The trajectory of a company unraveled from the encounter between an entrepreneur and JAFCO. We will talk about episodes and thoughts that can be told now, and prospects for the future.
This time, we will talk with Yusuke Hirata, CEO of Repro Inc., which handles customer engagement platforms with users in 66 countries around the world, and Akira Nagashima, the capitalist in charge of JAFCO.

【profile】
Repro Inc. Representative Director Yusuke Hirata
Born in Tokyo in 1980. A serial entrepreneur from a strategy consultant. After joining a major consulting firm, engaged in turnaround strategy planning and new business development support work mainly for manufacturing clients for 5 years. Although he started the EC business twice from 2011, he experienced frustration. Founded Repro Inc. in 2014.

[What's Repro Inc.]
Founded in April 2014. Developed and operates the CE (Customer Engagement) platform "Repro" for App / Web, which has been introduced in more than 7,300 services in 66 countries around the world and boasts an overwhelming market share. Utilize customer data to realize high-value-added communication across channels such as email, push notifications, web and in-app pop-ups. We are promoting global expansion by implementing major updates. In February 2020, a total of about 3 billion yen was raised in Series C.

Portfolio

I was struck by harsh words from overseas entrepreneurs, and that's why I decided to "challenge the world."

Hirata When I first met Mr. Nagashima, I had just launched Repro, and Mr. Nagashima was a college student. Mr. Nagashima started a student startup and was, so to speak, the same startup companion.

Nagashima You met Mr. Hirata when you participated in the Venture Incubation Program. At that time, I was making curation media for women with my university colleagues, and I remember well that Mr. Hirata rushed me into saying, "There are no women among the members."

Hirata: It was a dignified group of men who didn't seem to provide services for women (laughs). After that, Mr. Nagashima also worked as the first intern at Repro for three months.

Nagashima For me as a university student, Mr. Hirata was the first "entrepreneur" I met in my life. I had the impression that he had a great deal of love for the people around him, not to mention his work. After that, when I was worried that my student entrepreneurship wasn't going well, I was asked "Would you like to work at Repro?"

Hirata Repro was a group of engineers at that time, so I wanted an intern who could ask for clerical work such as email correspondence and document preparation.

Nagashima: When you were extremely busy as an entrepreneur, you often welcomed students who didn't know anything. It was a very valuable experience for me to get into the basics of business and get in touch with the ideas of entrepreneurs nearby.

Hirata: If I wanted to increase the number of friends, I wanted to make Repro a "company that has more growth opportunities than working anywhere else" and a place where people would feel "I'm glad I could work here." I think I also demanded that the internship students be strict, but I was conscious of "I want to strengthen the people who were involved in Repro."

Nagashima All the members of the student days who shared the same time with Mr. Hirata said, "I'm glad I met Mr. Hirata." Where did your commitment to "growth opportunities" come from?

Hirata Probably from the experience of two frustrations as an entrepreneur. At the age of 17, I thought, "I'll be an entrepreneur in the future." By the age of 45, I had earned money and had a life plan for the rest of my life to travel around the world.

After graduating from university, I started an e-commerce business twice after working at a consulting firm, but looking back now, the purpose of starting a business was only "to earn myself". As the growth of members and the satisfaction of users were neglected, people were steadily moving away. I experienced firsthand that services and companies that do not have the perspective of "for the world and for the people" will not last long.

Nagashima From there, Mr. Hirata's vitality, which started his third business, is amazing.

Hirata: There was a time when I had a loan of nearly 10 million yen, and I was squeezed to the limit as to how I should live.
However, when I started my business for the second time, I came across a website user behavior analysis tool called "GhostRec" and improved my company's EC site based on the analysis results, so I was able to turn a profit. The idea that "I was saved because I met this tool" was the reason why I came to think "From now on, we will provide a service that will be truly appreciated by our users."

Nagashima That's right. The customer engagement platform "Repro" is now being used in 66 countries around the world, and is expanding its global expansion.

