Zawatt

Zawatt Inc., established in May 2011 by co-founders Daisaku Harada (CEO) and Nobuaki Suzuki (CTO), was a Tokyo-based technology firm operating in the social and peer-to-peer platform space. The company secured its initial seed funding of $130,000 in September 2011, which coincided with the development of its first announced product, Wishscope. Over its lifetime, Zawatt raised approximately $3.24 million through multiple funding rounds, attracting investors such as CyberAgent Capital, Adways, and SMBC Venture Capital.

The initial concept, Wishscope, was designed as a social bulletin board and community application. It aimed to connect users by allowing them to post needs or "wishes," which other users, designated as "heroes," could then fulfill. This platform was conceived to facilitate peer-to-peer assistance for a range of tasks, from finding specific items to short-term work like design or translation, functioning as a social classifieds service. Wishscope integrated with Facebook profiles to enhance user trust and improve the matching of interests between individuals. The inspiration for Wishscope reportedly came from CEO Daisaku Harada's personal experience of finding it difficult to know what gifts people truly want.

While Wishscope was the initial focus, Zawatt later developed and launched other services, most notably Smaoku, a real-time, peer-to-peer auction application for second-hand items, which was introduced in October 2013. This platform became the company's primary asset. The firm's trajectory culminated in its acquisition by Mercari, Japan's e-commerce unicorn, on February 17, 2017. Following the acquisition, Zawatt was set to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with co-founder Daisaku Harada joining Mercari to continue developing the consumer-to-consumer business for luxury goods.

Keywords: peer-to-peer marketplace, social commerce, classified advertising, online auction, mobile application, community platform, consumer-to-consumer, Mercari acquisition, Daisaku Harada, Smaoku