Held bi-annually at our invite-only tech conference IVS, our startup pitch contest LAUNCHPAD has featured some pretty incredible early-stage startups. Through a rigorous and competitive screening process, only the most promising 10 to 15 startups are given a six-minute, life-changing opportunity to pitch their businesses to an all-star panel of industry titans and potential investors.

Since its inception in 2007, many LAUNCHPAD finalists have had a number of exit stages, such as fundraising, IPO, and M&A. We can’t wait to see companies take the stage at IVS2021 NASU LAUNCHPAD (held on November 19, 2021) and witness their growth from there.

LAUNCHPAD Finalists In Numbers

LAUNCHPAD has a long and storied history and has been held 30 times over the past 15 years, from the first event in 2007 to LAUNCHPAD Entertainment in June 2021. Over 5000 companies have applied for LAUNCHPAD, and among these companies, only about 400 startups have advanced to the final round to take the stage.

The list above are companies that got in the past four final rounds. From the graph above, we can see that the finalists in the past come in all forms and industries. Some notable success stories following their appearance at LAUNCHPAD include Kaminashi and Luup, which both raised more than ¥1 billion. Other start-ups such as 207 and coco also raised large funds in about six months after their pitches on the stage.

Incredible Feats of Fundraising

The total amount of funding that has been raised by LAUNCHPAD finalists is ¥300 billion (Roughly USD $2.6 billion). Additionally, many companies have raised more than ¥1 billion after LAUNCHPAD.

In the above graph, the fundraising of the LAUNCHPAD finalists has been on the rise, just as the fundraising environment for startups in Japan has been on the rise.

With only three months remaining in 2021, previous LAUNCHPAD finalists are still expected to announce their fundraising plans.

LAUNCHPAD Finalist Exits

There have been 58 IPO and M&A exits from the finalists. According to the numbers, it can be said that more than one out of every seven companies (among about 402 finalists in total) has achieved IPO or M&A stage. Since it often takes about five to six years from the point of LAUNCHPAD to the point of exit, it is highly likely that the LAUNCHPAD finalists in the past few years will exit one after another.

In addition, companies such as freee k.k. (see their LAUNCHPAD winning pitch deck here), WealthNavi, and PLAID, shown in the graph below, went public and earned a market capitalization of over 50 billion yen in total after they participated in LAUNCHPAD.

What’s Next?

It’s been quite the honor to witness the journey of the many startups that have taken the LAUNCHPAD stage, and it’s evident that LAUNCHPAD finalists have been incredibly successful both in terms of the number of exits and the amount of money they have raised.

Our goal is to continue to deliver helpful information to entrepreneurs (including those who aspire to start their own businesses) and provide a platform for those who work in VC and startups.

We’ll see you all at IVS2021 NASU LAUNCHPAD.

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