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[Entrepreneur Interview #02] Naoto Tomita (Adora Inc.)

  • AI
  • Interview
2024.09.10

Interview with the President and CEO of Adora Inc., the Company that is Protecting Children through the Use of AI

In July 2024, D-POPS GROUP invested in Adora Inc., which develops and operates an AI-powered parental control app called "Kodomamo", and we've begun walking together as fellow members of the local “Venture Ecosystem”.

☆An article about this investment in Adora Inc. is linked here:
https://d-pops-group.co.jp/en/column/adora/

Today, we interviewed Naoto Tomita, founding president and CEO of Adora Inc., about the untold story of the company's founding and his thoughts on Kodomamo, the parental control app they developed.

 

 

1. What was your motive for starting a company?

The Aichi Prefectural Police consulted with Fujita Medical University, where I was working as a visiting faculty member, asking "Do you have any good ideas for using technology to prevent children from getting involved in crimes through social media?" This led to the creation of Kodomamo through collaboration between the Aichi Prefectural Police, Fujita Medical University, and our team.
☆Aichi Prefectural Police introduction of the Kodomamo app (page only in Japanese): https://www.pref.aichi.jp/police/anzen/shounenhikou/shounen/kodomamo2023.html
 

2. Please briefly introduce your service.

Kodomamo is a parental control service that comprehensively addresses parents' concerns about their children's smartphone use through AI. Specifically, when installed on both the child's and parent's smartphones, it can detect dangerous chat conversations, limit screen time to prevent excessive use, and prevent walking while using a smartphone.

Screenshot of the Kodomamo app website, showcasing its 80,000+ installations (at the time of publication) and its award-winning main features: pinpointing children’s locations, control over excessive usage of smartphones, and detection of dangerous chat conversations.
 

3. What makes you superior to similar companies?

We excel in providing features that solve parents' pressing concerns but aren't available in existing parental control apps, such as detecting dangerous chat conversations, preventing smartphone use while walking, and detecting inappropriate selfies.
 

4. What has been the biggest challenge since starting the business?

From the beginning (and even now), we have taken great pains to deeply understand the answer to the question, “What kind of user experience is truly needed?” For example, one of our target demographics is ‘mothers with middle school children’, but I don't personally belong to this group (which I actually see as an advantage as it allows for objective user observation without being trapped by “n=1 confirmation bias”). To address this, our team has put tremendous effort into gathering information, conducting interviews, and analyzing data to create a high-quality user experience. We've also worked hard to ensure privacy-focused design. For instance, children's chats and captured images are evaluated for risk by machine learning models locally on each individual device, ensuring privacy by not sending the original data to our servers.
 

 

5. What are you hoping to receive from shareholders the most?

I most look forward to being introduced to experts, key persons, and companies in the industry.
 

6. What has been the best part of receiving investment from D-POPS GROUP?

We've been able to meet with other member companies of D-POPS GROUP to promote Kodomamo through mobile phone retail stores, and we've received an incredible amount of support from people including CEO Hosoda and Mr. Ohashi of Advancer, and Mr. Sakamaki, the Sales Director of D-POPS, among others. Additionally, we've greatly benefited from industry insights provided by D-POPS GROUP's President Goto, and introductions to experts through the network of Mr. Sugihara, who serves as an advisor.

☆Advancer Inc.
https://advancer.co.jp/

☆D-POPS Corp.
https://d-pops.co.jp/
 

7. What aspects of the “Venture Ecosystem” vision resonate with you?

When talking with people from the D-POPS GROUP, I often hear the phrase "for the ecosystem," and I can sense their genuine belief in working for the benefit of the entire startup community. While operating our business daily, I feel that solving complex social issues requires not just one company's achievements, but collaboration with various stakeholders including other companies, government agencies, and research institutions. I empathize with this approach and feel I need to learn from it.

A glimpse into the everyday lives of the Adora team, sharing their office space together.
 

8. What kind of company do you want Adora to be in 10 years?

I want Adora to become a company that can solve large social issues on a global scale.
 

9. What challenges do you foresee overcoming in order to realize that future?

After achieving PMF (Product-Market Fit) in Japan and South Korea, we want to focus primarily on growing in Asia next.
 

10. Any closing comments?

I highly recommend accepting an investment from D-POPS GROUP!!

Adora Inc.

Company President and CEO: Naoto Tomita
Address: Setagaya Ward, Tokyo
Established: July 2023
Kodomamo App Website: https://www.kodomamo.com/

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