Lindoc: A Textbook Noting System That Aims To Change Learning In Japan

E-books combined with social notes are a dream come true for geeky students. And Lindoc is a Japan-based start-up working to meet that vision.

The service is a PDF e-book distribution platform with a social learning element, and it allows you to share textbook notes with other users reading the same book. It somewhat similar to Social Books in the US but Lindoc is focusing specifically just on e-textbooks, at least for now.

I had a chance to speak to Akinori Machino, the CEO and founder of Lindoc. Here is our conversation below as he shares more about his business.

What made you start developing Lindoc?

I’m majoring in physics and I had been thinking that it’s hard to note a formula using mathematical symbols (like integrals, for example). When I was at university, I developed an app that allows you to note mathematical symbols on a web browser. This won the grand prix at a business contest held by the university’s VC arm. We were also chosen as a nominee for the Japanese goverment’s tech and science incubation/mentoring program in 2009. I then decided to quit graduate school, found a company using the prize money from the program, and be committed to developing more practical apps and services.

Why did you choose textbooks for sharing on your platform? Why not novels or comics?

I just wanted to change our education system. By sharing textbook content and notes with other users, it would be easier to learn difficult topics. Secondly, textbooks (especially for science studies) are very expensive due to their low-volume printing, and publishers can’t gain a significant profit from selling textbooks any more. Compared to best-selling novels and comics, it is much easier for us to make publishers and authors understand and give us their approval for selling ebooks on our platform.

How can you monetize this business?

So far, we have three ideas in our mind. 1. Giving amateur writers opportunities to publish their own e-books on the platform. 2. E-book and textbook note storing services could follow a freemium model. 3. Providing children and pupils with remote tutoring services using e-textbook and textbook notes-sharing functions in partnership with education business companies.