Coming soon from Fukuoka – 9 young startups to watch

Image credit: Startup Fukuoka.

For the past few years, Fukuoka has been making a strong case to be a vibrant startup city.

This weekend, the city will host a new startup event – Torymon. Shota Morozumi, a hometown VC who sprung into action as the founding partner of firm F-Ventures last year, is leading up the arrangements. Named after the Japanese word meaning “gateway to success,” Torymon is focused on priming students and young founders for joining the startup ecosystem.

Tech in Asia is a media partner for this event. In the spirit of welcoming young startups to the industry, here is a collection of Fukuoka’s most promising early-stage startups.

ComQuest Ventures

A composite image of a plantation taken by a drone. Photo credit: Poladrone, modified by Tech in Asia.

ComQuest Ventures is arguably the most technical startup on this list. It creates hardware and software technologies for drones. In a recent collaboration, it partnered with Fukuoka city to test emergency response measures. The drone was responsible for 3D mapping an area and identifying the individuals in need of help. With a multi-national founding team, the company is willing to take on both domestic and international clients.

Fastmart

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Fastmart promises same-day delivery of items from drugstores and convenience stores. Shipping fees are pegged to the number of boxes needed to ship a user’s order. In a bid to maximize cart size, the app will tell a user how much space they have left before needing to pay about 290 JPY for a second box. The startup went into action last December and intends to expand into drone delivery this year.

SmileScore

Photo credit: gmast3r / 123RF.

SmileScore wants to help Japanese companies understand and retain their staff better. Employees access either the web or mobile app daily and indicate their happiness with the job by choosing one of 10 face emoji, ranging from 0 (very sad) to 10 (very happy). They can also leave brief notes. This data can then be viewed by company managers who can identify and tackle problems before they spiral. The service costs 25,000 JPY a month (about US$220) and is available for companies with over 30 team members. The startup has come out of beta, and has been accepting clients since December 2016.

Baspo

Reflux

Lynks

Maisin

Thee Moment

Joy Create