Launching NEXAS

Date: 23th February 2024

Hello VTuber fans!

I’m Harry, the CEO at forCreators and the headmaster of NEXAS, a virtual talent academia. As we embark on launching NEXAS, I wanted to share the thoughts and backstory that have shaped this journey, through a blog post.

Topics:

About Me
What's NEXAS
Moving Forward

About Me

I was born a Japanese-Taiwanese mix, spending most of my life in Japan. From a young age, I’ve been enamored with anime, our family dinners often accompanied by the 7 PM anime shows on TV. During my student years, I obsessively aimed to be the best in both academics and sports, believing that excelling in studies and landing a job at a prestigious company was the key to happiness, a notion I now find somewhat ridiculous.

My turning point came after entering university in 2015, a pivotal year when the term “influencer” began to dominate public discourse. This was shortly after Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch in 2014, marking a clear shift towards individual creators gaining significant influence.While earnestly dedicating myself to studies, I couldn’t help but be irked by “influencers” who seemed to effortlessly gain fame and fortune through playing games or creating whimsical videos (I know everyone has thought similarly once!!). It was a stark contrast to my disciplined approach, and admittedly, I found it hard to swallow their success with a smile…Yet at the same time, I found myself drawn into this world, creating random shorts on TikTok with friends and managing an Instagram account to introduce beer bars in Tokyo, realizing that this unstoppable wave of personal passion and creativity was shaping the future.

After graduating, I joined “17LIVE,” a company running a leading live streaming platform in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, similar to a mobile version of Twitch. It was a place where thousands of streamers, both virtual and real, men and women, pursued their dreams through streaming. Spending three years as a CEO Assistant, my desire to support creators globally grew, leading to the founding of “forCreators” (A company for Creators).

Among various creators, I chose the VTubing area because it aligns with my interests and strengths. Being a fan of anime and having spent a long time in the streaming industry naturally led me to VTubers (Gachi-koi). After spending about half a year attending anime conventions in the USA and Southeast Asia in 2023, speaking with VTubers and agencies, my desire to support creators interested in VTubing globally strengthened. This led to the foundation of NEXAS.

What is NEXAS?

NEXAS aims to be an “Academia” for talents aspiring to become the next generation of virtual stars, much like a virtual talent version of the famous hero academy.

This is a presentation slide that I’m actually using for pitch to investors and talents lol

It’s designed for those who are serious about achieving their dreams, offering a place where passionate individuals can meet, learn, and grow by enhancing their unique talents through rigorous training. Unlike typical agencies that focus on a select few, NEXAS, due to my background, is committed to helping a larger number of people succeed in the VTuber industry, providing a launchpad for anyone wanting to make VTubing their career.

Already over 20 first-generation members are preparing for their debut with a curriculum based on collective wisdom from VTubers worldwide, aiming to significantly increase their success rate in the vast universe of VTubers.

Moving Forward

To nurture over 10 talents is already a significant challenge, but our ambition at NEXAS is to become a launchpad for 100, and eventually over 1000 talents to realize their dreams. Our immediate focus is to ensure the growth of our current and soon-to-be talents from upcoming auditions. Their various attempts will serve as knowledge for future talents and set them as role models. While there’s no universal formula for success, we aim to create an environment that strengthens basic skills while allowing for individuality. The discussion around talent management is evolving, and at NEXAS, we believe in advancing the traditional methods to foster a supportive relationship between the company and the talents.