What they said about #tiatokyo2016

Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016 came to a close yesterday. Over the past few months, you’ve seen us revealing sneak peeks into our conference bit by bit. But how was it like from the eyes of our 1,600+ attendees?

If you have yet to catch up on the live updates through our event hashtag, #tiatokyo2016, here’s how it turned out.

Welcome to #tiatokyo2016! pic.twitter.com/v2uMgk1A7I

— Martinus Faisal (@martinfai) September 6, 2016

 

We share your excitement too, Suzana! 🙂

おはよう東京！Let’s do this! 😀 #tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/TP9Cmdnbzd

— Suzana Ilić (@suzatweet) September 5, 2016

 

We kickstarted Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016 with an opening speech by Shintaro Hari, Tech in Asia’s Head of Japan.

Tech in Asia Tokyo full speed #tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/HSB6GqjJOy

— Ugur Cirak (@cirak_ugur) September 6, 2016

 

If you were wondering how our international attendees would be able to understand Japanese stage sessions and vice-versa, here’s your answer.

Only in #tiatokyo2016. pic.twitter.com/jJEnYDM5Si

— Emily Goh (@burntwaffles) September 6, 2016

 

Exhibiting startups at Bootstrap Alley couldn’t wait to mingle with the crowd.

Fantastic day 1 at #tiatokyo2016. Can’t wait for day 2! Pop by our stand to speak with Grant & the team. #CF30 pic.twitter.com/DA1pRXRwHT

— Computer Futures IT (@computerfutures) September 6, 2016

 

Including Octagon Studio, a past exhibitor at Tech in Asia Singapore 2016 (thanks for your support!)

Hi #Japan! We’re now at Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016 #tiatokyo2016 @techinasia @TechinAsia_ID @techinasia_jp pic.twitter.com/7m5HaPuLq9

— Octagon Studio (@StudioOctagon) September 6, 2016

 

#singaporerepresent. This was the first time Carousell spoke at a Tech in Asia event.

Evolution of online classifieds in SEA by @siurui w/ @CorbinDB #tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/CGTk4M29tH

— Vinnie Lauria (@vlauria) September 6, 2016

 

And some quotable quotes from our speakers on stage.

“For some crazy reason there is still only very little VC investment in Japan” #TIATokyo2016 #Startups #Tokyo pic.twitter.com/vV1VcZJL5A

— Michael Q Todd (@michaelqtodd) September 6, 2016

Why Japan? Google searches of ‘I want to create a company’#tiatokyo2016 @ ベルサール渋谷ガーデン https://t.co/FDsoSxpEa4

— Maxime Guilbot (@maximeguilbot) September 6, 2016

 

As we can all tell, Dave McClure’s a very supportive investor.

Carousell represent at tech in Asia Tokyo #tiatokyo2016 #500strong cc @davemcclure @khailee pic.twitter.com/G5y82Ytz2L

— Siu Rui Quek (@siurui) September 6, 2016

 

It was also great to see some of our attendees rekindling old friendships!

Nice to catch up with @steveleonardSG again @techinasia…#tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/gTNjVSClaB

— Dave Powell (@ShootTokyo) September 6, 2016

 

Pizza Hut provided free pizzas (what else?) for lunch. They were snapped up in a jiffy!

#yummypizzahut #tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/QeTx8ciOCO

— Ditto (@foundmyditto) September 6, 2016

 

There was also a photobooth at the conference set up by our official events photographer. Many scrambled for a shot to capture memories and also took the chance to update their LinkedIn profile photo 😉

Just got a headshot from @MHolmesPhoto…#tiatokyo2016 #smalllight pic.twitter.com/oUk07orRIj

— Dave Powell (@ShootTokyo) September 6, 2016

 

Our attendees also had a go at some VR fun 🙂

#tiatokyo2016 Teams shoot fire balls at each other to score points. Block attacks with shields. Tech: head mounted iPhones. Post play: “my arm is so tired! This was fun!” Tomita-san said this game is great for kids, women and men. Game is set up in 400 locations in #Shanghai. @hado_info #japandesign #japanstartup #hado #exercise #AR

A video posted by Ajay Revels (@ajay_news) on Sep 5, 2016 at 7:04pm PDT

 

We also had a first time attendee with us – thank you for your support! We hope the conference didn’t disappoint.

First #tiatokyo2016 in Tokyo! Can’t wait for it.

— Queenie Kawabe (@qkawabe) September 5, 2016

 

And before we knew it, it was the start of a new day.

Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016 2nd day starts yessss #tiatokyo2016 @Artiparacom pic.twitter.com/7CZPimSLJQ

— Ugur Cirak (@cirak_ugur) September 7, 2016

 

An enthusiastic investor at the Startup-Investor Speed Dating.

Speed Dating!!! I’m a staff of this booth and waiting for you to come!!!;) #tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/BKuPTwX4V8

— Yumi Itagaki 板垣祐美 (@yumilk_0710) September 7, 2016

A peek into the orderly queues at the Speed Dating segment.

Current situation at Startup-Investor Speed Dating at #tiatokyo2016 ⏱💻 pic.twitter.com/DOv2afAuDr

— Emily Goh (@burntwaffles) September 7, 2016

 

We also had a local YouTube celebrity Chika Yoshida with us on stage. Her channel, Bilingirl, has 651,477 subscribers, and she shed some tips on how companies can build a following for their YouTube channel.

Over 100 million views for Bilingirl Chika Yoshida’s You Tube Channel. Inspirational! #Tokyo #TIATokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/qOj8s2i7u2

— Michael Q Todd (@michaelqtodd) September 7, 2016

 

And the VR fun continues on Day 2.

#tiatokyo2016 attendees getting their fireball game on at #hado booth! #ar #game #entertainment #japanstartup this ones for you @teenapock8 👍😬 Update: Tomita-san and his biz dev team will be heading to the Amusement Trade Show in Florida to look for their first U.S. partner. Ideal first partner would be #6 Flags. Dream final partner would be Disney. New features they want to add include: ranking, community and crazy new avatars. Target user: teams who form and play together. #AR gaming centers are popping up in China. #cooljapan #gaming @hado_info

A video posted by Ajay Revels (@ajay_news) on Sep 6, 2016 at 7:31pm PDT

 

Add this to “tips on how to exhibit your startup”

Photo Op! #shinybarnacle #tiatokyo2016 https://t.co/Lber6WZNfk on demand, in person English language teaching pic.twitter.com/msLnkCs6Yb

— ShinyBarnacle (@ShinyBarnacle) September 7, 2016

 

In true Japanese style, Pizza Hut even had mascots to serve lunch to our attendees. So cute!

#tiatokyo2016 #pizzahut has great mascots to help serve slices #japan. #food

A photo posted by Ajay Revels (@ajay_news) on Sep 6, 2016 at 10:19pm PDT

 

Post-lunch at the Main Stage, we had a peek into how 500 Startups work.

500 crew on stage #tiatokyo2016 @500Startups pic.twitter.com/WKyzlR6EU2

— Kelsey E. Cullen (@KelseyECullen) September 7, 2016

 

Founding Partner of 500 Startups, Dave McClure hopes to give Japanese entrepreneurs a wake up call. Japan has everything it needs to nuture successful startups – except a mindset change.

Great question from @davemcclure: “What the f*ck is wrong with you?!” #tiatokyo2016 #japan #startups pic.twitter.com/ktgC9DHp4T

— Sean Liao (@seanliao) September 7, 2016

 

Of course, no Tech in Asia conference is ever complete without the nail-biting Arena pitch battle. This time however, the stakes were high: a US$100,000 investment by 500 Startups. The prize money eventually went to Acudeen, but all other finalists did an amazing job on stage and were winners in their own right!

The pitch battle has begun #tiatokyo2016 @ibmGE pic.twitter.com/fEJ6IwY1iw

— Erik Adelson (@erikadelson) September 7, 2016

Final Pitch #tiatokyo2016 pic.twitter.com/ehxLDOkWIO

— Eibu Nakagawa (@eibu1024) September 7, 2016

 

And with that, it was all too soon to say “sayonara”. A big thank you to our sponsors, partners, volunteers, and attendees whose efforts and contributions made Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016 possible. We’ll be back bigger and stronger next year for #tiatokyo2017!

Sayonara Shibuya. #tiatokyo2016. pic.twitter.com/msLZeoxFx9

— Al Campa (@AlCampa) September 8, 2016

well done @techinasia! #tiatokyo2016 proved a fun chance to meet several new faces… and rekindle with some old friends

— mark bivens (@markbivens) September 7, 2016

Tech in Asia Tokyo is over, met lots of great people, very well worth of time & travel. #tiatokyo2016 @Artiparacom pic.twitter.com/mHGyb31DX8

— Ugur Cirak (@cirak_ugur) September 7, 2016

Now that we’re done and dusted with Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016, it’s now time for you to mark your calendars for Tech in Asia Jakarta happening this November 16 & 17 – see you there.