Meet the founders of Konba

Driven by their own experiences in trying to learn Japanese, co-founders Nate and Jan introduce Konba — a living, interactive canvas.

When Nate Black and Jan Reinecke landed separately in Tokyo on January 1st, 2020, neither were aware of the truly new beginnings that the new year would bring for them. The two co-founders of Konba met on the first day of being in Japan, on the first day of the year, at the same hostel, and hit it off as friends instantly, as fate would have it. But what led them to Tokyo?

For Nate, Japan was a destination he always wanted to visit, and upon arrival, realized he would need much more time to truly appreciate what the country had to offer. When he returned to California, he found himself at a sharehouse in Silicon Valley called “Founders House,” run by a Japanese family. Among his many new contacts, one brought him to a startup event in Tokyo where he got a job and became more engaged in the startup community.

Jan’s initial lure to Japan was the food culture. Once he arrived, he immediately felt comfortable, and found himself wanting to learn about the vastly different language and culture. He later decided to come back on a work holiday visa and crossed paths with Nate.

What is Konba?

Described in one word, Konba is a whiteboard — but not just any regular whiteboard. It is a living, breathing whiteboard that provides features including but not limited to

Synchronized notebook pages for user viewing, drawing, and annotation
User-distinguishable cursors & pointers for easy referencing and direction
Integrated image search & upload
Integrated chat automatically converted to notes for saving or export
Integrated translation between English and Japanese for on-the-go learning as new words, phrases, and topics come up
Click-and-drag to transcribe typed text in chat directly onto the whiteboard for editing
Built-in classroom tools, such as a timer
External file upload (such as PDFs) for annotation, review, & presentation
Video chat support, for fully remote/online lessons
Persistent rooms that save all annotations, notes, and uploads for future reference

