Anchorstar
Tokyo-based private consultancy founded in 2015 by Taro Kodama (ex-Facebook Japan) that helps large Japanese corporates — including Kodansha, Mori Building, and NTT East — globalize through consulting, leadership development, Anchorstar English training, coworking, and cross-border partnership facilitation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Anchorstar does
Anchorstar Inc. (アンカースター株式会社) is a Tokyo-based private professional services firm founded in November 2015 by Taro Kodama, who was previously employee #1 at Facebook Japan and one of the first ~156 employees at Yahoo! Japan. The company operates as a Japan–global business bridge, delivering management consulting, leadership development, KPI-tree workshops, international partnership matchmaking, corporate English training (Anchorstar English), and creative content programs to large Japanese corporates — including Kodansha, Mori Building, Pasona Group, NTT East, and amana — many engaged through formal shukko (employee secondment) arrangements. The firm also runs Anchorstar Lounge, a 24-hour coworking space in Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku (with the adjacent Anchorstar MPR event space and an in-house Anchorstar Studio for video and podcast production), monetized at 50,000 JPY/month per member.
The business model is a hybrid of project-based professional services, subscription coworking revenue, and shukko-mediated enterprise relationships; pricing for consulting and Anchorstar English is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is relationship-led, relying on the founder's network, referrals from existing clients, and inbound interest generated by Anchorstar Journal, an owned-media platform publishing long-form 'pseudo-experience' (疑似体験) articles. The firm is entirely self-funded with no disclosed venture or angel capital, operates from a single Tokyo headquarters (Daiichi Nan'o Building and adjacent Kazama Building), and has a core team of 1–10 employees supplemented by seconded staff from client organizations. There is no proprietary technology product; the company's intellectual property sits in its consulting methodologies, content library, video production facility, and the brand equity of its cross-cultural positioning.
Anchorstar firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Anchorstar
- Legal name
- アンカースター株式会社 (Anchorstar Inc.)
- Website
- https://anchorstar.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Tokyo-based private consultancy founded in 2015 by Taro Kodama (ex-Facebook Japan) that helps large Japanese corporates — including Kodansha, Mori Building, and NTT East — globalize through consulting, leadership development, Anchorstar English training, coworking, and cross-border partnership facilitation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Anchorstar is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Anchorstar business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Coworking Space Membership: Anchorstar Lounge offers monthly memberships at 50,000 JPY/month (excluding tax) for 24-hour access to the coworking space including event space, meeting rooms, mini kitchen, sofa area, park views, barber service, and business support.
- Management Consulting / Business Advisory: Japanese corporate clients engage Anchorstar for support with international expansion strategies, organizational transformation, leadership development, and cross-border partnership facilitation. Revenue is project-based.
- Anchorstar English (Corporate Language Training): Enterprise-oriented business English education program producing 'Global Communicators' — employees equipped to work effectively in multicultural, multilingual environments. Targets Japanese corporations seeking global communication capability.
- International Business Matchmaking: Facilitating partnerships between Japanese companies and global enterprises; originally the core business at founding. Ongoing but selective, focused on meaningful engagements rather than volume.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Anchorstar Lounge Member — 50,000 JPY/month |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Anchorstar product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Anchorstar is a Tokyo-based professional services firm that supports Japanese corporations with international expansion, organizational transformation, and leadership development through management consulting. It also operates Anchorstar Lounge, a coworking space in Nishi-Shinbashi, Tokyo offering monthly memberships. Complementing these, Anchorstar English delivers corporate business English training to develop 'Global Communicators', and the firm facilitates cross-border business matchmaking between Japanese companies and global enterprises.
Product overview
Anchorstar is a Tokyo-based professional services company operating multiple interconnected business offerings. The core services include: Anchorstar Lounge (coworking space with 24-hour access, meeting rooms, and member amenities including a barber service); Anchorstar English (corporate English education program developing 'Global Communicators'); CEO Agenda Consulting (strategic consulting for Japanese business transformation); and Anchorstar Journal (owned media platform publishing '疑似体験' articles). Supporting services include Zine Production (creative documentation projects for visiting employees), KPI Tree Workshop (data visualization consulting), Anchorstar MPR (multi-purpose room rental for events up to 100 people), and Anchorstar Studio (in-house video production facility). The company also facilitates international business partnerships between Japanese and global companies. The company positioning includes a purpose (Envision More) and mission (Momentum for Progress).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Anchorstar Lounge: The company's coworking space facility located in Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, featuring event space, meeting rooms, a kitchen, sofa areas, a barber service, and park views.
- Anchorstar English
Products and services
- Anchorstar Lounge Coworking space located in Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, offering 24-hour access, event space, meeting rooms, a kitchen and sofa area, park views, free snacks and drinks, printer/office supplies, and a bilingual barber service. Membership is sold at 50,000 JPY/month (tax excluded).
- Anchorstar English Corporate English communication education program focused on training 'Global Communicators' who can work effectively in multicultural, multilingual business environments. Targets Japanese corporations seeking global communication capability, with instruction delivered by foreign coaches.
- CEO Agenda Consulting Strategic consulting service led by Senior Director Andreas Seidler that helps Japanese companies with business transformation, working with executives on important but deprioritized strategic initiatives.
- Anchorstar MPR (Multi Purpose Room) Multi-purpose room rental service located near Anchorstar Lounge, featuring a large meeting room and event space accommodating up to 100 people, housed in a vintage building with mural artwork.
