For this article, we interviewed President Goto, the organizer of Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 held in October 2025, along with the operational committee’s three leaders.
(This interview was conducted in December 2025.)
This is the latter part of the interview. To read the first part, click the link below.
https://d-pops-group.co.jp/en/column/ves-behind-the-scenes-part1/
◆The Social Gathering
Sugihara:
The reception was way different from a typical post-seminar mixer, featuring highly polished, 90s-era music and live performances along with carefully curated food and drinks. I imagine your extraordinary attention to detail was at play here as well, President Goto…could you tell us more?
Goto:
Originally, I wanted to create a space where people could enjoy a drink while listening to top-tier live music. I initially considered jazz, but I felt that standard jazz bands could be found everywhere. So in the pursuit of something more edgy and stylish, I looked to our group company opzt’s CEO, President Akamatsu, for some suggestions.
When he asked what kind of artists I had in mind, I told him I was thinking along the lines of legendary artists from the 90s with whom our generation was obsessed during our school days. He gave me several proposals, but because I was so particular, I rejected all of them, ha ha.
Finally, he said, “If you say so, I’ll try to negotiate with the two bands that you said were the coolest!” In the end, he managed to secure both legendary performers whom I had admired since my youth. These artists still have a massive fanbase today, and their concert tickets sell out instantly regardless of the price. I wanted to give a sense of nostalgia to the generation in their late 40s and older, and at the same time, show the younger generation that music in the 90s was this cool.
Since we didn’t compromise on the music, the drinks had to be on that level, too. I decided to provide a separate selection of beverages out of my own pocket. Since the room would be full of CEOs with sophisticated palates, I wanted them to be genuinely satisfied. I consulted an acquaintance of mine, President Okazaki of Five Needs, whose business deals with alcoholic beverages, and what we produced was “Goto’s Bar”.
Standing as an addition to the venue’s standard hotel lineup, our extra-special Goto’s Bar featured truly premium selections, including wines from Napa Valley’s Kenzo Estate, which I personally love. It was a combination of the music and drinks that I consider the absolute best, and I believed this pairing would allow everyone to have a truly sublime experience.
Sugihara:
It sounds like a truly sophisticated social gathering. I also heard some wonderful stories from the after-party later that evening.
Goto:
That’s right. President Sugimoto, the founder of Positive Dream Persons (PDP) who gave the toast at the reception, arranged to host the after-party at a restaurant operated by his company called The Tender House. He let us use an entire floor exclusively, and invited not only participants from the summit, but our management team as well.
As the party reached its peak and I went to settle the bill myself, one of the entrepreneurs I mentored stood up and proclaimed, “We can’t let President Goto pay any more than he already has. I’ll collect the funds from everyone!” Then, President Ikeda, the founder of Will Group who gave the toast alongside President Sugimoto, stepped in saying, “No way, I’m paying for all of this!”, and proceeded to take care of the entire restaurant bill.
I was deeply moved and overjoyed by both of these gestures from two businessmen who I respect from the bottom of my heart.
Sugihara:
Since the seminar and the social gathering afterward were both so full of particulars, coordinating all of that with the hotel staff must have been incredibly precise. Do you have any untold stories from the preparation process?
Shibata:
Our operational committee meetings began in earnest way back in December 2024. To be honest, since I had only handled internal company events until then, there were moments when I wondered, “Do we really need to start preparing this far in advance?” But when I look back now, putting things into motion that early was absolutely the right call.
The six months leading up to the event were a whirlwind. Beyond the food and drinks President Goto mentioned, we were obsessively meticulous about the seating chart. We debated whether to have eight or nine chairs per table. Since you can’t get a real feel for the space just from a blueprint, we visited the venue multiple times with President Goto to actually line up chairs and sit in them. We spent a lot of intensive time verifying every detail, asking ourselves, “Will this spacing feel cramped, or will our guests be able to truly relax?”
Also, regarding the setup of Goto’s Bar, we faced the practical issue of the hotel’s corkage fees. While we wanted to provide our own selection of alcohol, the hotel also needs to ensure their business remains profitable.
So, I simply told the hotel staff this: “The participants in this event are CEOs who lead companies ranging from hundreds of millions to hundreds of billions of yen in scale. If they find this venue wonderful, there is a very high probability it will lead to future business for you.” The hotel staff understood the meaning behind my words, and ended up showing us flexibility by waiving the corkage fees, for which we were very grateful.
One more thing: because hotel staff are busiest on weekends, most of our communication happened then. As the date approached, I couldn’t let go of my phone for a single moment, even on Saturdays and Sundays. I had to make numerous unreasonable requests and last-minute adjustments, but after the event, a member of the venue staff told me, “Even from our hotel’s point of view, this was a truly magnificent event.” Hearing that, I felt very glad, like all our efforts were totally worth it.
