Introduction
It is fascinating how traditions change with time. At one point in the United States most of the population celebrated the same Holidays. With all of society’s changes and the rise of a melting pot of different cultures, that is no longer true. In many instances, especially in a professional setting, it is no longer acceptable to wish someone a Merry Christmas. After all, the individual receiving the wishes may be of a differing religion or simply not celebrate Christmas.
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is a different story. Originally linked to a famous feast held in 1621 between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a long list of countries now celebrate some version of the Holiday. Being thankful for the things in your life is one of the roots to lasting happiness. In Japanese, the term for this feeling is 幸せ（しあわせ）, pronounced: she-ah-wah-say in English.
At Sola K.K. and Sola of America, Inc. we have a lot to be thankful for, and wanted to share a bit of our humble beginnings with you, our audience. We want to express our gratitude for nearly 20 years (17 to be specific) as a company. Considering many companies do not survive even their first year in business, we think it’s a big deal.
A Brief Recap of Sola’s Apps
accoca
accoca is Sola’s password vault (password manager). It provides users with the option to store their encrypted password data as local only, or upload an encrypted password backup to their Google Drive.
accoca is available on the Apple App Store—linked below. A couple of key features to note: the app is free to use and Sola of America, Inc. does not collect any personal data from its users. For those wanting to unlock unlimited entries, OCR text detection, and customizable, auto-generated passwords, accoca offers a $9.99 lifetime purchase price. The fully unlocked version can be restored on another device by logging in with the same AppleID.
Bouquet
Bouquet is Sola’s photo mosaic app that uses photos from your device’s camera roll, Google Photos account, or clips them from a video to make stunning photo mosaics—instantly. Mosaics can be customized in myriad ways, including:
- Number of squares used to form mosaic (parent) image
- Type and quantity of ‘piece’ images
- Filter, Alpha, Color, and Blender sliders
The app is free to download and use. Click the link below to get started.
monoca 2
Monoca 2 is Sola’s item organization app. Its applications are nearly endless, with uses ranging from saving food recipes, to cataloguing minis figurines for tabletop gaming. Items can be classified into broader collections, then refined into individual categories depending on the user’s needs. The free-form category subfields allow for complete customization, and categories can even be shared with other users by inputting that category’s share code.
The fully unlocked version of monoca 2 comes with unlimited item creation, 10 shared groups, no ads, and higher resolution icons and images. It is available for a single, lifetime unlock payment of $9.99. Share your device’s trial code with a friend to give them a 25% discount. Share each other’s codes and you can both receive a discount.
App Store: monoca 2 for iPhone
Google Play: monoca 2 for Android
Web(Beta): https://monoca2.web.app/
About Sola
Humble Beginnings
Sola K.K. was founded in November of 2008 in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, with less than $6,500 in capital. In January of 2010, the company moved it’s headquarters to Kayabacho, Chuo City, Tokyo. By April of 2011, Sola K.K. increased its capital to a little less than $30,000, and by October of 2015, had put together a little over $70,000 in capital.
Finally finding its legs, Sola’s capital increased dramatically from 2016 – 2020, with a significant milestone coming in September 2017 when Sola K.K.’s capital jumped to nearly 200,000.00 USD. This kind of slow, yet consistent growth as a company was only possible with many hours of hard work and dedication from Sola’s founders and its staff.
Sola’s Services
Sola has since grown to incorporate several lines of business:
- Development of IT infrastructure and software development
- Systems engineering
- Research and development using various technology platforms such as smart phones and VR (virtual reality)
- IT consulting services
- Sales of products related to IT infrastructure and systems
For business inquiries, please contact ‘contact@sola-air.com’.
The Big Picture
On Sola’s website, as of August, 2025, the company employs 260 people. This is where thankfulness comes in. This is the impact. Over the course of time, many companies tend to get caught up in their business operations and forget that they are a conduit for employees living their lives. Each of those 260 employees has family, friends, and other loved ones they care about. While life isn’t about money and money won’t provide you with a fulfilling life, it is necessary to survive in modern society. While Sola grows a little bigger every year, so does its family of employees that makes Sola so special.
Just seventeen short years ago, the company consisted of only four members and now there are 260. Two-hundred and sixty opportunities to improve a little bit every day, to hug a loved one, and count all the positive things in life. Yes, life is full of unique challenges and life isn’t fair, but if you stop and consider the bigger picture—you might find there’s a lot to be thankful for.
From everyone at Sola, thank you for 17 years. Here’s to seeing what 20, 30, or even 50 years brings us. Take care, and we’ll catch you next time.
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