Growth Hub #17 - By Founders, For Founders w/ Vik Kashyap (Toi Labs)

Growth Hub #17 is a regular gathering hosted by Shibuya Startup Support for open discussion on building and scaling ventures in Japan. This edition features Vik Kashyap, founder of Toi Labs, in conversation about the realities of building a hardware and AI startup for Japan's senior care market. Toi Labs makes TrueLoo, a smart toilet seat named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2024. It uses computer vision and AI to turn a routine bathroom visit into continuous health monitoring, tracking wellness indicators and hydration changes to help prevent avoidable hospital admissions, with no wearables or apps required. Facing Japan's aging population and a projected shortfall of 570,000 care workers by 2040, Toi Labs won distribution not by competing with incumbent TOTO but by bringing TOTO in as a strategic investor. Vik will cover the macro case for care worker shortages, the logic behind passive monitoring, how Toi Labs turned TOTO into an investor, the realities of selling hardware into Japanese senior care facilities, and his own path from patient to founder. The discussion will be moderated by Francisco, Special Advisor to Shibuya City.