The Flow

What The Flow does

TheFlow Inc. (株式会社TheFlow) is a Tokyo-based, founder-led software and advisory company founded in August 2020 by Wakabayashi Rin, a former Kanagawa Prefecture local government official. The company operates four interconnected product lines: (1) TheFlow App, a subscription entrepreneur-support application combining diary, ToDo, contact management, messaging, and bookkeeping functions, marketed to aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage founders; (2) Co-office, a web-based two-sided matching platform connecting tax accountants, lawyers, and consultants with entrepreneurs seeking support; (3) TechBidBoost (公共入札サポート), a public-bidding support service providing strategy advisory, proposal analysis, and full-cycle bidding support to Japanese SMEs pursuing national and local government IT and computer-services contracts; and (4) Automation with Zoho (Flow-Z), a business process optimization / DX offering built on the Zoho One suite (CRM, Campaign, Books). Revenue is generated from monthly subscriptions (Co-office ¥990–¥7,920/month per professional; bidding advisory ¥50,000–¥300,000/month per company), one-time professional service fees for proposal analysis (¥99,000–¥550,000+), and outcome-based success fees for full bidding support with monthly installment options.

Distribution combines self-serve web sign-ups for the consumer-facing TheFlow App and Co-office products with enterprise field sales and free 45-minute consultations for higher-value government bidding services. Marketing relies on three owned blog verticals, a YouTube channel (@theflow_bid) with 31+ instructional videos on bidding strategy, a parallel "3-minute entrepreneurship lesson" YouTube series, and broad distribution across X, Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, and Hatena. Core GTM partnerships include co-marketing relationships with freee K.K. and Jiji Press Business Support, both used to reach Japanese entrepreneurs and SMEs through co-hosted seminars. The company also presents at Zoho Tokyo User Group events, positioning itself as a reference user and implementation partner within Zoho's small-business DX ecosystem.

Operationally, TheFlow runs lean: a 3,000,000 JPY registered-capital private company headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo with a secondary Shimbashi office used for seminars, holding a pending patent on accounting data generation technology (filed March 2021) and standard Japanese SMB certifications including Business Continuity Plan certification, IPA Security Action self-declaration, and METI Partnership Building Declaration. The business is concentrated entirely in Japan with no disclosed international expansion, no institutional funding rounds, no disclosed headcount, and no disclosed revenue figures, making it a small, founder-controlled entity whose current scale is materially below typical venture-backed SaaS comparables.

Name

The Flow

Legal name

株式会社TheFlow

Website

https://theflow.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

TheFlow Inc. is a Tokyo-based, founder-led SaaS and advisory company serving Japanese entrepreneurs, professional advisors, and SMEs through four product lines: TheFlow App (entrepreneur support), Co-office (expert-entrepreneur matching), TechBidBoost (government bidding support), and Automation with Zoho (business process DX).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship & Government Procurement SaaS

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHDAEAHAI

Enterprise Work Management & Collaborative Workflow Platforms

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Enterprise Platforms & Databases/Business Process Management (BPM), Workflow & Automation Platforms

SECONDARYBPAAAJAC

Sourcing Support & RFx Administration (RFI/RFP/RFQ)

Business & Public Services/Administrative & Support Services (BPO, Call Centers, Back Office)/Procurement & Purchasing Support (P2P, Vendor Admin)

SECONDARYBPAEAPAD

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) & Document Automation

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) & Legal Tech

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship support software
• Government bidding consulting
• Professional matching platform
• Business process automation
• Zoho implementation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. TheFlow App Subscription: Monthly subscription service for entrepreneurs providing business management tools including diary, ToDo, contact management, and bookkeeping features.
2. Co-office Subscription Plans: Three-tier subscription (Light 990円/month, Standard 2,970円/month, Premium 7,920円/month) for professionals connecting with entrepreneurs. Premium plan includes PR article publishing and icon placements.
3. 公共入札挑戦サポート (Public Bidding Advisory): Monthly advisory service for companies entering government bidding market. Three course tiers: Entry 50,000円/month, Standard 100,000円/month, Advance 300,000円/month (excl. tax).
4. 提案書分析・改善サポート (Proposal Analysis): One-time analysis services for bidding proposals: Quick Diagnosis (free), Together Analysis Plan 99,000円 (tax incl.), Thorough Analysis Plan from 550,000円 (tax incl.).
5. 公共入札フルサポート (Full Bidding Support): Comprehensive per-case bidding support with success-based compensation. Payment options include lump-sum (success fee) or monthly installment (案件顧問型) for budget flexibility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TheFlow develops and operates web-based SaaS platforms supporting Japanese entrepreneurs throughout their business lifecycle. The TheFlow app combines diary, ToDo list, contact management, messaging, and bookkeeping functionality for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. The Co-office platform matches entrepreneurs with professional advisors (tax accountants, lawyers, consultants). Under the TechBidBoost umbrella, the company sells public bidding advisory subscriptions, proposal analysis services, full per-case bidding support, and pre-submission evaluation checks for SMEs pursuing government contracts. The company also resells Zoho-based DX and business process automation consulting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TheFlow: An all-in-one entrepreneurship support mobile/web application for aspiring entrepreneurs, offering features for managing ToDo lists, networking, diary/journaling, and financial record-keeping.
• Co-office
• TechBidBoost
• Automation with Zoho

