"HERO around the World for Someone" The axis of "HERO" formed since childhood

− First of all, there is a wall called the "WILL Board" where everyone joining Zeals writes their own WILL. What did you write there, Katsura-san?

"HERO around the World for Someone"

I wrote this. It reflects my desire to become someone who can "give dreams and hopes" to people all around the world. During high school, I became self-absorbed and wanted to stand out, but over time I started thinking about "the other person." If I aspire to be a HERO = a hero, I want to be a HERO for someone. I also engraved these words in my high school graduation anthology.

− What does HERO mean to you, Katsura-san?

Since I was young, I have liked anime and dramas such as Kamen Rider and Major serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. From the protagonist's upbringing and my own life experience, I define my sense of HERO as

"raising motives that include altruism rather than selfishness, proactively carving out new paths, and making a large-scale impact"

Especially, I value the idea of "carving out a new path myself," and I find fulfillment in challenges that no one else has undertaken. If my actions can make someone smile or give them courage, I think that’s truly a wonderful HERO. Thus, I felt an odd sense of significance in performing in front of all students during middle and high school (laughs).

− Have those values influenced your life afterward? I would like to hear about your experiences in college as well.

I believe they have. The reason I entered Aoyama Gakuin University in the first place was that it was a place where I could achieve the things I wanted to learn and do.

・I was inspired by Keisuke Honda's activities in Cambodia and wanted to learn about development in Southeast Asia (This is introduced on the university's Web and YouTube channel)
・At that time, I was aiming to become an actor, so I wanted to target a university that produces many entertainers.
・Most of my classmates went on to universities in the Kansai region, but I didn’t want to be confined by what was considered normal around me.

After many twists and turns, I gave up on the path of acting, but I took on various challenges during my university life. One of them was to establish a new club. Our university experience coincided with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Knowing that job-hunting students, who had lost opportunities to meet directly, were struggling to gather information and feeling anxious, I established a job hunting support club as a representative in January of my second year. We provided various opportunities, such as group discussion preparation courses, matching among job-seeking students aiming for the same industry, and mock interviews. Ultimately, it was incredibly rewarding to see my initiative that started from zero to one lead to early job offers for those who participated in the program and to help my cherished friends secure their first-choice job offers. I felt that this was a small-scale yet true embodiment of the HERO I aspired to be.

"Implementing cutting-edge technology in society is cool" Inspired by COO Endo, the decision to join Zeals

− Thank you! How did you proceed with your job hunting?

Since I gave up on my dream of becoming an actor, I began to think about my future. Being an aspiring actor influenced my thoughts.

"Creating new services that are commonly used in the world gives people dreams and hope"

I began to want to be involved in this. Therefore, the only industry I looked at from the beginning of my job hunt was IT ventures and startups. I thought companies that translate cutting-edge technology into business and explore unknown markets are cool! To outline the timeline of what I did, I set the goal for job hunting from January to March of my third year. Spring was for gathering information and rehearsing for internships, summer for actively participating in internships regardless of scale, including challenging companies with selection processes, and autumn for focusing on interview preparation with the companies I wanted to apply for. I believed that it was important to strategically continue updating myself throughout the job hunt, but surprisingly, my encounter with Zeals happened in the middle of my job search.

− I see. How did you come to know about Zeals?

It was quite fateful! Around the time the summer internship ended, I received a scouting email from Zeals. When I looked into it, I realized it was the company of a young entrepreneur that had faced off against Horiemon, which I had seen during my first year of university, and I attended the information session out of curiosity. It was an event combining the CEO's presentation and self-exploration workshop, and I was inspired by Masa-san's passion and at the same time could vividly articulate

that I wanted to stand at the moment when my every action as part of Zeals could significantly change the world and engage in presentations and negotiations.

From there, I made Zeals my first choice and proceeded to the selection process, ultimately deciding to join for three reasons.

① I can work close to a role model I aspire to
② Zeals' vision and mission align with my own sense of “HERO”
③ A company composed of professionals active in various fields has sustainable growth prospects

While I have articulated these reasons theoretically, the undeniable tipping point for my final decision was the presence of COO En-san. En-san, who was the final interviewer, faced me throughout the entire interview time. Afterward, I was offered the position, but I had a hard time accepting it. Then, despite being busy, he took the time to consult me on the career path I envisioned as a businessman without rushing me to accept the offer. Thanks to the words shared at that time, I can currently say that I have a satisfactory offer from the bottom of my heart, and I want to repay this favor for the rest of my life.

− Is there a reason you studied abroad in Thailand after your job hunting, rather than before?

Previously, in a different article, Daisuke-san mentioned "Enhance your profile," and I think this study abroad manifests that. I believe that job hunting is not the goal, but rather I finally stood at the starting line of my dream once I accepted the job offer, so I think enhancing my profile before joining is necessary.

In this study abroad opportunity, I set the following goals for myself.

Establishing a new style in an unfamiliar environment
　− Actively diving into the community in Thailand
　− Living a daily life centered around English
　− Listening to stories from pioneers who are already challenging in an unknown environment

In reality, the Japanese entrepreneur I appointed via Messenger welcomed me warmly, a complete stranger, and from there, various connections were made. (I also appeared on the YouTube channel run by that person (1, 2, 3)). The next time Zeals expands to Thailand, I want to be the first to raise my hand and take on the challenge. Moreover, the addition of "around the World" to the WILL BOARD I mentioned at the beginning comes from this experience. It became a valuable opportunity to look at not only Japan but also the world.

The HERO orientation spreading from Japan to the world. Bringing chat commerce to the BOP layer and launching from Japan to the world.

− Finally, how do you envision realizing Zeals' goal of "launching from Japan to the world"?

"I want to elevate the world by providing new business opportunities to low-income populations around the world."

The low-income population referred to as the Base of Pyramid is said to amount to 4 billion people worldwide. This accounts for approximately half of the global population. I believe that addressing this layer will lead to elevating the world.

What I felt while living in Southeast Asia for a short period was that those making a living from street vendors were competing solely on customer service. Considering the rapid development of e-commerce and c-commerce, I believe there are business opportunities available. Currently, Zeals is mainly introducing chat commerce in the enterprise sector, but it envisions expanding into the SMB sector in the future. If this is realized, I believe the sections of the BOP with room for growth will first increase their income, driving a lift in GDP.

− Please tell me specifically how you plan to contribute.

Honestly, at this point, the actions I can take are minimal. However, nothing begins without declaring and taking action. First, I think it is necessary to become a person who can start new businesses as a leader overseas. I also stated in the job offer ceremony that I aim for

“Newcomer award in the first year, promotion to division manager in the second year, and launching new overseas business in the third year.”

With that, I want to strive earnestly.

"I don’t mind being called a cocky first-year."

I sincerely aspire to be a presence that has an overarching view of the organization and can raise the necessary flags in the direction the organization aims for.
Thank you very much.