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[Entrepreneur Interview #05] STAR CAREER / graphD – Part 1

  • Group Companies
  • Interview
2024.10.25

Interview with Tatsumasa Hosaka: a Daring Voyage Toward Realizing a “Venture Ecosystem”

At D-POPS GROUP, we have 23 group companies as partners (at the time of publication).
On this occasion, D-POPS GROUP Advisor Genta Sugihara interviewed President Tatsumasa Hosaka, who founded STAR CAREER CO., LTD in 2016.

◆Background of STAR CAREER’s Establishment

Sugihara:
Today we’re interviewing President Hosaka of STAR CAREER. Thank you for your time. First, could you tell us about how you came to be the president of STAR CAREER?

Hosaka:
Sure! STAR CAREER was founded in 2016.

I joined D-POPS in 2006 and worked as a store manager and division director. Actually, starting around 2014-2015, President Goto, who founded D-POPS and currently serves as President and CEO of D-POPS GROUP, was offering an entrepreneur training school of sorts (which has become affectionately known as “Goto School”), and there were some members of the D-POPS stores who also participated.

Mr. Fujita, who is now the chairman of the board at Advancer (one of the group companies), was the first in-house entrepreneur to win an MVP award at Goto School.

Actually, I never attended Goto School myself, instead putting myself in a position to support other members within D-POPS who wanted to become entrepreneurs or create new companies within the group.

One day, President Goto approached me after D-POPS achieved 10 billion yen in sales. As we began setting our next goals for 30 billion yen, 50 billion yen, and 100 billion yen, he had come up with the idea of starting a new company within the group, one specifically related to human resources. When he shared the plan with me, I immediately started to recommend other members, saying things like “How about this guy?” or “How about that guy?”

Then President Goto asked me, “Hosaka, why aren’t you putting your own hat in the ring?”
I replied, “Well, I guess I'd rather focus all my energy on leading the younger D-POPS members to help us reach 30 billion and 50 billion yen!”

That evening, when I was having drinks with my junior D-POPS colleagues (which was a regular occurrence), I told them about my conversation with President Goto and how I had declined because I wanted to achieve the 30 billion and 50 billion yen goals together with everyone.
They responded, “What are you talking about?! You go do it! Leave this to us and show us how it’s done!”
Realizing they were right, the next day I went back to President Goto and said, “Remember what we were talking about yesterday? Please let me do it.” That’s how it all started.

Sugihara:
Was your experience at D-POPS useful in managing your own company?

Hosaka:
It was, and still is. Back then, stores operated on an independent profit system. They managed their own sales and gross profits, and independently funded campaigns using the store’s personnel budget. In a sense, it was effectively like running their own small-scale businesses.

So, depending on the store manager, a store could either become very profitable or fall into the red. We weren’t focused solely on sales numbers or the volume of contracts—each store was essentially running its own business. This experience of running a mini business at the store level has been extremely valuable for my current management role.

Sugihara:
Being able to learn management at the store level must have been very educational. By the way, at that point, how many companies were in the group besides D-POPS?

Hosaka:
At that time, there were only Good Crew and Advancer.

Sugihara:
I see. So then, you were starting the group’s third HR-related company?

Hosaka:
Actually, Advancer wasn’t an HR company at the time…it was a secondhand shop for smartphones. They later pivoted to become the HR company they are today.

Sugihara:
Oh, I didn’t know that! Well, what were the differences between Good Crew and STAR CAREER back then?

Hosaka:
There were two main differences. First of all, STAR CAREER wasn’t just focused on mobile businesses—in anticipation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, we launched with the concept of providing specialized staffing for customer service and store operations in brick-and-mortar businesses like hotels and restaurants.

Second, at that time, Good Crew was struggling with recruitment, hiring only 30-40 people annually. We accepted the mission that President Goto proposed: “Hosaka, let’s aim to hire 100 people.” As a result, STAR CAREER ended up hiring 107 new graduates that April.

Interestingly, the following year, Good Crew managed to hire 100 people as well. I think this was part of President Goto’s strategy to foster growth through competition.

