Meet the founder of Noetic Digital
Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, George Reed studied Information Technology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. After graduation, he began to work in the market research industry, where he identified some of the issues and inefficiencies within the industry and began to take interest in the possibility of founding a startup. Little did he know, his hopes of creating a startup would be sooner than he thought.
Shortly after relocating to Tokyo for a position at the Australian Embassy and the Chamber of Commerce in early 2020, Covid-19 had hit Japan in full force. Work slowed to a halt, and with nothing to do, and in Tokyo of all places, George decided to double down and focus on his startup ideas that he had only lightly entertained up until this point. “I thought I wasn’t ready but, now’s as good a time as any so I plunged right in.”
Through his position at the Chamber of Commerce in Japan, he was comforted by the fact that the business environment was international and interconnected; as a result, George dove right into building Noetic Digital. He soon found the newly-launched Shibuya Support Program and met Miho from Startup Work, Inc. shortly after. Two years later, George continues to diligently pursue his startup in Tokyo, a place he feels is a great place to live and grow.
What is Noetic Digital?
Noetic Digital is a consumer-directed insight SaaS product. Essentially, it acts as a conversational and non-traditional survey tool, powered by machine learning. George believes that the current methods inflict too much pressure on respondents to give what the organization deems as “clean data.” George takes the reverse-survey approach: while the program does begin with an initial question directed at users, anything else that follows said question is asked and guided by the user themselves. The system responds accordingly and continues the “conversation” with the user. “I call it consumer-directed insight — the deviation [in user input] is the value because that’s where the insight lies. Otherwise, how do you know what the right question to ask is, or if you’re getting correct information, if you just make up a survey [with set responses that do not capture variability].”
The three-step iterative approach of Noetic Digital.
With Noetic Digital, clients are able to ask a question that the AI will use to have conversations with consumers across social media. It then automatically analyzes those conversations and extracts a few key insights, which the client can then use to repeat the same process for even more precise results. The technology utilizes an agile methodology for clients to continuously iterate until a deeper understanding of the topic is met.
“Rather than defining 20 questions and then asking a thousand people, [with Noetic Digital] you’re asking maybe a hundred people this one question, where they then basically tell you which question to ask next.” The goal is to remove inherent bias from survey questions that may be poorly phrased or unthorough, and obtain data that is actually representative of the market. Noetic Digital’s consumer-guided strategy allows clients a fairly hands off approach in managing the market research process. Clients will choose which of the new insights to further pursue with the next round. At the end, clients will have gathered historical data that justifies the end conclusion — where all conversations lead back to the initial question. Essentially, Noetic Digital allows for market research conclusions to be justified by the market itself.
Noetic Digital allows for clients to target consumers based on demographics, but George pushes clients to approach a more psychographic way of targeting. The technology operates on a self-selection bias, where people interested in that topic can click the chat box to have these insight-generating conversations. He shares that Noetic Digital is not meant to be statistically representative like the US census or polling surveys, but instead gather valuable market insight from knowledgeable people who can provide clients with new angles to approach the market. As an insight generator, clients can use it for product development, or even PR and messaging. Consumers can generate their own market-focused messages for the client, so that the market defines its own, best-aligned PR message. George shares that, for example, in current marketing, an expert will tell a company a tagline to use without actually taking into account what the market is drawn to. With Noetic Digital, however, “you don’t have to do that, you can just let the market tell you.”
Through AI technology and automation, Noetic Digital seamlessly blends the benefits of human interviews with the scalability of online web servers in order to get the best of both worlds. Through the automated conversations that Noetic Digital allows clients to have with consumers, people are able to more freely express themselves and their opinions with open-ended responses rather than strict “yes or no” or “on a scale of 1-10” responses. Noetic Digital is humanizing the market research process and letting the market speak for itself.
-
The idea for Noetic Digital came from George’s own experience of the frustrations he faced with the current marketing industry. While working at the Australian National University’s Social Research Department prior to coming to Japan, he conducted population studies and surveys. He felt it was too formulaic — where any deviation from the script would result in throwing out the entirety of the interview. At the time, he thought, “why is a human even doing this if it’s introducing bias and messing up the statistical validity of it? Why not just get a robot to do it? To this, they said that’s too hard, it’s not possible, machines can’t handle that yet; I didn’t and still don’t buy that [line of thinking].” With this first little spark in mind, he figured that one day he could automate this process. Starting off by dabbling and making small versions of chat bot surveys, it soon evolved to become what Noetic Digital is today.
Realizing the waste and inefficiency of gathering market data in both the government and private industry is what continues to drive George. He shares one study by Unilever, which aimed to find out whether Dutch University students were interested in vegan diets. To just answer that one simple question, they spent 6 months, nearly half a million dollars, and formulated a survey with over 432 questions. The resource, time, and energy spent on this was shocking to George, and he believed he could do better. Now, with multiple clients already interested in Noetic Digital’s technology, George is on his way to reduce these types of inefficiencies and introduce an innovative way of collecting meaningful data.
