🏛️

The Origin of Tailor: Our Journey to Revolutionize ERP through Headless Solutions and Unparalleled Customizability

I first met my co-founder, Misato, in Tokyo back in 2011. At that time, I had just sold my startup and started working on a new startup idea: a location-based service app that gives users redeemable points for visiting retail stores. Misato had a technical solution to solve the accuracy problem of detecting smartphone users' hyper-precise location in an indoor setting: ultrasonic beacon technology.
Thanks to this proprietary technology, we were able to become the biggest check-in app that rewards users with redeemable points and drives foot traffic to retail chain stores. We were convinced this was the future of retail advertising and marketing, and we poured our hearts and souls into building the product.
We launched Spotlight in 2011, and it quickly gained traction in Japan. Users loved the app, and businesses were eager to partner with us to promote their products and services. We raised a round of funding, and in 2013, we were acquired by Rakuten, one of Japan's largest e-commerce companies.
Looking back, the experience of building and selling Spotlight was both exhilarating and humbling. We learned so much about what it takes to start and grow a successful business, and we developed a deep appreciation for the power of technology to drive innovation and change.
But even as we celebrated our success, Misato and I knew that we were just getting started. We were hungry for a new challenge. After we left Rakuten around 2015, Misato joined Mercari before its IPO in 2018 and eventually lead the R&D division of Mercari. I spend a year in the U.S. as a seed-stage investor and started researching the opportunity for the next project.
Over the course of four years, I explored numerous startup ideas and projects, diligently searching for the next groundbreaking concept upon which I would stake my entrepreneurial career. Finally, I discovered my mission—democratizing product development.
I've always been fascinated by the potential of low-code and no-code tools to help businesses solve problems quickly and efficiently. When I first discovered platforms like Bubble.io and Retool.com in 2019, I was excited to use them to build custom dashboards and software for my consulting clients.
But as I worked on these projects, I quickly realized that without a solid and flexible backend API, we couldn't fully leverage the power of cloud-based software and frontend low-code tools. That's when the idea for Headless ERP came to me.
Headless ERP is an API-based ERP product that gives our enterprise customers full control over their user experience. By allowing them to build their own frontend, we offer a higher level of customizability than traditional ERP systems. Plus, since it's API-based, it's easy to integrate with other cloud-based software and embed into existing systems.
And so, in 2021, we founded Tailor. We started with a small team of developers and set out to build a truly headless ERP solution that would meet the needs of modern businesses.
We wanted to create a product that could provide higher customizability and lower development cost for businesses when it came to customizing the system. We realized that the future of ERP systems was in their ability to integrate with other systems, rather than being a monolithic system that was difficult to customize or integrate.
We believe that the Headless ERP concept has the potential to revolutionize the ERP industry. Our product allows businesses to have full control over their user experience and easily integrate with other third-party cloud software. It provides a flexible and scalable solution that can adapt to the changing needs of businesses in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape.
We're excited to be at the forefront of this shift, building a product that's both highly customizable and easy to integrate with other cloud-based software. With Headless ERP, we're empowering our customers to take control of their data and make more informed decisions about their business. We are excited about what the future holds and look forward to continuing our journey with Tailor, helping businesses thrive in today's ever-changing technological landscape.