◆Operational Committee Members
Sugihara:
On the day of the event, about 20 members from various companies in D-POPS GROUP were hustling together as a unified support team. I heard there were a number of very thorough preparatory briefings…Mr. Matsutani, you were in charge of managing the proceedings, and it seems you were the one who created all of the highly-detailed documents for informing the other committee members. Did you learn anything about team collaboration you’d like to tell us?
Matsutani:
To be honest, for more than half of the operational committee members, it was my first time to work directly with them. At first, I was a little worried they might wonder, “Why is this guy in charge?”, ha ha.
However, this event was something President Goto built with intense passion and a focus on the smallest details. I believed the most important job for management was how accurately we could share that information with the team.
Rather than just to put on an event without anything going wrong, our ultimate mission was to create an experience that could change an entrepreneur’s future. To achieve that, I felt it was vital to explain the reasons behind every specific detail—why the banners were in those specific spots, or why the seating was arranged just so.
I saw myself as the bridge between President Goto’s vision and the other operational committee members. To convey that passion accurately, it naturally became necessary to provide such detailed explanations.
Also, for roles like holding guidance signs near the station, it’s a lonely task out of sight of the other staff. From my own experience, I know it’s easy for one’s focus to slip in that kind of environment. To ensure the team saw it as their own mission, I made sure to communicate the significance of those roles and asked for their full commitment beforehand.
Sugihara:
It was every member’s high level of awareness that enabled such smooth operations, for sure.
Matsutani:
In fact, we had only one meeting with the entire team before the event, and one more on the morning of. There was simply no time to give every single instruction. Therefore, I consolidated the information, gave it to each sub-group leader, and told them, “I’m relying on you to make the final judgment calls on the ground.”
Even so, everyone performed beyond expectations, from sincerely greeting guests while holding guidance signs, to welcoming late arrivals without hesitation. I am convinced that the committee members were able to act autonomously and provide excellent service above and beyond the call of duty because D-POPS GROUP’s high importance placed on empathy is so deeply ingrained in every employee.
◆Event Merchandise and Visuals
Sugihara:
Rather than being just the result of numerous briefings, this was the natural outcome of the everyday considerate attitudes of all the committee members…truly wonderful.
Additionally, the quality of the creative work was striking, from the special pre-launch event website to the booklets, binders, T-shirts, and the video introductions for Dr. Semmoto and Ambassador Fujisaki. How were these materials produced?
Kawaguchi:
For the website, booklets, and merchandise, we received immense support from idealump, one of our group companies.
Since they also manage our corporate website, they have a deep understanding of not only our design preferences, but our vision and philosophy as well. When we told them the concept was to make this a day that changes the future for entrepreneurs, they were incredibly quick to grasp our intent, which was very reassuring.
However, President Goto’s attention to detail goes deeper than most would imagine. One example is the splash design in the Speakers section of the event website. Originally, it was a bit more rounded, but that wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. He strongly felt that as the unicorn’s splash, it needed to have sharper, more energetic lines, as if it had just crashed through something with all its strength. We went back and forth with idealump many times refining the design until it expressed the kind of power that President Goto was envisioning. Because he pours his own soul into the details, I felt a strong urge to see those details materialize, and the creators responded accordingly. I am truly grateful we’ve been able to form that kind of relationship.
Sugihara:
All the videos were also spectacular.
Kawaguchi:
The opening movie and the introduction videos for Dr. Semmoto and Ambassador Fujisaki were produced by Point Zero. We were introduced to them by President Sugimoto of PDP, who was mentioned earlier, and they have been handling our company’s videos for years.
Before they produced the videos for the summit, President Goto met with them and told them directly about the thought he had put into the event and the message he wanted to convey through these videos. Then, because the people at Point Zero have been accustomed to his preferences for such a long time, when they created the first drafts, President Goto approved of basically all of them. The quality they delivered far exceeded our expectations.
We could never have created the setting for this event without idealump and Point Zero’s cooperation. I am truly glad that we’ve encountered such wonderful partner companies who come alongside us and our vision.
◆Insights Gained While Working with President Goto
Sugihara:
It’s clear that President Goto’s extraordinary passion and decisiveness resided in every single detail. I’d like to ask all three leaders of the operational committee, what did you feel or learn while accompanying President Goto during these preparations? Let’s start with Mr. Shibata.
Shibata:
Indeed, through various meetings and training sessions, I’ve had many opportunities to learn from President Goto, but actually, in all likelihood, this was my first time to work closely with him on an actual business task.
While I was working beside him, what overwhelmed me from the bottom of my heart was his staggering level of professionalism. I’ve been told since the day I joined the company that “our work is in the details”. I made a conscious effort to maintain a high standard for greeting customers and keeping store facilities clean and organized, believing that was an adequate level of awareness.