Starting recruitment activities right after founding the company and hiring 107 new graduates was challenging enough, but then around November, President Goto said, “There’s a company joining through M&A next April. I was thinking you could manage that one, too.”
Since we had just started this brand new company with only two people including myself, I was asking myself, “Really??”, while in the same breath, I answered, “I’ll do it!” And so, with that, I also became the manager of graphD.

Sugihara:
That sure escalated quickly! You seem to be the type who can handle—or at least be willing to handle—any obstacle that comes your way.

Hosaka:
I love getting thrown curveballs! I want people to think of me as “that handy guy”.

Sugihara:
That’s really important, isn’t it? From the perspective of top management, having “handy people” among executives is absolutely essential, and those individuals end up getting more and more work thrown their way. The more work they’re given, the more they develop and gain experience. It’s a beneficial situation for executives, but something similar can be seen in group company management as well. Even as a CEO running one organization, to be seen as a “handy guy” by the group’s president must be important, or rather, desirable.

Hosaka:
Yes, I was quite happy about that! But then, I was also thinking “Seriously?!” about establishing a new company in April when 107 new graduates were also joining at that same time, ha ha.

◆STAR CAREER’s Business

Sugihara:
Could you briefly introduce us to STAR CAREER’s business model?

Hosaka:
As of 2024, we’re a comprehensive HR services company that operates job hunting cafes which we call Career Work Cafe. With these job hunting cafes at our center, we run three main businesses: temporary staffing, job placement, and recruitment outsourcing.

Sugihara:
I see. So those job hunting cafes are the core of your business.

Hosaka:
That’s right. When companies recruit, they typically either post on platforms like MyNavi and wait for applications, or work with recruitment agencies to find candidates. From a job-seeking student’s perspective, our job hunting cafes serve as a platform that’s neither a job board nor a recruitment agency…it’s a unique place they can reach out to.

Sugihara:
How do job-seeking students learn about your job hunting cafes?

Hosaka:
Basically, we have partnership agreements with student organizations. For example, we work with student groups supporting refugees in Laos and Cambodia, or those who help at dog and cat rescue centers. We open our job hunting cafes as meeting spaces for them and provide them with a place for their activities. We also regularly sponsor their activities with contributions of around 50,000 or 100,000 yen each.

In exchange, students registered with these organizations come to our job hunting cafes when we hold events or information sessions.

Sugihara:
So, since your core business is supporting job-seeking students with these job hunting cafes, you mainly handle recruitment and placement of students. I imagine many of your own hires are students and young people…how do you handle their education and training?

Hosaka:
First of all, we do training for those who’ve received tentative job offers and for new hires. Then, we do group training sessions every month for a full year after that.

While many other group companies and external staffing agencies do similar things, our temporary staff work one day less at their placement sites compared to other companies. In a sense, we’re using that day for training, so they spend less time at their placement sites.

What we consistently tell our members, from the time we tentatively offer the job until they are hired, is that “When it comes to work, in order to do what you want to do, focus on increasing your skills, and you’ll eventually be able to do what you want.”

Now, when it comes to level and skills, most people seek to acquire skills, such as earning certifications or studying abroad. Skills are indeed powerful assets, of course, but it’s like in Dragon Quest: even if a character has a level 50 weapon (skill), it can’t be used effectively if the character itself is only level 1. In the same way, without raising your own level, you can’t utilize those skills. So rather than just improving skills to increase a member’s market value, we focus on raising the member’s level for the first year.

We encourage our members to go from level 10 to 20 to 30, while also honing their skills at the same time. Instead of just telling people to work in stores, we offer monthly training sessions to teach them how to face challenges they might encounter in those stores, how to approach problems mentally, how to seek cooperation from others, and how improving your level enables you to handle work better.

Sugihara:
That’s wonderful. What you gain from leveling up is much more valuable than focusing on skills like certifications first. Not that certifications are useless, but in terms of English, for example, it’s better to become a business person who masters English through practical use and work experience, and then maybe takes a test and sees an improved score, rather than someone who can’t communicate in English but has a TOEIC score of 990. The former builds confidence and is definitely more valuable.

