Skip to content
ImpactArcher

About

We study one startup a week — so that one day, we know Asia's startups better than anyone.

ImpactArcher began as a side project between friends in Japan and Taiwan who want to work in venture capital. The hardest part of a VC's job is deal sourcing: finding the right companies early. So we decided to practise it every single week.

01Why

Deal sourcing is a habit.

Good investors know many companies deeply, long before anyone asks them to. That kind of knowledge can't be crammed — it builds up slowly. We give it about three hours a week, and let time do the rest.

02How

One startup, every week.

  1. 01

    Pick

    Each member chooses one startup from anywhere in Asia.

  2. 02

    Research

    We tell each company's story — the problem, the founders' edge, the business and the risks — and end with our own thesis. AI helps us go deeper in less time.

  3. 03

    Publish

    The write-up goes live here as a page anyone can read.

  4. 04

    Discuss

    Once a week we meet and share what each of us learned.

03Where

Starting in Japan and Taiwan.

Our first members are based in Japan and Taiwan. From there, we are widening our coverage to Korea, China, Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Now
JapanTaiwan
Next
KoreaChinaSingaporeIndonesiaVietnamThailandMalaysiaPhilippines

04Goal

200 startups in the first year.

With four members writing one review a week, we reach about 200 startups in a year — every one of them a company we have studied first-hand.

05Vision

Beyond a database: East Asia's startups, side by side.

ImpactArcher isn't meant to be just another media outlet or database. One day we want to set startups from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China and Southeast Asia side by side — the same problem, tackled in different markets by different founders — and learn from the comparison.

That only works once we have studied enough companies first-hand. So for now our priority is simple: keep reviewing, one startup a week each, until we have the critical mass to compare across borders. Along the way, we want this to become a community that connects young founders across East Asia.

06Team

The researchers

Want to research with us?

We're looking for people who are curious about startups and can write one review a week.

Get in touch