“Ecrowd,” an equity crowdfunding that connects startups with individual investors. Taking full advantage of FINOLAB to design a “sustainable triple-win” world

 

Fund development is a big issue for entrepreneurs who take on new challenges. The total amount of startup investment in Japan is approaching 1 trillion yen per year. However, most of this is represented by independent, financial, and corporate venture capital.       Amidst the expansion of digital technology, there is a need for a system that allows more individuals to participate in startup investment.

Ecrowd Inc. (hereafter, “Ecrowd”) operates the “Ecrowd” platform, which connects startups with individual investors through equity crowdfunding. We asked Ecrowd CEO, Mr. Naohiko Hatae, an experienced entrepreneur and investor, about the challenges in Japan’s investment environment, the potential of equity investment crowdfunding, and the role of FINOLAB, of which Ecrowd is currently a member.

 

Learnings from the experiences of an entrepreneur and investor

 

―Please tell us about what Ecrowd does.

 

Our main activity  is the operation of the “Ecrowd” platform, which connects startups with individual investors through equity crowdfunding.

 

―What kind of experience led you, Mr. Hatae, to the founding of Ecrowd?

 

I always wanted to start my own company since I was in school, and I took a job at CyberAgent with the purpose of gaining business experience. At CyberAgent, I first learned about sales and marketing, and then gained intrapreneurship experience, such as creating a CtoC auction business. Later, I was a member of the CyberAgent group’s investment business, CyberAgent Ventures, for three years. Afterwards, I became a partner at XTech Ventures and subsequently founded Ecrowd in 2018.

 

 

―I see that your experience of creating an online business and as a venture capitalist both have led to your current business.

 

It is not the case that I understood about investment from the get-go. I tried FX and online brokerage and that was it. I did not have more than a general knowledge of investment.

 

―When was it that you became interested in venture capital?

 

It was when I started the brand new auction business and then developed it into a subsidiary of CyberAgent. Competing companies raised funds from external corporate companies and venture capitalists to expand their businesses.

Until then, I thought that being able to take on the challenge of starting a new business by utilizing CyberAgent’s abundant resources was a very strong advantage. However, startups that were raising hundreds of millions or even billions of yen from outside of the company started to appear, and the game of the market began to change. I strongly felt that I would not be able to compete in the new business industry if i did not understand this logic. This became a pivotal point for me.

When I transferred to the investment department, the annual amount of startup investment in Japan was about 100 billion yen. This amount has grown rapidly since then and is almost at 1 trillion yen now. I witnessed the moment when the fundraising environment changed at once and experienced this process firsthand.

 

Ecrowd is “a business I must do”

 

―Why did you choose equity crowdfunding?

 

The amount of Japanese investment capital has grown but it is no exaggeration to say that this amount is insignificant compared to the United States, where venture capital supplies risk money from between 20 and 50 trillion yen yearly. I worried that, if we just kept cruising on the existing course, it would be extremely difficult for Japanese startups to emerge and expand into the world.

On the other hand, Japan has more than 2,200 trillion yen in financial assets held by households. If we can channel 1% of this into startups, that is 22 trillion yen, which is comparable to the investment amount in the U. S. This is extremely significant and definitely worth the effort.

There are many individual investors who are willing to invest in innovative and challenging startups. However, as a venture capitalist, I understood that in reality it is not easy to access a company before it actually goes public, and this is problematic. In addition, I felt that there was a structural problem in which investment tends to be concentrated in specific popular areas that get a lot of attention at the time.

 

 

―I see that this problem led to Ecrowd.

 

Individual investors with diverse values invest in startups that they are interested in based on their core values and their level of risk tolerance. I saw it as my mission to create an environment in which using this as seed money, more and more new efforts would move on to concrete steps, and in which funds and supporters would converge around lesser-known entrepreneurs who are not necessarily famous but have the skills and motivation.

Moreover, in this field, I can make use of my dual advantage of my experience in online business and investment. I founded the company with the belief that this is “a business I must do.”

 

1 billion yen raised for about 50 companies, the growing market of equity crowdfunding

 

―Once again, please tell us about the service provided by the equity crowdfunding “Ecrowd.”

 

“Ecrowd” provides an online platform that allows many individual investors to make small investments in startups. Equity crowdfunding is a mechanism that allows unlisted venture companies, so-called startups, to raise no more than 100 million yen per year through the Internet. This became possible following the revision of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in 2015.
(Note: The law was amended on February 25, 2025, and the current maximum amount is 500 million yen.)

 

―How can startups looking for funding use “Ecrowd”?

 

In order for startups to be listed on “Ecrowd” to raise funds, they need to pass our review. When a startup is approved after the review, our company organizes information, such as its business plan, funding goal information and investment risks, and posts it on the fundraising listing page for investors to see. Our company also provides the documents that need to be issued before the signing of the contract. Individual investors registered with “Ecrowd” can invest in the listed startups.

