Growth Up
Growth Up is a Tokyo-based Japanese software company that develops and sells DreamCube, an SNS-linked customer acquisition mobile app, and ASTEER, a homepage and SEO service, to small and medium-sized retail and service businesses via direct field sales in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Growth Up does
Growth Up (株式会社グロースアップ) is a privately held Japanese software company founded in October 2013 and headquartered in Tokyo (Shinjuku), with branch offices in Osaka and Fukuoka. The company develops and sells two core products aimed at small and medium-sized retail and service businesses in Japan: DreamCube, an SNS-linked original customer-acquisition mobile application, and ASTEER, a homepage production and SEO service platform. Growth Up targets restaurants, beauty and esthetic salons, nail salons, massage clinics, and retail stores — SMB operators that face rising portal-site advertising costs, declining repeat-customer rates, and limited in-house digital marketing capability. The company has produced DreamCube apps for 1,500+ stores and reports 17 consecutive fiscal periods of revenue growth.
DreamCube is the flagship product and combines several proprietary technical components: industry-first GPS-based geofenced push notifications targeting customers near the store; automatic loyalty point accrual via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth proximity detection that requires no customer action; push notifications with reported open rates above 90%; native social media auto-posting to Instagram, LINE, Twitter, and Facebook; built-in online reservation; customer CRM with tier/rank and birthday-based messaging; and no-code visual customization. ASTEER provides responsive homepage design, self-service SEO tools, Google Analytics integration, and SNS connectivity. Growth Up holds ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification covering system planning, development, and maintenance of its marketing-promotion software.
Growth Up's revenue model is principally a one-time app development fee per store, with optional add-on features billed separately and installment payment plans available. There is no recurring platform fee. The company operates a direct field sales motion with sales teams in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka targeting SMB store owners in person, supported by SEO content marketing through its blog and corporate website. Founding management includes CEO Sho Shono (正能翔) and directors Shinsuke Sato (佐藤信介) and Kankata Yoshida (吉田寛康). The company remains privately held with no disclosed funding rounds or external investors.
Growth Up firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Growth Up
- Legal name
- 株式会社グロースアップ
- Website
- https://growth-up.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Growth Up is a Tokyo-based Japanese software company that develops and sells DreamCube, an SNS-linked customer acquisition mobile app, and ASTEER, a homepage and SEO service, to small and medium-sized retail and service businesses via direct field sales in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Growth Up industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Marketing Software
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies (BPAFAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Lead Generation & Demand Generation (B2B/B2C) (BPAFAAAK)
Keywords
Where Growth Up is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
Growth Up business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Original App Development (DreamCube): One-time app development fee for custom store-specific mobile apps. Pricing varies based on features and store scale. Optional add-ons available at additional cost. No recurring platform fees after initial development — continuous cost is zero. Installment payment plans available with no deposit required.
- Homepage Production (ASTEER): Website design and production service including SEO-optimized page structure, smartphone responsiveness, and SNS integration. One-time production fee.
- Optional Add-on Features: Premium optional features beyond the base app package, billed separately from the core development fee.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Custom app development — pricing tailored to store features and scale |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Growth Up product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Growth Up develops and sells two proprietary products for SMB retail and service businesses in Japan: DreamCube, a custom-branded mobile customer-acquisition app with GPS targeting, push notifications, automatic Wi-Fi/Bluetooth loyalty point accrual, built-in reservations, and multi-SNS auto-posting; and ASTEER, a homepage production and SEO platform with responsive design and Google Analytics integration. Both are delivered as one-time development/production engagements plus optional add-ons, with no recurring platform fee.
Product overview
Growth Up operates two core products: DreamCube and ASTEER. DreamCube is an SNS-linked original customer acquisition app designed for retail stores, restaurants, salons, and service businesses. It features GPS-based location targeting for nearby customers, automatic point accrual via Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, push notification marketing with 90%+ open rates, and deep integration with Instagram, LINE, Twitter, and Facebook for customer acquisition through word-of-mouth. ASTEER is a homepage production and SEO service platform that includes self-service SEO tools, responsive design, SNS connectivity, and analytics dashboard. The two products serve complementary needs: DreamCube handles customer acquisition and retention through mobile app engagement, while ASTEER addresses web presence and search visibility.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DreamCube: SNS連動型のオリジナル店舗集客アプリ。GPSターゲティング、プッシュ通知、SNS拡散、ポイントシステム等功能を搭載し、飲食・美容・整体・小売等多种業種向けを提供。制作実績1500件以上。
- ASTEER
- Dreamcube
Products and services
- DreamCube Proprietary custom-branded mobile customer-acquisition app for retail and service stores, featuring GPS-based geofenced push notifications to nearby customers, automatic loyalty point accrual via Wi-Fi/Bluetooth proximity detection, push notifications with reported 90%+ open rates, a built-in online reservation system, customer-rank CRM with birthday and lapse-prevention messaging, no-code design customization, and multi-SNS auto-posting to Instagram, LINE, Twitter, and Facebook for viral word-of-mouth marketing. Sold to SMB store owners with a one-time production fee, no recurring platform fees, and optional add-on features.
