Finance Produce

What Finance Produce does

Finance Produce (株式会社ファイナンス・プロデュース) is a Tokyo-based boutique investment bank specialized in financial advisory for startup entrepreneurs, founded on 2021-05-06 via a management buyout (carve-out) from Dream Incubator. The firm operates a pure-play sell-side financial advisory (FA) model, representing only the seller side in M&A and IPO transactions to eliminate the conflict-of-interest inherent to dual-representation intermediaries; it claims sellers achieve 1.2–1.5x higher proceeds versus M&A brokers on average. Core service lines include sell-side FA for startup M&A, IPO capital-policy and fundraising advisory (including dual-track strategies, secondary offerings, and stock-option planning), and FiPaaS (Finance Producer as a Service), a team-format monthly subscription external-CFO offering for startups. Supporting services cover finance-talent recruitment, growth and cost-reduction advisory for profitable SMEs/solid ventures, PIPEs financing and MBO support for emerging listed companies, and M&A/CVC advisory for large enterprises.

The team of roughly ten professionals is led by two co-founders — Matsui Katsunari (former SBI Investment and Dream Incubator) and Jason Yoshito (former SBI Investment 1,500B+ JPY AUM practice and Dream Incubator private/capital business) — plus a Director, two VPs, four associates, a senior associate, and a PR director, with backgrounds spanning SMBC Nikko, Mizuho, Nomura Securities, PwC, M&A Capital, Toyota Financial Services, and Deloitte Tohmatsu. Advisory board depth includes a former Daiwa Securities executive director (Dec 2024), an ex-Goldman Sachs/JPM partner, and a former Gunosy/Miralbo CFO. The business makes money through (a) success-fee-based transaction advisory on M&A and IPO mandates, (b) recurring monthly subscriptions via FiPaaS, and (c) finance-talent introductions. Disclosed transactions include the ¥1.5B Saiyoubu M&A to TSE-Prime DmMiX, Pocket Change group-in to TSE-Prime Digital Garage, Anipos PE buyout with WM Partners, ¥489M Cookbiz PIPEs with fixed warrants, NOIN Series C, JDSC group-in, Squad/JGIA SIVA JV formation, and the November 2025 rayout capital-policy mandate.

The go-to-market is content-led and relationship-driven: an extensive blog/ナレッジ, the note-based Startup M&A Magazine, a YouTube channel, IVS 2024/2025/2026 official side-event programming, and a 12+ edition スタファイ startup-finance career exchange event series generate warm inbound from founders, CFOs, and VCs. The firm is Japan-only (no disclosed international footprint), serves three primary segments — Series B+ startups, solid ventures/SMEs, and emerging listed companies / large enterprises / VCs — and is strengthening its ecosystem position through co-founding membership in the invitation-only Leading Startup Square community and a November 2024 partnership with Angel Round to jointly support solid-venture M&A. A Tokyo office relocation is scheduled for July 2026. No public revenue, funding rounds, or valuation are disclosed.

Name

Finance Produce

Legal name

株式会社ファイナンス・プロデュース

Website

https://finance-produce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Tokyo-based boutique investment bank specializing in sell-side financial advisory for startup entrepreneurs, offering M&A and IPO advisory, FiPaaS subscription external-CFO services, and PIPEs/MBO support for emerging listed companies across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking & Financial Advisory

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

SME Term Loans & Growth Capital (FSAKAGAB)

Keywords

• Sell-side financial advisory
• Startup M&A advisory
• IPO capital policy
• External CFO services
• Finance talent introduction

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. FA (Financial Advisory) Services: Capital policy (equity/debt fundraising, IPO/M&A) financial advisory services. Operates as sell-side FA (セルサイドFA) representing sellers to maximize sale proceeds. Does not engage in conflicted M&A intermediation.
2. FiPaaS (Finance Producer as a Service): Provides finance talent and external CFO expertise on a team-based monthly subscription model. Allows post-engagement career transition support.
3. Startup CFO / Finance Talent Introduction: Introduction of startup CFO and finance personnel to portfolio companies and clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Finance Produce is a boutique investment bank for startup entrepreneurs founded in 2021 through a carve-out from Dream Incubator. It provides sell-side financial advisory (FA) services for startup M&A and IPO transactions, representing only sellers to maximize sale proceeds without conflicts of interest. The firm also offers a subscription-based external CFO service called FiPaaS (Finance Producer as a Service), IPO capital policy support, finance talent introduction, and growth advisory for solid ventures and listed companies.

Product overview

Finance Produce operates as a boutique investment bank for startup entrepreneurs, offering a portfolio of financial advisory and人才 services rather than a traditional SaaS product. The core offerings consist of sell-side FA (FiPaaS) for M&A and IPO transactions, IPO capital policy advisory, and a subscription-based external CFO service called FiPaaS (Finance Producer as a Service) providing team-format monthly finance expertise to startups. Supporting services include finance talent recruitment, growth support for solid ventures, PIPEs/MBO advisory for emerging listed companies, and M&A/VC support for large enterprises. The company also publishes the Startup M&A Magazine on note.com and hosts community programs including the Unicorn Salon and the スタファイ (startup finance career exchange) event series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FiPaaS: 「Finance Producer as a Service」の略。ファイナンス人材や社外CFOの専門性・ノウハウ 팀形式・月額制で提供するサービス。
• スタファイ（スタートアップ・ファイナンス・キャリア交流会）

