JAFCO and Bloom&Co. partner on support for startups
TOKYO - JAFCO Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Shinichi Fuki, President & CEO, hereinafter called JAFCO) and Bloom&Co., Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Yasuhiro Yano, CEO, hereinafter called Bloom&Co.) have teamed up and will begin providing support to startups by leveraging the strengths of both companies.
Since its founding in 1973, JAFCO has always worked with leading entrepreneurs. In March 2020, JAFCO completed the formation of an 80 billion yen fund which is one of the largest venture capital funds in Japan. The total commitment of investment funds in Japan and overseas exceeds 1 trillion yen, and the cumulative number of IPO’d companies invested to date that are now public reached 1,006. Bloom&Co. has enabled business growth by providing comprehensive end-to-end support for the formulation and execution of marketing strategies for a wide range of businesses of different scale and business domain, including global companies, companies listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, startups and venture-backed companies, from qualitative and quantitative research to mass marketing, digital marketing, strategic PR, market entry, and go-to-market strategies.
Despite the global macroeconomic challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for startups and the venture capital industry remain strong. In the past, startups that have emerged during periods of economic downturn have grown to spawn new industries. JAFCO believes that it is important to be “closest to entrepreneurs and provide them with the support they need to realize their aspirations” and has been rapidly responding to provide resources and advice to existing investments. By launching new initiatives, JAFCO will further strengthen its support for early-stage companies even in a challenging business environment.
In the U.S. and Europe, there is a growing trend where venture capitalists are creating marketing functions in addition to investment. As a pioneer of Japanese venture capital, JAFCO has supported the growth of its portfolio businesses by executing business development initiatives including customer development, recruitment support and preparation for IPO listings. Going forward, we will further enhance our existing capabilities and provide support in the area of marketing strategy & planning.
In March 2020, JAFCO and Bloom&Co. began discussion of the opportunity to support startups and have been working on a marketing strategy & planning framework for portfolio companies as a pilot test. Today, the service is in full swing as it is valuable for a company’s growth to review its future direction, strategy and positioning from a third party’s point of view at an early stage. The two companies will start supporting JAFCO’s portfolio companies which are creating new industries and open up opportunities via the development and refinement of marketing strategies to drive their further business growth.
