How Gravity Labs Launched in Japan without a Japan Team

Company Introduction

Gravity Labs is a healthcare startup dedicated to improving modern individuals’ healthy lifespans through the power of ‘rewarding’ healthy habits. Their mission is to encourage people a healthier lifestyle leveraging financial and social incentives.

Gravity Labs’ vision is to make the world’s leading reward-based healthcare super app by reaching a billion global users. Their app, Moneywalk, empowers users who engage in health-related activities by rewarding points, which can be converted into tangible benefits. By rewarding points and financial incentives, Moneywalk makes it easy for anyone to incorporate healthy habits into their daily routine, such as walking, logging meals, recording weight, and measuring blood pressure.

Reason for Japan Entry

Gravity Labs had global expansion in mind from Day 1. They found the Japanese market very attractive, due to the well-established ‘Poikatsu’ culture (Japanese abbreviation for “Point Actitivty”. You would receive points for completing certain tasks or activities, and the points would usually be able to be converted to some currency within the app or real cash) and the success of similar apps in the market. Additionally, since East Asian countries share similar cultures, Gravity Labs believed that it would allow them to achieve success with minimal changes to the core user experience of our app, making it an attractive market for them to enter.

Japan Entry Approach

To enter the Japanese market, Gravity Labs first defined certain KPIs to validate the Japanese market. Through these KPIs, they concluded that the Japanese market was attractive for them to enter.

Gravity Labs first researched the market landscape such as Japan’s Poikatsu app landscape, local ad networks, e-card B2B providers, and potential partners. On the operational side, Gravity Labs began reviewing service terms of use and consent for personal information collection tailored to Japanese law to ensure that they are compliant in their activities.

During this process, they met with various experts who have grown B2C businesses in Japan and conducted many interviews to gain qualitative insights, asking Japanese locals for their insights on their app.

Gravity Labs’ app, Moneywalk, in English, Korean, and Japanese, respectively.

Nihonium’s expertise around the local market and strong understanding of software has enabled Gravity Labs to quickly launch and scale in Japan — Gravity Labs was able to launch in Japan within three weeks after engaging Nihonium. Nihonium is now also in active conversations with local partners that will help Moneywalk grow locally. Gravity Labs’ journey into the Japan market has just begun but has been able to achieve a strong and accelerated start.