◆Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sugihara:
Now for the next question. You’ve been managing this HR company for 8 years…how is your business doing recently? How was the company’s situation during the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago?

Hosaka:
During the pandemic, we suffered damage severe enough to shake our company’s direction. We had originally planned to focus on store businesses, providing staffing for hotels and restaurants, but then the Olympics were cancelled...

Originally, each color of the stars in STAR CAREER’s logo had a specific meaning. We started with the concept of specialized staffing for customer service in five areas: hotels, bridal, apparel, restaurants, and mobile phone shops. But when COVID made these business prospects uncertain, we had to remove all mention of them from our website and other materials. At the same time, we launched job hunting cafes as our business.

The long COVID era brought major changes to people’s lifestyles and perspectives, especially for the job-hunting students with whom we frequently interact. They started their freshman year right when COVID-19 began to interrupt life in Japan, and were seniors when the Japanese government reclassified COVID-19 from a Category 2 pandemic to a Category 5 (lower-risk) endemic disease. So, it makes perfect sense that they struggle to answer interview questions such as “What did you accomplish during your college years?”.

The job hunting cafe business, which started alongside COVID, transformed into something that aimed to expand people’s career options and make their life choices more colorful. However, when we first launched the cafes, we did lose some employees who had joined expecting to work in hotels and restaurants, saying “This isn’t what I was first told! I joined because of what was promised initially, but now we’re not doing that anymore.”

While maintaining our core principle of “connecting people with people”, we expanded into remote call centers and work-from-home customer support, areas that grew significantly during COVID. As the pandemic subsided, we also moved into in-office administrative work. Now, beyond providing environments for our members’ growth, we’ve strengthened our focus on offering various working styles to suit different life plans.

What COVID helped us realize was that whether it’s B2C or B2B, it’s ultimately about human connections. For example, when customers come to a store, they do so because they think, “Maybe this person can do something for me.” In B2B as well, since there are people involved, “This is a tight deadline…but maybe if I ask So-and-so, they’ll do their best to help.” In the end, work is all about people connecting with people.

Members who joined as new graduates saying “I’ll work super hard!” have now returned from maternity and childcare leave. Some continue to work just as hard, while others want a better work-life balance, and some want to work but can only do so under certain conditions. And I believe all of these choices are valid. Whether some members want to increase their income, enrich their private lives, or prioritize their family—when these various needs arise, we want to create options within the company to accommodate them, making it a place where people can work with peace of mind for a long time. I think the idea of making one’s life more colorful is the new meaning and intent behind our logo’s design.

As for business performance, our top line did temporarily decrease due to the changes in our business model resulting from the pandemic, but since then, our operating profit has actually increased!

Sugihara:
That’s wonderful. You went through a difficult period but came out stronger for it, and now you’re gradually shifting to a more robust business model.

Hosaka:
Yes. Now we dispatch more people to call centers and back-offices than to mobile phone shops, so I guess you could say our group’s risk portfolio has expanded.

STAR CAREER CO., LTD

Company President and CEO: Tatsumasa Hosaka
Address: 25F Shibuya Cross Tower, 2-15-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Established: May 2016
Website: https://star-career.co.jp/


Next, in the latter part of the interview, we discuss:

• The market environment
• The release of “Caripo”
• Industry-academia collaborative events
• STAR CAREER’s corporate culture
• “Realizing a Venture Ecosystem”
• And other topics

Be sure to check it out here!

