Good News

What Good News does

Good News Co., Ltd. (株式会社グッドニュース) is a privately held Japanese company incorporated on October 10, 2006, headquartered in Osaka with regional offices in Tokyo and Niigata. It operates as a vertical HR-tech firm targeting Japan's vocational education and skilled-labor recruitment market through its flagship product, Careermap — a digital network connecting vocational/technical schools, students, and employers across specialized industries including construction, IT, medical, nursing, culinary, confectionery/baking, and beauty. The platform surfaces student portfolios (coursework, practical training reports, exploratory learning content), enables limited-quantity "selective company offers" that are differentiated from mass scout emails, surfaces alumni "Senior Success Stories," and delivers ongoing "Exploration Themes" from schools and partner companies.

The product surface consists of a student-facing mobile/web application (Careermap就活アプリ), a B2B platform serving schools (career-guidance DX tool) and employers (recruitment DX tool) branded Careermap Biz, an owned-media content platform (CareermapLabo, including a semi-annual professional education magazine), and a part-time job module (Careermap Baito). The company has scaled headcount from approximately 10 employees in 2015 to nearly 100 by 2025 and reports 20,000+ companies using the platform annually with 100,000+ cumulative Careermap app downloads as of April 2025.

The business model is subscription-based (annual billing cadence,) for the B2B Careermap module, monetized across three sides — schools, students (free), and corporate recruiters — supplemented by large-scale recruitment event monetization (e.g., Wakuwaku Job Hunting Fair, 670 students / 70 companies in March 2025), industry-research publishing, and strategic partnerships (notably Sanwa Company for the construction vertical from August 2022 and Gurunavi for the food-service vertical from August 2025). The company is ISO 27001 certified at the Osaka headquarters and received the 2015 METI Commercial and Service Competitiveness Strengthening Support Project certification. Approximately ¥270M was raised via a third-party allocation in October 2024 from Mizuho Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Senshu Ikeda Capital, K&P Partners, and GO-ON.

Name

Good News

Legal name

株式会社グッドニュース

Website

https://goodnews.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Good News Co., Ltd. operates Careermap, a Japanese vertical HR-tech platform connecting vocational schools, students, and employers across construction, IT, culinary, medical, and beauty industries via portfolios, selective company offers, and recruitment events, serving 20,000+ companies and 100,000+ student app users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Education and Recruitment Platform

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Services & Job Placement Platforms (Jobs, Recruiting, Employer Networks) (EDAFAMAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Services & Career Readiness (EDALABAB), Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL), Career Readiness & Employability Skills (Resume, Interview, Networking) (EDAMAKAG), Essay, Resume & Portfolio Coaching Platforms (EDAFAMAD), Workforce & Employability Analytics (Skills Inference, Career Pathing Outcomes) (EDAFAFAL)

Keywords

• Vocational education platform
• Recruitment platform
• Career matching services
• HR technology platform
• Job placement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Careermap Platform Services: The company develops and operates the Careermap vocational learning and job search application. The platform provides services for schools (career guidance DX tool), companies (recruitment DX tool), and students (industry-specific content, job search, applications).
2. Third-Party Capital Increase: The company raised approximately 270 million yen through third-party allocation of new shares in October 2024 to develop new features and enhance security for Careermap.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Good News operates Careermap, a digital network platform for vocational education that connects vocational schools, students, and companies. Schools use it as a career guidance DX tool to manage student portfolios and outcomes; companies use it as a recruitment DX tool to access specialized student talent pools, review portfolios, and send selective job offers; students use the mobile app and web platform to build portfolios, receive offers, and access alumni success stories and industry-specific content.

Product overview

Good News operates Careermap as its core product, a unified vocational education and job-hunting platform consisting of a student-facing mobile/web application (Careermap就活アプリ), a B2B platform for schools and companies (Careermap Biz), and an owned media content platform (CareermapLabo). The platform connects vocational students with schools and companies through portfolio management, selective job offers, alumni stories, and exploration themes. Additional offerings include a semi-annual professional education magazine (Careermap Labo), a part-time job service (Careermap Baito), and recruitment event hosting services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Careermap: A digital network for vocational education connecting schools and companies, featuring portfolio management, company offers, alumni success stories, and exploration themes for students.
• CareermapLabo

