Glider Associates

Name

Glider Associates

Legal name

株式会社グライダーアソシエイツ（GLIDER associates, INC.）

Website

https://glider-associates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minato

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Social issue resolution consulting for government and private enterprises across 6 domains: tourism, medical, media, food culture, human resources, and cross-sector projects.
2. Creative Production: Creative content production and direction services including digital promotion planning, brand site development, and media content creation.
3. Self-Service Planning/Development/Operation: Planning, development, and operation of proprietary services including craft hotel antenna hospitality business, medical mall consulting (via Magellan Medical subsidiary), and antenna curation platform.
4. Incubation Investment: Investment in and development of startups and new businesses including group companies craft., Magellan Medical, and good-eye.
5. Consortium Operations: Secretariat and coordination services for various industry consortia including 超ミドルシニアコンソーシアム and VDCJ, facilitating cross-industry collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Glider Associates is a social issue resolution consulting firm that delivers strategic advisory, business consulting, and creative production services across six domains: tourism, medical, media, food culture, human resources, and cross-sector projects. The company supplements its advisory practice with proprietary platforms and subsidiaries, including the antenna curation media platform, the craft. premium ad network, Magellan Medical (medical mall consulting and analytics), good-eye (food culture restaurants), and the craft hotel antenna boutique hotel brand.

Product overview

Glider Associates operates a multi-domain portfolio of services organized around social issue resolution. The core business spans five domains: (1) Tourism — craft hotel antenna, a small-entry boutique hotel brand (launched 2026) targeting regional co-creation partners; (2) Medical — subsidiary Magellan Medical provides consulting and analytics (dashboards, market reports) for ~3,000 Japanese medical malls; (3) Media — the original curation platform antenna and premium ad network craft.; (4) Food Culture — group company good-eye operates multiple Shibuya restaurant concepts (KAMERA, Tenki, ONDO, RINN); and (5) Human Resources — VDCJ consortium for talent development and 超ミドルシニアコンソーシアム for middle-aged/senior market co-creation. Strategy advisory services for regional governments and corporations are delivered directly by Glider Associates across all domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• antenna / antenna*: Curated media platform providing editorial content across travel, lifestyle, food, and culture categories.
• craft.
• craft hotel antenna
• VDCJ (VERSA-TALENT DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUM)
• 超ミドルシニアコンソーシアム

Products and services

• Social Issue Resolution Consulting and Strategic Advisory End-to-end business consulting, strategy advisory, and implementation support for regional tourism organizations, healthcare companies, government bodies, and major corporations across six interconnected domains. Includes market research, data science, branding/promotion planning, consortium operations, and business development.
• antenna curation media platform A curated media platform aggregating quality editorial content across travel, lifestyle, food, and culture categories, connecting media content value to broader audiences. Used as a PR content distribution network for advertisers (antenna* Brand Spread). Reached 100万 user milestone in 2013.
• craft. premium ad network A context-match type premium digital advertising network offering brand-safe, curated ad placements including rich video formats. JICDAQ certified for digital advertising market development.
• Magellan Medical Consulting and Analytics Medical mall management consulting, strategy advisory, and market analytics including periodic statistics reports (Vol.01-Vol.05) and interactive Microsoft Power BI-based market dashboards covering Kanagawa, Kinki, Hokkaido, and nationwide editions. Serves pharmacies, developers, and consulting companies.
• craft hotel antenna SHINJUKU KOENJI Boutique hotel brand and 1-room-entry small-scale hotel model enabling regional partners to enter the tourism sector with low investment. First location in Koenji, Tokyo with 2 rooms. Designed for multi-regional, multi-store expansion through regional co-creation partnerships.
• good-eye Food Culture Restaurants Food culture business operating four restaurant concepts in Shibuya: KAMERA (Shaomiao + Taiwan beer), Tenki (tempura + white wine), ONDO (irori cooking + Japanese liquor), and RINN (rotisserie + craft shochu). Restaurant planning, operations, digital marketing, and creative production services.
• Super Middle-Senior Consortium (超ミドルシニアコンソーシアム) Cross-industry consortium providing secretariat and coordination services for companies targeting middle-senior demographic markets. Activities include study meetings, cross-industry collaboration projects, and market research publication.
• VDCJ (VERSA-TALENT Development Consortium) Cross-industry human resources development consortium offering secretariat services including enterprise training surveys, talent exchange programs, joint training development, and study meetings for corporate training and HR development professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Medical mall market report coverage: 3,032 facilities tracked nationwide (May 2026)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and core.