 

―Specifically, what is the scale of investment being made?

 

In terms of specific amounts, for example, a company with a funding goal of 30 million yen will typically have 200 individual investors investing in it. That is the picture. The standard case is a minimum investment amount of about 100 thousand yen. Depending on the company that is raising funds, a specific investor can individually invest between 500 thousand yen to around 10 million yen. Currently, the majority is seed and early-stage startups.

 

 

―Are there any limitations in terms of industry?

 

Companies that are likely to be popular with individual investors are those offering services and products targeting consumers. For instance, sharing economy platforms and craft beer companies are examples easy to understand, but there are many other examples such as material-related deep tech companies and drug development startups. Since the launch of the service in 2020, we have supported approximately 50 companies in raising a combined total of more than 1 billion yen.

 

―Are there any advantages that are unique to crowdfunding?

 

Most of the individual investors registered as members in “Ecrowd” are men in their 30s to 50s. Many are successful business professionals, such as managers and executives. Some even collaborate with the startups they invest in and introduce them to business partners. The startups view such investors as “someone who is extremely talented and willing to work for us from the outside.” It is similar to the startup support that venture capitalists and others have been providing until now, with the difference that this is being provided by a community of shareholders. This was a pleasant surprise.

On the other hand, during the business phase of the startup, sometimes, the need of the company is that it “wants more supporters but does not want more shareholders.” Thus, since 2024, we also made it possible to handle stock acquisition rights and we are expanding the ways in which the platform can support startups.

 

FINOLAB is a place where fintech startups can perform at its full potential

 

―While leading the way as one of the pioneers in equity crowdfunding, were there any hard things?

 

The hardest was the when we founded the company. It took us about two years to complete the registration for financial instruments business operator as a type-I small-amount electronic public offering service provider and start the business.

Actually, before founding the company, we asked a person who had experience with registering a new company in the financial industry, and we were told that the registration process would take at least 10 months. Then we aimed to do it in 6 months! That was the goal we set ourselves and we even hired staff to start developing the platform, but…

 

Starting a startup is a race against time. I was very worried about “When will we be able to start the business?” and “Will the capital last until then?”.

 

 

In regulated industries such as finance, there are many aspects that we cannot control on our own, and many companies do not like this. However, we deliberately took a leap of faith that if we could overcome the barriers and enter the market, there would be a great opportunity waiting for us. In fact, there are only a few competitors offering equity crowdfunding.

 

―I see that you took the risk to seize the opportunity.

 

In the financial industry, the rules may change with the passage of time, so it is very important to keep up with the information about the direction in which rules may shift. In this sense, I am grateful for the environment at FINOLAB where we are members, and where fintech managers can exchange information with each other and talk directly with Financial Services Agency officials and stakeholders who come to visit.

 

―Ecrowd became a member recently (joined in September 2024) but why did you choose to join FINOLAB?

 

The main reason for choosing FINOLAB is security because we are in the financial business. The fact that security requirements is a part of their basic design is an extremely important factor.

Our workspace is hybrid with employees working in-office and remotely, and both online and offline meetings are held. The meeting rooms and teleconference infrastructure are very good, which also makes it a good match for us. Additionally, it is in an easy access location for business people and I like their event space as well. Thus far, Ecrowd has hosted an event once a year, but moving on, we would like to organize it once a month. In other words, it is an office whose various facilities we can use to the fullest.

Moreover, the fact that there are startups right next to us is very stimulating in itself. In some cases, we are approached for consultation about financing. We are also in the process of partnering with other member companies. Even when thinking about building a relationship of trust and mutual understanding, I believe that joining FINOLAB is beneficial to fintech entrepreneurship.

 

Under the motto of “sustainable triple-win,” I want to support businesses that will change the world

 

―Please tell us about your future prospects

 

Until now, we have mainly supported startups in the seed stage or early stage. Going forward, we are creating the infrastructure to be able to handle larger fundraising goals for mid-stage and late-stage companies that are still unlisted.

One of our guiding principles is “sustainable triple-win,” where we added the element of time to the traditional saying “good for sellers, good for buyers, good for the community.” In the world of investment, even if the performance is good at that time, the environment may change after a few years and you may lose money. That is why I believe that it is important to carefully select the startups we will support and at the same time fulfill our accountability to investors so that we can realize a triple-win in the long run.

 

―What kind of presence do you want to be for investors and startups?

 

The mission of Ecrowd is to “Connect each person’s ideals to empower the spirit to challenge.” A startup is a business where one entrepreneur creates a business that changes the world, and the number of partners expands, such as co-owners, employees, and investors. I want Ecrowd to become a platform that can speed up businesses by creating a team of supporters composed by individual investors who support new efforts since the “0→1”founding stage and into the middle/late stage.f