iU President-kun Gachon. Kenji Sudo

■iU President-kun Gachon:Mr.Kenji Sudo

From being the youngest executive officer at Recruit to starting a Silicon Valley company, he listed his UI improvement platform "Kaizen Platform" on the Mothers market. This is Sudoken.

https://bit.ly/3VLt66k

◆Why I quit my job

If I were the CEO, I would pursue M&A of overseas companies.

Indeed was the most formidable, and I couldn't think of any way to beat it, so I thought I would lose if it came along. Then Recruit, the company I used to work for, acquired it. It's amazing that they bought a company that I thought I couldn't beat. It's also amazing that they decided to acquire a company that possesses technology. If it were me, I would manage it that way. Cash flow comes from domestic companies, so I would buy overseas companies and do business in areas where the population is growing more rapidly.

I like creating businesses and doing hands-on work. I felt that what Recruit was trying to do didn't fit with my interests. I quit in order to work in a way that made me happy.

◆Why start a business in America?

There was no market for it within Japan. At Recruit, I was in charge of M&A and investments in overseas companies, and while observing how market capitalization grew, I realized how much of a discount you get when doing business within Japan. That's when I thought I had to go abroad. I wanted to become someone who could do business globally.

◆Difficulties after starting a business

Things went smoothly for about three years, but most startups struggle in their fourth to sixth year. There was a period of stagnation. When the growth of our initial business stalled, we had difficulty generating growth for our next business. Our video production business didn't grow until 2019, but it grew thanks to our partnership with Facebook and a 20% increase in wholesale paper prices in Japan.

This level of difficulty was beyond anything I had anticipated.

◆Did you start a business even though you knew it would be difficult?

If I had a time machine, I would do everything in my power to stop myself from starting a business. Global competition is incredibly tough.

However, my ignorance was actually a good thing. Because I started, I felt I had to do something about it, and that motivated me to keep going.

◆The existence of schools

There are so many things I wish I had studied. I only realize this when I understand how that knowledge is useful. To start a business in America, you need English. School was a place that taught me that in advance.

I lacked the social experience to know how to apply what I learned in school, so I slacked off a lot back then. I understand the meaning of school much better now that I've graduated.

I study more now that I'm an adult.

◆Areas where school education should change and areas where it has been useful

Those relationships continue to this day and are still useful. KNOW WHO. Who do you know? The friends you've shared meals with are irreplaceable.

It would be good to understand how the studying you're doing is actually useful. I think rote memorization is quite important, but it would be good to understand why you're rote memorization and what benefits it brings.

To thrive abroad, you need to be well-educated. Not just be able to speak English, but have a language to speak in. You need to be able to answer questions like, "What's Japan like?"

I didn't have many opportunities to interact with adults or members of society during my school life, so it would be great to have such opportunities.

◆A message for you

What we learn in school is about the past. We learn about things that have happened up to now. People who will live in the future might wonder if knowing the past is useful.

History repeats itself. Humans won't change much in the future. For example, cryptocurrencies and the tulip bubble have some similarities. Thanks to COVID-19, I researched the plague, and there are some commonalities. Knowing and learning from the past is never a waste of time when it comes to knowing the future.