foriio Inc. has raised funds through a third-party allotment of new shares with investors including SBI Investment Co., Ltd., UNITED, Inc., and East Ventures as subscribers.
Special site for recruitment is now open.
In conjunction with this fundraising, we have released a special site for recruitment to further accelerate the growth of our business. The site includes a note by CEO Yamada, a summary of the challenges we are focusing on, and a document on foriio's mid-term management strategy. Please take a look.
【foriio 2023 Recruitment Special Site】
https://foriio-recruit-2023.webflow.io/
Purpose of Funding and Future Development.
As of January 2023, the number of creators registered with "foriio," a service that allows creators to easily create portfolios that visualize their achievements and skills, which is important as the creator economy expands, has exceeded 80,000 (as of January 2023). In addition, "foriio Creator Match," which connects creators with clients using foriio's creator network, has been used by many companies.
With this funding, we will focus on the following three initiatives and recruitment in order to further expand opportunities for creators based on our mission of "empowering individual creators.
1. Growing into a portfolio service that sets the standard for creators.
We are looking for a bilingual product manager candidate and UX/UI designer to lead an international team that supports a portfolio for a cumulative total of over 80,000 creators.
2. The Science of the Production Process Connecting Creators and Companies
Our job is to create and provide services that connect as many creators as possible with new opportunities by automating and streamlining the creative production process, which used to vary greatly depending on the genre, medium, and person of the company.
3. Become a key player in creating an era in which creators are active around the world.
We will accelerate the scale of our business by forming partnerships with companies using the foriio platform as a starting point in accordance with their needs. In the mid- to long-term, we will work with Yamada to create opportunities to expand beyond the domestic market and into overseas markets. We are looking for such a person in charge of business development and alliances.
New underwriters (titles omitted, in no particular order)
SBI Investment Co., Ltd.
UNITED, Inc.
East Ventures
VECTOR INC.
Shizuoka Capital Company Limited
KDDI Open Innovation Fund No. 3
曽我健
投資家からのコメント
丸山紘治氏（SBI Investment Co., Ltd. Investment Department, head of department）、小野晃輝氏（SBI Investment Co., Ltd. Investment Department, manager）
As many companies are shifting their main battlefield of business to digital, we believe that the demand for creators will increase even more rapidly. We are the one and only platform that supports creators from upstream to downstream of their economic activities, and we are supported by many users. The SBI Group as a whole will continue to provide support.
金子 陽三氏（UNITED, Inc.）
United Group has decided to invest in the company for the purpose of collaborating with Rebase Inc. which operates "JOOi," a crowdsourcing service specializing in designers. We also believe that foriio's mission of "Empowering individual Creators" has a high affinity with United's mission of "maximizing the power of will and accelerating the progress of society". We will do our utmost to support foriio's goal of building "the largest portfolio infrastructure for creators in Japan".
衛藤 バタラ氏（East Ventures）
We are looking forward to working together to realize foriio's mission of "Empowering individual Creators". As one of the largest creator platforms in Japan, we would like to support foriio so that it can become even more active around the world in the future.
西江 肇司氏（VECTOR INC.）
We found the portfolio business for creators interesting and invested in the company. Through this investment, we would like to help spread this excellent business model throughout the world.
園田 直氏（Shizuoka Capital Company Limited）
We decided to support foriio because we were attracted to the "creator-first spirit" packed into every detail of the business as a result of sincere discussions with the issues faced by creators led by Mr. Yamada, the representative of foriio. We are confident that the increasing number of partnerships with local regions will enhance the value of not only the creators but also the various surrounding areas. foriio's vision will be realized, and Shizuoka Capital will provide maximum support to help them achieve it!
舘林 俊平氏（KDDI CORPORATION, General Manager, BI Promotion Department, Business Creation Division）
The portfolio service provided by foriio has become an essential service for creators to visualize their activities and achievements. As the environment changes toward a world where individual creators play an active role, we are confident that the network of creators built through this service will become more valuable than ever before. With this investment, KDDI will support foriio's efforts to create a world where creators can shine.
曽我健氏
I was attracted to invest in foriio because of its mission of "Empowering individual Creators" and its creator-first attitude. I think the strong support for the product is reflected in the fact that it has consistently attracted users in an organic manner since its inception. As a shareholder, I look forward to seeing various works produced from foriio's creator network through further corporate collaborations.
What is foriio?
foriio" is a portfolio platform for creators. Creators can use foriio to create easy-to-read portfolios for anyone.
Specifically, creators can post images, videos, web links, sound sources, and 3D models,
Automatic image conversion functionality that instantly converts PDF, AI, PSD, and other non-image files by simply dragging and dropping.
A "share function" that allows users to share their images to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
An "embedding function" and an "API function" that allow foriorio's works to be displayed on external websites.
The "embedding function" and "API function" enable external websites to display foriorio's works as well. As a sales tool that can be used instantly,
The service is used by many creators as a sales tool that can be used immediately.
The service is used by a wide range of creators, including designers, illustrators, photographers, video directors, directors, stylists, hair and makeup artists, writers, Vtubers, and many others.
https://www.foriio.com/
We also offer "foriio Creator Match" (https://creatormatch.foriio.com), a service that uses this network of creators to match companies with creators. This service offers two types of options: Creator Match, in which you search for a creator yourself and negotiate/contract directly with the creator of your choice, or Director Match, in which a foriio director will act as an intermediary and work on your behalf when you lack knowledge about the production you wish to request. This is a service that allows creators to request productions.
