Shota Sawada 
Junya Mori
7-bites is a Tokyo-based startup known for having developed the SaaS-based invoicing platform Noroshi. That service was acquired by its competitor MakeLeaps back in August of 2012. But today 7-bites announced that it has raised 29 million yen (about $295,000) from East Ventures, I-SHIN [1] , and an individual angel investor.
We heard from the startup’s co-founder and CEO Shota Sawada, who explained a little more about this funding:
We’ve been focusing on providing SME-focused SaaS services, but as this funding comes in, we will pivot to build a (Japanese) subculture-focused marketplace. In this space, we can find many advantages around Japan’s unique content, and we think there’s huge market potential. [People these days are] in the middle of switching over from featurephones to smartphones, and this makes us more excited to get into this new field. We’ll be disclosing more business details in the future as we go.
This funding is to pursue expanding business opportunities. […] If we can develop a service which is loved by consumers, we can open the door to the next stage. We’ll do our best to develop a service that will meet their needs.
In addition to the C2C marketplace business, the startup is also expected to launch a sort of ‘app media’ business. We look forward to hearing more about their efforts in the future.
- I-SHIN is an investment fund jointly managed by Japanese tech companies United and Aeria. ↩