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[Entrepreneur Interview #05] STAR CAREER / graphD – Part 2
Interview with Tatsumasa Hosaka: a Daring Voyage Toward Realizing a “Venture Ecosystem” At D-POPS GROUP, we have 23 group companies as partners (at the time of publication). On this occasion, D-POPS GROUP Advisor Genta Sugihara interviewed President Tatsumasa Hosaka, who founded STAR CAREER CO., LTD in 2016. This is the latter part of the interview. To read the first part, click the link below. https://d-pops-group.co.jp/column/star-career-interview-first-part/ ◆The Market Environment Sugihara: Thank you. For my next question, you mentioned that in the case of STAR CAREER, there are a lot of new graduates. However, generally speaking, what are the current trends in recruitment? Hosaka: The job seeker’s market will continue into the future for sure. Businesses will struggle to recruit employees next April and the following April, especially. A lot of companies, including major corporations, reduced their hiring numbers during COVID, and now many are lacking sufficient talent. As a result, demand for new graduate recruitment has increased tremendously. This situation is likely to continue through the hiring of graduates entering the workforce in 2026. ◆The Release of Carepo (“Carepo” is a portmanteau of the words ‘career’ and ‘points’.) Sugihara: In the midst of that challenging recruitment environment, on July 1st, you released a smartphone app called “Carepo” (page is only in Japanese) that allows users to earn points while job hunting. First of all, could you introduce Carepo for us? Hosaka: The Carepo app that we released displays various job hunting events. When job seekers participate in these events through the app, they receive electronic money as points. It’s an app that combines point collecting with job hunting—something that seemed like it should have existed before but didn’t until now. After its release, we’ve seen extremely positive reactions from both students and clients. Since it targets students graduating in 2026, we’re aligning our current approach with that graduating class. Sugihara: So then, you’re starting full-scale promotion from now. Do you have any goals for Carepo? Hosaka: As part of our 2025 fiscal year plan, we’re aiming for Carepo to receive 10,000 downloads. It’s said that about 450,000 people in Japan are job hunting each year, so after first reaching 10,000 downloads, our next goal is to get 150,000 downloads in three years. ◆Industry-Academia Collaborative Events Sugihara: I heard that in connection with Carepo, you’ve been involved in industry-academia collaboration activities and giving lectures at universities. Could you tell me more about this? Hosaka: Yes, as part of a business school curriculum at a certain university, we actively sponsor activities where students set up booths at event venues like a barbecue festival to learn how to generate revenue as a business. In practice, there are various tasks involved—ordering equipment for attractions like shooting galleries and yo-yo fishing, selecting prizes, arranging staff, managing schedules for receiving deliveries, and handling event operations. We expect this provides valuable hands-on experience for the students. We also plan to actively conduct lectures for job seekers, and we’re already receiving requests from universities and employment offices. I originally aspired to be a teacher and hold a teaching license, so in a sense, one of my dreams has come true. Sugihara: What’s the intention behind conducting these activities? Hosaka: The original motivation for starting my business and subsequently launching the job hunting café and the Carepo app was to nurture talented individuals who can thrive in society through our business. I am very grateful that we continue to gain allies who resonate with these activities. Regarding Carepo specifically, our idea is to eliminate employment inequality caused by information gaps, and we’ve received support from professors and lecturers at various universities. Rather than pursuing things purely from a business sense, we aim to create products that are widely endorsed by students, student organizations, and university officials. I want Carepo to become a resource that’s convenient and useful from multiple perspectives. Sugihara: That’s impressive. People who don’t put in the work can get a certain level of results just by pouring money into advertising. But instead of spending money, creating various innovations and earning things through your own sweat and legwork, so to speak—those outcomes are far more valuable than advertising. And more sustainable, too. Hosaka: Yes. Lecturing at universities and employment offices isn’t about status or branding—I simply want people to know about us, and I feel that through these activities, we’re gaining more supporters. Also, regarding “eliminating job hunting inequality caused by information gaps”—as mentioned in our media release (article only in Japanese)—a university dean told me that this is actually a serious issue that needs to be addressed, especially for regional universities. For example, in the Kanto region, job hunting events and seminars are typically held somewhere in Tokyo. When students living in Tochigi Prefecture and