-
When Noetic Digital was in its ideation stage in early 2020, George had originally only wanted to create a conversational survey tool. However, he soon realized the lack of value in that idea, as well as how many startups and established survey companies had already begun to do this. He found that the real value came from having the AI-automated algorithm that occurs behind the scenes. To analyze conversations, extract insights, present them to clients, and then being able to iterate this process repeatedly was what he later knew would be the real innovative pull to Noetic Digital. The process involved would allow for much of the workload to be taken off of the market researcher. The only thing needed is for a person to choose an iteration to repeat the process with. AIs are powerful tools, but they lack the human comprehension necessary in the critical decision-making step. Thus, from its ideation stage, Noetic Digital wanted the AI to be self-sufficient for the majority of the effort, while still including the input and direction provided by the valuable asset of the human mind in order to extract the best data from the market in the most efficient way.
In developing Noetic Digital, George also found himself applying for the Shibuya Startup Visa. He recalls that it was “very much an allowance of 12 months to try to get the Business Manager Visa — it’s aiming for that.” He shares how since receiving the visa, Miho has been continuously working to help George convert successfully to the Business Manager Visa. While this process has been complicated and trying, he confesses that it’s also been great in the craziest of ways. Even in preparing for the various applications, George found himself constantly revisiting and renewing his own development plans for Noetic Digital. “At the time I applied for the visa, I was still trying to do the conversational survey tool and hadn’t quite transitioned more toward this insight generation and analysis. I hadn’t yet quite realized how important that was, and how it was the real value proposition all along.”
Up to now, George has been single-handedly fielding all of the internal architecture and planning of what Noetic Digital is today, and what it will be. He currently works with a contract developer to build personalized implementations for each client, with the goal of eventually putting together a fully functional SaaS package that is ready for scaling.
George has put great emphasis and action on the global markets that he has in his sights. Most notably, his focus is on the US as the biggest market potential. For reference, Japan’s market research industry has an average annual revenue of $2 billion and the UK $11 billion, while the US has a whopping $50 billion annual revenue — 25 times the size of Japan’s. While plans of penetrating the US market is a main priority, it is not the only one. George is hopeful in developing into a global company with global presence. Noetic Digital is already registered in Estonia and Japan as subsidiaries of a US corporation based in Delaware. He shares that having a subsidiary in the EU was important as he understood the preference of European clients wanting to exclusively work with other European companies. Even so, George admits that “America’s market research industry size is larger than many countries combined so it’ll be fine to just focus on the US”.
-
Currently, George’s main focus is on building and refining both his business model and product; specifically, building of the first implementation of his true SAAS product. At the same time, he has enrolled in a new accelerator program known as Deep Core, which operates as a subsidiary of Softbank and focuses exclusively on AI. Aiming to be the Y-Combinator of Japan, the program handpicks only four companies in its first round and aims to support in fundraising half a million USD for each company. “Deep Core is really fun, super helpful. They gave each of us an investment so it’s pretty helpful.”
George shares that while the technology is not fully developed, his current clients are very optimistic about what is to come. He feels a sense of unity and trust, and his clients are in for the long haul as George continues to improve and develop Noetic Digital. Due to the fact that it is still early, George admits that he hasn’t yet received actual product feedback. On the other hand, he has received validity in the sense that his clients are very interested in what he is building and want to see it to completion. “They just want me to build it… They desperately want to use it, so it’s quite a lot of pressure to be honest. [laughs]” George shares that his one client’s business growth almost depends entirely on what Noetic Digital offers, and while the pressure is mounting, he still expresses high levels of excitement for the next steps.
-
Being a startup founder comes with many ups and downs — every small step can either be a milestone or a mishap. In terms of milestones, George feels proud to be a part of the Deep Core accelerator program. The program was Noetic Digital’s first investment raised and the first form of recognition from an actual investor. “It told us that this is a legit idea and that they think you can make it work, so it’s a bit of validation.” George recalls that the most rewarding part of the entire founder journey is attributed to how much he has learned and grown as a person. As a founder, the level of suffering in trying to make something happen out of nothing is intense, so choosing to continue every day is an achievement in and of itself. He shares how every small step forward is often received as the biggest good news to keep motivation high.
On the flip side, the hardest aspect of George’s journey has been the demoralizing setbacks that come hand-in-hand with uncertainty, failure, and the unknown. He shares, “in general if you are ‘good’ at suffering and okay with that, and willing to endure it, I think you’ll be fine. I think it’s almost a guaranteed success eventually. You just have to keep going. Maybe that’s naive, but I think that sums it all up. No matter what it is, it’s gonna hurt, so whether it’s being sued or the product fails its prototype, just keep going.”
As a foreign founder in Japan, George has also found navigating the Japanese bureaucracy to be challenging. He recalls trying to set up a bank account. “I got rejected 8 times. In the US, it’s instant, they’ll give you an account no problem. Here, though, it was 3 months and 8 applications. Oh, and the hankos!!”
