Realizing that I am becoming a "salaryman." Looking closely at those who thrive with "grit" in ventures

– You joined ZEALS, a Japanese venture, from a major foreign IT company. What was the reason for your career change?

Originally, I belonged to the sales department at Salesforce Japan, where I engaged with growing companies like startups and ventures, focusing on customer sales expansion and DX promotion through CRM-based proposals and post-implementation support. Out of the ten years I was there, I spent the latter half in a management position, responsible for team goal management, planning, and member development.

The work was very rewarding, and the environment was impeccable. As a "world No.1 SaaS company," we shifted into high gear with AI and I still believed there was potential for growth. However, just before turning 40, I often found myself questioning whether it was enough as I started to see the halfway point in my career. There were moments when it felt like we were racing to achieve uniform sales results under fixed annual rules, and I began to feel anxious as I gradually became more of a "salaryman" while the business expanded.

Especially after becoming the sales director, there was a program to share Salesforce's strategies and operations with user companies, and while I was able to convey the know-how from the field sales department, I started to feel that I wanted to make a comeback and run a business with grit myself someday, rather than just providing insights from the sidelines. Opportunities to see former colleagues and senior colleagues from Salesforce thriving as entrepreneurs and executives in startups also increased, and my desire grew stronger.

A powerful 30s. A chance to make a comeback in my 40s

– While grappling with your career, how did you come across ZEALS?

I have met diverse companies and entrepreneurs through work, but I met our president, Masa, at an event called Dreamforce held in the United States. The impression I had when meeting Masa was remarkably strong. I felt it was wonderful that a Japanese B2B company was taking on global challenges, especially since the president himself was so genuinely committed. It rekindled my desire to become someone who could excel globally in the future. I remember feeling excited when I heard about Masa's vision and future challenges.

As I deepened my understanding of the company, I met other executives and powerful leaders who are actively advancing their business operations, and I felt that there are many wonderful and straightforward individuals here. Strategically, the company is pushing to strengthen direct sales, deepen engagement with enterprise companies, and promote marketing transformation primarily through AI, and I felt there were areas where my experience could be valuable.

I believe my 30s were spent thoroughly pursuing the field of sales. However, when I contemplated my future career, I thought that in my 40s, I wanted to engage in impactful work that affects business and organizations with more of a management perspective. Originally, I had two ventures in my 20s and worked closely with the management, which made "working with a management perspective" not a distant goal; however, at that time, I lacked skills and didn't feel I could take on significant responsibilities. In my 30s, I built my strengths and experience in the sales field and gained substantial management experience. The thought that betting on ZEALS' vision and making a comeback in my 40s might ignite a new passion began to well up within me.

The department responsible for post-orders is the core of ZEALS. What are the differences from your previous job?

– How do you feel having actually joined the company? Did you notice any gaps?

Initially, I joined as the head of the sales department, but it took time to catch up.

In many businesses, sales revenue is generated upon receiving orders, but for performance-based chat commerce, the real work begins after the order is received. Account planners and communication designers team up to grow customer accounts and generate revenue. I felt that the department responsible for post-orders is truly the core of ZEALS, where our strengths are concentrated.

Moreover, I realized that I did not have sufficient marketing knowledge or understanding of agencies, which made it difficult for my proposals to have depth or reality, and my responses to members' inquiries tended to be somewhat abstract.

If I genuinely want to work from a management perspective, I need to thoroughly enhance the granularity of field operations and customer understanding, while sweating it out myself and deeply connecting with the field team members. At such a time, I was gratefully given the position of chief of the department that interacts with clients in the cosmetics, D2C, education, and human resources fields.

While personally handling projects, I was able to experience team management, including two new graduates, which allowed me to recognize the KPI structure and extract business and organizational challenges more realistically.

– How did you perceive the team's culture? Were there any differences from your previous job?

ZEALS indeed has a very rich organizational culture. As our values (guiding principles), we state From Zeal (everything begins with enthusiasm), Bet On Paradox (taking the lead on paradoxes), and United Will (sharing the same time and aspirations). I particularly feel "United Will" often while working.