students living in Tokyo want to attend job hunting events, company information sessions, or recruitment fairs, the Tochigi students can certainly go, but they inevitably need to make more arrangements. It’s inconvenient to have to coordinate multiple company visits while in Tokyo. This means that within the short timeframe of job hunting, if they are unable to meet with and receive the opportunity to have an interview from a decent number of companies, a significant gap in experience will result. If students can participate online through this app, or if our job hunting café advisors can provide information about events tailored to each student’s needs, they can job hunt more efficiently in terms of both cost and time. We believe this contributes to eliminating inequality caused by information gaps. Sugihara: Everyone recognizes that the information gap between metropolitan and regional areas is an issue that needs to be addressed across all fields. It’s important to spread this awareness, and your business is truly excellent. ◆STAR CAREER’s Corporate Culture Sugihara: Changing the subject completely, I have the impression that at STAR CAREER, within the group, people of all genders and ages are thriving. Looking at your website (page only in Japanese) and company newsletters, everyone has such bright, attractive smiles. There are messages on your website like “shine as your authentic self” and “accept and respect each other”. Is there a policy that you’re consciously implementing, President Hosaka? Could you tell us the background of this message about “shining as your authentic self”? Hosaka: Yes, regarding both the headquarters members and field staff appearing on STAR CAREER’s website…I think basically all our members are like that, without a doubt, ha ha. But actually, this is the culture that President Goto built. The main deciding factor for me—who originally aimed to be a teacher—to join D-POPS* was when President Goto told me, “As we build a 3-billion-yen company that grows to be worth 10 billion yen, then to 30 billion and 100 billion yen, I want to create an environment where young people can take on challenges, so I think it would be great to have someone like a teacher with us.” *Note: D-POPS Corp. (page only in Japanese) is the company originally founded by D-POPS GROUP’s President and CEO Kazuhiro Goto. Based on that kind of culture, President Goto now leads an entire group company and is moving forward to the next major domain, whether that be creating a Venture Ecosystem or contributing to society as an entrepreneur. What I’m conscious of is that I want to pass on President Goto’s desire to provide a stage where young people can take on challenges and overcome them, even while bumping into walls. I’m working with the intention of continuing what I’ve inherited here at STAR CAREER, so I’m simply implementing at STAR CAREER what President Goto conveyed to me: creating an environment where young people can continuously take on challenges and communicating the value of facing obstacles. Journey to the Venture Ecosystem, and Beyond <Interview with D-POPS GROUP President Goto>https://d-pops-group.co.jp/en/philosophy/ Sugihara: I see. Indeed, at most companies led by presidents who emerged from D-POPS, many members have genuine, warm smiles. Recently, there are also many companies that have joined without being brought up out of D-POPS. Have you had the opportunity to speak with any presidents of these other group companies? Hosaka: Yes! I enjoy good relationships with the presidents of various companies that have joined D-POPS GROUP. Simply put, I’m interested in the presidents and members of companies that have joined D-POPS GROUP. I myself have been in the D-POPS environment from the beginning, so as a fellow group president now, I want to know more about their situations before and after joining. Sugihara: It’s definitely important to have someone like you, President Hosaka, who takes interest in our members and actively expands the circle. ◆“Realizing a Venture Ecosystem” Sugihara: Returning to what you said earlier, the members of D-POPS GROUP (not only President Goto) would like to spread the key phrase “Venture Ecosystem” throughout Japan. Is there anything about realizing a Venture Ecosystem that resonates with you, and are there any such activities that you’re intentionally engaging in? Hosaka: Indeed, D-POPS GROUP has officially set its sights on realizing a Venture Ecosystem, but even from the time I joined D-POPS, there was already a stage where young people could take on challenges. I believe that the vision at D-POPS evolved into an even larger worldview in today’s D-POPS GROUP. I sincerely resonate with how the foundational thinking at D-POPS has expanded into a much broader worldview within D-POPS GROUP. What I’m currently aiming for relates to places like the Shibuya Hikarie Building, where D-POPS GROUP’s headquarters is located. Since there are companies in various industries within D-POPS GROUP, I want to firmly establish that joining our group does not only mean gaining access to places like Shibuya Hikarie or industry know-how, but it also ensures increasing a company’s capability of recruiting core employees—even in a challenging job market. Sugihara: With 23 group companies now, being