenstagram photo app. Our readers may recall that the company raised funds from Skyland Ventures last year. According to an interview over on Typemag (in Japanese), the app has seen more than 800,000 downloads since its release back in October, which is a pretty good start for an application in this genre. In addition to its home market of Japan, SlideStory appears to be getting some downloads in Thailand and Taiwan as well. We have previously looked at similar apps like Honda’s RoadMovies or Glue-th Inc’s Mechika Boola which can be used to create similar kinds of short movies. SlideStory’s ability to create movies from still images on your camera roll or from your social network is really great though, and I hope to follow up with a full review once I’ve spent more time with it. If you’d like to try out SlideStory, it’s available as a free download for iOS. An example of one a video slideshow produced with the app can be found…

SlideStory is a movie and slides how creation application from Japan-based nanameue [1]. That developer has previously done some photo application development for the likes of Line and WeChat, as well as the uber-strange Kenstagram photo app. Our readers may recall that the company raised funds from Skyland Ventures last year.

According to an interview over on Typemag (in Japanese), the app has seen more than 800,000 downloads since its release back in October, which is a pretty good start for an application in this genre. In addition to its home market of Japan, SlideStory appears to be getting some downloads in Thailand and Taiwan as well.

We have previously looked at similar apps like Honda’s RoadMovies or Glue-th Inc’s Mechika Boola which can be used to create similar kinds of short movies. SlideStory’s ability to create movies from still images on your camera roll or from your social network is really great though, and I hope to follow up with a full review once I’ve spent more time with it.

If you’d like to try out SlideStory, it’s available as a free download for iOS. An example of one a video slideshow produced with the app can be found below.

Don’t ask me how to pronounce nanameue! ↩

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Japan’s Creww now offering a credit card for startups

Rick Martin 2014.02.27

The folks over at Tokyo-based startup community Creww.me have announced an interesting new addition to their marketplace, with a new credit card offering in cooperation with Credit Saison. A representative explains: Startups often don’t have enough credit to obtain corporate credit cards. So this card was created for startups to be more flexible in this regard. Startups often pay for things like ads or server costs using their personal credits cards, since payment for such services are often by credit card only. So it’s a problem all startups have. We think this credit card should solve this problem.

The folks over at Tokyo-based startup community Creww.me have announced an interesting new addition to their marketplace, with a new credit card offering in cooperation with Credit Saison. A representative explains:

Startups often don’t have enough credit to obtain corporate credit cards. So this card was created for startups to be more flexible in this regard. Startups often pay for things like ads or server costs using their personal credits cards, since payment for such services are often by credit card only. So it’s a problem all startups have. We think this credit card should solve this problem.

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