What Nagaku does

Nagaku Inc. (ナガク株式会社) is a Japanese startup founded on August 1, 2023 in Nagano Prefecture that operates a two-sided marketplace connecting consumers who need repair and remake services with professionals who provide them. The company's core product, 'Nagaku,' is a self-serve web platform launched on February 20, 2025 at nagaku.com, where users can search for repair and remake professionals, browse case studies of past work, and request services directly. Alongside the marketplace, Nagaku operates NAGAKU Magazine, a web magazine promoting the cultural movement of using things longer through repair and remake. The underlying technology is not disclosed in available sources, and the platform's central value proposition rests on visibility, case-study verification, and discovery rather than proprietary technical infrastructure.

Nagaku's business model is based on transaction fees from its marketplace, with no public pricing details. Go-to-market is product-led and self-serve, targeting two customer segments: individual consumers seeking repair services (primary) and the repair/remake professionals who supply the marketplace (secondary). Distribution is entirely through nagaku.com, and the operating geography is currently domestic Japan with a base in Nagano Prefecture. The company relocated its headquarters from Nagano City to Miyota, Kita-Saku District in September 2025.

The company raised approximately 140 million yen (~$932,817 USD) in February 2025 from investors including Asahi Media Lab Ventures, DOGAN beta, Miraidoa, Identity, NOW Japan, OASIS FUND, and Peace. Leadership comprises CEO Kazz Watabe (ex-Cookpad, umeebe, Grow!), COO Hiroto Shin (ex-BASE COO, ZOZO Technologies, paperboy&co.), and CTO Nia (ex-Cookpad, umeebe CTO), giving the founding team direct experience scaling consumer and marketplace platforms in Japan. Headcount remains 1-10 employees. In December 2025, Nagaku was selected for Nikkei Cross Trend's '100 Companies Creating Future Markets' list in the lifestyle/finance category, providing third-party validation of the company's market positioning.

Name

Nagaku

Legal name

ナガク株式会社 / NAGAKU Inc.

Website

https://corp.nagaku.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nagaku operates a Japanese two-sided marketplace, launched February 2025, connecting consumers seeking repair and remake services with professionals who provide them. The platform is complemented by NAGAKU Magazine, a web publication promoting the culture of long product use.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nagano

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Repair and Remake Marketplace: A two-sided marketplace platform connecting users who need repair and remake services with professionals who provide them. The platform facilitates transactions between service seekers and providers, likely operating on a commission or transaction fee basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nagaku operates "ナガク (Nagaku)," a self-serve web marketplace platform launched in February 2025 that lets consumers search for repair and remake professionals, browse case studies of their previous work, and submit service requests directly. The company also publishes NAGAKU Magazine (ナガクマガジン), a complementary web magazine that promotes the culture of using things longer, supporting the marketplace through content marketing and brand-building.

Product overview

Nagaku operates a dual-product portfolio consisting of its core service 'ナガク' (Nagaku), a peer-to-peer repair and remake marketplace that connects users with professionals, and 'NAGAKU Magazine' (ナガクマガジン), a complementary web magazine that promotes the culture of extending product lifespans. The platform and magazine work together to foster a sustainable 'mono wo naosu' (repairing things) culture in Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ナガク (Nagaku): Pro and case study search and request service for repair and remake.
• NAGAKU Magazine (ナガクマガジン)

Products and services

• ナガク (Nagaku) A self-serve web marketplace that connects individual consumers in Japan with repair and remake professionals. Users can search for professionals by category, review case studies of past work to assess quality, and submit repair or remake requests directly through nagaku.com.
• NAGAKU Magazine (ナガクマガジン) A web magazine published by Nagaku that promotes the culture of using things for longer, featuring editorial content about repair, remake, and sustainable consumption in Japan.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Cookpad: Cookpad is Japan's largest recipe-sharing platform and the acquirer of umeebe (where Nagaku's CTO Nia previously served). While not a marketplace in the same category, Cookpad shares the 'community + content + transaction' playbook that Nagaku is replicating in the repair vertical.
• SkillShare: SkillShare is a global skill-sharing and learning marketplace. While focused on learning rather than commissioning services, it is comparable as a community-driven platform that pairs subject-matter experts with consumers seeking expertise—analogous to Nagaku pairing repair professionals with consumers.

Broad incumbents

• Thumbtack: Thumbtack is a leading US-based marketplace for local professional services. It shares the 'search-and-commission local professionals with case studies/profiles' mechanic with Nagaku and is a useful benchmark for marketplace scaling dynamics in the services category.
• Angi (formerly Angie's List): Angi is a major US home services marketplace connecting consumers with vetted professionals for home repair and improvement. It is conceptually adjacent to Nagaku's marketplace and useful as a benchmark for unit economics in vertical trust-driven services marketplaces.
• Mercari: Mercari is Japan's dominant C2C resale marketplace, broad in scope and well-funded. It competes for the same 'extend-the-life-of-things' consumer intent that drives Nagaku, though it is much broader (resale of used goods vs. commissioned repair services).
• TaskRabbit: TaskRabbit is an established international two-sided marketplace connecting consumers with local skilled taskers for services. Comparable in marketplace mechanics and trust-via-profile model to Nagaku, but with a much broader service scope and international footprint.

Emerging players

• Houzz: Houzz combines home inspiration content, professional directories, and marketplace transactions. While international and more home-design focused, it shares Nagaku's strategy of pairing editorial content (NAGAKU Magazine) with a transactions marketplace for repair-type services.
• BASE: BASE is a major Japanese SMB e-commerce platform where Nagaku's COO Hiroto Shin was previously COO. While not a direct competitor, BASE is highly comparable as a Japanese marketplace/creator-platform business and an indicator of the operational pedigree Nagaku's leadership brings.

Regional players

• komehyo: komehyo is a long-standing Japanese chain specializing in buying, restoring, and reselling used items. As an established buyer-restorer-reseller, it is comparable to Nagaku on the 'repair and extend product life' cultural axis, though it operates in brick-and-mortar buy/sell rather than as a commissioned services marketplace.

Direct peers

• minne (GMO Pepabo): minne is Japan's largest handmade/C2C crafts marketplace, operated by GMO Pepabo (where Nagaku's COO previously ran the platform). It is directly comparable as a Japan-focused two-sided marketplace connecting individual makers and buyers—a model Nagaku adapts for repair/remake professionals and consumers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/kazzwatabe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors7 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 Nagaku