Makuake
👤 Ryotaro Nakayama (Ex-CyberAgent VC (Vietnam) who pitched crowdfunding in-house in 2013 — inheriting the parent's capital, media ties, and PR reach.)🌐 siteLinkedIn
Japan reinvented crowdfunding as test-marketing: makers pre-sell new gadgets before retail, and Makuake keeps 20%.
Will it work? · our read
Curation, not code. A 20% cut holds only while hands-on vetting and PR stay scarce. Campaigns are one-and-done, so growth means constantly finding new makers — a launch channel, not a repeat habit.
01How the money moves
Maker submits a new product; Makuake vets it (about 30% rejected)
→
Backers pre-order during a 30-60 day campaign
→
Makuake keeps about 20% of funds, pays makers the rest
02The numbers
about $30M
net sales, FY2025
TSE 4479
20%
take on funds raised
DisruptingJP
about 50%
of campaigns funded
DisruptingJP
GMV is not broken out; net sales is the roughly 20% commission plus ad services. Makuake FY2025
about JPY 4.48B net sales (about $30M), FY2025, TSE-listed
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Net sales (about JPY 4.48B / about $30M, FY2025 ended Sept 2025) are FILED, from Makuake's TSE-listed results and revised guidance; the 20% take, 50% funding rate, and 30% rejection are from Nakayama's Disrupting Japan interview. GMV is NOT separately restated as revenue here. Yen-to-USD converted at about 150. The 2022-2023 dip and recovery are documented in company forecast revisions. Rival bar weights are illustrative relative size (Makuake and CAMPFIRE lead), not audited market share. We never score you.