"Entrepreneurial aspirations" to hear the background of deciding to start a business, the conflict until the business gets on track, and the desire to realize through the business.
In the 21st meeting, we interviewed Mr. Kazuhiro Migaki, CEO of Trinity Technology Co., Ltd. which operates the "Smart Family Trust".
【profile】
Trinity Technology Co., Ltd. Representative Director Kazuhiro Migaki
After graduating from the Faculty of Law, Rikkyo University in 2004, passed the judicial scrivener examination. Opened the Judicial Scrivener Office Trinity Office in 2009. After that, he became a representative employee with the establishment of the judicial scrivener corporation Trinity Group. Founded Trinity Technology in October 2020.
[What's Trinity Technology Co., Ltd.]
2020 Year Ten Founded in May. With the mission of "creating a world with peace of mind through law, people, and technology" 2021 Year Five Month, family trust property management cloud system
Launched "Smart Family Trust". 2021 Year 11 11 Moon, JAFCO as lead investor, series A About in a round 6.1. Raised 100 million yen.
I was fascinated by the world of law that connects the past and the present of society
-First of all, please tell us what kind of service Trinity Technology's "smart family trust" is.
"Smart Family Trust" is a property management cloud system that allows you to manage the trusted money and assets with an app. By linking data, information such as bank accounts can be automatically acquired, and family property can be managed safely and without hassle. In the first place, a family trust is a mechanism in which elderly people entrust their property management to their families and facilitate inheritance. Now that we are entering a super-aging society, it is a serious issue for everyone to protect their property from asset freezes caused by dementia and fraudulent damage aimed at the elderly.
The judicial scrivener corporation Trinity Group has a track record of supporting family trusts, which is one of the best in the industry. "Smart Family Trust" is a service that was born from the idea that widespread dissemination of the family trust system based on its operational experience will lead to the solution of social issues.
-You started a judicial scrivener corporation in July 2009. What made you think about starting a business?
When I was a student, I never thought I would start a business, and I wasn't even interested in the law, so I was absorbed in music.
The reason was that I met Blue Hearts when I was 14 years old. I was impressed by the musicality of the kindness in the intensity, and a week later I bought a guitar and started composing songs. For the next 10 years, I haven't thought about anything other than music. I didn't have a desire to be a professional or make money, I was just crazy about the expression music.
When I was in college, I hosted a national tour at my own expense, so I took a leave of absence and spent all my time working part-time. And when I turned 24, I only had the unfounded self-confidence of "feeling done". When I got out of the world of self-satisfaction and looked back at myself, I thought, "If I devote this much energy to people, I think I can help society." So I went back to college and started studying law.
-Why did you choose the world of law and the path of a judicial scrivener?
When I entered university from the attached high school, I happened to choose the Faculty of Law (laughs). But when I started studying, I felt that the law was very deep and connected to the world. There is an idea of peace and equality, a constitution is made based on it, there is a law under it, and detailed ordinances are connected. Reflections on the past led to the thought of the present, and I was absorbed in the fact that it was very beautiful.
I chose a judicial scrivener for the easy reason that I could do it myself. When I went to the books section of the University Co-op, along with lawyers and tax accountants, the teaching materials for judicial scriveners said, "One pass!" I tried to do this, but in the end, it took me up to the third shot and I finally passed.
Looking back, I can't thank my parents for leaving me as a "leave of absence" because I was absorbed in music.
Combining technologies to popularize as an infrastructure
-Please tell us about the process leading up to the establishment of the corporation and the process of gaining strength in the "family trust".
After passing the exam in 2007, he gained experience at a judicial scrivener office in corporate legal affairs for two years before becoming independent in 2009. Since I was a kid, I wasn't good at doing anything when people told me, so the decision to become independent was quite natural. But when I started a business, I didn't have any work (laughs). I had an image of what I could do in corporate legal affairs, but it was natural because I had no personal connection with the company. I desperately jumped into the business and became able to support a lot of small and medium-sized enterprise customers.
In many years, he is in charge of nearly 2000 small and medium-sized enterprises a year. From the time I became confident, I began to wonder what kind of services I could provide to individuals. Therefore, I focused on the inheritance project.
In the 5th year since the company was founded, I have been in charge of 500 to 600 inheritance projects a year, and I have come to see various issues. For example, it turns out that the wife who lost her husband had no idea where to put important documents related to assets, or that she had bought various financial products after her death. If the remaining person is older, he or she will be at a loss because of many health concerns such as the risk of dementia.
After seeing various cases, I came to the family trust, thinking that it would be more beneficial to customers if there was a service that left property management to children.
-What kind of response did you receive when you started the family trust service?
At that time, there were few family trust services in the professional world. So, when I made a contract from scratch and provided it to the first customer,
I was very grateful that I was really happy to meet Ma-san.
After that, I increased the number of cases and noticed that everyone from general individual customers to the presidents of some listed companies are in the same situation. As the super-aging society gets into full swing, I am convinced that this will become an indispensable social infrastructure.
-The need to spread it as a social infrastructure will lead to a "smart family trust" that combines technology with a family trust service.
That's right. If the service is developed only by the judicial scrivener corporation, the number of people that can be provided will be limited. Therefore, I was thinking about creating a larger platform from around 2017-18.
There are more than 100,000 people in Japan who are engaged in legal professionals. If everyone creates a family trust in their own way, complicated problems will arise from the perspective of law and taxation. If there is a family trust service that can be standardized and used, it is safe for end users. With that in mind, we were finally able to link it to development in 2020.
