Valu, the Startup in Japan That Lets Anyone Hold a Personal IPO
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Nuko Numano is a cosplayer in Japan who regularly hosts livestreams for her fans, but only to a select few who own five of her shares priced at $38 apiece. That seems like a bargain, considering they were trading for as much as $585 in July.
The 23-year-old, who dresses up as anime characters and bunny girls, is one of 60,000-plus users on a Japanese startup called Valu Inc., a cross between a trading platform and crowdfunding site. “I plan to use the funds to buy expensive clothes that I couldn’t afford before, and enter international cosplay events,” said Numano, which isn’t her real name.