ACT NOW

What ACT NOW does

ACT NOW (株式会社アクトナウ) operates a regional crowdfunding platform headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Incorporated in October 2014 with a stated capital of ¥10M and commercially launched on April 10, 2015, the company runs a self-serve web-based marketplace that enables project creators across Japan — with pronounced concentration in Hokkaido — to fund projects across 18 categories including art, music, theater, film, sports, social contribution, business, journalism, and community initiatives. The platform supports three funding mechanics: All or Nothing, All In (project succeeds regardless of target achievement), and Free Goal (no fixed target), plus a recurring monthly Fanclub subscription product. Underlying technology is a standard web platform; the company has no public API, no SDK, and no native mobile applications.

The business generates revenue primarily through a ~10% commission on successfully funded projects and through recurring monthly fan club subscriptions starting at ¥480, billed on the 20th of each month. ACT NOW also operates ACTNOW Selection, a curated e-commerce storefront within INDETAIL's MOREMALL platform that sells products originating from successful crowdfunding campaigns, extending the platform's value chain beyond campaign completion. From launch through April 2021 the platform had facilitated over 3,000 cumulative projects.

ACT NOW serves individual creators, micro-businesses, NPOs, and local community organizers. Named customers include the Otaru Community Café first project (¥324,000 raised in 2015), radio personality kaz's Kaz Radiru Salon fan club (102 supporters at ¥96,960/month), the Minato Fund NPO fan club, and Coeruwa Inc.'s Kikkake Project scholarship (142 supporters at ¥219,000/month). Strategic partners include Hokuyo Bank, the Hokkaido Iburi General Subprefectural Bureau, the Sapporo Securities Exchange, Furano City, INDETAIL, and Hokkaido Shimbun (via the find H sub-brand). The company is led by co-founders Sugiyama Hisashi (杉山央) and 穴田ゆか, with Crypton Future Media (creator of Hatsune Miku) serving as lead shareholder since a 2021 capital partnership round that also included Triple One, IBIC Foods, and ES Entertainment.

Name

ACT NOW

Legal name

株式会社アクトナウ

Website

https://actnow.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ACT NOW is a Sapporo-based regional crowdfunding platform serving Japanese creators, NPOs, and community projects — primarily in Hokkaido — through a self-serve web marketplace offering three funding models plus recurring monthly fan club subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Crowdfunding Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based) (MPACAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fan Membership, Subscriptions & Patronage Platforms (MPACABAF), Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments (MPACAFAB)

Keywords

• Regional crowdfunding
• Fan club subscriptions
• Community project funding
• Creator support platform
• Hokkaido fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Sapporo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform Commission / Transaction Fee: ACT NOW charges a commission on successfully funded projects. The platform fee is approximately 10% of the total support amount received by project creators.
2. Monthly Fan Club Subscriptions: Recurring monthly payments from supporters joining fan clubs of creators, with billing on the 20th of each month.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACT NOW operates a regional support-type crowdfunding platform that enables project creators across Japan (with a strong focus on Hokkaido) to post campaigns across 18 categories — including art, music, film, technology, community, food, sports, and social contribution — and raise funds from individual backers. The platform supports three funding models (All or Nothing, All In, Free Goal) and a recurring monthly Fan Club subscription feature that lets backers become ongoing "monthly crew" members of projects they support.

Product overview

ACT NOW operates as a regional support-type crowdfunding platform (地域応援型クラウドファンディング・サービス) headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The core platform enables project creators to post and fund projects across 18 categories including art, music, theater, product, technology, games, journalism, community, food, photography, fashion, video/film, books/comics, performance, sports, business, and social contribution. The platform supports three funding models: All or Nothing, All In, and Free Goal. Additionally, ACT NOW offers Fanclub Projects for monthly recurring support and maintains ACTNOWセレクション, an e-commerce storefront on MOREMALL for crowdfunding products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACTNOWセレクション (ACTNOW Selection): A curated e-commerce section operated in partnership with MOREMALL, offering crowdfunding-related and Hokkaido-themed products.
• find H

