Since its founding, JAFCO has pioneered a new era together with its stakeholders by committing to creating new businesses that society needs.

Atsushi Yamamoto of the Business Development Division and Satoshi Kiyota of the Investment Division talk about their support for TimeLeap ink., the provider of the remote customer service tool "RURA", in which we inve sted in the seed round in March 2021. Rei will talk about the actual support content and how to deal with investee companies.

【Profile】
TimeLeap inc. Chief Executive Officer Ryosuke Mochizuki
Born in 1988. After graduating from university, he worked for a major telecommunications company and a video media venture company before starting his own business. After selling the business, he served as editor-in-chief of a robot media as an executive at a startup. In 2019, he retired from the company and established Time Leap, which he continues to this day.

[What's TimeLeap inc.?]
TimeLeap provides a remote customer service "RURA" with the vision of "realizing a world where time is spent on the most important things". Working people around the world spend about 2,000 hours a year at work. For hundreds of years, it's been taken for granted. By changing the social structure with the power of technology, we would like to free mankind from labor and realize a world where everyone has the option to spend their time on what is most important to them. 

*Past interview article:​ https://www.jafco.co.jp/english/andjafco-post/2021/08/12/000282/

* Introductory video of TimeLeap broadcasted on TOKIO Terrace: https://youtu.be/BpxnfXNByDk

The trigger for support is the event "before" starting a business. Since then, the relationship has continued for more than five years

ーFirst, please tell us about the remote customer service "RURA".

Mochizuki "RURA" is a system that allows you to serve customers from a remote location through a monitor placed in the store. Even though it is a remote customer service, the actual staff will respond, so it is possible to respond in the same way as face-to-face customer service.

"RURA"

ーNext, please tell us about the background to starting TimeLeap.

Mochizuki TimeLeap was founded in June 2019 with the vision of "realizing a world where time is spent on the most important things". Today, we're in an age of plenty, and we shouldn't have to worry about what we eat. Today, we're in an age of plenty and we should not have to worry about what to eat. However, in reality, there is a situation where you can't eat unless you work. At TimeLeap, we believe that technology and robots will replace human labor so that we can spend our time on more precious and important things.

TimeLeap Mr. Ryosuke Mochizuki

-I heard that TimeLeap and JAFCO had been communicating since before its founding. What was your first encounter with JAFCO?

Mochizuki The first opportunity was to speak as a guest speaker at an event before founding TimeLeap. At that time, Mr. Kiyota, who was in charge of investment, was participating in the event. At that time, we only talked a little bit, but after that Mr. Kiyota approached me and we started talking regularly.

Regarding marketing and sales support, after the investment, Mr. Kiyota connected me to Mr. Yamamoto, who supported investees, and the support started from there.

"Unexpected" in a good way. From sales strategy hypothetical planning to negotiation setting

- After that, the actual support began. What kind of content did you start with?

Yamamoto Due to the characteristics of TimeLeap's "RURA" as a remote customer service tool, there is a possibility that it can be introduced in industries where face-to-face interaction with customers is required. That's why I discussed with Mr. Mochizuki what kind of industry and business to target at the beginning, and decided to proceed with hypothesis testing first.

​Atsushi Yamamoto in charge of business development at JAFCO

Specifically, we created hypotheses while considering compatibility for each type of customer service, such as sales of goods or sales of services, high-priced products or low-priced products, etc., and introduced companies that matched each type.  In particular, I shared my impressions with Mr. Mochizuki before and after the business negotiations, and based on the ideas that came out of those discussions, we came up with new hypotheses. BY doing so, I was able to provide deep support.

 Mochizuki  I was really surprised by Mr. Yamamoto's ability to catch up. I think it was around the time the support started. I was planning a business meeting, but there was an urgent business on another matter, and I was late for the meeting. While preparations were insufficient, Mr. Yamamoto explained RURA in detail on my behalf.
Even though the support had just started, he was able to respond to business negotiations, and I was really surprised by his ability to catch up. It gave me a sense of security, and made me think that he understood RURA well.

Yamamoto I was surprised because it happened on short notice... (laughs). In the end, I think it was good that I was able to discuss sales strategies with Mr. Mochizuki on a regular basis and attend dozens of business negotiations to grasp the points of proposals. Also, with Mr. Mochizuki, we talked about the development background of the service, its future vision, and his view of the world.
That is why it was very significant that JAFCO was able to convey not only the functional features about cost savings at business negotiations, but also the "value brought about by the functions", such as the expected effects and the purpose, to a third party.  