-
George certainly exhibits the tenacity and persistence that all successful founders possess, but even then, he admits that he would not be where he is today without the proper support and backing from those that he encountered throughout his life. Prior to coming to Tokyo, George recalls finding support as early as during his time in university. The Australian government provided scholarships to study abroad and intern in Singapore and Hong Kong, which gave him his first taste of the startup world. Compared to America that has no ceiling for success but lacks some of the foundational pillars of support, George firmly believes that the safety net provided by Australia’s focus and commitment to support, opportunity, and welfare is something that has contributed to not only his success, but also his comfort.
During his time in Japan, George has found the most support from Miho of Startup Work. George shares that he had received much needed support from Miho under the Shibuya Startup Visa Support Program, and that even after departing from the program, Miho has been continuing to help. “They have SeedS, and they also have SproutS, which is what I’m participating in. Roger [from Startup Work] has been doing some lectures and workshops, and they have both always helped us with the visa processes…. Miho is an actual pro. I’ve spoken to multiple people here and I don't think anybody knows better than her.”
George wants new founders looking to set up in Japan to recognize that the pace of things is much slower than that of the US or EU. Dealing with the Japanese government as a foreign founder will require twice as much effort and preparation. “Don’t try to do it by yourself even if you’re fluent in Japanese… Even in English, you wouldn’t try to tackle the incorporation process alone, that'd be silly. Definitely look for support and be patient.”
For the most part, George believes that the people and connections of the startup ecosystem in Japan (specifically Tokyo) have offered a very positive and fostering environment. Even while in his initial stages of building a team, he observes that in Tokyo, “the people are so helpful and the environment is much more laid back than it is in more cutthroat places like Silicon Valley.” He shares that the people here are much more positive, friendly, and supportive, to the point where he feels he can ask for help on almost anything. Still, George pushes for new founders to keep in mind the other locations offered in Japan. He feels that while Shibuya is one of the more notable and desirable locations to be, other cities in Japan may offer better support and alignment based on personal and industry goals, so he urges new founders to weigh their options in deciding which city may be the best to start in.
George shares one final not-so-good aspect of setting up in Japan relative to other countries: “There are no [standardized] rules between countries [for company incorporation and business structure].” For example, he recalls from his own experience how a person in the Japanese government asked for a hanko and hanko certificate for the American branch of Noetic Digital — which does not exist. Even after George provided an alternative in the form of a notarized document and a signature signed by the New Jersey District Attorney, he was declined. George expresses frustration in that sometimes it feels like creative chaos to keep adjusting and trying to get by. “If you want to do a business in Japan and focus on Japan, no problem for the most part. But, if you're wanting a global structure, just be aware of these things.”
-
Even after Noetic Digital, George plans to continue founding startups. As a regular corporate employee, he feels he is rather unemployable — “I hate being told what to do and being posted around… Unless it was an exceptional situation like VC investing, or even Google, who tend to employ entrepreneurs who’ve finished a business as Entrepreneurial Residences, I wouldn’t go back to the corporate career.” George feels that the many elements of business politics in large companies is something very hard to navigate, or even change.
“I think the government and big companies have stagnant mentalities where innovation and change is frozen. It’s all about playing politics and it’s unfortunate. I think what’s best is to maybe learn innovation in the private sector and bring it into the public sector.” To George, startups are the most powerful tools in being engines for innovation, change, and impact. George recalls something he learned when he met the inventor of the Apple touch bar. Apparently, Apple had spent around 5 years developing the touch bar with little to no market feedback. He shares that this is an “example of the importance of feedback loop in the market. Like rapid iteration, that kind of thing. It also shows the importance of not being too big to fail, but actually taking risks. I think the stagnation, the stillness, and calcification happens when you become too big, when you become too set in your ways. That's why startups are so valuable.”
-
Corroborated by his mentors at Softbank, George strongly believes that within the next 18 to 24 months, Noetic Digital has the realistic potential to reach a million USD in revenue. Continuing even further, within 5 years, they will be looking at 20 to 30 million in revenue. At the same time, acquisition would be ideal.
In this amount of time, George also hopes to be operating in all 3 countries and regions that he is registered in: the US, Estonia, and Japan. He expresses interest in conducting business in any English-speaking country, aiming to reach the UK and the rest of the EU, and even Australia. Essentially, “In 5 years, or leading up to it, it’ll basically just be about building and growing from here and then hopefully being acquired - maybe by Google or somewhere else.” After acquisition, George plans on diving right back into another startup. “This is my first business and it’s awesome, but I already want to do it again. I’ll probably go from SaaS to something more real-world, maybe agricultural… It’s all interesting and not at all my area of expertise, but it could be cool.”
Check out what Noetic Digital has to offer and join George’s clients in their excitement for what’s the come!