Products and services

• Careermap (キャリアマップ) A digital network platform for vocational education that connects vocational students, schools, and companies. Features include portfolio management, selective company offers, alumni success stories, and exploration themes for career development, serving schools as a career guidance DX tool, companies as a recruitment DX tool, and students as an industry-specific learning and job search application.
• Careermap就活アプリ (Careermap Job Hunting App) A specialized job-hunting mobile application for vocational students, enabling portfolio registration, job search, company research, and direct connection with employers across specialized industries. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
• Careermap Biz A B2B platform version of Careermap serving as a digital transformation (DX) tool for schools (career guidance) and companies (recruitment), providing industry-specific vocational learning content, school job listings, portfolio review capabilities, and selective offer functionality.
• CareermapLabo (キャリアマップラボ) An owned media platform serving as a bridge between educators and business professionals, providing content on vocational education trends, lifelong learning promotion, and industry-academia collaboration. Covers the latest trends, industry-academia collaboration case studies, and career development content.
• Careermap Labo Magazine (専門誌)

Quantifiable outcome

• Specialized student recruitment satisfaction: 78.6% of companies have positive attitudes toward hiring specialized students
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gurunavi (ぐるなび)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Business partnership between Careermap operator Good News and restaurant reservation service Gurunavi to address food service industry labor shortages. The partnership enables Gurunavi's extensive restaurant network to access Careermap for recruiting specialized students in culinary and food service fields. Gurunavi introduces the service to their restaurant customers, who are then connected with Good News for recruitment support. The goal is to create sustainable growth and talent acquisition for the food service industry.
• Sanwa Company (サンワカンパニー)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 August 2022Capital and business partnership between Good News and Sanwa Company to address severe labor shortages in the construction industry. Sanwa Company provides building materials and construction supplies through an e-commerce model. The partnership enables Sanwa's corporate customers to access Careermap for recruiting construction professionals including施工管理技士 (construction managers) and 建築士 (architects). Together, the companies aim to create a society where everyone can work vibrantly together.
• Mveca (エムベクタ合同会社)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerGood News participated as an exhibitor in the 'Discover yourself 2024' career education support event organized by Mveca for high school and university students with Type 1 diabetes. The event provided an opportunity for students to learn about various professions and career paths.
• Shijō Ōmi Gakuin (四条畷学園)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution participating in Careermap's Vocational Education Symposium, sharing case studies of industry-academia collaboration practices. The school has implemented initiatives connecting high schools, vocational schools, universities, and businesses.
• Niigata CityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGood News opened a Niigata office as part of the city's economic development initiative 'Niigata 2km' to attract companies to the central city area. The city provides support for companies establishing offices in the designated zone.
• With Midwife (株式会社With Midwife)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerGood News co-hosted an online seminar with With Midwife on diversity and recruitment strategies for employers. The partnership provided educational content on hiring and retention in a competitive labor market.
• Fashion / Food Industry Vocational School Consortium OsakaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe consortium developed 'SDGs Town Monogatari,' a board game for middle and high school students to learn about fashion, food, and housing professions while understanding SDGs. Good News featured this game during office tours at the Discover yourself event.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• En Japan: Japanese HR-tech operator running online job boards (en-japan, Baitoru) and recruitment platforms with subscription-based employer revenue models similar to Careermap Biz.
• BizReach: Japanese online recruitment platform for mid-career and professional talent using subscription pricing for employers; relevant comparable for B2B SaaS-style recruitment monetization.
• LITALICO: Japanese education and employment services company operating vocational training and job placement platforms; comparable in combining specialized education offerings with employment-matching, although its primary focus has historically been people with disabilities.
• Wantedly: Japanese online platform for matching job seekers (including early-career talent) with companies, using profile-based matching and direct-offer mechanics that closely resemble Careermap's selective offer feature.
• Will Group: Japanese staffing and HR services group with dedicated specialized-professional verticals (construction, nursing, caregiving) that overlap directly with Careermap's targeted industries.

Broad incumbents

• Persol Holdings: Major Japanese staffing and HR services group including Persol Tempstaff and doda. Operates staffing, placement, and HR-tech solutions across multiple verticals, including specialized-talent areas.
• Future Corporation (Staff Service Group): Japan's largest temporary staffing provider, covering clerical, technical, and specialized professional fields; a broad incumbent with deep employer relationships in vocational recruitment.
• Mynavi: One of Japan's largest recruitment media operators (Tenshoku, new-grad job magazines) with deep relationships to universities and employers; a natural overlap point should Careermap expand into broader student recruitment.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan's largest HR services group operating Indeed, Rikunabi, and many other recruitment and education platforms. Provides overlapping functionality at much greater scale, representing the dominant incumbent threat in the Japanese job-matching market.

Regional players

• Lever: US-headquartered applicant tracking and recruitment platform with similar subscription-based B2B recruitment SaaS economics; relevant comparable for product/GTM pattern, though operating in different geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/careermapjapan
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCR_z8HhOwdbW1CG2KZ7WTZA
• Facebookfacebook.com/careermapjapan/?locale=ja_JP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/goodnews-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors5 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 Good News