YassLab
YassLab is a fully remote Japanese company that publishes the Japanese-language Ruby on Rails Tutorial and Rails Guides, sells subscription tiers to individuals, universities, and corporations, and operates coderdojo.jp for CoderDojo Japan.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What YassLab does
YassLab 株式会社 (YassLab Inc.) is a privately held, fully remote Japanese company founded by Yohei Yasukawa in June 2012 and incorporated in January 2018. Headquartered in Tokyo with a secondary team presence in Okinawa, the company is built on Ruby on Rails and operates with approximately 7 members (including part-time and side-job hires), down from a peak of 12 in April 2019. Registered capital is 500万円 (~$33K USD); the company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external institutional investment, and ownership is concentrated with the founder.
The company's core offering is a portfolio of Ruby on Rails educational platforms. Ruby on Rails Tutorial (railstutorial.jp) is a comprehensive Japanese-language web development curriculum available as web text, screencast videos, and e-books. Ruby on Rails Guides (railsguides.jp) provides 2,000+ pages of Rails reference documentation, kept current through Rails 8.1 compatibility. Rails Guides is offered under three subscription tiers: Pro Plan (full-text search and 2025-launched AI Support via GPT-4o), Team Plan (team management dashboards, Google Analytics integration, per-seat pricing), and a 2022-launched Sponsorship Plan for corporate supporters. Rails Tutorial offers a Corporate Plan (university/enterprise training), a Trial Plan, and screencast subscriptions. YassLab also develops and maintains coderdojo.jp, the official website of CoderDojo Japan, a network of 200+ Dojos running 1,200+ annual events for children, and powers the MITOU Junior youth creator program. A monthly fixed-fee Ruby/Rails development support service rounds out the offering.
YassLab's revenue mix combines subscription recurring revenue (Pro, Team, Sponsorship plans; Rails Tutorial subscriptions), managed services (monthly development support retainers), and one-time ebook license sales. Distribution is primarily self-serve via Stripe on railstutorial.jp and railsguides.jp, supplemented by direct sales to corporate clients (e.g., Money Forward, Members, SmartHR, YOUTRUST, GA technologies, GMO Pepabo, Classi) and channel partnerships with EdTech platforms (Progate, DIVE INTO CODE, ShareWis, CODE BASE) and universities (Tsukuba, Ryukyu, Kogakuin, AIIT, Osaka Electro-Communication, Gifu, Kindai, Hachinohe, Osaka Metropolitan). The company maintains a strong community presence through RubyKaigi sponsorship and translation support since 2013, OSS Gate workshop sponsorship, IPA Super Creator recognition for the CEO, and a publishing footprint via Qiita and GitHub open-source repositories.
YassLab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- YassLab
- Legal name
- YassLab 株式会社
- Website
- https://yasslab.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- YassLab is a fully remote Japanese company that publishes the Japanese-language Ruby on Rails Tutorial and Rails Guides, sells subscription tiers to individuals, universities, and corporations, and operates coderdojo.jp for CoderDojo Japan.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
YassLab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Education Software
- NAICS
- Computer Training (611420), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tools & Platforms Training (Jira, Azure DevOps, MS Project, Smartsheet, etc.) (EDABAHAH)
Keywords
Where YassLab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
YassLab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Rails Tutorial Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to Rails Tutorial web text, screencasts, and corporate training plans. Includes Pro subscription for screencasts, business plans for team management, and partner licensing for educational institutions.
- Rails Guide Subscriptions: Pro and Team subscription plans for Rails Guide with full-text search, team management dashboard, and Google Analytics integration.
- Monthly Ruby/Rails Development Support: Fixed-monthly-fee software development services for client projects, including co-development support and code review.
- Ebook Sales: One-time purchase of ebook versions of Rails Tutorial and Rails Guides in multiple formats (PDF, EPUB, MOBI).
