ICT Startup League

On October 22, the 4th Startup League Academy was held in Tokyo in a hybrid format.

At the beginning of the academy, the 14 selected startups participating on-site each introduced themselves.

■ Session: On Marketing Strategy

This event marked the League's first attempt at hosting guest speakers. Under the theme of "Marketing Strategy," the session featured Mr. Tadashi Fukuda, Steering Committee Chair, and Mr. Yasushi Kobayashi, President and Representative Director of Market Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Mr. Fukuda began by discussing the modern approach to marketing. "Marketing theories from decades ago are no longer applicable in today's era of widespread social media. It is particularly important to understand how to capture the BtoC (consumer) market; if you can secure the BtoC side, it becomes easier to connect that to BtoB (corporate) business," he pointed out.
He also touched upon the nature of startup support, stating his belief that "we shouldn't just hold one-off pitch contests, but rather provide long-term accompaniment and support business plans based on grounded hypotheses." He then addressed the participants, saying, "President Kobayashi, who is joining us today, listed his company in his 20s and has developed a platform business. I encourage you to explore his way of thinking and the possibilities for business collaboration with him and the other executives participating as guests."

Mr. Kobayashi gave a detailed introduction of Market Enterprise's business activities and growth strategy. The company operates mainly in the reuse business, as well as media and mobile communications. After founding the company as a sole proprietorship at the age of 23, he listed it on the Mothers market within 9 years, and subsequently achieved a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.

In the reuse sector, he introduced their online purchase service and "Oikura," a matching platform linked with the local community information site "Jimoty." He highlighted "Oikura" as a case study in contributing to bulky waste reduction through partnerships with 283 local governments. "The reuse market has grown to a 3.2 trillion yen scale and is expected to expand further. The vacant house problem, changing demographics, and rising interest in SDGs are all tailwinds," he explained regarding the market potential.

He also spoke about specific strategies such as business diversification through M&A, grasping customer needs during lifecycle transition periods based on data analysis, and the status of overseas expansion (specifically the African market). Finally, he concluded by emphasizing, "There are only about 40 founding presidents in Japan of so-called 'Unicorn companies' with sales over 100 billion yen and a market capitalization over 100 billion yen. What they have in common includes investment, M&A, expansion in big markets, and conglomeration. It is crucial to identify your own strengths and the market correctly."

■ Value-Up Session

The second half of the event featured pitches by two selected startups, followed by an advisory session with the management and evaluation members.

Blue Farm, Inc.: Making Companies "Healthy" through Tea

The first presenter was Mr. Kenta Aoki, Representative Director of Blue Farm and a tea farmer from a lineage lasting over 300 years in Shizuoka.

Business Overview and Challenge:
Focusing on the sustainable functions (CO2 absorption, biodiversity conservation, etc.) of tea fields that are at risk of abandonment. By switching the beverages used in corporate offices to the company's organically grown tea, they provide a managed tea garden dedicated to that company. They offer "ChaaS" (Tea-plantation as a Service), which visualizes environmental contribution and reports it via NFT (non-fungible digital certificates on the blockchain). In the future, they aim to create power generation and employment for people with disabilities.

Issue 1: High Explanation Cost for Implementation:
While adoption by infrastructure companies is progressing, they face sales challenges such as "it takes time to explain during implementation" and "the final push is difficult."

Issue 2: Low Awareness:
They believe that "improving recognition is urgent" for further business expansion.

Issue 3: Potential for Cross-Industry Collaboration:
Demand is spreading to fashion, religion, idols, games, etc., but the situation is that "we cannot fully capture the demand extending beyond our existing targets."

Words of Wisdom from Experts:

The experts provided multifaceted advice regarding the strategy for scaling the business.

Mr. Fukuda mentioned the difficulty of reaching the planned scale with the current bottled beverage sales model alone. "If you want to sell 2 billion yen, at 120 yen per item, you have to sell about 16 million bottles," he said, citing specific numbers to point out the difficulty of accumulating sales through individual efforts. He emphasized the importance of securing sales channels, saying, "You need to pick up partners who will sell *for* you, not just 'cooperate'," and suggested, "Shouldn't you explore partnerships with partners who have sales power, such as major beverage manufacturers?" While understanding the stance of aiming for counter-culture, he urged the necessity of a realistic growth strategy.

Mr. Shoji Okamoto (President and Representative Director of Mirai Works Inc.), a member of the steering committee, touched on the challenges faced by sustainability managers in large companies. "In enterprise companies, the sustainability budget is quite small," he pointed out. He suggested a more concrete sales strategy: instead of just approaching the low-budget "Sustainability Promotion Office," focus on "other budgets" where issues are already manifest. Examples included "convenience during events (inventory management, solving trash issues)" or "employment of people with disabilities," which is legally mandated and has allocated budgets.

Mr. Hideharu Taira (Chairman of Classe Capital Partners), a selection and evaluation committee member, stated, "Within your value proposition, human resource utilization (creating employment for people with disabilities) is an issue that large companies want to solve even at a cost, and it could be a breakthrough (for sales challenges)." He advised the importance of breaking through with a specific strength rather than just broadly appealing the service. Furthermore, he advised leveraging the story, saying, "The historical background of a tea farmer continuing for 300 years is a huge credit."

