Nailie

What Nailie does

Nailie Inc. (ネイリー / Nailie Beauty ネイリービューティー) operates a mobile-first marketplace and booking platform that connects independent beauty professionals — nail artists, eyelash technicians, brow artists, and hair stylists — with consumers across all 47 Japanese prefectures. The platform combines discovery via Instagram-integrated design portfolios, online reservations, in-app messaging, integrated credit-card and post-pay (atone) payment processing, configurable cancellation policies with an industry-first cancellation-fee guarantee, and a companion Salon Manager (サロンマネージャー) module for schedule, customer, and revenue tracking. The technology is built around iOS and Android apps with a companion browser version for nail reservations, positioning Nailie as both a consumer-facing discovery layer and a back-office tool for solo beauty operators.

The business model is success-based with zero upfront or monthly fees for providers. Nailie charges a 30% commission on bookings from new customers and 0% on repeat customers, plus a 3.6% + 160 yen per-transaction payment processing fee, with payouts disbursed twice monthly (250 yen bank transfer fee per payout). This zero-friction listing model is the primary lever for provider acquisition, while consumer-side marketing runs primarily through organic social (Instagram, X, Facebook) and a content/magazine property (magazine.nailie.jp). A free LINE consultation funnel supports provider onboarding.

The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Tokyo with a reported headcount of 1-10. It has raised approximately $9.35M across three rounds (2019 seed, 2020 follow-on, July 2024 Series 2) from investors including CyberAgent, AirTrip, Nexyz.Group, Nissay Capital, POLA ORBIS CAPITAL, SMBC Venture Capital, The Seed Capital, and Vector. The strategic investor mix — spanning insurance, beauty (POLA ORBIS), and financial services (SMBC) — signals interest from verticals with adjacency to beauty-services distribution and consumer payments. Kengo Asakura serves as Founder, CEO, President and Representative Director, with Hiroki Asakura as COO.

Name

Nailie

Legal name

Nailie inc.

Website

https://nailie.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nailie Inc. operates Nailie Beauty (ネイリービューティー), a mobile-first Japanese marketplace connecting independent nail artists, eyelash, brow, and hair professionals with consumers for booking, design discovery, in-app payment, and cancellation-protected reservations across all 47 prefectures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beauty Services Marketplace

NAICS

Nail Salons (812113), Hair, Nail, and Skin Care Services (81211)

akta.pro primary industry

Basic Manicures & Pedicures (HSALACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mobile Nails (Manicure/Pedicure/Gel/Acrylic) (HSALAMAD), Mobile & At-Home Nail Services (HSALACAL)

Keywords

• Beauty services marketplace
• Nail salon reservation
• Mobile beauty booking
• Beauty professional platform
• Eyelash brow booking

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Booking Commission (New Customers): 30% commission on the booking amount (excluding tax) for new customers acquired through the platform. No fee for repeat customers. This success-based model reduces risk for service providers.
2. Payment Processing Fee: 3.6% + 160 yen per transaction for credit card and atone (post-pay) payments processed through the app. Applied to all transactions regardless of new or repeat customer status.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nailie operates a mobile-first marketplace platform that connects independent beauty professionals (nail artists, eyelash technicians, brow artists, and hair stylists) with consumers across Japan. The platform enables online reservations, browseable design portfolios, in-app payment processing (credit card and atone post-pay), schedule management, and an industry-first cancellation fee guarantee that protects providers from no-show losses. Revenue is earned through booking commissions on new customers and payment processing fees.

Product overview

Nailie Beauty (ネイリービューティー) is a unified mobile-first beauty services platform. The core offering is the Nailie Beauty app and website, which serves as both a consumer-facing marketplace for discovering and booking nail artists, hairstylists, and lash artists, and a business management suite for those professionals. A companion tool, Salon Manager (サロンマネージャー), provides dedicated salon management features for listed professionals. The platform integrates customer acquisition, online reservation, design portfolio posting, Instagram social media integration, in-app messaging, schedule management, sales tracking, and credit card / post-pay payment processing into a single ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nailie Beauty (ネイリービューティー)

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% cost reduction compared to competitors for 10 new customer acquisitions per month
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• atonecoreTechnology or Integrationatone is a post-pay payment service integrated into Nailie, allowing customers to pay their beauty service bills the following month via convenience store or bank transfer. This expands payment options beyond credit cards, catering to consumers who prefer deferred payment methods.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Square (Block): Global mobile POS and payment-processing provider. Compares to Nailie's in-app payment feature (no terminal required) as an adjacent fintech enabling cashless transactions for solo beauty professionals.

Direct peers

• EPARK Beauty: EPARK's beauty-services booking platform covering nail, eyelash, hair, and esthetic salons in Japan. Comparable reservation marketplace targeting consumers searching for nearby beauty professionals, with shared Salon POS heritage in the parent group.
• minimo (by Recruit): Recruit-operated beauty booking app targeting independent and freelance beauty professionals — the same solo-provider segment Nailie serves. Comparable value proposition (zero-fee listing, online booking, consumer reviews), making it the closest head-to-head competitor.
• Hot Pepper Beauty (by Recruit): Japan's largest beauty-services marketplace operated by Recruit. Connects consumers with nail salons, hair salons, eyelash and brow studios nationwide. Direct competitor to Nailie across provider acquisition, consumer booking, and marketplace dynamics, with vastly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• OZmall: Premium lifestyle and beauty booking platform for women in Japan with a curated salon network. Overlaps with Nailie's higher-end nail and beauty provider segment, with comparable online booking and editorial content-led consumer acquisition.
• Salonboard (by Netcrew): Established Japan-based salon search and booking site for hair, nail, eyelash, and esthetic services. Comparable marketplace for consumer-side salon discovery, with a longer operating history and broader traditional salon inventory.
• LINE PLACE (by LY Corporation): LINE's location-based discovery and booking platform covering restaurants and beauty services. Adjacent competitor for consumer acquisition of nail and beauty providers, with the LINE messaging distribution advantage Nailie also relies on.
• Rakuten Beauty (楽天ビューティー): Rakuten's beauty-services marketplace offering online booking for nails, hair, eyelash, and relaxation services, with Rakuten Points integration. Comparable marketplace and booking model, operated by a much larger e-commerce incumbent with cross-platform traffic advantages.

Emerging players

• Beauty Exchange: Japan-based online salon directory and booking platform for nail, eyelash, and hair services. Comparable marketplace structure and target segment, competing for the same freelance and small-salon provider supply.
• Style Haus (スタイルハウス): Japan-based online booking and discovery platform for hair, nail, and eyelash salons. Comparable marketplace model targeting consumers researching and booking beauty services, with overlapping provider base and consumer audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nailiejp
• Facebookfacebook.com/nailie.jp
• Instagraminstagram.com/nailiejp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nailie