What does it mean to "work with yokai"? Part 1

Hello everyone. This is Yokai-ya. In this article, I would like to talk about what we have done in the five years since Yokai-ya started its business as a "yokai" and what we thought back then.

What was the trigger?

First of all, the reason I started running the Yokai Shop was because I was learning the basics of starting a business at the Edogawa Entrepreneur Seminar, sponsored by Edogawa Ward, and when the instructor asked me, "What do you like, Aida-san?" I answered, "Yokai."

After that, he presented a Yokai version of Pokemon Go-like app called "Yokai Collection" at a business plan contest sponsored by Edogawa Ward, and won first place.I have doneThis was the deciding factor for me, so I filed a business registration and started operating under the name "Yokai-ya."

Where did you start?

Well, I was just thinking about making the app, just like I announced in the "Business Plan Contest" when I won. I gathered about 10 illustrators who were willing to cooperate, created an "illustration specification", and just collected a lot of illustrations of yokai. Since I don't have any income from making yokai as a business, the illustration costs are really tough. But I set a goal of 1 million downloads! And if I think about charging a lot after that, I'll definitely be able to recoup the money!! I was burning with fighting spirit.

How can I do this without any income?

Even after I set up my business, Yokaiya, I continued working in IT (systems engineer), so I used the income from that to cover the expenses of Yokaiya. Since that wasn't enough, I supplemented some of the development I outsourced with a subsidy given as a reward for winning the Edogawa Ward business plan contest, and I took on more IT work. So that was the beginning of my jack-of-all-trades life, which was extremely busy juggling two jobs.

The app was completed fairly quickly. Let's get started!

The app was completed about a year later. However, since it was just one person's power, I could only make about 60 monsters. However, I was already generating buzz, I was getting press, it was really popular, and I was even interviewed?! What a fool I was. I'm so embarrassed. But I'm going to reveal it, tada! It's an app where you walk around, search for monsters, and unlock their seals to play with!

The reality is harsh (tears)

Because it's free, I thought a lot of people would download it and play it right away. But the reality was harsh. Less than 100 DL in the first month. I told my friends and acquaintances about it, and I was very enthusiastic about promoting it on social media when it was announced... Is that really how it is? Is that really how it is after personally investing nearly 2 million yen in development and advertising costs? I was so shocked that I was bedridden for a while. I'm lying. It made me even more excited.

So that's how my first year went. In the next post, I'll talk about the changes that occurred after I started running events two or three years after starting the business. To you, the reader of this article, who have been following the life of Yokaiya.

I love it (mufu)

I'll leave a link to the Yokai Collection here. Please download it and have fun (I really do)

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/%E5%A6%96%E6%80%AA%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3-%E5%85%A8%E5%9B%BD%E7%89%88/id982931095?mt=8