6 of Japan’s hottest startups battle out at TechCrunch Tokyo 2016

TechCrunch Tokyo 2016 wrapped up yesterday with a startup pitch battle featuring six upcoming Japanese companies. This year, 114 startups were whittled down to 20 contenders before the final six were selected to present yesterday.

Check out the winners in pitching order below.

Refcome by Combinator (IBM BlueHub award)

Founder and CEO of Combinator Takumi Shimizu.

Refcome is a referral hiring system.

Large Japanese companies traditionally hire new graduates in large blocks after the school year ends in spring, but a few notable companies like Yahoo are bucking that trend.

Refcome hopes to help businesses keep track of applicants and make it easier for employees to recommend prospects. One company claims to have cut hiring costs from around US$13,000 to US$1,800 by switching to the service.

Other options like social recruiting tool Wantedly and BizReach exist but Refcome is off to a good start.

Since its launch four months ago, there have been 160 referrals and 35 companies have signed up with an average size of 800 employees. Founder and CEO Takumi Shimizu says monthly recurring revenue is already near US$13,000.

Syounika Online by KidsPublic (First place)

CEO Naoya Hashimoto taking home the top prize.

Syounika Online (Pediatrician Online) connects concerned parents with a licensed pediatrician.

For around US$40 per month parents can contact a doctor between 6pm and 10pm on weekdays through the phone, Skype, or messaging app Line. Currently 23 licensed pediatricians help with inquiries.

Diggle by Tashi Knowledge (Fujitsu MetaArc award)

Town Wifi (Special judges’ award)

Scouter (PR Times award)

Folio (AWS award)