Meet the Company That’s Building Asia’s Startup Database

I was lucky to have been recently introduced to the folks at Creww.me here in Tokyo [1]. The Japan-based company has some big goals, aiming to collect a database of startups in Japan and around the Asia region – something that is certainly much needed. I had a chance to speak with Sorato Ijichi, its CEO and founder; as well as Kozue Ishii, who is Creww’s public relations representative. Kozue elaborated little bit more about what they have been doing so far, as well as plans that they have for helping out local startups around the region.

What is Creww?

Creww is an online community for entrepreneurs. We define entrepreneurs as people who are passionate about challenges and who are not afraid of taking risks to these challenges. They are people who pursue their goals, look for changes, and have adventurous minds. Creww currently lists over 2,500 entrepreneurs, investors, developers, and designers as registered members.

One of our primary features is our startup database. This database works as a startups’ corporate site, in a way. It has all the information that startups need to publish to their fans such as recruitment, press archives, and activities. This database interface is called “Aims.” Aims was created to enhance engagement between a startup company and fans.

By setting goals and showing their current status, startups can express to their fans what they need to reach those goals. We want to create a community where highly motivated people can inspire each other with their innovations.

When was Creww founded? And why?

The Creww project was started in 2011 summer by Sorato Ijichi, the founder and CEO of creww.me. Its website was opened on July 9th of this year as a beta version. The idea was to create a place where we could show the many innovations in our society.

What inspired you to create Creww?

Sorato Ijichi founded a web consulting company in Los Angeles when he was 21 years old during his time at California State University. Since then he established branches in Tokyo, Japan and Cebu, Philippines. In 2011 he came back to Japan for a family event and spent sometime with entrepreneurs based in Tokyo. Hearing their stories he realized that the startup environment in Japan could improve in many ways as well as entire Asian regions.

Can you tell us a little about your team?

• Sorato Ijichi (founder & CEO) – Serial entrepreneur, founder of Creww, SKYAVY, and Olio. His last startup project was successfully acquired by a U.S. company in 2010.
• Kazuma Ieiri (co-founder) – Serial entrepreneur, he was the founder and CEO of Paperboy & co. (which IPOd on the Tokyo stock market), president of Hyper Internets.
• Kozo Hiramatsu (advisor) – President and CEO at Kozocom Inc., former CEO of Livedoor Co., Ltd., former president and CEO of AOL Japan.
• Yukihiro Akimoto (advisor) – Former board member of KFC Japan LTD., former CEO of Nike Japan, former president of Guerlain
• Shinya Nakajima (advisor) – Worked as buyer at Takashimaya department store for 10 years, former VP of Starbucks Coffee Japan.
• Keiichi Toyoda (advisor ) – Executive director at Spice up Japan, former board member of Last Resort.,Ltd.

How many users does Creww currently have?

There are about 2500 users and 200 projects, mostly based in Japan. We are planning to expand our service around Asia starting from this month.