These friends left corporate life to start a business—now, it's the largest collectibles marketplace in PH

The genesis of Toki

“As we, founders, are avid collectors ourselves, we’ve all experienced the current process of transacting collectibles which is highly fragmented, requiring navigation across four to five platforms to purchase a single item,” shared Levy, Toki’s chief executive officer.

He said this process lacks transparency regarding the seller's identity and offers no assurance of receiving the exact item purchased, presenting significant trust and security concerns. 

With Levy on board as CEO, Ocampo as chief product officer, and Jurado as chief strategy and data officer in early 2023, the three then set to find the right name for the platform.

“We initially sought a name that was catchy, memorable, and easy to pronounce. We compiled a list of over sixty names, which we then filtered according to various criteria. In the end, Toki emerged as our top choice.”

Toki is short for “Tokimeku,” a Japanese term used by world-renowned tidying expert Marie Kondo, loosely translated to mean things that spark joy. 

“Next, we checked if ‘Toki’ had any meanings in different languages or dialects to avoid any misunderstandings. That's when we discovered that ‘Toki’ means ‘moment of opportunity,’” Levy recalled.

Securing funding 

Toki’s innovative approach to the digital collector's market has gained support from top-tier angel investors and notable strategic backers. In 2023, the company secured $1.8 million (about P105 million) in pre-seed funding from venture capital partners Kaya Founders and Foxmont Capital Partners. 

Toki is also backed by strategic investors in the tech industry such as Anthony Oundjian (managing director and senior partner for Manila at Boston Consulting Group), Brian Cu (CEO and co-Founder of SariSuki), Ernest Cu (president and CEO of Globe Telecom), and the Gozon family (one of the majority shareholders of GMA Network), to name a few. Additionally, Toki received an investment from Bigboy Cheng, the scion of the country's biggest foam producer Uratex and one of the most renowned sneaker, toy, and art collectors in Southeast Asia.

PhilSTAR L!fe asked Toki for its targets after securing the funding, but it said it was not at liberty to share the details as of posting. 

Selling on Toki

Sellers can automatically apply to become Toki sellers via tokiasia.com. Its verification team then reviews the applications, may request additional information, and provides feedback to the seller.

“Our operation team conducts a thorough vetting of each potential seller to ensure their legitimacy before allowing them to join our platform. Key criteria in our evaluation process include the history of the seller's operations, sales track record, inventory depth, reputation within the community, and supply chain integrity, among others. In certain cases, we even undertake visits to their warehouses for ocular,” Levy said.

He added that Toki has also retrieved, for some of its sellers, their existing sales volumes, as well as the online/offline segregation. “Moreover, since the majority of transactions occur through FB groups or FB Market, it is possible to recover a portion of the sales volumes for the most active sellers, and then extrapolate their total volume,” Levy said.

“Cross-referenced with other information, we have been able to establish a ranking of the main sellers for each of our categories.”

L!fe also inquired if a Toki seller needs to provide invoices and be registered in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Department of Trade and Industry, but no available information was immediately given as of writing. 

Preventing unethical selling

In the toy community, scammers and scalpers abound but these will be eliminated on the Toki platform. 

“Toki revolutionizes the market by centralizing the entire buying and selling process for collectors on a single platform. Unlike typical marketplaces, all sellers on Toki undergo rigorous screening and must meet strict criteria before they are allowed to offer products on our platform,” Levy explained.

“Every item sold undergoes meticulous inspection by our verification team. Each product is manually checked, and the entire process is video-recorded to ensure accuracy and transparency.”

He added that they have also implemented an escrow payment system, ensuring that sellers are paid only after the buyer has received and verified the product. 

Buying items on Toki

Toki users can purchase items from its listings of authentic collectibles across product categories: sneakers, Funko, LEGO, sports cards, trading cards games, and toys.

Modes of payment include GCash and Maya, as well as credit and debit card partners. As previously mentioned, Toki holds all payments in escrow until item verification is completed and the buyer receives their purchase. This ensures a seamless and secure end-to-end transaction.

Safe handling of deliveries

Toki also manages all logistics, and in partnership with NinjaVan, it has developed specific delivery protocols to ensure completely secure deliveries, significantly reducing the risk of damage to the collectible and its packaging.

“Logistics has always posed a significant challenge for collectors. Any minor damage, whether to the collectible itself or its packaging, can directly affect the item's value. To address this, we've set up a unique partnership with NinjaVan to develop a bespoke logistics solution tailored for Toki,” Levi shared.

The power of three

As former executives of a top payments platform, Ocampo, Jurado, and Levy collectively bring extensive experience in technology and venture building to Toki.

“We saw an opportunity to structure and grow an already massive collectible market by addressing critical pain points in the buying journey of collectors. Toki was established to bring a more seamless experience to this process—from discovery to purchase—and address the challenge of unsecured transactions in the market that comprise payments, logistics, and after-sales,” Levy said.