- ASTEER Homepage production and SEO service platform recognized by the US IBM business support program. Bundles self-service SEO tools, smartphone/tablet/desktop responsive design, simplified homepage editing without HTML knowledge, SNS integration with Facebook, Twitter, Ameba Blog and LINE@, and a Google Analytics dashboard into an all-in-one package for local businesses that need an online presence without technical expertise. Sold as a one-time production engagement.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average order value increased by ¥500 per visit (IVY Hair case)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Growth Up
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Growth Up technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature7 records
Growth Up partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Growth Up competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Birdeye: US-based SMB customer-experience and messaging platform that combines reviews, messaging, surveys, and loyalty. Comparable to Growth Up as both help local businesses acquire, engage, and retain customers through owned digital channels rather than paid portal spend.
- Thryv: US SMB end-to-end marketing and CRM platform serving local service businesses. Comparable to Growth Up in bundling marketing automation, customer communication, and reputation features into a single SMB-facing product replacing fragmented portal/print spend.
- Podium: US SMB customer-messaging and lead-conversion platform focused on local service businesses. Directly comparable in offering SMBs an owned channel (messaging/web) to convert and retain customers, replacing dependence on third-party portals and review sites.
- LOCA-BOO: Japan-based SMB customer-loyalty and engagement app platform targeting restaurants, salons, and retail stores. Directly comparable to DreamCube as both provide app-based loyalty, push notifications, and CRM capabilities to Japanese SMBs in the same verticals.
Broad incumbents
- Yext: Digital presence platform helping multi-location businesses manage listings, reviews, and pages across the web. Comparable to Growth Up's positioning of replacing portal/SEO spend with an owned channel, though Yext focuses on listings management rather than proprietary mobile apps.
- Block (Square): Large SMB commerce ecosystem spanning payments, marketing, loyalty, and customer messaging. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering SMBs a unified alternative to portal/print advertising spend, though its strengths are payments and POS rather than app development.
- Yelp: Public SMB advertising and discovery platform connecting consumers with local restaurants, salons, and retail. Comparable because it monetizes SMBs' customer-acquisition budgets and competes for the same wallet share that DreamCube repositions toward owned apps.
- GMO Internet Group (GMO marketing / GMO TECH): Large Japanese internet/marketing services conglomerate offering SMB website, app, and advertising products. Comparable as a broader Japanese incumbent providing multi-product digital marketing solutions to the same SMB segments Growth Up serves.
- Recruit Marketing Partners (Hotpepper Beauty / Hotpepper Gourmet): Dominant Japanese restaurant and beauty/salon advertising platform with hundreds of thousands of SMB store listings. Comparable because it sells customer-acquisition and retention solutions to the same SMB verticals (restaurants, salons) that Growth Up targets, though at much larger scale and primarily via portal listings rather than owned mobile apps.
Emerging players
- TouchBistro: Restaurant-focused POS and customer-engagement platform including loyalty and marketing features. Comparable because it sells SMB restaurants a unified system that includes customer acquisition and retention, overlapping with DreamCube's restaurant customer-acquisition focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Growth Up social profiles
Digital presenceGrowth Up compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Growth Up financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Growth Up leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Growth Up funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Growth Up 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 Growth Up
What does Growth Up do?
Growth Up develops and sells two proprietary products for SMB retail and service businesses in Japan: DreamCube, a custom-branded mobile customer-acquisition app with GPS targeting, push notifications, automatic Wi-Fi/Bluetooth loyalty point accrual, built-in reservations, and multi-SNS auto-posting; and ASTEER, a homepage production and SEO platform with responsive design and Google Analytics integration. Both are delivered as one-time development/production engagements plus optional add-ons, with no recurring platform fee.
Is Growth Up a public or private company?
Growth Up is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Growth Up founded?
Growth Up was founded in 2013. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Growth Up based?
Growth Up is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Growth Up make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Original App Development (DreamCube) is the primary driver. The others are homepage Production (ASTEER) and optional Add-on Features.
Who are Growth Up's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Birdeye, Thryv, Podium and LOCA-BOO. Broad incumbents are Yext, Block (Square), Yelp, GMO Internet Group (GMO marketing / GMO TECH) and Recruit Marketing Partners (Hotpepper Beauty / Hotpepper Gourmet). TouchBistro is listed as an emerging player.
Does Growth Up have an API?
No public API is recorded for Growth Up.
What industry is Growth Up in?
Growth Up's product category is Mobile Marketing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAKAA, B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies, with a secondary code of BPAFAAAK, Lead Generation & Demand Generation (B2B/B2C). Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7310.