Collaboration case
Morning Pitch leads to capital and business alliance between HIS and Satoyume! Searching for new "destinations" with agility and hands-on approach!
\ Collaboration Case Study Interview No. 4 /
HIS Co., Ltd. x Satoyume Co., Ltd.
Morning Pitch
July 20, 2023Tourism and Leisure Special
Collaboration case category
Capital and business alliance
Morning Pitch is focused on promoting collaboration between startups and large companies, and has achieved results in areas such as M & A, fundraising, and business partnerships. In the "Collaboration Case Interview", we will introduce the people in charge of startups and large companies, and introduce their thoughts and negotiations that led to the collaboration.
The fourth guest is HIS Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as HIS) and Satoyume Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Satoyume). HIS is actively utilized, such as frequently coming to the Otemachi venue for the weekly Morning Pitch. Satoyume is a business production company that specializes in regional revitalization. They appeared on the tourism and leisure special feature on July 20, 2023.
[H.I.S. Co., Ltd.]
HIS Co., Ltd.
Corporate Sales Headquarters, Second Business Division, Regional Revitalization Group, Regional New Business Section
Ryoma Mabuchi
1997inHISJoined the company27After working in counter sales, head office human resources, and corporate sales,2012In 2013, he served as Secretary General and Acting Executive Director of the Asia Management Association, a network that brings together venture management executives.HISHe has also participated in the launch of overseas expansion projects that utilized the company's overseas network, and continues to support small and medium-sized enterprises. He is currently working to support regional tourism with a focus on regional revitalization.
[Sato Yume Co., Ltd.]
Satoyume Co., Ltd. CEO Shumpei Shimada
After graduating from the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, majoring in forest science, he joined an environmental think tank and became involved in community business utilizing local resources.2013Satoyume was established in (registered2012With the mission of "Making hometown dreams come true," he produces businesses and provides consulting that accompanies local communities, from formulating strategies for regional revitalization to product development, store launches, and tourism businesses.2018A company that develops and operates hotels inEDGEHe founded the company and became its representative director.2019Year8In May, Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture,700A decentralized hotel based on the concept of "a village of people in one hotel"NIPPONIAKahokurashi Co., Ltd., a local trading company in Kahoku Town, Yamagata Prefecture, and Kahokurashi Co., Ltd., a company that aims to create a people-centered regional revitalization project, have opened the "Kosuge Genryu no Mura" (Source Village).100DIVE,JRHe also serves as the representative director of Ensen Marugoto Co., Ltd., a joint venture company with East Japan Railway Company.
Morning Pitchfor2023Year2In the month, he also appeared on stage as Ensen Marugoto Co., Ltd.
【interviewer】
Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd. Business Production Division Morning Pitch Unit
Nanaho Fujino
Graduated from the Faculty of International Liberal Arts at Akita International University. Before and while enrolled at university, he interned at a major online English conversation company and an asset management company. After that, he became interested in the startup industry and its support, and joined Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support in 2022. He was involved in the management of large-scale global events and the overseas expansion support of startups, and has been involved full-time in the management of Morning Pitch since June 2024.
Destination Create Project launched!
2024Year7Moon2day,HISSatoyume, which produces regional revitalization projects, has entered into a capital and business alliance to create "new destinations" across the country through the regional revitalization project "Destination Create Project (DCP)" has been launched.
HISis a leader in the field of low-cost international travel, and has successfully proposed and implemented travel destinations that are not yet well-known in Japan.
Satoyume is a business production company that specializes in regional revitalization.50We accompany local communities from planning to business launch and operation on an area-wide level.
The two companies will further strengthen their shared values regarding travel and destinations, and will define travel not only as tourism, but also life and daily life as a kind of "journey." They will design and propose to society the "purpose of travel, life, and life."DCPWe will promote business creation in new regions.
▼Click here for details▼
The joint press conference
(From the left,HISDirector Jun Yamanobe, CEO Motofumi Yada, Satoyume CEO Shunpei Shimada, Director Takeshi Asahara)
Could you tell us how you met during Morning Pitch's tourism and leisure feature and how you actually began discussing a collaboration?
The encounter began at the Investment Strategy HeadquartersCVCStrategic group membersMorning PitchAfter that, I was introduced to the group because they seemed to have a strong affinity with the local revitalization group I belong to, and we were able to connect.HISThe group has been involved in projects such as Kyushu Industrial Transportation in Kumamoto and the restructuring of Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki, contributing to the revitalization of local communities.58At that time, we were looking for a startup that could work on regional revitalization projects, as we wanted to utilize our international network and our human resources with a strong hospitality spirit to promote new regional revitalization.
The first online exchange was made by the finance department. After that, they decided to visit our office, so I met with Mr. Mabuchi and his superior in person.
It seems that both parties showed interest at the person-in-charge level, which led to you meeting on site.
What is the path to a concrete collaboration after that?
When they came to our office, we saw a document that was a "proposal for Satoyume" and their positive attitude turned us on.HISHe said that it would be interesting to combine "the overseas network of Yahoo! JAPAN" with "the domestic network of Satoyume Regional Revitalization" and that they would complement each other. I could relate to that, and I remember feeling that I wanted to talk more in depth. So I invited him to "Kahokurashi", a local antenna shop I run in Sangenjaya, and we discussed over a meal.HISExecutives from the company also participated, and it felt like we were beginning to see a direction, with them saying, "Let's explore some possibilities for collaboration!"
the1～2In a few weeks, you will also be able to visit the facilities in Okutama before the entire line opens.HISWe asked them to visit their headquarters, but they strongly preferred to visit us in person.
