"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.
The 24th meeting was featured by Shota Watanabe, CEO of 9seconds Inc. We would like to talk about the challenges of our business in the future, along with the perspective of the capitalist in charge, Takayuki Matsumoto.
【profile】
Shota Watanabe, CEO of 9seconds Inc.
Born in 1990 from Tochigi prefecture. Joined NTT DoCoMo, Inc. as a new graduate in 2014 after graduating from university. Engaged in corporate sales. After that, he joined freee Co., Ltd. in 2016 and experienced inside sales and field sales. Joined Dropbox Japan in 2019 after working as a human resources manager for a sharing economy startup. Established 9seconds Inc. in April 2020.
[What's 9seconds Inc.】
A cloud service that instantly connects prospective customers browsing B2B corporate websites with inside sales (corporate sales) with a single click."Quicker (Quicker) "is developed and operated. You are browsing your site instead of the traditional sales and marketing method of "confirming prospective customer information entered in the inquiry form and approaching by phone". With potential customers, Providing an unprecedented smooth "inquiry" experience that connects instantly with one click. First time By reducing the lead time for business negotiations and hearings, it leads to more efficient corporate sales activities.
Raised 320 million yen to Lead Investor with JAFCO on December 27, 2021.
Corporation I felt the challenges of Japanese society due to the inefficiency of sales.
―9seconds Inc. was founded in April 2020. Please tell us about the background of your start-up and your sense of challenges.
Watanabe I experienced enterprise sales and inside sales at NTT DoCoMo, freee, and Dropbox Japan, which I joined as a new graduate. The discomfort I had there led to the development of the current "Quicker".
One company called the phone numbers on the customer list in order, from top to bottom. I make 150 calls every day, of which only a few can make appointments. Most of the day is devoted to"calling and refusing". Neither the caller nor the caller felt good, but I couldn't get rid of the question, "Why am I doing this?"
The essence of corporate sales, such as the time for business negotiations with customers, the exchanges that build relationships of trust, the process of thinking about proposals, and the process of receiving orders, are very enjoyable. However, the process to reach a business negotiation is still too inefficient and psychologically burdensome. I overlooked the country, thinking that it could be more automated and more efficient, but I did not have a product that solved this big problem by thoroughly focusing on that problem. I thought I had to create it.
―You have a career such as changing jobs to freee Co., Ltd. and experience in personnel work at startups. How did you get involved in starting a business?
Watanabe When I changed jobs, I chose freee because of its advanced corporate sales organization. freee was clearly one of the best in Japan because it launched inside sales, which was rare at the time, at an early stage, and had a well-defined mission for inside sales, and it had Salesforce, which made sales activities quantitatively visible in detail. I was also interested in products designed for small businesses in Japan, such as SMEs and sole proprietors. As a sales representative, I had conversations with freee's main customers, the business owners, which strengthened my belief that there should be more business owners and great companies in Japan, and I wanted to be a part of that, which made my desire to start a business clear.
After that, I thought that it was important to gather people and build an organization to start a business, so I experienced the personnel manager of a startup and went to Dropbox Japan to learn the sales operation of the United States, which is five years ahead of Japan, and started a business. I will reach you.
-You have experienced the necessary areas from outbound sales to inside sales and personnel affairs toward starting a business. What made you decide when to start a business?
Watanabe At the end of 2019, I participated in an acceleration program (a program that supports the business development and creation of startups).
I had the opportunity to brush up my business over a couple of months, and while doing research there, I realized that there was a big difference in the field of sales tech between Japan and overseas. There are hundreds of products overseas, but only a few in Japan. As the working population is declining and corporate sales are declining, I thought that improving the efficiency of corporate sales is of great significance and has potential for business.
Inbound marketing has data that it takes 42 hours to talk to a customer who has an inquiry. This is a number researched by HubSpot, an American CRM company. In other words, "42 hours"for inside sales to talk to customers by calling or emailing interested customers. The social loss is enormous.
The important thing for corporate sales and inside sales is to talk with customers, listen to their ideals and ideals, and think together about solutions for the business success of the company. It's my job, but two days are almost wasted. The world view that follows the precedent of "it can't be helped" and "that's it" is strange, and by changing it, the work of inside sales and corporate sales will definitely improve.
If this ideal can be realized, excellent human resources who have entered as new graduates will be able to eliminate the situation of being depressed by tele appointment, and the productivity of society as a whole will greatly increase by changing the image of corporate sales and inside sales. I was convinced that I would go.
I was hitting the wall from the product concept stage
Mr. Watanabe and Takayuki Matsumoto (left), supervising JAFCO capitalist
-We raised funds from JAFCO at the end of December 2021. Please tell us about your approach to financing from the start-up stage and your encounter with JAFCO from the perspectives of Mr. Watanabe and the capitalist in charge.
Watanabe I was thinking of expanding the company to 5 years and 10 years with a sense of speed, so I started a business with funding from the beginning.
I spoke with JAFCO for the first time online in August 2020 with Mr. Matsumoto, the capitalist in charge. At first, I thought, "I wish I could invest from the largest, historical and proven VC in Japan," but I didn't think that would be a reality.
Matsumoto I'm still interested in areas where there are still many inefficiencies in Japan that can be made more efficient if digitized, and in particular, I've always felt the inefficiency of corporate sales. I did. The corona wreck cuts online and offline, making customer acquisition more inefficient. After hearing about Mr. Watanabe's business concept, I definitely wanted to make a bet.
In fact, reports from McKinsey and Boston Consulting at the time reported that "conversational marketing" would grow towards 2025. Companies that see B2B websites as an interactive customer acquisition tool and such products will grow. This area has been delayed in Japan, and we have not escaped from the passive situation of waiting for inquiries. I thought there was a business opportunity right here.