Products and services

• ACT NOW Crowdfunding Platform A regional support-type crowdfunding service (地域応援型クラウドファンディング・サービス) that enables project creators to post and fund projects across 18 categories (art, music, theater, products, technology, games, journalism, community, food, photography, fashion, video/film, books/comics, performance, sports, business, social contribution) and to receive funds from individual backers through one-time contributions.
• Fanclub Projects (ファンクラブ) Monthly recurring membership-based support projects where supporters contribute regularly to creators, providing ongoing financial backing for artists, content creators, and community organizers. Fan club monthly support starts from 480 yen per month (1口), with card payment charged monthly on the 20th, and supporters can change or cancel their support amount monthly.
• ACTNOW Selection (ACTNOWセレクション) A curated e-commerce section operated on the MOREMALL platform in partnership with INDETAIL (Co., Ltd.), offering products originating from successful ACT NOW crowdfunding campaigns and Hokkaido-themed merchandise.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ cumulative projects facilitated since 2015
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 富良野市 (Furano City)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 April 2017Furano City launched a crowdfunding support initiative based on a comprehensive regional revitalization partnership with financial institutions, with ACT NOW serving as the crowdfunding platform.
• 株式会社ジムニーワークス (Jimny Works)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 February 2016Partnership to produce 'JIMOTOTE' tote bags featuring Hokkaido's 179 municipalities, with Fighters Ambassador support. ACT NOW facilitates crowdfunding for bag production costs.
• 北海道胆振総合振興局 (Hokkaido Iburi General Subprefectural Bureau)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2015First-of-its-kind partnership in Hokkaido between a private crowdfunding company, a regional government bureau, and a financial institution. Signed 'Regional Revitalization Support Crowdfunding Leading Model Project Partnership Agreement' to promote local revitalization through crowdfunding.
• 株式会社北洋銀行 (Hokuyo Bank)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2015Partnership in the Regional Revitalization Support Crowdfunding initiative alongside Hokkaido Iburi Bureau and ACT NOW, aiming to support enterprises and entrepreneurs in new business development.
• 札幌証券取引所 (Sapporo Securities Exchange)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2015Co-hosting seminars on crowdfunding and startup support. ACT NOW's headquarters is located within the Sapporo Securities Exchange building.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kickstarter: Global reward-based crowdfunding incumbent. Not a direct Japanese competitor but the reference product and category leader whose mechanics and creator-pipeline practices shape the entire segment ACT NOW operates in.
• Indiegogo: Global crowdfunding platform supporting both fixed and flexible funding models — a direct parallel to ACT NOW's three funding models (All or Nothing vs. All In/Free Goal). Useful international reference peer.

Direct peers

• Kibidango: Japan-based crowdfunding platform with a broad category mix including product, food, and creative projects. Comparable self-serve reward-based model serving SMB and individual creators in Japan.
• READYFOR: Leading Japanese crowdfunding platform with a strong tilt toward social contribution, NPO, and community projects — overlapping directly with ACT NOW's 'social contribution' and 'community' categories.
• MotionGallery: Japanese crowdfunding platform focused on creative, film, music, and cultural projects. Closely comparable to ACT NOW's strongest categories (art, music, theater, video/film, performance).
• FAAVO (by CrowdDo): Japanese regional crowdfunding platform originally built around hometown-tax-linked local projects. Highly comparable to ACT NOW's regional-revitalization positioning and municipal partnership model.
• Makuake: Major Japanese reward-based crowdfunding platform owned by CyberAgent. Directly competes for the same creator and backer pool ACT NOW serves, with significantly larger marketing scale and brand recognition.
• CAMPFIRE: Japan's largest crowdfunding platform operating a self-serve model across many of the same project categories (art, music, film, social causes). Directly comparable reward-based crowdfunding marketplace with national reach versus ACT NOW's regional positioning.
• Patreon: Global leader in recurring fan-membership/subscription support for creators. Directly comparable to ACT NOW's monthly fan club subscription product and validates the recurring-support revenue model.

Emerging players

• Fanbeats: Japan-based fan club / creator subscription platform. Closely comparable to ACT NOW's fan club subscription layer, with potential overlap in supporting Japanese creators and radio personalities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/actnow.jp
• Xx.com/actnowjp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 ACT NOW