able to say things like “Our company is number one in recruitment capability”, or “Our company is number one in employee training”, or “Leave this backend system to us”—having various companies you can rely on for areas where you’re not as strong is one of the unique aspects of a Venture Ecosystem, you know. ◆Ideal Vision for STAR CAREER and graphD in 10 Years Sugihara: So, President Hosaka, could you tell us your ideal vision for STAR CAREER and graphD ten years from now? Hosaka: Simply put, I consider these two companies, STAR CAREER and graphD, as my assigned areas of responsibility in realizing the worldview that D-POPS GROUP is aiming for. For example, as D-POPS GROUP continues to grow, if they face challenges or need someone to handle certain tasks, I want to be someone who’s always ready to take action. Sugihara: Are there any initiatives you’re currently working on or challenges you face in moving toward that future? Hosaka: We do have some challenges, which we will address starting this October, in the second half of the fiscal year. Actually, all the senior managers who were responsible for each of STAR CAREER’s business units have delegated authority to the next generation. So now, the members who previously worked under those managers have become the final operational supervisors, independently engaging with those clients and supporting team members. I believe the reason why the 20-year survival rate for core businesses tends to be low is that even if they establish a business during an upward trend, they can’t ride the next wave once the business enters a stable or stagnant period. So, while developing three types of businesses—existing, core, and new—we’ve been able to expand our business fields from mobile phone shops to call centers, customer support, and back office support. We’ll continue to nurture the current trends as our existing business. Mobile phone shops, which were once on an uptrend, have now stabilized, but call centers and customer support are expected to continue growing, partly due to the digital transformation wave. We’ve decided to entrust the growth of these existing businesses entirely to our younger staff. And our previous executives will handle the newer business ventures, such as RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), Carepo, and job hunting café operations. We’ve changed our policy so that leaders who are responsible for new businesses should achieve certain sales targets within three years. Sugihara: I see. The people who joined during the company’s launch have cultivated an entrepreneurial mindset through the staffing business—in other words, they’ve studied and gained experience in new business development. That’s truly the venture spirit. Hosaka: For sure. Recently, when we pivoted our business during COVID, we developed new business areas, talent development, and related evaluation systems through a collective effort of all our members. Now we’ve made the decision to have the next generation of members drive the business forward. Next, I intend to focus on properly launching Carepo and the RPO business. And we’re aiming to reduce the gross profit share of the staffing business from its current 90% to 50% over the next three years. The idea is to have our new businesses and the staffing business each account for half of our gross profit. ◆Message to Readers Visiting Our Website Sugihara: That’s a splendid goal. Finally, in closing, could you share a message for our online readers? Hosaka: Of course. When I talk with various people from D-POPS GROUP, I always get a certain sense. For example, there’s a famous manga with the repeated line “I’m going to become the Pirate King!” The protagonist is aiming to reach Treasure Island and earn the title of Pirate King. But interestingly, among the crew members on the same ship, only the protagonist wants to become the Pirate King. One member wants to become the world’s greatest swordsman, another member wants to be able to create sea charts of the entire world—everyone is working hard toward the single goal of reaching that place, but what everyone wants to gain when they get there is different. I think D-POPS GROUP is like that. Your dreams can come true in our Venture Ecosystem. There are many companions here, so we can cooperate with each other to fulfill each other’s dreams. I’m really looking forward to having more members join our Venture Ecosystem’s community in the future.   STAR CAREER CO., LTD Company President and CEO: Tatsumasa Hosaka Address: 25F Shibuya Cross Tower, 2-15-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Established: May 2016 Website: https://star-career.co.jp/
  • Group Companies
  • Interview
2024.11.08
[Entrepreneur Interview #04] The Salons Japan Inc.