Because ZEALS has a high ratio of new graduates, many members have strong growth desires and the ability to absorb information, but above all, they genuinely get along well. It's common for us to go out for drinks after work (laughs). Even amid our hard daily work, there is always laughter, and everyone works supportively while being considerate of those around them. ZEALS members willingly take on tasks and if colleagues or juniors are in trouble, they dedicate themselves to helping them and coming up with solutions, which is wonderful.

It seems that initiatives for organizational revitalization aimed at creating this "United Will" are being carefully implemented. We hold a company-wide morning meeting every week to transparently confirm the company's trends and have opportunities for Masa to share his current thoughts. Additionally, we conduct company-wide events every quarter for reflection and strategy sharing, providing employees with many opportunities to understand the company. Furthermore, the company has also implemented systems for inter-departmental meals after work and departments randomly forming lunch groups weekly for shuffle lunches, alongside internal broadcasts on each person's initiatives and insights to connect people and information organically and effectively.

Of course, as it is still a startup, there are many areas that need refinement and improvement. We are in our tenth year since establishment and have exceeded 300 employees, yet I feel there is still a lot of very personalized aspects regarding operations and information sharing compared to the size of our business. Nevertheless, a team has been established to continuously improve daily operations, which is incredibly helpful and reassuring.

Because we achieved results in the field, we can engage in management-level work

– After joining as the head of the sales department and gaining experience as the head of the field (business unit) for six months, you were promoted to business unit manager. How do you envision leading the company in the future?

I don't believe there is a magic wand to rapidly expand sales. I think organizations that can genuinely carry out what needs to be done will remain strong, so while preserving the good atmosphere and culture created by the management team thus far, I hope to create a setup and environment where everyone can engage with a strong sense of ownership and thoroughly execute what is expected. For that, I feel it is essential to maintain a long-term perspective, simplify what needs to be done, and exhibit leadership that enables everyone to maximize their potential.

I also want to articulate and communicate how what we are working hard on at ZEALS contributes to the world and how my value as a businessperson is increasing. I would like to create an organization where everyone faces daily operations with high motivation and can feel growth every day.

– Reflecting on your experience, what do you believe is necessary to achieve your goal of "working from a management perspective," and what have you practiced?

First and foremost, before saying something as grand as wanting to "work from a management perspective," I believed it was a prerequisite to produce results as the head of the field. To accomplish this, I focused every day on building trust quickly with the new team members, creating a team where we could openly share our thoughts, deciding on focal themes to enable everyone to act consciously, and maximizing the communication of what I could convey while showing them my own example.

Personally, I believe the difference between managers in the field and management levels lies in whether they think about how to win within their battleground or decide on a battleground and choose the targets they bet on. To do this, it is necessary to enhance the understanding of the 3Cs: "market environment and customer needs," "customer choices," and "our strengths and resources" at a high resolution. Looking back, through many visits and meetings with clients and agencies, I was able to hear about the expectations for ZEALS and areas where we lacked, and through sweating it out alongside many internal stakeholders while progressing with the work, I was able to significantly elevate each person's KPIs, mission range, and personality. In the future, I want to maintain a strong sense of the field while balancing substantial business decisions based on both firsthand information and a holistic view.

– ZEALS has the vision of "Reviving Japan and the world - with ZEALS AI, increasing individuals with intent, saving Japan from its labor shortage, and delivering hospitality to the world." In your work, how do you think you embody this vision?

To achieve this vision, I believe that we are thoroughly committed to communication design, and each person is earnestly facing every day to deliver value to our clients and their users. Additionally, I think we are continuously making strategic investments to develop advanced products.

Furthermore, to maximize this knowledge and assets across ZEALS, we are promoting exchanges between US members visiting Japan and vice versa, sending Japanese members to the United States. From the early days of the establishment, we have had many multinational talents primarily in the development department and are promoting globalization. Ultimately, I believe that Masa himself is committed on the front lines in the US like no one else, which helps to naturally convey this vision to each employee.