• Agenda
    • What We Care About
    • Health
    • Play & Learn
    • Sustainability
    • Creative Business Cup 2022
  • Network
    • Startups
    • National Partners
    • Investors
    • Partners
    • Speakers and Jury
  • Events
    • Event overview
    • This is CBN
    • Summits
    • BRIGHT
    • Creative Business Cup
      • Creative Business Cup Denmark 2022
      • Creative Business Cup Denmark 2021
  • Services
    • Advisory
    • Academy
    • Innovation Challenges
    • Library
  • About
    • Team
    • Board Members
    • Projects
    • Careers
    • Press Room
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
  • BRIGHT
    • BRIGHT 2022
      • Jury and Speakers of BRIGHT22
    • BRIGHT 2021
      • Winners Bright 2020-2021
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Agenda
    • What We Care About
    • Health
    • Play & Learn
    • Sustainability
    • Creative Business Cup 2022
  • Network
    • Startups
    • National Partners
    • Investors
    • Partners
    • Speakers and Jury
  • Events
    • Event overview
    • This is CBN
    • Summits
    • BRIGHT
    • Creative Business Cup
      • Creative Business Cup Denmark 2022
      • Creative Business Cup Denmark 2021
  • Services
    • Advisory
    • Academy
    • Innovation Challenges
    • Library
  • About
    • Team
    • Board Members
    • Projects
    • Careers
    • Press Room
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
  • BRIGHT
    • BRIGHT 2022
      • Jury and Speakers of BRIGHT22
    • BRIGHT 2021
      • Winners Bright 2020-2021
Search

Newsletter

Community

  • Agenda
    • What We Care About
    • Health
    • Play & Learn
    • Sustainability
    • Creative Business Cup 2022
  • Network
    • Startups
    • National Partners
    • Investors
    • Partners
    • Speakers and Jury
  • Events
    • Event overview
    • This is CBN
    • Summits
    • BRIGHT
    • Creative Business Cup
      • Creative Business Cup Denmark 2022
      • Creative Business Cup Denmark 2021
  • Services
    • Advisory
    • Academy
    • Innovation Challenges
    • Library
  • About
    • Team
    • Board Members
    • Projects
    • Careers
    • Press Room
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
  • BRIGHT
    • BRIGHT 2022
      • Jury and Speakers of BRIGHT22
    • BRIGHT 2021
      • Winners Bright 2020-2021
Search

Newsletter

Community

Home Creative Business Network Creative Economy BnA Hotel, Stay in an Art Piece, Support an Artist

BnA Hotel, Stay in an Art Piece, Support an Artist

Interview with Keigo Fukugaki, Co-founder, Director of Design and Experiences for BnA (Bed and Art)

By
Ioana Popescu
-
November 20, 2020

Access to finance is one of the main barriers for development of startups and even more difficult for creative businesses. But you are not alone. We are bringing to you a new series of interviews with successful investment stories where startups from our global network share their funding strategies.

We talked with Keigo Fukugaki, Co-founder, Director of Design and Experiences for BnA (Bed and Art)


Keigo Fukugaki: Based out of Tokyo, Japan, BnA is a social enterprise that designs, builds, and operates Art hotels as a platform for financially supporting local artists. Working with local artists and creatives in each location, we create one-of-a-kind hotel rooms, where travellers literally “stay in an art piece”. Each time a guest stays in any of our rooms, a portion of the profit is shared with the creator of the room.

They say a picture is worth a million words, but being in one our rooms is worth a million times more, so come stay with us.

You have won CBC Japan 2016. How did this experience and Creative Business Cup in general help your startup?

BnA had initially begun as a hobby project in 2015 and winning the CBC gave us the extra push to convince the three founders to commit to the project full-time.

What is the status of your business at the moment ?

Since 2016 we have built 3 small to midsize hotels in Japan with over 60 employees and staff members, and partnered with several real estate developers in developing new businesses and projects.

The pandemic took a toll on the business sector overall. However, did you find it more difficult to get funding this year? Why?

The pandemic has had a huge impact on the hospitality industry, and we were not immune from it. We had been considering a series A round, but had to postpone it and focus on making shifts in our business to survive the pandemic.  Currently, we are unable to make an accurate assessment on when global travel will lift, and that makes it extremely hard to present a business plan and convince investors.

What was your approach to attract investors ?

In our seed round in 2019, we approached angel investors, mostly successful entrepreneurs. They had gone through the startup struggle themselves and at the same time, really believed in the social mission that we are trying to solve.

What type of investment did you get?

Our seed round was raised from angels using the J-KISS term sheet, an adaptation of the 500 Startup’s Keep It Simple Security term sheet.

What was most challenging in raising capital and how did you overcome it?

Our biggest challenge was finding investors that could see/accept the delicate balance we would have to maintain between profitability and the social benefit that we are trying to provide for the creative community. Speed and Community building are most of the time, at odds with each other.

How important was it to have traction to raise capital?

We were already working with big name real estate developers and had several new hotels to be built already in the pipeline at the time of our fund raising. So, that definitely helped provide confidence and trust.

Do you have any tips/advice for startups looking for investment?

1 x 100 is 100, while 2x 100 is 200. Proving that you can turn a dollar into two dollars is the best way to get investors to believe that their money will be put to good use. So, find ways to work with partner companies or have some sales early on.

Keigo Fukugaki, Co-founder, Director of Design and Experiences for BnA

Share
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
Email
Print
    Previous articleStoryTourist, where books, films and other stories come to life
    Next articleSchool Day. Wellbeing makes students learn
    Ioana Popescu

    RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

    BRIGHT 2022

    Innovation in the Public Sector

    6 WORKSHOPS FOR STARTUPS ON ACCESS TO FINANCE

    Recent Articles

    BRIGHT

    July 6, 2022

    BRIGHT 2022

    July 6, 2022

    Live stream of BRIGHT

    June 24, 2022

    BRIGHT 2022

    June 10, 2022

    Introducing the newest form of camera

    April 20, 2022

    Creative Business Network

    Knabstrupvej 7, st.
    2700 Brønshøj
    Denmark

    info@cbnet.com

    Monday – Thursday 9.00-17.00 CET
    Friday – 9.00 -16 CET

    About Us

    FAQ
    About
    Team
    Careers
    Privacy policy
    Good governance
    Contact Us

    Follow Us

    Facebook
    Instagram
    LinkedIn
    Twitter

    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Subscribe here

    © Copyright - Creative Business Network, 2020

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    X