Hirata: I had been aware of global expansion since the company was founded, but the big reason was that I participated in a venture development program centered on East Asia. At that time, an overseas entrepreneur said straightforwardly, "Japan has a large market, so even if you do it for the domestic market, it will work, but innovation that can be used overseas will not come from Japan."

I thought, "What a shit!", But I was convinced that although the IT industry is one of the few growth industries, many entrepreneurs may be thinking only about the domestic market. We, who will run startups from now on, have decided to set a new goal of "No. 1 share in the world" so that we must earn foreign currency firmly through IT.

When I joined JAFCO, I definitely wanted to invest in Mr. Hirata.

Nagashima I joined JAFCO in April 2015. I invested in Repro in February 2016, which was my first investment project.

Hirata: It sounds like a "relationship investment" (laughs).
Mr. Nagashima is like a "comrade". I met in a venture incubation program and helped me as an intern when Repro was small. This time, as a professional capitalist, I was informed that I really want to face Mr. Hirata and Repro. I was honestly very happy.

Mr. Nagashima is a lifesaver for Repro. At the time of the investment, Repro's performance was not good. If I didn't understand and trust me, I think it would have been difficult to pass the approval within JAFCO. Because of that investment, we were able to expand the functions and expand overseas as we do now.

Nagashima: I've heard Mr. Hirata's thoughts nearby since I was a student, so when I joined JAFCO, I definitely wanted to be the capitalist in charge.
At the time of its founding, IPO was not the goal, and he said that he would buy out within two years. At first, he said that the investment amount was 500 million yen, but the scale of financing increased to 1 billion yen and 2 billion yen. Based on my achievements, I have come to think "I want to aim for an IPO together" as I steadily revise my goals upwards.

Hirata Regarding IPO, I set it as a new goal within myself while consulting with Mr. JAFCO. Having been struck by overseas entrepreneurs, I began to think that it would be awkward to live without a big game after exiting, even though I was in a growing industry called IT.

I can't tell my juniors who are about to start a business, and I think I shouldn't stop running the company with my own ego. If the next generation of children show that there is a company that is honest for the third time and is growing like this, I wonder if they will take on the challenge. With that in mind, I was convinced of the goal of scaling up with the company.

Nagashima I remember the days of serious discussions with Mr. Hirata at the Nishi-Shinjuku office many times.

Hirata: You've been impatient (laughs). I heard from a senior entrepreneur that choosing venture capital is very important, so there was a time when I honestly examined it. As a result, I am really glad that I was able to work with Mr. Nagashima and Mr. JAFCO. JAFCO will do his best to support me as long as I grow up without running away. And since the knowledge and network that has listed many companies are wonderful, JAFCO's help is very encouraging as a Repro who wants to connect with companies in all industries in Japan.

From internship students to business partners. Looking forward to future changes in relationships

Nagashima I would like to continue to provide as much support as possible, such as the overseas expansion that Mr. Hirata is aiming for, and the IPO as an intermediate point.

Hirata For about 6 years, I have been involved with Mr. Nagashima in three ways: startup colleagues, internship students, and shareholders. I consistently think that I am a "comrade" and a "partner." If there are new developments in the future, it will be a very interesting relationship. I want to go out for a drink occasionally without just working, and when I can achieve an IPO, I want to spend about one night and two days talking. If Mr. Nagashima becomes independent in the future, there may be a relationship that I will invest in at that time.

Nagashima Thank you. However, if you lose Mr. Hirata's money, you may not be able to accept it because you are scared (laughs).

Hirata Please don't say that (laughs). I haven't succeeded as an entrepreneur yet, but I've been blessed with "people", including an interesting relationship with Mr. Nagashima. I think the important thing to keep grasping that luck is how far you can grow, recognizing that you are "blessed." I will try to be an attractive person, so I hope Mr. Nagashima will follow me at the same speed. And I want you to become an even more wonderful capitalist.