- Sponsorship and Partnership Plans: Sponsorship plans for Rails Guide with branding visibility and协賛 plans with Pro plan access for corporate supporters.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Rails Guide Pro Plan - Individual full-text search subscription |
| Per seat | Monthly | Rails Guide Team Plan - Team management with analytics |
| Subscription | Monthly | Rails Tutorial Business/Corporate Plan |
| Freemium | Monthly | Rails Tutorial Trial Plan |
| Subscription | Annual | Rails Tutorial Partner Licensing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
YassLab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
YassLab operates web-based Japanese-language Ruby on Rails educational platforms, primarily the Rails Tutorial (railstutorial.jp) covering web-development from fundamentals to deployment, and the Rails Guides (railsguides.jp) providing 2,000+ pages of translated Rails reference documentation. The company monetizes these via subscription tiers (Pro, Team, Sponsorship, Corporate) and one-time e-book sales, and supplements them with a monthly, fixed-fee Ruby/Rails development-support service for client engineering teams.
Product overview
YassLab operates a portfolio of Ruby on Rails educational platforms centered around two flagship products: Ruby on Rails Tutorial and Ruby on Rails Guides. Rails Tutorial provides comprehensive web development education through web text, screencast videos, and e-books, while Rails Guides delivers 2,000+ pages of reference documentation with premium search capabilities. The company also develops and maintains coderdojo.jp for CoderDojo Japan. Premium offerings include various subscription tiers (Pro Plan, Team Plan, Sponsorship Plan for Rails Guides; Corporate Plan, Trial Plan for Rails Tutorial) and a monthly development support service. The ecosystem is built on Ruby, Rails, Jekyll, GitHub Actions, Docker, and Heroku, with Stripe handling payments and Slack notifications supporting the training features.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Rails Tutorial (Railsチュートリアル): Flagship Ruby on Rails educational tutorial in Japanese, offering web text, screencast videos, and business plans.
- Rails Guide (Railsガイド)
- coderdojo.jp
Products and services
- Ruby on Rails Tutorial (Japanese edition) Comprehensive Japanese-language web-development tutorial that teaches Ruby on Rails from fundamentals through deployment, available as web text, screencasts, and e-book formats, and adopted by universities and corporate training programs.
- Ruby on Rails Guides (Japanese edition) Japanese-language translation of the official Rails Guides, comprising 2,000+ pages of reference documentation, available in free, Pro (full-text search and AI Q&A), Team (team management and analytics), and Sponsorship subscription tiers.
- coderdojo.jp (CoderDojo Japan website) Official website and platform for CoderDojo Japan, a nationwide network of 200+ volunteer-led, free programming Dojos for children, hosted on a Ruby on Rails application and integrated with the DojoCast podcast.
- Rails Tutorial Screencasts More than 36 hours of video content that walks through the Rails Tutorial chapters chapter-by-chapter, sold to individual learners via subscription plans.
- Monthly Ruby/Rails Development Support Services Fixed-monthly-fee software development support providing Ruby/Rails co-development, code review, and consulting services for client engineering teams that need Rails expertise.
- DojoCast Podcast Podcast hosted by YassLab CEO Yohei Yasukawa highlighting people and stories from CoderDojo communities, distributed on Apple Podcasts via the coderdojo.jp platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- AWS Award at 11th Fukuoka Ruby Award
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use YassLab
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
YassLab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
YassLab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RubyKaigicoreSilver sponsor at RubyKaigi 2019; provides translation support; all company members invited to attend. YassLab has been supporting RubyKaigi since 2013 with translation and sponsorship.
- CoderDojo JapancoreWeb development partner providing ongoing development and maintenance of coderdojo.jp. CEO Yohei Yasukawa serves as Representative Director. CoderDojo Japan has 200+ Dojos nationwide.
- 未踏ジュニア (MITOU Junior)coreCo-founder and PM of MITOU Junior youth creator support program. Provides Ruby/Rails learning content. Supported 110+ projects by 130+ creators under 17.
