English: About

Start Innovation

About us

Tokyo-based consulting firm, founded 2014

We turn concepts into businesses. Hands-on, all the way.

Start Innovation supports large corporations and startups in new business development, corporate venture capital (CVC), M&A and post-merger integration, and business growth. We work from strategy through execution, inside the client’s team, until the business actually runs.

Founded: 2014
Case studies: 26
Fundraising supported: ¥2bn
Longest engagement: 11yrs
Exit: Sale to a listed company

What we do

Four phases of corporate growth

Build

New businesses

Concept development, PoC, business planning and internal approval, through launch and operation. Support for startups from idea to incorporation.

Connect

CVC and joint ventures

Investment strategy, sourcing and due diligence, investment committee materials, and post-investment collaboration. Setting up joint ventures and new subsidiaries.

Transact

M&A and PMI

Business due diligence and valuation, sell-side advisory for startups, and post-merger integration of both corporate functions and sales.

Grow

Management support

Mid-term planning, sales and organizational reform, and digital initiatives, with a hands-on role in day-to-day management.

Our approach

What we bring

Context

Outside perspective

We have worked on both sides, for large corporations and for startups. We bring patterns from that experience, abstracted within confidentiality, to your decisions.

Question

Reframing the problem

When past answers no longer apply, we question the premise and widen the options before narrowing them down.

Room

Reading what is not in the minutes

We pick up the concerns of executives and front-line teams and build the agreement an organization needs to move.

Judgment

Owning the decision, staying through execution

We help choose the path, take responsibility for it, and stay until the plan works on the ground.

Selected cases

Recent engagements

All cases (Japanese)

Major broadcaster: launching a new e-commerce business

Revenue in the hundreds of billions of yenApprox. 14 months

CHALLENGE: Reform the existing e-commerce business and launch a new one built on the broadcaster’s entertainment assets.
WHAT WE DID: Concept and PoC, business plan, organization design, vendor selection, and PMO through development and launch.
RESULT: Established the business plan and team, and supported the service through its grand opening.

Listed IT services company: CVC investment and portfolio support

Revenue in the hundreds of billions of yenApprox. 1 year 10 months

CHALLENGE: Accelerate the growth of portfolio startups while evaluating new investments.
WHAT WE DID: Business and sales planning, service design and delivery support for portfolio companies, plus due diligence on new targets.
RESULT: Supported portfolio growth and the execution of a new investment.

SaaS startup: from investment to sale to a listed company

Investor, outside auditor, sell-side advisorApprox. 3 years 6 months

CHALLENGE: A startup we had invested in and served as outside auditor needed support on the sell side.
WHAT WE DID: As sell-side advisor, we led negotiations with buyers, due diligence, terms and process management.
RESULT: Completed the sale to a major listed company, from kickoff through closing.

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