ーIt is important not only to understand the superficial functions of the service, but also to empathize with the vision and world view behind it.

Mochizuki Yes, I think that is exactly the case. In addition, when Mr. Yamamoto connects business negotiations, he shares his intentions and goals in advance, so I think he understands our service and responds.

Yamamoto Since our support mission is to "connect," we place great importance on how to create the first business negotiations. However, if the purpose is to connect, it is putting the cart before the horse. That is why we have respect for entrepreneurs and understand their services. It is also important to carefully follow up on business negotiations.

- Was there any change in the "gap" or "recognition" of JAFCO before and after receiving the actual support?

Mochizuki Before receiving support, an entrepreneur acquaintance said, "The support is generous," and in that sense, I had high expectations. But to be honest, I had the impression that it would be case by case.

However, when it actually started, we were able to connect with people on a higher level than we had expected, and in a good way there was an "unexpected gap".

Connecting is not the end.  "Respect" entrepreneurs as one of the "comrades" who share the same purpose

-Are there any memorable episodes from your support so far?

Mochizuki That In a previous business meeting with a company that I was connected to,  we had to send it off due to our disagreement. After that business meeting, I looked back with Mr. Yamamoto, and the way he talked and saw things seemed like that of someone in the company.

I felt like he was one of the "comrades" who shared the same purpose, such as "The flow of the story is like this, so let's target that industry next time", "If you change the order of the explanation, it will be easier to understand", etc.

Yamamoto Depending on the service, there are times when we connect business negotiations with businesses in different fields or because we believe in the possibility even if the prospects are faint. Of course, while consulting with Mr. Mochizuki, I would like to step into "how to proceed next" while proceeding with each business negotiation.

-It's exactly "connecting is not the end". Mr. Kiyota of the Investment Division and Mr. Yamamoto,  how do you approach the relationship with investees?

Kiyota Before , the person in charge of investment sometimes took the lead in providing support. Of course, it can be said that the person in charge of investment fell in love with the investee to that extent and acted proactively, but now the person in charge of investment and the person in charge of support for investees each take the initiative and cooperate with one another. There is also a sense of security because they are catching up proactively.

In that sense, I think that Yamamoto's active cooperation with Mr. Mochizuki can be a "successful example" for JAFCO's investee support in a good way.

​ ​​Satoshi Kiyota in charge of investment at JAFCO

Mochizuki I have the impression that Mr. Kiyota, Mr. Yamamoto, and everyone at JAFCO "respects" us entrepreneurs. For example, when adjusting the schedule for a meeting, they understand our wishes and circumstances and present a reasonable schedule, and the response is speedy. I feel that they are trying to create an environment where we entrepreneurs can concentrate on the business.

Kiyota In addition to support for investees, JAFCO as a whole advocates "Respect for investees" for the sole purpose of spreading their services. That's why we do what we can so that entrepreneurs can focus on the work that only they can do. I hope that society will gradually change for the better through people-to-people connections, rather than functional relationships of "supporting" and "receiving."

Seeds sown by JAFCO will sprout with RURA. TimeLeap and JAFCO's new challenge

ーLooking back on JAFCO's sales and marketing support so far, what do you think?

Mochizuki JAFCO provided us with support in areas that we could not have done on our own, such as establishing a relationship with a large company that we had never imagined, and working with us to verify hypotheses for sales strategies. From now on, I think it's our turn to sprout the "seeds" that JAFCO sowed and create the future "RURA".

​ ​Yamamoto Thank you. However, we don't feel like we've done it all. Rather, we believe that there is still a lot of room for us to do with our sales and marketing support. For example, increasing the success rate of business negotiations, and building a sales organizational structure in charge of business negotiations. In the context of sales and marketing, I would like to continue exploring ways to contribute to the growth of client services.

ーFinally, please give a message to those who are starting a business or thinking about funding sources.

Mochizuki It might be a good idea to "make a hypothesis" first. Put aside the accuracy for a while, and act and verify that hypothesis for a certain period of time. For example, if you hypothesize that a certain function will meet user needs, you can actually create it and check the user's reaction. As you repeat this process, I think you will be able to see the direction you are aiming for and the process of achieving your vision.

However, there is no right answer that should always be done this way. That's why we want to continue growing while facing the product and the market.