- OSS GateminorDoorkeeper sponsor and video production contributor for OSS Gate workshops
- ProgatecoreContent partnership announcement via press release for Rails learning content collaboration
- DIVE INTO CODEcoreContent partnership for Rails Tutorial and learning materials
- ShareWisminorService partnership for Rails learning content distribution
- CODE BASEminorPartner agreement for Rails Tutorial training in Okinawa region
- メンバーズキャリア (Members Career)coreTechnical advisor and training support services for corporate engineering teams
- マネーフォワード (Money Forward)coreNew graduate training using Rails Tutorial and Rails Guide Team plan
- 武田ユー・ウェブ株式会社 (Takeyuweb)minorRails Guide supporter and sponsorship plan partner
- Scout APMminorRails guide supporter providing application performance monitoring; trial partnership
- FreeeminorEvent sponsorship and community partnership; co-organizes events with freee
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
YassLab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Progate: Leading Japanese online coding education platform offering Rails and other language courses. Directly comparable as a Japanese EdTech serving aspiring developers with subscription-based interactive tutorials; YassLab even has a content partnership with Progate.
- DIVE INTO CODE: Japanese coding bootcamp specializing in Rails and web development training. Comparable in Japanese-language Rails education, with a YassLab content partnership for Rails learning materials.
- ShareWis: Japanese online learning marketplace. Comparable as a Japanese e-learning distribution channel; YassLab is a ShareWis service partner for Rails learning content distribution.
- Techpit: Japanese marketplace for programming learning content built by working engineers. Comparable in serving Japanese aspiring developers with practical, project-based programming education.
Broad incumbents
- Schoo: Major Japanese live-online learning platform covering business, technology, and personal development. Comparable in the Japanese e-learning subscription space at a much larger scale; overlaps with YassLab's corporate training audience.
- Codecademy: Global interactive coding education platform with Rails courses among many languages. Comparable in business model (freemium + Pro subscriptions for coding tutorials), though YassLab's content is Japanese-localized and community-driven.
- Udemy: Global marketplace for online courses including extensive Ruby on Rails content. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the online programming education space where individual instructors and small teams monetize Rails courses.
Emerging players
- freeCodeCamp: Free, open-source coding education platform with a strong community and Rails-adjacent curriculum. Comparable as a free alternative to YassLab's paid Rails content, particularly for self-directed learners.
Regional players
- TECH::CAMP: Japanese programming bootcamp offering Rails and other language courses for career changers. Comparable in the Japanese market for in-depth programming education, though primarily offline/bootcamp format versus YassLab's self-serve model.
Others
- Engineers Gate (SCOUTER): Japanese career platform and engineering community. Comparable thematically as a Japanese developer ecosystem touchpoint, but operates as a recruiting/community platform rather than a learning content provider.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
YassLab social profiles
Digital presenceYassLab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
YassLab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
YassLab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
YassLab 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 YassLab
What does YassLab do?
YassLab operates web-based Japanese-language Ruby on Rails educational platforms, primarily the Rails Tutorial (railstutorial.jp) covering web-development from fundamentals to deployment, and the Rails Guides (railsguides.jp) providing 2,000+ pages of translated Rails reference documentation. The company monetizes these via subscription tiers (Pro, Team, Sponsorship, Corporate) and one-time e-book sales, and supplements them with a monthly, fixed-fee Ruby/Rails development-support service for client engineering teams.
Is YassLab a public or private company?
YassLab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was YassLab founded?
YassLab was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is YassLab based?
YassLab is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does YassLab make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Rails Tutorial Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are rails Guide Subscriptions, monthly Ruby/Rails Development Support, ebook Sales and sponsorship and Partnership Plans.
Who are YassLab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Progate, DIVE INTO CODE, ShareWis and Techpit. Broad incumbents are Schoo, Codecademy and Udemy. freeCodeCamp is listed as an emerging player. TECH::CAMP is listed as a regional player. Engineers Gate (SCOUTER) is listed as an others.
Does YassLab have an API?
No public API is recorded for YassLab.
What industry is YassLab in?
YassLab's product category is Developer Education Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABAHAH, Tools & Platforms Training (Jira, Azure DevOps, MS Project, Smartsheet, etc.). Its NAICS code is 611420 and its SIC code is 8200.