Products and services

• FiPaaS (Finance Producer as a Service) External CFO service providing finance expertise and team-based support on a monthly subscription basis, allowing startups to access professional financial guidance for capital policy, fundraising, and M&A advisory without full-time CFO hiring.
• Sell-side FA (Financial Advisory) Sell-side FA service exclusively representing sellers in startup M&A transactions, maximizing sale proceeds without conflicts of interest from buyer-side fees.
• IPO Capital Policy & Fundraising Advisory Capital policy and fundraising advisory for large IPOs, including equity story refinement, dual-track strategies, secondary offerings, and stock option planning.
• Startup M&A Advisory M&A advisory for startups seeking growth through group-in to listed companies or swing-by IPO structures, leveraging deep understanding of VC preferred shares and startup business models.
• Finance Talent Introduction Specialized recruitment service connecting startups with finance talent including CFOs and venture capitalists, with FiPaaS trial options to prevent mismatches.
• Growth Support & Cost Reduction Advisory Growth strategy and cost reduction advisory for solid ventures and SMEs, including backward-looking 10-year and 3-year planning for value maximization ahead of M&A.
• PIPEs Financing & MBO Advisory for Listed Companies PIPEs financing and MBO advisory for emerging listed companies, providing client-centric advice without pushing specific financial products unlike securities firm MS warrant divisions or PE funds.
• Large Enterprise New Business M&A / VC/CVC Support M&A strategy, deal sourcing, and execution support for large enterprises establishing or operating CVCs, including portfolio company divestiture advisory.
• New Business Carve-out & MBO Advisory Advisory for large enterprises pursuing carve-out or management buyout strategies for new businesses better suited to external resources and ownership structures.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sellers achieve 1.2-1.5x higher sale proceeds compared to M&A intermediation on average; 2.0x+ in some cases

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Angel Round (エンジェルラウンド)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 November 2024Business partnership for solid venture growth support and M&A advisory. Combines Angel Round's angel investment network and startup ecosystem with Finance Produce's sell-side FA expertise. Aimed at supporting solid ventures (J-curve different from startups) in achieving sustainable growth and M&A exits.
• Leading Startup Square (LSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding partner of Leading Startup Square, an invitation-only results-focused startup community. Finance Produce participates as a founding partner providing finance expertise, hosting events, and contributing to ecosystem development.
• Project CoalisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosting partner for IVS 2025 official side event 'Startup M&A Networking'. Project Coalis GP Uehara and Finance Produce co-organized networking event for startup M&A.
• LSS / ZeLo / Cloudworks (Leading Startup Square ecosystem)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint event collaboration forスタファイ#12 with Law Firm ZeLo (legal expertise) and Cloudworks (talent). Three-way partnership combining legal, financial advisory, and HR expertise for comprehensive startup support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Aoyama Sogo Accounting / AZX: Japan-based accounting and M&A advisory group (Aoyama Sogo tax-affiliated). Provides sell-side M&A advisory and IPO support to SMEs and mid-market companies, making it a regional Japan peer in the SME advisory space.

Broad incumbents

• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with a leading M&A advisory practice (acquired Japan's GCA). Provides sell-side advisory comparable in positioning to Finance Produce but at much larger deal sizes and with global reach; benchmark for sell-side specialist economics.
• Mizuho Securities: Major Japanese securities firm and investment-bank subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group. Offers overlapping M&A advisory, IPO underwriting, and capital-policy services to startups and listed companies as part of a much broader product portfolio; competes on the largest startup IPO mandates.
• SMBC Nikko Securities: Large Japanese securities firm and SMFG affiliate providing full-service investment banking including M&A advisory, IPO support, and PIPEs financing. Competes for the same large startup IPO and PIPEs mandates that Finance Produce's capital-policy practice targets.

Direct peers

• Nihon M&A Center: Largest Japan-focused M&A intermediary for SMEs and succession-related deals. Competes with Finance Produce for sell-side mandates in the SME and solid-venture segments, though operates an intermediary (dual-fee) model rather than pure sell-side FA.
• Yamada Consulting Group: Japan-based consulting and FA group providing M&A advisory, succession, and management-consulting services to SMEs and regional enterprises. Overlaps with Finance Produce on solid-venture and SME M&A mandates.
• M&A Capital Partners: Japan-focused M&A intermediary and FA firm serving SMEs and mid-market companies. Closest direct competitor in the Japanese sell-side / intermediary space, with comparable boutique-deal positioning and overlapping client segments, though its mix skews more toward traditional SME M&A than venture-stage startups.
• M&A Research Institute (M&A Souken): Japanese M&A intermediary for SMEs and small/mid-cap companies using an AI-enabled matchmaking approach. Directly competitive in the Japan sell-side M&A advisory market, with a heavier emphasis on traditional SMEs than venture-stage startups.

Others

• Dream Incubator: Parent entity of Finance Produce (carve-out / MBO in 2021). A Japanese strategy consulting and investment firm — comparable in client base and advisory style but broader in scope (consulting, venture capital, large-enterprise advisory), making it adjacent rather than directly competing.
• Angel Round: Japanese angel-investor network and startup ecosystem platform; announced strategic partnership with Finance Produce in November 2024 to combine angel-investor deal sourcing with sell-side FA execution for solid-venture and SME growth-stage exits.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nextunicornsln
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FinanceProduce
• Facebookfacebook.com/nextunicornsalon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Finance Produce