2021 Aug (Tues) – Building A New Business With OLD Buildings

As a network of able CEOs, both younger and older, we always enjoy hearing about other people’s businesses. We’ve enjoyed discussions with major software global CEOs, global retailers, local robot manufacturers, and countless other dives into various businesses.

For some reason, the English media has a news cycle that restarts every year or so about the millions of vacant or abandoned properties around the nation. Some say for as little as ¥50,000 JPY ($500 USD). Many times associated with population decline or the move from the smaller towns and cities to the major metro areas such as Osaka, Tokyo, or Fukuoka, vacant properties seem to be a major problem for municipalities around the country. But our friends at Akiya & Inaka see it differently.

In the August CI Network luncheon we will welcome Matthew Ketchum, Co-Founder, Akiya & Inaka.  Matthew will share how he and his business partner created an alternative real estate business model that turns a perceived problem into practical opportunity. 

The accepted akiya narrative posits that Japan’s vacant buildings are categorically condemnable for all but the most committed DIY hobbyists and irredeemably rural, but Akiya & Inaka have proven that this is not the case. $500 or $500,000 or more, there are akiya of all types at all levels of viability, and they’re being used for more than just vacation homes or bed & breakfasts. Join us for this fascinating discussion that gives us the real deal on what the story on the ground is. Who knows? You may even come out of it with a new property.

More about Matthew Ketchum here on Linkedin, with his company website here.