- Anchorstar Studio In-house video production and live streaming studio equipped with Canon EOS R camera, Sigma 24mm 1.4 Art lens, Aputure 120D Mark II lighting, RODE microphones, a Mac Mini for live streaming, and LG ultrawide monitors. Used to produce webinars, seminars, and video content for client projects and internal use.
- KPI Tree Workshop Data-driven consulting workshop in which Anchorstar's data scientist helps partner companies visualize KPI relationships using tree structures to align organizational goals with measurable indicators.
- International Business Matchmaking Facilitation of partnerships between Japanese companies and global enterprises, supporting cross-border deal-making and ongoing relationship building. Ongoing but selective, focused on meaningful engagements rather than volume.
Companies that use Anchorstar
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Anchorstar technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability8 records
Feature1 record
Anchorstar partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Gretel (New York Design Studio)coreGretel is a New York-based design studio that Anchorstar has long admired and collaborated with on projects. Anchorstar's 10th anniversary website renewal was inspired by Gretel's use of Squarespace. Gretel served as a reference model for Anchorstar's own digital presence redesign.
- General Assembly (GA)coreGeneral Assembly is a New York-based digital talent development company. Anchorstar serves as GA's 'engagement partner' in Japan, helping to launch and support GA's UX design, data analytics, and digital marketing courses in the Japanese market. Anchorstar's editor-in-chief (Yohey Kawabe) personally completed the 10-week UX Design Part-Time course and subsequently became a conduit for bringing GA programs to Japan.
- The Lot Radio (New York)minorThe Lot Radio is a small container-based video/live-streaming studio and DJ space in New York City. It served as the inspirational model and reference point for Anchorstar's own in-house video production studio. Anchorstar's staff visited and studied the space during a business trip to New York.
- Tom Buck (YouTube Creator)minorTom Buck is a California-based digital media educator and YouTuber who served as the primary reference model for Anchorstar's video studio build-out. His YouTube channel provided detailed guidance on cameras, lenses, microphones, lighting, acoustics, and software for building a professional-quality home studio.
- Yohey Kawabe (Uniondock Editor-in-Chief)coreYohey Kawabe, editor-in-chief of uniondock.jp, serves as a strategic advisor and editorial collaborator for Anchorstar's content strategy. His experience includes managing Instagram Japan's official account and serving as a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum. He helped conceptualize Anchorstar's 'pseudo-experience' media approach.
- Daiichi Nan'ou Building / Kazama Building (Property Owners)coreAnchorstar leases space in two adjacent vintage buildings in Nishi-Shimbashi, Tokyo: the first Nan'ou Building (built 1962) and the Kazama Building. These physical spaces form the operational base for Anchorstar Lounge and the Anchorstar MPR event space.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Anchorstar competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ABeam Consulting: Major Japan-origin management and technology consulting firm serving Japanese and global enterprises on transformation, strategy, and PMI. Comparable to Anchorstar's CEO Agenda Consulting and organizational-transformation work, but at far greater scale and with formal global delivery.
- General Assembly: Global digital-skills and corporate training provider in UX, data, and digital marketing. Direct peer to Anchorstar English on the corporate training and 'Global Communicator' capability, and an actual strategic partner to Anchorstar in Japan.
- Berlitz Japan: Established global language-school operator with a large Japan footprint, including corporate business-English programs. Comparable to Anchorstar English as an enterprise language-training offering, but at significantly greater scale and brand recognition.
- Deloitte Tohmatsu Group: Big Four advisory firm with deep Japan practice in management consulting, M&A, and human capital. Comparable in function to Anchorstar's organizational transformation and leadership development work, but for enterprise-scale clients across the globe.
Direct peers
- BayCrew Inc. Tokyo-based holding company that incubates and operates consumer brands and lifestyle businesses (e.g., fashion, food, real estate). It shares Anchorstar's model of combining a core consulting/operating platform with branded product lines and physical venues in central Tokyo.
- WeWork Japan: Operator of premium coworking and shared-office space in Japan. Directly comparable to Anchorstar Lounge's coworking offering in Minato-ku, though WeWork competes at a different scale and price point.
- Plug and Play Japan: Tokyo-based innovation platform and accelerator that connects global startups with Japanese corporates. Closely comparable to Anchorstar's international business matchmaking and cross-border partnership brokerage role.
Regional players
- Fabbit: Japan-domestic coworking and incubation-space operator with a similar Minato-ku / Tokyo presence and events programming. Relevant peer for the Anchorstar Lounge business model and competition.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Anchorstar social profiles
Digital presenceAnchorstar financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Anchorstar leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Anchorstar funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Anchorstar M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Anchorstar
What does Anchorstar do?
Anchorstar is a Tokyo-based professional services firm that supports Japanese corporations with international expansion, organizational transformation, and leadership development through management consulting. It also operates Anchorstar Lounge, a coworking space in Nishi-Shinbashi, Tokyo offering monthly memberships. Complementing these, Anchorstar English delivers corporate business English training to develop 'Global Communicators', and the firm facilitates cross-border business matchmaking between Japanese companies and global enterprises.
Is Anchorstar a public or private company?
Anchorstar is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Anchorstar founded?
Anchorstar was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Anchorstar based?
Anchorstar is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Anchorstar make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Coworking Space Membership is the primary driver. The others are management Consulting / Business Advisory, anchorstar English (Corporate Language Training) and international Business Matchmaking.
Who are Anchorstar's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ABeam Consulting, General Assembly, Berlitz Japan and Deloitte Tohmatsu Group. Direct peers are BayCrew Inc., WeWork Japan and Plug and Play Japan. Fabbit is listed as a regional player.
Does Anchorstar have an API?
No public API is recorded for Anchorstar.