However, the degree of enthusiasm and zeal President Goto applies to those details…until this project, there had been no opportunity for me to perceive that essence with my own eyes. From his consideration for every single chair on the seating chart to every single dish on the menu, this event allowed me to witness a level of thoroughness that made me think, “He’s really checking this?” or “He’s going this far?” I felt in my bones that the reason he has such a powerful and loyal circle of supporters behind him is because he pushes through to complete a task by scrutinizing each and every detail.
Above all, his greatest strength is his professional determination to keep going until the very end, without ever backing down. This incredible attitude made me once again resolve to embody this same stance in my daily work no matter what.
Matsutani:
This was the first time to work directly with President Goto for me, as well. During the preparation period, I was constantly surprised by his level of obsession, just like Mr. Shibata was. For example, the seating chart wasn’t something that could simply be finished once we created it. He never stopped considering the specific relationships of every single attendee. Even after we thought it was settled, he adjusted it about five more times, saying, “I know we decided on this, but…let’s change the group sitting at this table anyway.”
When we’re on the production side of things, in most cases, our clients don’t think through the details to that extent. But with President Goto, his vision will always exceed your imagination as a producer, so you have to put your mind to its absolute limit just to keep up. Every time we cleared one challenge, his expectations would rise, and we had to keep responding at higher and higher levels. In the midst of this earnest and serious back-and-forth, I realized that this is the way to elevate the quality of one’s work.
And now that the event is over, as I look back, I’m struck by another thought. President Goto often asks, “Is there good energy flowing?” or “Is this attracting good fortune?” Since joining the group, I understood the meaning of those words intellectually, but I never had an experience where I felt, “This is it!”
However, through this event, I think I finally understand. The “good energy” that filled the venue and the overwhelming satisfaction of the participants—when you trace that back to its origin, you’re led to the store-based business D-POPS. In this day and age, many young people shy away from service-industry jobs, but it is a vital foundation that everyone would miss if it disappeared. That kind of work cultivates an attitude of obsessing over every cranny and nook, which is exactly what creates this good energy. This summit was an event that made me feel strongly, through such close proximity to President Goto, that we are creating a positive energy flow with our own hands.
Kawaguchi:
Unlike Mr. Shibata and Mr. Matsutani, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside President Goto every day. So, from the moment he declared at last year’s all-hands meeting that we were going to host a summit, I braced myself, knowing things were about to get incredibly busy, ha ha.
I could predict the level of obsession the others mentioned; I knew nothing would be decided in a single go. I tried to use my experience to move ahead of schedule and approach everything with meticulous care. Nevertheless, this time President Goto’s passion was more intense than ever before…it felt like I was holding on for dear life.
Through this, something he’s always been teaching me finally clicked: “When you squeeze your passion and heat into something, it will reach people far more effectively than something you just threw money at.” Even if you spend a fortune on advertising to gather people, if there is no soul, nothing is communicated. This event was invitation-only, and we didn’t run flashy ads, yet the satisfaction level was incredibly high because it was totally infused with President Goto’s pure ambition.
The good energy that Mr. Matsutani mentioned filled the venue precisely because President Goto scrutinized and poured out his whole heart into every tiny detail. He was so thorough that a complaint like “This part is a bit weird” or “The service is bad” would have simply had no place. Because that passion was felt, participants are now spontaneously spreading the word that it was a truly great event. Feeling like our Venture Ecosystem’s circle of influence is expanding little by little through this event was the greatest reward for me.
◆Realizing a “Venture Ecosystem”
Sugihara:
Thank you. I believe that through this event, D-POPS GROUP’s vision of realizing a Venture Ecosystem was able to imbue itself in a lot of people. Finally, please share your current thoughts on achieving that goal.
Goto:
I feel that this day was truly the starting line for us.
In terms of building a Venture Ecosystem, I feel we have finally reached the entry point. The more we interact with those who are suffering from problems with business management—whether they’re entrepreneurs, executives, employees, or even their families—the more we see what needs to be done. It feels like there is an infinite amount of work ahead of us.
I am working with a strong desire to bring this Ecosystem into a concrete shape during my lifetime, but I am also aware that this is a staggering challenge. No matter how much we achieve, it doesn’t have an end. We could bring it to 80% or 90% completion, but at no point will it ever reach the point of being perfectly 100% complete. We’ll always feel there are areas where we wish we could have provided more support or other people we could have helped. There may even be cases where people we weren’t able to support adequately end up making a name for themselves as brilliant entrepreneurs.
In that sense, for us who are taking on this endless battle, I am convinced this summit was a major turning point—a moment to reflect on exactly how we should build the Venture Ecosystem moving forward.
Interview conducted by D-POPS GROUP’s advisor Genta Sugihara.