Products and services

• TheFlow App (TheFlow 起業・開業お助けサポートアプリ) All-in-one SaaS mobile/web application supporting aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. Combines diary, ToDo list, contact management, messaging, and accounting/bookkeeping functionality so individuals can manage business operations without prior accounting expertise. Subscription-based with self-serve sign-up.
• Co-office Platform (Co-office)

Quantifiable outcome

• 公共入札挑戦サポート offers 3 course tiers (Entry 50,000円/month to Advance 300,000円/month) to suit different maturity levels of public bidding capability
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 時事通信ビジネスサポート株式会社 (Jiji Press Business Support)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 January 2026Co-hosted 入札徹底活用セミナー (Bidding Utilization Seminar) on February 6, 2026. TheFlow's representative (若林凜) presented alongside 时事通信's account manager on local government bidding qualification and BtoG business strategies.
• フリー株式会社 (freee Co., Ltd.)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 August 2025Co-hosted 「はじめての公共入札セミナー」 (First Public Bidding Seminar) with freee accounting. Freee is Japan's leading cloud accounting software company. Seminar targeted entrepreneurs and business owners considering public bidding, held online on September 9, 16, and 30, 2025. TheFlow provided bidding expertise while freee provided the audience reach.
• Zoho (Zoho Corporation)coreTechnology or Integration · 29 November 2024TheFlow uses Zoho One as its internal DX platform (Zoho CRM, Zoho Campaign, Zoho Books integration). Representative presented Zoho utilization case study at Zoho Tokyo User Group Exchange 2024 vol.4, demonstrating TheFlow's expertise with Zoho services as both a user and implementation reference.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Zoho Corporation: Global SaaS suite covering CRM, accounting, marketing automation, and productivity — overlapping directly with the Zoho-based automation services TheFlow sells. TheFlow is also a Zoho partner and showcases Zoho implementation know-how.
• Sansan, Inc. Established Japanese business infrastructure SaaS (business card OCR, contracts, bill pay) serving SMBs and enterprises. Comparable SMB workflow SaaS positioning, but at significantly larger scale and broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• freee K.K. Japan's leading cloud accounting SaaS for SMBs and entrepreneurs. Directly comparable to TheFlow app's bookkeeping and entrepreneur-support functionality, and the two companies co-host public-bidding seminars, making them natural competitors for the same SMB wallet.
• Rakus Co., Ltd. Japanese SaaS vendor offering expense management (Rakuraku Seisan), invoice automation (Rakuraku Meisai), and electronic contract tools targeted at SMBs. Closely comparable entrepreneur/SMB productivity SaaS profile and pricing tiers.
• Money Forward, Inc. Financial and back-office SaaS platform serving Japanese SMBs and individuals, with bookkeeping, invoicing, and HR modules that overlap with TheFlow app's entrepreneur workflow features. Comparable target customer and SaaS-led GTM.
• Yay! Inc. (formerly Misoca): Cloud invoicing, quoting, and receipt automation for Japanese SMBs and sole proprietors; recently absorbed into Money Forward. Comparable entrepreneur-focused productivity SaaS playbook and customer segment.

Regional players

• Askul Corporation: Japan-focused B2B office supplies and workplace procurement marketplace. Comparable in serving Japanese SMB workplace-purchasing workflows and operating a subscription-based SMB procurement model, though not in the bidding-support category.

Emerging players

• TimeTicket, Inc. Marketplace that matches individual professionals with consumers for time-based advisory sessions. Closely comparable two-sided network structure to TheFlow's Co-office platform connecting experts with entrepreneurs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheFlow_Inc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCk4yR2c-tCY9D4VJb3yiCkg
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php?src=bm&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheflow.co.jp%2F

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Flow