Additionally, Mr. Yoshinori Sasaki (Executive Officer of Gaiax Co. Ltd.), from the steering committee, commented on differentiation from competing products. While noting that the logic of "'Drinking this raises stock prices' (increasing corporate value via ESG ratings) is interesting," he pointed out that it is hard to convey on its own. He emphasized the importance of also addressing the "sustainable and convenient" tangible value, such as "it is extremely convenient for event use," which leads to solving trash problems and inventory management, calling for clarity and explicit added value.

AtoJ Inc.: Solving Small Unpaid Claims with ODR 'One-Nego'

Next, Mr. Nobuo Tomita, Representative Director and COO of AtoJ Inc., took the stage.

Business Overview and Challenge:
Focusing on the problem of small amount (under 1 million yen), high-volume unpaid claims (medical expenses, rent, fitness fees, communication charges, etc.). They provide "One-Nego," an ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) platform for resolving disputes online. Applications require only the name, amount, and contact information; the other party can respond by tapping options, and agreement documents are automatically generated. As a Ministry of Justice accredited Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider, they promote resolution from a neutral and fair standpoint.
There are already over 6,000 requests per month, with a resolution rate exceeding 50%. They are also providing technology to the Ministry of Justice's demonstration project.

Issue 1: Promoting Adoption through Strengthened Collaboration:
There is a need to strengthen cooperation with various industry associations and companies to further promote the adoption of the service.

Issue 2: Making ODR Social Infrastructure:
It is necessary to establish the mechanism of ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) itself as a social infrastructure.

Issue 3: Speedy Business Expansion:
Speedy business deployment is required to establish a position in the market before competitors emerge.

Words of Wisdom from Experts:

Regarding the potential of the new ODR market, advice gathered on concrete collaboration and risk management.

Guest Mr. Kobayashi showed strong interest, touching on unpaid issues in his own reuse and telecommunications businesses: "We have trouble with this too. I want to consider the possibility of concrete collaboration."

Mr. Taira presented the possibility of collaboration with existing small claims markets held by financial institutions and servicers (debt collection companies), while emphasizing that "ensuring legal legitimacy (eligibility), such as compliance with the Attorneys Act, is continuously important," and highlighted the importance of "how to build industrial barriers."

Mr. Okamoto mentioned not only the issue of non-payment by companies in the freelance market but also the problems faced by platforms, such as "unreasonable demands" from freelancers using the "New Freelance Act" as a shield. He expressed hope for the "possibility of it becoming social infrastructure that promotes sound transactions."

Mr. Sasaki stated that "establishing de facto standards and technological superiority through collaboration with industry associations is important" as a countermeasure against competitors.

Mr. Hiroyuki Kobayashi (President and Representative Director of Deloitte Tohmatsu Deep Square LLC), a selection and evaluation committee member, spoke from the perspective of technology utilization. He mentioned future possibilities, saying, "It would be very interesting if something like blockchain could be used." Furthermore, regarding sales approaches using AI, he suggested considering a development approach that increases proposals through proactive data collection and assetization by AI: "If you extract data automatically with AI in advance (instead of waiting for applications), you can accumulate data without doing sales activities."

Also, Mr. Fukuda pointed out the possibility of "impersonation and fraud" risks associated with the spread of the service. He proposed, "You should strategize on branding now, such as 'anything without this mark is a fake'," and suggested the effectiveness of leveraging credibility through partnerships with major platforms. When he reiterated that the key is to get the business on track before competitors appear, Mr. Tomita responded powerfully, "I believe it comes down to how far we can go in these next 2-3 years to make competitors hesitate to enter."

■ Event Summary
The 4th Academy ended in great success with lively discussions in both the talk session and the value-up session. Participants provided the following comments regarding this Academy:

Mr. Aoki of Blue Farm Inc. seemed to have discovered new perspectives and points of view that his company alone could not have noticed through the multifaceted feedback from the experts, stating, "I received opinions that were completely different from what I was thinking, so I have to take them back and re-interpret them," and "All the opinions were helpful."

The other Value-Up Session presenter, Mr. Tomita of AtoJ Inc., said, "We want to make our service one that connects both the unpaid side and the billing side. For those who have the intention to pay but cannot face it due to guilt, One-Nego helps encourage an amicable resolution online. Having President Kobayashi (the guest) say 'We are also troubled by this' was a trigger for me to think that we really need to deliver it there, so it was a very good time." He seemed to have reaffirmed his confidence in the business and the social significance of ODR.

From Mr. Kobayashi, who took the stage for the talk session, we received the following impression of the League as a whole: "I felt that the participants' business models were unique. The Value-Up Session involves Deloitte and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and is structured to provide multifaceted and concrete advice even if it goes over time. I felt it was a place where broad learning could be obtained in a short time." Regarding the significance of participating as an entrepreneur, he spoke about the importance of conveying his own experience: "I felt again that the stories of senior entrepreneurs likely resonate well (with startups)."

The ICT Startup League continues to expand the breadth of its support by inviting guests. Attention remains focused on how the selected startups will grow through support from various angles in the future.