What Grow Up1 does

Grow Up1 (株式会社グローアップ) operates Japan's largest new-graduate direct-recruiting (逆求人) platform under the キミスカ brand, serving approximately 100,000 students per graduating class — roughly 1 in 3 Japanese university students. Founded in February 2008 in Yokohama and now headquartered in Tokyo's Minato-ku following a September 2024 relocation, the company enables corporate employers to proactively scout candidates based on self-written PR profiles, TPI aptitude test results, and career preferences, inverting the traditional student-initiated job-portal model. Since October 2022 it has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Plus Alpha Consulting (TSE: 4071), with deep technical integration into the parent company's Talent Palette ATS enabling AI-driven matching against existing high-performer profiles and full-cycle applicant management. The product portfolio also includes キミスカLIVE! offline small-group matching events in major Japanese cities, the Workschool online learning platform offering 28 free professional skill courses in partnership with TRUNK Corporation, and the F-Job / F-Job School vertical specialized in restaurant-industry recruitment. The organization is small — approximately 50 employees — and is run by President Kato Yuki following the October 2025 leadership transition.

Monetization flows primarily through B2B employer fees: subscription-based scout tiers (Gold/Silver/Normal) for the new-graduate platform, transaction-based placement services (¥1,000 handling fee plus 100% of first-year salary as success fee for general placement; ¥1,000,000 setup plus ¥10,000/day plus 100%-salary success fee for search-and-scout type), and specialized food-industry placement fees via F-Job. Students use the service free of charge, monetizing via recruiting-side payments. Direct sales target large corporations such as Sansan, Raku, Nihon Joho Tsushin, and Tokio Marine Systems, complemented by self-serve SMB onboarding, HR trade show presence (HR EXPO, HR Conference), and earned media coverage across major Japanese business publications. AI capabilities function as a feature layer on top of the two-sided marketplace — AI search for personality-based matching, text mining of self-PRs, TPI-based aptitude matching, and a generative AI self-PR diagnostic tool — rather than as the platform's foundational technology.

Name

Grow Up1

Legal name

株式会社グローアップ

Website

https://grow-up1.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grow Up1 (株式会社グローアップ) operates キミスカ, Japan's largest new-graduate direct-recruiting platform with roughly 100,000 registered students per graduating class and 3,000-5,000+ corporate clients, enabling employers to proactively scout candidates via AI-assisted matching against aptitude tests and self-PR profiles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Software

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Recruitment & Lead Generation Agencies (EDAIACAA)

Keywords

• New graduate recruiting
• Direct recruitment platform
• Talent matching software
• HR technology services
• Applicant tracking systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Direct Recruiting Platform (キミスカ) - Subscription/Success Fee: キミスカ charges companies for platform access. General placement model: 1,000 yen document handling fee per posting plus 100% of annual salary as success fee upon hire. Search & scout type: 1,000,000 yen setup fee plus 10,000 yen per activity day plus 100% annual salary success fee. For new graduate recruiting, companies use subscription tiers (Gold/Silver/Normal scouts) with different outreach capacities.
2. Capital Business Partnership with PAC Group: Subsidiary of Plus Alpha Consulting (PAC) since October 2022. Operates as part of PAC group, generating revenue through continued growth of キミスカ platform and cross-sell of Talent Palette to キミスカ's customer base.
3. F-Job Restaurant Placement Services: Restaurant industry specialized headhunting and placement service. Companies pay success fees upon successful placement. Part of broader food service HR ecosystem including F-Job School platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grow Up1 operates Kimisuka, Japan's largest new graduate direct (reverse) recruiting platform where companies proactively scout students based on personality, aptitude (TPI), and self-PR content rather than waiting for applications. Approximately 100,000 students per graduating class are registered. Complementary offerings include Workschool (free online learning with 28 courses), Kimisuka LIVE! (offline matching events), and F-Job (restaurant industry specialized recruiting).

Product overview

株式会社グローアップ operates a platform portfolio centered on 新卒向けダイレクトリクルーティングシステム「キミスカ」, Japan's largest new graduate direct recruiting platform with approximately 150,000 registered students per graduating class (about 1 in 3 students). The core offering enables companies to proactively scout candidates through profile matching rather than waiting for applications. Complementary products include キミスカLIVE! (in-person matching events) and Workschool (integrated online learning with 28 professional courses), creating an end-to-end student recruitment and development ecosystem. The company also operates エフジョブ, a restaurant industry specialized recruitment platform, and エフジョブスクール, a culinary school cloud recruitment platform. In 2022, the company became a subsidiary of Plus Alpha Consulting, enabling integration with their Talent Palette talent management system for enhanced applicant management and predictive matching capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• キミスカ: 新股向けダイレクトリクルーティングサービス（逆求人型就活サービス）。企業が新股学生をスカウトするプラットフォームで、約10万人以上の登録学生を有する。
• キミスカLIVE!
• Workschool
• エフジョブ

