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We interviewed with Blackbox's first Japanese entrepreneur, Mr. Jun Iinuma, co-founder & CEO of alphaspace inc, who has been a leader in SaaS business for 15 years since the establishment of salesforce Japan and co-founded Cogent Labs Inc. He then co-founded alphaspace inc. We asked him about his vision of solving social issues through XR creations and his thoughts on the future of startups in Japan.
It all started when I met the co-founder and Head of XR creations, Mr. Nakaichi. When I saw his creations for the first time, I was very impressed. I was so moved by his works that I couldn't help but ask him a question: How much money do you get and time do you spend to create something so amazing?
I had worked for salesforce and started an AI tech company called Cogent Labs , but my career is more business oriented, so I was surprised to hear how much money and time it took. It was really a shock.
The NFT market was popular at the time, and he consulted me if he could sell his creations as NFT. But I told him that it would be more interesting if he came up with a different business model, rather than just ending up as NFT sales. As we held many meetings together, we began to work as a team and decided to incorporate the company.
The engineers in salesforce are now very expensive in terms of their monthly salary, and so are the AI engineers. I think this is because engineers have brought innovation to the world through their valuable creations in each era. And yet, the value prices of XR technicians like Mr. Nakaichi, who create future possibilities through XR, were overwhelmingly out of touch with the market.
The market is still immature, and those with highly technical skills are few. So, the market value of those technicians who can create something valuable are not meeting their actual reputation. That was my first thought when I heard Mr. Nakaichi's story.
So, what happens when this happens is that the Japanese market is moving with wrong pricing instead of correct global market prices. We believe that the values that XR technicians, engineers can bring to people and the market are something that many countries and industries will need in the future, just as technicians and engineers who create AI algorithms can bring value to people and the market. So, We thought this market had a huge potential.
I knew about Kamikatsu-cho from around 2014, before I left salesforce, and thought it was amazing that such a small town, a marginalized community, was implementing a socially beneficial and environmentally friendly initiative called Zero Waste.
Grandpas and grannies have been trying to do something good for the environment long before the term "Zero Waste" was coined to describe their sustainable development goals (SDGs.) They have a great cause, but they haven't developed a business model to make use of it.
I have been visiting this town for 7 to 8 years, and there are many people who want to learn about their great activities, but it is difficult to generate revenue that can be returned to the community. If that is the case, such a good activity like the Zero Waste movement will diminish rapidly.
That's the issue when you sit down and think about it.
In 2020, Kamikatsu-cho renewed its waste disposal facility in the form of the Zero Waste Center. In 2018 or 2019, the SDGs were gradually getting known as a hot topic in the market.
Many government officials and businesspeople started coming to Kamikatsu-cho to visit the Zero Waste Center. The old facility before the center was not made for visitors, and there were no accommodations for them. So they made a big investment as a community and renovated the waste disposal facility.
During the opening of the Zero Waste Center, the pandemic started, and people could no longer come to this town from 2020. They are trying to attract people back to the town through various measures, and we had a conversation with RISE & WIN Brewing Co. a craft beer brewery in Kamikatsu-cho, and we came up with the idea of creating an interactive Metaverse space where people around the world can experience the rich nature of Kamikatsu-cho and zero-waste initiatives.
Together with RISE & WIN Brewing Co., we thought it was important to start anyway, otherwise it would be difficult to gain the understanding of the people of Kamikatsu-cho. So we did.
We are glad to start this project. We have received inquiries from well-aware companies, brands, creators, and government officials, and we would like to plan various initiatives in this Metaverse in the future.
In the future, I would like to be involved in the Metaverse transformation of the Zero Waste Center so that we can work together with the people of the town on a wide range of projects. In this way, we believe we can increase the number of people involved in this Zero Waste Town, a marginalized community.
It will indeed lead to tourism. On a technical note, there are a variety of technologies that can Metaverse the real world. For example, it is possible to take photos with a 360-degree camera and create a metaverse by merging the photos together.
It appears beautiful, but it is not realistic. You don't get a sense of the thickness or depth of the space. It is like a two-dimensional surface. That looks beautiful, but when you look at it in detail or change the angle, there are too many two-dimensional surface elements. It's disconnected from reality, and the three-dimensional spatial elements are very much reduced.
Our team uses Unreal Engine, a technology that creates Sci-Fi Movies and games, to create a more realistic, immersive, and realistic XR space. That way, people can stay there and spend more time thinking about what they want to do here. So we started this project with the Unreal Engine in mind.
This commitment was also in line with RISE & WIN Brewing Co. desire to share the wonderful nature and initiatives of Kamikatsu-cho with people around the world through beer. We believe that we can create works and a business model that will have an impact on the world by combining the Kamikatsu-cho Zero-Waste initiative, RISE & WIN Brewing Co. commitment to beer brewing, and alphaspace's commitment to technology.
We hope that through XR, people around the world will become aware that there are activities in Japan that address the circular economy, and we hope that this will encourage tourism business in provincial cities. If the town of Kamikatsu can generate income in this way, the number of residents will eventually increase. We hope that this will help to solve the problem of declining birth rates in many regions across Japan.
I visited a marginalized community in Niigata Prefecture that grows Koshihikari rice produced in Uonuma about 10 years ago. There is a tree called Kuromoji (Lindera umbellata) there. Kuromoji is used for toothpicks at high-end restaurants and extracts for luxury-brand perfumes.
But the people in the area told me that they’ve had this kind of tree for a long time and did not think it was of any value. In fact, Japan has a wide range of four seasons due to its various latitudes. The Kuromoji may be one of the signature items of the region. However, people who live there take them for granted and don't consider them valuable.
Therefore, if you are going to create a regional booster business or start a local startup, I think you will have a better chance when someone who knows the area and has been doing local business for a long-time teams up with someone who has a different business experience, such as a foreigner from a completely different world.
As you know, “Think globally, Act locally.” If people with their own different expertise can work together, the value of provincial cities will be stronger than that of urban centers. So, I think there are many possibilities.
It may not be an advice, but there is one thing that I hope entrepreneurs never forget. You need to achieve your business goals, and you should always motivate people with your vision. No matter how hard business gets, especially if you are a founder or an entrepreneur.
Of course, as a business owner, it is important how to generate sales results. But unless you are the founder, you cannot keep on spreading your vision to all the people. That is why you should always brush up and talk about your vision. The moment the founder becomes only a mere face of management, the surrounding people will miss out the cause.
You can't refine your vision by yourself, so discuss it with many people to keep creating greater vision. Startups are often challenging and exciting, but facing a lot more immature and difficult things. That is why you need the support of people involved in your business. A great vision always moves people.
I believe that startups will eventually become venture companies and grow into large corporations. That’s why taking on challenges is always necessary at every stage of growth. Vision moves people especially in difficult times. I think it is very important to keep refining your vision.
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