-What kind of exchanges did you have until the specific financing was implemented?
Matsumoto At the first meeting, the product was in the conceptual stage. So you said, "I would like a product like this" and "How about the possibility of such a function?"
Watanabe That's right. Mr. Matsumoto is a person who has seen the investment destinations of various B2B companies. It was a great learning experience for Mr. Matsumoto to share a sense of the issue, such as "I'm having trouble with the inside sales of the support recipients right now," and to give me an opinion about the potential of the business.
Matsumoto We began to make concrete plans for fundraising after Mr. Watanabe participated in the "Incubate Camp" in October 2021. We received a high evaluation, placing second overall, but the big factors were the fact that we already had a client for the beta version of Quicker and that we could see the shape of our engineering team.
Mr. Takashi Udagawa, an engineer and current director and CPO, joined the company in April 2021, and when I talked to him, I thought, "I think we can form a good team with Mr. Watanabe."
Watanabe When I finally decided to procure for the next round, Mr. Matsumoto was a VC with whom I had a continuous relationship, and he felt the potential for the product. I've always wanted to be with Mr. Matsumoto, so I went on to talk about it after the incubate camp.
-What was the reason for choosing JAFCO among the many VCs?
Watanabe There are three deciding factors, one is where you can work with Mr. Matsumoto, who you can trust. The other is JAFCO's overwhelming financial strength and strong network. I think it is a great advantage to be able to introduce existing investment destinations (as business destinations). Finally, it is the achievement. The reproducible track record of being a lead investor in BizReach and Money Forward was very appealing.
Mr. Matsumoto always took care of me and gave me advice, and I had the intuition that I could do it for 10 years. There were many places where we could sympathize with each other, such as the background of seriously working on soccer.
Matsumoto I want to be the first partner to be consulted. Regarding the business, Mr. Watanabe is an expert. With full trust, what kind of path is there to go to the world that Mr. Watanabe wants to realize in the shortest and fastest way? I think it is my role to discuss and support that. The managers in the seed period have to make their own judgments and do the execution. Unexpectedly, thinking and time are taken in places that have nothing to do with business construction. Therefore, I try to feel free to consult with me about anything.
Watanabe That's right. Even now, I exchange information once a week with messenger, etc., and have detailed daily consultations. I don't think there are many relationships that can be easily talked about in this way. It's great that you can swallow it first without denying what I wanted to do. On top of that, he gives me advice, so I can give my opinion with confidence.
Business support is encouraging because it is the seed early period
-Did the relationship change before and after the investment was made?
Matsumoto As with any investment destination, we are exploring each other before investing. The state of ongoing negotiations until payment is a relationship of trust but a tension. Since becoming a shareholder, I think that as an equal partner, I have become able to communicate with a sense of psychological security.
Watanabe That may be true.
Mr. Matsumoto can point out that it is better to do this from this side, without saying that it is too difficult before and after the investment. From the start of a business to this point, the"fun"of creating a business by yourself has prevailed, but from now on, there may be a difficult aspect toward business expansion. I hope you will continue to be a partner who can talk closely with each other.
-What kind of support do you receive from JAFCO now after making the investment?
Watanabe 9seconds Inc. does not yet have a dedicated corporate staff. JAFCO kindly supports the work such as recruitment, accounting, and business planning so that we can concentrate on our business. Specifically, we ask them to promote exchanges with company workers, such as social insurance maintenance after hiring, and to attend meetings with hiring media to determine human resources requirements.
Matsumoto I would like to focus on sales support in the future.
Watanabe I didn't expect VC to do this. Most startups are short on people and have to devote their time to management work to think and work to solve their problems. It's really encouraging that there is someone who can move their hands as a member. I think it's a great value for JAFCO to join us during the seed early period.
What kind of customer's issues will you face? Do not hang the axis of problem solving
-What do you want to achieve in the future for business expansion?
Watanabe First of all, I would like to concentrate on solving the big issues related to the initial contact between prospective customers and inside sales and corporate sales staff. After that, we already have a concept for products in the surrounding area, so I would like to release new products at the right timing. I would like Mr. Matsumoto to know how to develop the business and to be a wall hitting partner.
The most recent issue in achieving this is hiring engineers. Sales business issues may be difficult for engineers, but in Japan, the sales tech market will become a very large market in the future. We want to become a representative company, so we want to increase the number of friends who aim to work with us.
-Finally, please tell us about your thoughts and aspirations that Mr. Watanabe cherishes as an entrepreneur.
Watanabe What we value is the perspective of "who is solving the problem?"
With "Quicker", you can feel the joy of inside sales and corporate sales for young people like yourself who have doubts about inefficient tele appointments and are suffering, and are essential activities. I want you to concentrate on and feel rewarding. And I want to raise the productivity of those people and make society healthy. I think it is my duty as an entrepreneur to have that axis in place.
Person in charge: Comment from Takayuki Matsumoto
Mr. Watanabe has gained experience in cutting-edge companies in the sales field and started his business from his own sense of specific challenges. Entrepreneurs who have experienced inside sales are extremely rare in Japan, and I wanted to reach out to those who know the most issues in Japan.
I would like many companies to improve the quality and efficiency of inside sales by highlighting the negative parts of inside sales that they have experienced so far and the lagging parts of Japan. And I hope that eventually we will aim to become number one in the field of sales tech. I think that the company was founded in April 2020, and there was a great deal of anxiety because it overlapped with the Corona disaster. However, strangely, the sales tech area expanded rapidly with Corona as an opportunity. We hope that many people will make great strides in the future, with the trend of the world"noticing that it was useless"as a tailwind.