Language Exchange Lessons (1-on-1)
Konba was originally envisioned for the dynamic 1-on-1 language exchange experience, providing all of the tools as described above to create an interactive and engaging environment.
Classroom Teaching
Jan and Nate recognized the potential for adoption of Konba in the classroom after receiving feedback from some schools during initial testing. Third-party file uploading was implemented, which allowed transformation of PDF pages into editable worksheets that students can interactively work in. Teachers were now given the flexibility to incorporate their original material, with the advantage of not needing to change the format of existing materials or the method of teaching. As the cherry on top, the digital whiteboard of Konba was now able to effectively support hybrid online and offline classroom teaching without compromising the experience of one over the other, something that the more popular alternative of Zoom could not do.
Furthermore, Konba provides the ability for schools and teachers to incorporate their own branding, colors, and style to the platform. “We wanted to position ourselves in a way where schools can use Konba without their teachers becoming basically an ‘Uber driver’.” — referencing the fact that, while teachers are able to use existing platforms to continue the act of teaching, the teachers and schools are not able to be wholly represented and students may be lacking the buy-in to understand the quality of the education that they should be getting relative to the school they are attending. Konba looks to solve this issue by being integrated as part of the school’s or teacher’s own identity, and not just as a mere tool for teaching.
Presentation
A potential market previously not considered by Nate and Jan was revealed when Startup Work showed interest in Konba’s features and its use in meetings and presentations. The ability to allow participants to ask questions by pointing at things directly or even to change the page of the presentation to more quickly and easily bring everyone to be on the same page seemed to be a feature that was lacking in many existing presentation alternatives. There was no more need to say, “I have a question on slide 3… sorry I meant 4. Yes, that one. Oops, too far, can you go back a little?” and related confusions that slow down the progression of meetings and presentations. Furthermore, with the built-in translation features between English and Japanese, Konba served to be a very strong tool when meeting in a business environment that frequents the use of both languages.
While the true viability of this market still requires further assessment, it is clear that Konba has already begun to exhibit flexibility and versatility and allow for much more room to grow.
During his time at Founder’s House, Nate began preparing for Japan by studying Japanese. He tested pre-packaged content apps like Duolinguo and language exchange with live Japanese people. He found that he was able to learn better with the latter, in more engaging and exploratory ways as new topics came up in the conversation. At this point, the idea to build a new platform that helps users discover information as they are actively learning and engaging came to him. In his own words, “What I want to do is make a language exchange online that facilitates sharing a storybook or notebook that you can look at together and you can draw things on together.”
Jan was in graduate school in Sweden when struck by similar realizations. Due to Covid-19, his learning was shifted online. He saw how boring online education on platforms like Zoom had become, with only the screen-sharing function that led to a lack of engagement. Jan realized that he wasn't interested in paying for lessons on static platforms like Zoom and thought, “I want to create a fun experience that allows me to learn languages with my friends, but also actually makes me speak.”
Frustrated by these lackluster learning platforms, Nate and Jan decided to build Konba together.
Since receiving the Startup Visa 6 months ago, Nate and Jan have continuously worked to grow the quality of Konba and its features. They realized the threshold of quality and polish needed on their product just to enter the market was higher than expected. Reflecting on their process thus far, Nate remarked “This is really why I need Jan on the team — because he’s got design skills and he’s got good front-end programming skills.”
The milestones achieved also consistently reminded Nate and Jan that their efforts in Konba were validated. Jan was able to see first-hand how effective Konba could be when working with a Japanese designer about an idea, who didn’t speak English. He recalls, “I couldn’t get my points across speaking so I used Konba to show her what I meant. That ended up being the best way, so those are the moments we realized ‘actually this IS the best, most convenient solution to those problems.’ [That was] a big internal satisfaction.”
Nate also shared the excitement and motivation that was felt when Roger and Miho from Startup Work were impressed by Konba’s features and expressed interest in using the product for their SeedS program. For both Nate and Jan, this prompted an incentive to get the technology working at a market-ready level. The positive feedback and interest from those who interact with and use Konba have been something that has continued to keep motivation high.
In the next 6 months, Nate and Jan are setting their sights on onboarding and user acquisition. Jan shares that, while the polishing of the product is good enough, it is never entirely done. Reiteration is constant, almost habitual. “There are still so many use cases and different devices people use — for example, mobile, and maybe iPad use. Mobile is a different beast, but again, the thing we’re focusing on right now is the onboarding process to be able to grow our user base.”
The two co-founders also look to grow their team. While they currently have the technology & engineering side covered, they are looking for people that can bring the UI/UX and marketing skills to their team to help with digitally communicating the attractiveness of its features and benefits to customers. From their experience, when given the opportunity to demonstrate Konba to people while explaining and tutorializing their product, the response was overwhelmingly positive, but the challenge lies with presenting the qualities of Konba effectively through documentation, illustrations, and marketing.
Moving to a foreign country is one thing, but founding a company in a foreign country at the same time elevates the experience to a whole new level. While he certainly admits the challenges of setting up in a foreign country, he also feels there are still advantages in being a foreign entrepreneur. For the most part, Nate shares that people are extremely generous to them.
Regarding the startup scene in Japan, Nate expressed that “When it comes to meeting people in person, it’s been easy for us to find support and help from people.”
Jan felt similarly that “It’s very easy to get in touch with people as they tend to be young and speak English, so as a foreign entrepreneur it’s actually easy in that sense.”
Regarding the Japanese bureaucracy and the technicalities of starting a business in Japan, on the other hand, they couldn’t imagine it possible to do it alone. They expressed that they had an abundance of help from people like Miho from Startup Work to guide them on that front. Both believe it was the combination of the social and technical help they received from the open-minded startup scene in Tokyo that allowed them to feel confident and comfortable even as people who weren’t raised in Japan and are not fluent in the language.
Having learned many things during their startup journey thus far and even still learning today, Nate and Jan would like to share some insights and tips for future founders.
1. “If you want to be [successful] in the startup scene, you have to be willing to give up the security and plunge in. I think that I should've probably left to work on a startup earlier than I actually did.”
  
