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Takeoff Tokyo is a pitch event for entrepreneurs who have a global outlook. This event was held for the first time in 2023 with the aim of raising a generation of startups looking to become not only the best in Japan, but the best in the world.
Takeoff Tokyo representative Antti Sonninen worked as CEO of Slush Tokyo, which kickstarted Japan’s startup boom. Slush is an international startup conference that began in Finland in 2008, with Slush Asia (the predecessor to Slush Tokyo) held in 2015 as the first Slush event outside of Finland, following in 2018 by Slush Tokyo, which was held over a two-day period (March 28-29) at Tokyo Big Sight. Several years after Slush Tokyo, a new endeavor has been launched to produce entrepreneurs from Japan with a global outlook.
The venue for Takeoff Tokyo was Warehouse TERRADA. The bare structure of the venue was decorated throughout with blue and pink lights, giving a modern, near-future feel to the entire space. A pitch stage and panel discussion stage were set up inside the venue, and as soon as the opening ceremony had ended, the distinctively energetic mood of a startup event took over.
Let’s take a look at the pitch battle forming the core content of Takeoff Tokyo. A total of 40 startup groups appeared, each presenting unique appeal and future prospects. The preliminary round was held on Day 1, followed by a semi-final and final round on Day 2.
In the pitch battle, the judges asked about suitable markets, points that made the pitches superior to their rivals, market background insights and the reasons for their given approach. It felt as though the judges were inquiring about how realistically the points to be clarified by startups in the early stage had been concentrated at this point in time.
The four companies listed below (in order of their appearance on the pitching stage) advanced to the final.
Creates dynamic NFT art from actual street art and provides an NFT art platform for exhibition and sales. Published in Blackbox.
https://totemo.art/connect
Provides a neo bank platform where accounts can be opened in multiple languages.
Provides daily care management and medical treatment support for those suffering from menopausal disorders.
https://www.ystoryfemtech.com/
Provides a social investment platform where users can start investing in American stocks from as little as 1,000 yen.
https://woodstock.club/
After the final pitch round, GIG-A was declared the winner.
In an interview immediately after their victory, a GIG-A representative said “I can’t believe we won! I’m relieved and so happy right now. We’ve met a lot of other excellent startups today, which has given us added impetus. We want to do our best to keep up with their growth as we aim to expand our market and gain customers.”
Takeoff Tokyo was an ambitious attempt to gather new startups under one roof. Many of the participating startups were aiming to open up new markets based on existing business models. While there were not many novel businesses that might transform society, they each had great belief in their own ideas and were working hard to realize their aims.
The lack of novelty is probably more of an issue with Japan’s startup foundation itself, rather than being an event-related issue. Businesses established to target the Japanese market inevitably lose gross scale impact due to market scale limitations. On the other hand, businesses that are aiming to take a global share do not sense the need to establish themselves in the Japanese market. How to fill this gap is an issue for the Japanese startup scene as a whole.
Takeoff Tokyo has brought the current shape of Japan’s startup scene into the limelight. The fact that many startups appeared to be emphasizing results and effort over novelty is perhaps the product of Japan’s unique environment. At the same time, though, this kind of event is an important step for Japan’s startup industry to achieve success on the international stage.
Event organizer Antti Sonninen commented: “I’m just relieved that we were able to hold the event without any problems. Achieving something big with a new event, in a new place, with new people is harder than I imagined.” Having successfully established a new setting in which startups and entrepreneurs are brought together under the same roof, there is a sense of satisfaction about having overcome difficulties and achieved results mixed with anticipation for the next installment of Takeoff Tokyo.
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