Interview with the CEO & Founder and the Director of The Salons Japan Inc., the company striving for "True independence for beauticians" In June 2024, our company entered into a capital and business alliance with The Salons Japan Inc., which leases private salon studios for professional beauticians, and we have begun our journey together as partners in the Venture Ecosystem. ☆You can see the press release regarding this capital and business alliance with The Salons Japan Inc. on the following page: https://d-pops-group.co.jp/en/column/the-salons-japan/ On this occasion, we interviewed The Salons Japan Inc.’s CEO and founder Hidetoshi Shimizu and director Kenji Kuboshima about their founding story and hopes for “THE SALONS”, their company’s private salon studios for professional beauticians.     1. What inspired you to start the company? It all began when founding member Takahara told Shimizu, who was a salon owner at the time, about SOLA SALONS’ business model that had transformed the beauty industry across the United States. Shimizu, an exemplary beautician, had been friends with Takahara for a long time. When he heard about such a fascinating business model that didn’t exist in Japan, he immediately traveled with Takahara to Los Angeles to see it for himself, and upon returning to Japan, the two of them founded The Salons Japan.   2. Please briefly describe your company’s services. We lease fully private studio spaces, each equipped with a shampoo station, chair, and mirror. Beauty professionals can open their own salon in prime locations without large initial investments. We charge a monthly fee but no commission on sales, so professionals who work hard will see a direct increase in profits according to their efforts. Unlike shared salons or commission-based salons, THE SALONS supports beauty professionals in achieving true independence with minimal risk.   3. What sets you apart from similar companies? We were the first in Japan to launch the leasing of private beauty studio spaces—our company’s specialized business—and we have never operated any other services such as shared salons, etc. In other words, we dedicate all our company resources to the concept of “true independence for beauty professionals”. We fully support professionals who aim to graduate from THE SALONS and open their own street-front locations, and we believe this unwavering commitment is what distinguishes us from our competitors and represents our strength. 4. What was the biggest challenge since starting the business? Since the leasing of private beauty studio spaces was unprecedented in Japan, we struggled to get the property owners of our first location in Omotesando to understand our business model.   5. What do you most expect from your shareholders? Utilizing the assets and expertise of a company with such diverse business portfolios as D-POPS GROUP, we want to partner together as colleagues in the same boat to transform the beauty industry.   6. What is the best part about receiving investment from D-POPS GROUP? This investment was realized through the connection between Mr. Sugihara, who has now joined as a director, and our founding member Kuboshima. D-POPS GROUP, led by President Goto, has many group companies and members with various business experiences. We are grateful that they generously share their expertise with us, and we're truly glad to have found genuine partners who think together with us about what's necessary for corporate growth.   7. What aspects of realizing a Venture Ecosystem resonate with you? We founded The Salons Japan with the desire to transform the beauty industry, which faces many challenges, to become more worker-friendly. You could also say that our vision is to create an ecosystem for the beauty industry. Since we’re running a business, money is obviously important; however, we strongly resonated with D-POPS GROUP's powerful commitment to “creating a better society for startups”, which aligns with our founding philosophy.     8. How did you two founding members meet each other? We met at a nightclub in Roppongi when we were still in our 20s. Since then, we spent our youth together as friends. While we never imagined we would end up running a company together, the trust we built over many years has proven very valuable in managing the company.   9. What strengths do you see in each other? For Shimizu (who is still an active beauty professional), salon management, store operations, and beautician-related matters. For Kuboshima, IT and finances. Each of us has our own area of expertise, and by trusting each other, we can focus on our respective strengths.   10. What is your ideal vision for the company 10 years from now? In a beauty industry where professionals work more actively and energetically, we want to become the most trusted and reliable company among beauty professionals.   11. What are some issues you will have to face before seeing that future? The beauty industry still has too many challenges to list them all here. However, we believe that we will overcome these challenges by keeping our founding conviction—to put hairstylists first—etched clearly in the hearts of our company management. 12. Any closing comments you’d like to briefly share? Once again, we are proud to have become part of the D-POPS GROUP family and are very much looking forward to growing together in the future! We are also currently looking for new team members who want to join The Salons Japan and create the future with us!!   The Salons Japan Inc. Company President and CEO: Hidetoshi Shimizu Address: 2F Kid Ailack Building, 2-43-11 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Established: November 30, 2018 Website: https://www.thesalons.co/
  • Group Companies
  • Interview
2024.10.08
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