• VDCJ Consortium Members (Various Companies)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2025VERSA-TALENT Development Consortium for cross-industry human resources development. Activities include enterprise training surveys, talent exchange programs, joint training development, and study meetings. Target members: corporate training and HR development professionals.
• 株式会社石崎ホールディングス (Ishizaki Holdings)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2025Strategic advisory contract for new business strategy development. Director Arakawa and Tourism Unit Head Hotei providing support for Hiroshima-based company's unique business initiatives including strategy formulation and implementation support.
• 株式会社good-eyecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2025Subsidiary since June 2025, operating food culture businesses including restaurants KAMERA, TENKI, ONDO, and RINN in Shibuya area. Founded 2015, specializing in restaurant planning/operations, new business development support, digital marketing, and creative production. CEO Mera previously founded good-eye in 2015 before rejoining Glider Associates group.
• セイコーワッチ株式会社 (Seiko Watch Corporation)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 June 2025Brand site 'With Prospex' renewal support including content production, digital platform advertising, and performance analysis. Comprehensive project management from promotion planning through creative production and ad delivery optimization.
• 超ミドルシニアコンソーシアム Members (Various Companies)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2025Consortium for companies targeting middle-senior (50+) demographics. Activities include study meetings, cross-industry collaboration projects, and market research publication. Member companies include WOWOW, Diners Club (Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Club), Pasona Group, ONE COMPATH, Relo Club, Club Tourism, and 174 supporting organizations.
• 株式会社PR TIMESflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2025CEO Sugimoto serves as outside director since May 2025. Collaborative PR content distribution through antenna platform with PRTIMES STORY service. Joint video distribution package sales initiated in 2021.
• カゴメ株式会社 (Kagome)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Operating as secretariat for Kagome-led 'Vegetable Intake Promotion Project' consortium with 20+ participating companies. Managing annual collaboration projects, coordination meetings, and activity report website updates since project inception. Organizing annual '20s Vegetable Deficiency Idea Contest' for university students.
• 株式会社マゼランメディカル (Magellan Medical)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2024Wholly-owned subsidiary specializing in medical mall management consulting and market statistics. Established in November 2024, the company provides comprehensive analysis of Japan's 3,000+ medical malls through proprietary databases, market statistics reports, and interactive dashboards. Conducts joint research with Kyoto Prefectural University on optimal medical mall configurations.
• 株式会社岡本製作所 (Okamoto Manufacturing)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Annual strategic advisory contract for Saxdor Yachts Japan market operations including sales management, digital/site operations, marketing execution, and new marina development at Setoda. Second consecutive year of engagement.
• 京都府立大学公共政策学部 (Kyoto Prefectural University)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint research with Professor Ito's laboratory on medical mall economics. Published academic paper on cost minimization model analysis. Multiple co-authored market statistics reports including Vol.01 through Vol.05, establishing authority in medical mall data analysis.
• 株式会社craft.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Spin-off company established in 2023 for premium ad network craft. operations. Offers context-match type premium advertising network services with JICDAQ certification obtained in 2022 for digital advertising market development. Partnership with Logly for video format advertising expansion.
• 一般社团法人 Hiroshima Tourism Federation (HIT)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 20234-year consecutive annual strategic advisory contract since 2023. Supports HIT's mid-to-long-term strategic goals including next 5-year plan (R8-R12) development, accommodation tax discussion support, organizational management consulting, and project coordination. Hirohima official tourism site: dive-hiroshima.com
• J-WAVEmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 June 2020Long-term media partnership including multiple radio programs (Antenna Traveling Without Moving, Antenna Tokyo Ongoing, Antenna Tokuya Dohoku). Collaborative events including 100万人 Candle Night 2020 and LIVE SUMMER JAM sponsorship. Joint projects combining radio and online content.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BayCurrent Consulting: Japanese strategy and management consulting firm serving enterprise and government clients. Comparable to Glider Associates in delivering strategic advisory and business transformation, though at much larger scale and focused on a narrower consulting core.
• Macromill: Market research and data analytics firm founded by Glider Associates' CEO Sugimoto. Closely comparable in data-driven research orientation and Japan-focused B2B intelligence, and a prior investor in Glider Associates.
• PR TIMES: Japan's leading PR distribution platform. Glider Associates' CEO serves as outside director and the firms jointly distribute content through antenna, making them operationally adjacent in PR/media services.
• BrainPad: Japanese data analytics and digital marketing consulting firm. Comparable to Glider Associates' Magellan Medical analytics offering and craft. ad network in providing data-driven B2B insights and ad-tech services.
• Logly: Japanese ad-tech company specializing in brand-suitable advertising and video ad formats. Glider Associates' craft. partnered with Logly on 'Brand Reach Video', making them operationally adjacent in premium ad networks.

Broad incumbents

• Hakuhodo: Japan's second-largest advertising agency with broad creative, PR, media, and consulting capabilities. Comparable to Glider Associates in integrating creative production, media platforms (antenna), and consortium-like cross-industry collaboration.
• Recruit Holdings: Diversified Japanese media and HR services conglomerate with broad portfolio spanning advertising, HR/media platforms, and real estate. Comparable to Glider Associates' multi-domain (media + HR + tourism) approach, but at vastly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Cookpad: Japan-headquartered recipe and food culture platform. Comparable to Glider Associates' good-eye subsidiary and food culture domain in monetizing Japanese culinary heritage through digital channels.
• Hoshin Resorts: Operator of boutique and resort hotels in Japan with a focus on regional revitalization. Comparable to Glider Associates' craft hotel antenna brand in addressing regional tourism through curated, small-scale hospitality.

Regional players

• INTLOOP: Japan-focused professional services and consulting firm. Comparable to Glider Associates in providing B2B strategic and IT consulting, though more weighted toward IT engineering talent supply.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 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 Glider Associates