Products and services

• Kimisuka (キミスカ) Japan's largest new graduate direct recruiting platform enabling companies to proactively scout students based on self-PRs, aptitude tests (TPI), preferences, and selection status. Used by approximately 100,000 students per graduating class.
• Workschool (ワークスクール) Free online learning platform integrated within Kimisuka offering 28 professional skill courses covering IT consulting, data science, digital marketing, DX, business development, and technical programming.
• Kimisuka LIVE! (キミスカLIVE!) In-person small-group matching events held across major Japanese cities where approximately 30 new graduates per event gather for group work and character observation, enabling companies to scout candidates face-to-face.
• F-Job (エフジョブ) Restaurant industry specialized recruitment and placement platform covering restaurants, izakaya, bakeries, patisseries, hotels, and catering. Offers both recruitment agency placement and executive search services with food service industry consultants.
• F-Job School (エフジョブスクール) Cloud-based recruitment platform connecting approximately 100 culinary schools, students, and food service companies for new graduate hiring. Enables businesses to post jobs directly to schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Platinum email (Gold scout) achieves 80%+ open rate vs ~2% for typical job portal emails
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 株式会社プラスアルファ・コンサルティング (Talent Palette)coreTechnology or Integration · 27 February 2023Deep product integration between キミスカ and Talent Palette ATS. Talent Palette's recruitment management features are offered as an option within キミスカ. Enables companies to manage the full hiring lifecycle from scout to onboarding, using common TPI aptitude test data for matching.
• TRUNK株式会社 (Workschool)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2022TRUNK provides 28 professional skill courses for キミスカ's Workschool learning platform. Courses cover data science, digital marketing, IT consulting, DX, and coding — exclusively available to キミスカ registered students.
• 青山商事株式会社 (#きがえよう就活 Project)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2022Participation in Aoyama Shoji's '#きがえよう就活' project — a collaborative initiative to shift student focus from job-hunting formalities to future thinking. Provides student engagement and industry collaboration without direct commercial terms.
• 株式会社プラスアルファ・コンサルティング (Plus Alpha Consulting)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2022Capital and business partnership established April 2022, with Grow Up1 becoming a 100% subsidiary of Plus Alpha Consulting in October 2022. The partnership integrates キミスカ's new graduate recruiting platform with Plus Alpha's Talent Palette talent management system, enabling science-based hiring using employee performance data. Cross-selling opportunities between the two customer bases.
• OSAKA求職者支援コンソーシアムminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2020Participated in Osaka Job Seeker Support Consortium during COVID-19 pandemic. Provided recruitment support, counseling, and employer matching services for job seekers in Osaka region as part of Osaka prefecture emergency employment measures.
• 就活未来会議実行委員会minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2019Co-sponsored the 就活未来会議 (2019) — an industry forum bringing together companies, universities, students, and government to rethink Japanese new graduate recruiting practices. Supported by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and at will work. Grow Up1 participated as a recruiting industry operator.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Lapras: Lapras is an engineer-focused direct recruiting platform in Japan that uses profile and skill signals (GitHub, portfolios) to match candidates — an emerging competitor intersecting with Kimisuka in the tech-savvy new-graduate student pool.
• 外資就活ドットコム (Gai-shi Shukatsu): An emerging Japanese new-graduate platform focused on foreign-affiliated companies and globally-minded students; competes with Kimisuka for the same high-engagement student segment but with a narrower employer focus.
• JOBTV: JOBTV is a video-based Japanese new-graduate recruiting platform where companies pitch students via video; competes with Kimisuka's キミスカLIVE! offline events on the same employer-student engagement layer, though with a digital-first delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• ビズリーチ / BizReach (Visional): BizReach operates Japan's leading mid-to-senior direct recruiting platform; while primarily mid-career, it competes for the same employer HR-tech budget and overlaps with PAC/Talent Palette in the broader HR platform ecosystem.
• Indeed Japan: Indeed is a global job search engine with a large Japan presence, serving both students and employers; while not a direct scouting platform, it competes for employer recruitment spend and student attention against Kimisuka's value-based direct recruiting model.
• Mynavi Corporation: Mynavi is one of Japan's largest new-graduate recruitment media and event operators, serving the same corporate employer base and student audience as Kimisuka across job listings, seminars, and matching services.
• リクナビ / Recruit Holdings: Recruit's Rikunabi is the dominant traditional Japanese new-graduate job portal and the most powerful incumbent in the segment; Recruit also owns Indeed globally, making it a broad incumbent whose portfolio overlaps with Kimisuka's employer and student audiences.

Direct peers

• Wantedly: Wantedly operates a direct-recruiting platform widely used by Japanese job seekers (including new graduates) and employers for scout-based hiring, competing with Kimisuka on the proactive-recruiting value proposition, though it spans both new-grad and mid-career.
• OfferBox (i-plug): i-plug operates OfferBox, Japan's largest dedicated new-graduate direct (reverse) recruiting platform and Kimisuka's closest direct competitor, with overlapping student profiles, employer scouting tools, and target buyer (Japanese corporate HR teams).
• doda キャンパス (Persol Holdings): Persol's doda キャンパス is a major Japanese new-graduate direct recruiting platform serving similar employers and students with scouting, matching, and event-based recruiting — a direct functional competitor to Kimisuka.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Grow Up1