IVS2026 Adds 'IVS Family Tree' to Visualize Referral Connections; 'Founder Ranking' Honoring Top Referrers Coming Soon

Japan's largest startup conference, 'IVS2026,' will be held over three days from Wednesday, July 1 to Friday, July 3, 2026, with main venues including Miyako Messe and Hotel Okura Kyoto. The referral ticket system introduced this year has already surpassed 1,000 referral registrations. A new feature, the 'IVS Family Tree' (referral graph), which visualizes referral connections, has been added to this system. On the participant platform '4S (Force),' attendees can trace who invited them and whom they invited, just like a family tree. Furthermore, a 'Founder Ranking' to honor founders who widely expand the referral chains is scheduled for future release.

The 'IVS Family Tree': Seeing Entire Referral Connections at a Glance

At IVS2026, the 'IVS PASS,' which grants entry to IVS, utilizes a 'referral ticket' system. Those who receive a referral code can acquire a PASS for free until the 3,000-person limit is reached, and they are issued referral codes for two more people.

Receive an introduction → Participate → Introduce someone else

This is the 'referral ticket' system.

Previously, the 'referral ticket' system only allowed users to check 'how many people they invited.' With this 4S update, participants can now view the entire picture of their connections, from those who invited them to those they invited, at a glance as the 'IVS Family Tree.'

Looking from oneself as the center, tracing back to the person who invited them and the person who invited that person leads to the 'founder,' the initial starting point of the chain. Conversely, branches extend outward to the people they invited and the people those people invited. Since participants can only invite up to two people, the tracing leaves a linear path when going back and a gentle branching out when expanding forward.

When personal connections are visualized in a single chart, perspectives change. Who to meet at the venue, who to introduce to whom. Participants who are like 'distant relatives' branched from the same founder might be walking around the same venue. The IVS Family Tree becomes a map to find such encounters.

Note that the IVS Family Tree is a feature accessible only to IVS participants. You can view your own IVS Family Tree from the 4S screen.

'Founder Ranking' Honoring the Origin of Chains (Coming Soon)

Following the family tree update, a ranking page honoring the 'founders' who created referral chains is also planned for release.

A 'founder' refers to a person who received a referral code directly from the IVS Executive Committee, meaning the person at the very top (Generation 0) of the family tree. Host representatives of official side events, speakers, and representatives of funding partners can become referral founders. You invite someone you trust, and the invited person invites another trusted person. That circle expands. In the Founder Ranking, those whose chains extend deeper and wider will be displayed higher (ranking calculated by the total number of connected people).

This is not a mere competition of invitation numbers. The first person invites someone they trust, and the invited person invites someone they trust. That accumulation supports the quality of encounters across the entire IVS venue. The Founder Ranking is a page that visualizes the people who greatly expanded that chain of trust.

Currently, IVS staff, speakers, Funding Partners, and side event organizers are eligible to be founders.

First 3,000 Attendees Free Campaign

To commemorate the introduction of the 'referral ticket' system, the IVS PASS (normally 39,800 yen including tax) will be provided free of charge to the first 3,000 people who acquire a PASS via referral. For students, the first 1,000 registering via referral will also be free (normally 4,980 yen including tax).

* The free slots are on a first-come, first-served basis and will end once the limit is reached.
* The target number for free slots is subject to change.

The Science of Networking

Since its inception in 2007, IVS operated as an invite-only closed conference until 2022. Participants numbered in the hundreds. Because it was a place where only trusted people gathered, the quality of encounters was naturally guaranteed.

With the Kyoto event in 2023, it transitioned to a ticketed system. The challenge continues to expand the scale while maintaining the community quality cultivated under the invite-only system.