  One of the things that Nate learned from working for both corporate companies and startup companies is that startups require dedication, attention, and the will to dive into the unknown. He believes that you won’t be able to benefit from the high-risk, high-reward startup experience — hardships, challenges, rewards, satisfaction — by sticking with the safety net of a big company.
  
  For those that might be on the fence about leaving a company to fully commit to their own startups, Nate shares that he definitely felt it was the right choice.
2. “The most important thing is that you find the right person who shares your vision, where you have a shared goal together.”
  
  Another insight that Nate has to offer is around having a co-founder. While he believes the startup ecosystem in Japan is working hard to foster and encourage entrepreneurs to create startups, he admits that they don’t necessarily do the best job in encouraging finding co-founders.
  
  Taking it a step further, Nate expresses that it is much more important to find a co-founder who shares the same ideals and understands what it is that you want to achieve. The Nate and Jan pairing is a good example of how synergy and passion for a shared goal can accomplish many things. Nate 100% believes he couldn't have made it this far without Jan, not even if he had a native Japanese co-founder who just didn’t share the same level of commitment and passion as Jan.
  
  Nate and Jan both believe this carries over to early-stage team members. Sometimes founders may jump at the chance of hiring someone with years of experience on paper, but that experience may prove to be less valuable if goals are not aligned and the passion for the product is not there.
3. Anything and everything can be an opportunity for support, learning, and networking.
  
  Take the meeting of Nate and Jan. While there is some luck involved in that both landed in Japan on the same day at the same hostel, their relationship would not have developed further had they not been open to the idea of talking about their product, goals, and ambitions. As cliche as it might sound, opportunities sometimes do happen in the least expected places.
  
  In Japan, there are boundless opportunities in the form of people and communities to look towards for help as Nate and Jan did. The two mention a good friend who they encountered in Okinawa, who has “been a big help with legal stuff, overall advice, and things like that — among being a great friend. There’s actually a whole startup community there that I think is really exciting. They’re calling it ‘Koza Startup Arcade’ in Okinawa city.”
  
  Regarding the technical processes such as company incorporation, “Without Miho from Startup Work, it would be maybe impossible — maybe I’m painting a brighter, rosier picture of the journey than reality — but I would encourage entrepreneurs who want to start in Japan to talk to Startup Work absolutely.”
  
  Just like how Nate and Jan met with luck & coincidence, you never know what opportunities may arise by just being more outward & willing to talk to others during the early startup days. People, organizations, and even communities are waiting to help with open arms. Support exists in Japan, and founders just have to strive to find it.
When Nate and Jan look 5 years ahead, they fail to be anything but hopeful, aspirational, and positive. Whereas sucess can be partially measured in monetary terms, such as Nate wishing Jan a nice high rise apartment in Tokyo to take in the views, for both, the most meaningful measure seemed to be the satisfaction in seeing Konba users successfully learn through fun, accessible, and engaging ways.
Nate hopes that there will be one million satisfied users that reach their learning goals. He also notes of meeting many people in Japan who were studying English, but felt they couldn’t make progress due to a variety of factors, such as not being able to meet native speakers to interact with or even being afraid of making mistakes. He hopes that Konba can be a place where people feel comfortable making mistakes while they learn.
For Jan, he wants Konba to truly become a place where people no longer have to learn languages alone. Citing the solo learning experience as the major reason that causes most people to quit learning languages, he wants all of his friends who are learning Japanese, or any other language, to be fluent in 5 years, and to have fun while doing so using Konba.

Thank you, Nate and Jan, for turning a passionate idea into reality! We look forward to seeing how the innovative platform of Konba can continue to facilitate and revitalize learning in fun and collaborative ways.

Don’t forget to check out what Konba has to offer by going to their homepage!

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