Timee is a Japanese startup that is growing so fast. They have 6M user now.

Hi, I’m Yuma Ueno from Japan.

The first Japanese product I would like to introduce in this newsletter is Timee.

Timee is a Japanese startup that is growing at a breakneck pace.

Timee is a part-time job service that matches “the time you want to work” with “the time you need to work”

It has become an indispensable infrastructure service in this era of labor shortages in Japan.

Reward Replacement

“Timee” temporarily replaces workers' remuneration. Workers receive their compensation immediately, and the company is invoiced monthly in a lump sum for each worker's compensation and service fee, reducing the administrative burden of payment. There is a problem of poor cash flow, but the workers who use the system are very happy because they can get their money immediately.

Mutual evaluation feature

The mutual evaluation feature between workers and companies eliminates the need for interviews and resumes. On the application, you can match workers and workplaces after seeing their objective evaluations and confirm their reliability.

At first, some companies voiced their concerns that they did not want to see bad evaluations from the workplace side and spread rumors that the company was a black company, etc. However, the representative, Mr. Ogawa, was convinced that such evaluations would be accepted and improved, leading to long-term improvements in the workplace and increased sales for the company.

Monetization

mainly by collecting a service fee of 30% of the worker's compensation from the company.

User Growth

The number of “Timee” workers has been growing at a rapid pace, from 730,000 at the end of 2019 to over 6 million by October 2023.

CEO background

CEO Ogawa launched Recolle, an apparel-related business, in August 2017. However, when an angel investor was about to invest in the company, he decided against starting the business because he was not ready to take care of people's money for “Recolle” and work on it for several years.

This experience made him realize that entrepreneurs must consider not only product market fit but also their market fit by asking themselves if it is really what they want to do.

Then, when he began to feel like a burnout and was thinking about finding a job, he began to feel that time was not abundant. Mr. Ogawa thought, “Time is abundant = having about 10 options of things to do in your free time. So “Is there a convenient app where I can put my free time into an app and it will suggest things I can do with that time?” and started researching, which was the beginning of “Timee”.

When the service first started, there was a problem with workers going on unauthorized absences.

He eventually improved the situation by introducing a mutual evaluation system, but before that system was introduced, they had to respond to unauthorized absences with a manpower tactic in which they, who were developing the service, would go to the part-timers.

Although this was a difficult process, they were still able to get a feel for the workplace of the business, and they were able to establish a close relationship with the business.

I think this is a very good move in the early stages of the service.

CEO Ogawa says that he still works as a worker sometimes to keep the user's perspective in mind. We must not forget the customer perspective.

Lessons from this story

1. Entrepreneurial Reflection: Entrepreneurs should assess not just the market fit for their product but also their personal readiness and alignment with the business venture. Ogawa’s initial hesitation with his first venture, Recolle, highlighted the importance of being prepared and truly committed to managing others' investments and expectations over time.

2. Innovation from Personal Need: Ogawa’s concept for Timee emerged from his own realization of the value of time and the desire for a tool to efficiently plan and utilize free time. This underscores the importance of creating solutions based on personal experiences and needs, which can lead to innovative business ideas.

3. Adaptability and User Engagement: The introduction of the mutual evaluation system at Timee was a strategic response to initial challenges with worker reliability. This adaptation not only improved the service but also provided valuable insights into the operational aspects of the business, emphasizing the importance of adaptability in startup environments.

4. Maintaining Customer Perspective: CEO Ogawa occasionally works as a worker within Timee to maintain a user-centric perspective. This practice helps in understanding and improving the user experience continually.