"Creating a secure society" is the axis of creating diverse organizations
-When you start a technology company from a judicial scrivener corporation, the required technology and human resources will change. What did you work on first?
Since I'm not a person in the tech world, I thought that I had to work as a team to solve things I didn't have, so I focused on hiring a CTO right after the company was founded in order to find a key person first. Following the connections on SNS, we sent messages to about 150 engineers and conducted online interviews.
10 % of them had time to make a business presentation.
I am currently connected to CTO Masashi Otani via SNS through a shareholder. He has served as an outside CTO and technical advisor for a wide range of companies, from start-ups to major companies, and was a person who understands technology and business. I met at the timing when I quit my previous job and talked with enthusiasm about "sociality of smart family trust" and "possibility of scaling", and he decided to join by outsourcing. At first, it seemed that I was able to hear what I was saying beautifully, but in August 2021, I was asked to join the board as a director.
-Mr. Otani himself, after launching the service, did you feel the response and potential of the customer's response?
I think so. The needs of our customers were beyond our imagination. Almost 100% of the customers we support family trusts now use "smart family trusts".
From the customer's point of view, money is a hassle, but it has to be done. If a parent has dementia and the bank account is frozen and the parent's money cannot be withdrawn, the child will have to reimburse the money. It would be more difficult for a family trust to do so, but for family trusts, the creation and management of trust books will be reported. Therefore, if you introduce a "smart family trust" that the app automatically captures and manages complicated management, you can say "I definitely want to use it." Considering the possibility that parents may have dementia in the future, there are many people who apply, and it can be said that the target market of "smart family trust" is very wide.
-Have you ever had a hard time building an organization?
I think some members were confused at first because I suddenly said that I would create a technology company. Of the 20 or so employees, engineers are hired externally, but about half are transferred from the judicial scrivener corporation. Professionals and engineers live in different worlds in the first place, and they also have a sales team. How to make the most of the diversity within the organization is a theme that should be considered forever.
-What do you think is important for creating a diverse organization?
I think it's a mission. We are not building a system, selling it, or consulting. We often talk with our members that we are creating peace of mind.
What would happen if my family disappeared, wouldn't it bother my family after my death? Eliminating such various anxieties is the significance of our existence. Members of all occupations sympathize with the desire to create a secure society. I think it is important not to hang that axis.
Financing from JAFCO leads to widespread trust
Mr. Migaki (center), Yukari Miyagawa (left), JAFCO's capitalist, Haruyoshi Onuma (right)
― In November 2021, we raised approximately 610 million yen in a series A round with JAFCO as the lead investor. First of all, please tell us about your first impression of your encounter with JAFCO.
I met Mr. Onuma, the capitalist in charge, in July 2021. I've heard from entrepreneurs and shareholders around me that JAFCO's investment screening is extremely strict. In that case, I thought it would be better to receive it like "baptism", so I asked another department of JAFCO, who had a connection, to introduce Mr. Onuma.
Immediately after talking, I thought it was intuitively good. Mr. Onuma is a person who is weak in a good way and accepts and absorbs everything. Mr. Onuma was in charge of the IPO, and Mr. Masaki Yamamoto, CEO of Chatwork, said, "The support system after the investment is also very good." In addition, the fact that JAFCO, who has a wealth of experience, has invested in the investment itself gives rise to the reputation of being "certified." After the actual procurement, the trust of financial institutions and shareholders has increased, which is also very attractive.
-Aiming for an IPO was solid from the beginning.
I agree. From the time of its founding, I thought that in order to develop in a scaled market, we should collect people, goods, money, information, and everything else.
-How do you see the process leading up to the decision to raise funds and the support after raising funds?
From the first meeting in July 2021 to August, we had many meetings and proceeded with all discussions. I was surprised at the speed.
And I'm feeling the generosity of support right now. In order to expand the service, it is important to have a financial institution that receives consultations on family trusts handle "smart family trusts." JAFCO has introduced many financial institutions, but in many cases you can hear from his trust in JAFCO. From now on, I would like to focus on building a personnel and evaluation system, but I am very reassured that I have a wealth of know-how in the HR field.
Entrepreneurship is the most interesting if you enjoy freedom and responsibility
-What do you want to achieve in the future?
Anyway, spread the "smart family trust". We would like to provide safe and secure property and asset management and succession for the elderly.
Since the recognition is still low, I think that increasing the number of proposers of "smart family trusts" is the key to popularization. We would like to expand our services by proactively holding seminars for businesses and having them make proposals to individual customers.
-As an entrepreneur, do you have any things or beliefs that you have consistently cherished?
One of my favorite words is Shigesato Itoi's "Hobonichi's corporate motto," "Gentle, strong, and interesting." First of all, there is "gentleness", and in order to realize it, "toughness" is necessary, and there is "interestingness" that we can do with excitement. I have cherished that feeling. If it is a business with only strength, it may have been possible to create a different business. But the most important thing is whether it contributes to society or whether customers say thank you.
-Can you give us a message or advice for those who want to become an entrepreneur?
I think the highest concept of human happiness is "freedom". Entrepreneurship has the greatest freedom to do anything. People who take responsibility, but who find it fun to include all of them, and those who are intuitively excited, should definitely do it.
If "fear" comes first, it may be that the accumulation of successful experiences is a little lacking. I have psychological safety in myself, and it's good in areas where I think I can do it, so I'd like to push my back to try it.