HISI realized once again that this is a company that values the field and has a swift, agile corporate culture.2We had lively discussions at the site about how we could work together to create a framework for collaboration that only our company could realize. I believe that this day was truly a turning point.
DCP was launched with the hope that the two companies could work together to create a model for regional revitalization. Satoyume decided to combine the "destinations" it has created with HIS's spirit of "discovering and developing travel destinations," which led to a joint press conference in July 2024.
What are some of the travel destinations that HIS has discovered so far?
We have been introducing regions that were not yet familiar to Japanese people as overseas travel destinations, such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, as new destinations.HISI would like to create a place in Japan similar to Kosuge Village, one of the destinations that Satoyume has discovered so far.
The spirit of hands-on approach is truly ingrained in HIS's corporate culture.
From my personal experience, when I was a student backpacker, if I wanted to go to a little-known area overseas,HISI had this image in mind. I feel that this is the same as Satoyume's management approach, which is to make nameless places and landscapes our goal.
HIS is aware that it is a later venture than Satoyume when it comes to regional revitalization. We wanted to learn from Satoyume's knowledge and ask for their help.
What are some stories from your collaboration? What went well? What were the challenges?
I have the strong impression that things went smoothly from the beginning. I think the deciding factor was that the executives came to Okutama.
I was impressed when an executive said that Satoyume is similar to HIS. I felt a down-to-earth venture spirit in the way Satoyume blends in so well with its "destination."
Please tell us what was good about it and what you struggled with.
The good thing about this project is that we were able to create a new place for our employees to work. The most difficult part was preparing the personnel system within the company. With the cooperation of President Shimada, we explained how employees who had previously worked in travel-related areas could play an active role as local personnel. Several employees have already been seconded from HIS to Satoyume, and we plan to send more employees to the local area under the DCP framework.
The first positive thing is that Satoyume is now involved in more areas, and we have been able to address the chronic shortage of human resources.HISThe second is that we have been able to create new value for the local community.HISThe knowledge about travel that we have accumulated over the years has led us to victory through the development of monitor tours, etc. This is something we could not have done alone.
It was a little difficult to align the labor management standards of a large company with those of a startup, but I feel that this was a good opportunity to change people's mindsets.
When collaborating with large corporations and startups, including through Morning Pitch, are there any things you pay attention to, know-how or methods you use?
What's important to me is how much I can fall in love with the other person's business. I think that it's only because I'm so passionate about the business that I can take on a broad and deep range of work.
Many companies have shown interest, but very few have taken shape. When collaborating with large companies, it is important for startups to be themselves and not overstretch themselves. If we do that, the large companies will make up for our shortcomings, and we will be able to focus on our strengths.
It's important to get to know each other as we really are and move forward.
Lastly, please give us a message for everyone.
HISThe Investment Strategy Headquarters invests in companies from the seed stage to later stages and provides support for increasing their value.HISSince our founding, we have been providing unknown experiences through travel to customers from Japan and around the world, with the desire to encourage as many people as possible to venture out into the world.HISThis is a value that is expected. Therefore, we are exploring new technologies and services that will enrich and make the lives of people around the world more enjoyable. In addition to traditional travel technology-related initiatives, we aim to support the growth of startup companies active in various fields that will require technology in the future, and build exciting new businesses.
New productsDCPWe are planning to open new businesses, such as a hotel in Kahoku-cho, Yamagata Prefecture, so we hope you will come and visit us when we open.
Morning PitchAt pitch events such as this one, you can talk about the future you envision and present your strengths. It's also a very important training ground for bringing your business closer to success, so I encourage all future speakers to give it a try.
The key to this collaboration was the agility and hands-on approach of both parties. The large company, including its executives, visited the startups' facilities themselves, and the attitude of discovering common ground through real-life experiences was an important factor in deepening the collaboration. HIS continues to use Morning Pitch to create contact points with many startups, even outside of this case. Satoyume is also actively collaborating with large companies to launch subsidiaries through joint investment, and is expanding its business through inter-company collaboration rather than alone. We hope that new destinations will be discovered through DCP.
Morning Pitch holds a pitch event every Thursday morning at 7:00 am, and many collaborations are born from networking between the audience and startups. We are looking forward to your participation!
Collaboration report form
The Morning Pitch Secretariat has been investigating cases of collaboration between the startups and the audience after participating in the Morning Pitch.
If you have any business alliances, fundraising, capital and business alliances, demonstration experiments, etc. triggered by Morning Pitch, please share them on the collaboration report form.
*If both companies have requested, we will introduce examples of collaboration on the website of Morning Pitch, so you can use it as a PR for your company's efforts.
*Your answers will not be made public without prior permission.
▼Click here for the collaboration report form▼
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=8UXaNizdH02vE1q-RrmZIS5vr_J599BCkTD5lDwBhJ1UMVhXS09HRzVJODNQSVpGU00xSTBCOE5GUS4u
