RECRUIT
ASNOVA CHALLENGER .02 Yui Sato, a business manager in her second year at the company, envisions the future of "MIRAIVA"
"Scaffolding" is often seen at construction sites. It is indispensable for solving social issues such as aging condominiums and natural disasters. In recent years, we have gradually expanded our field of activity as a means of flexibly designing spaces such as event space design, temporary offices, and gallery spaces.
MIRAIVA, which is scheduled to launch in April 2023, is ASNOVA's new business that will support this movement. We will create a "VA" that expands the place where scaffolding can play an active role and creates new value for society by matching general users who want to use scaffolding, such as event companies, artists, and creators, with scaffolding contractors.
The person in charge of the business is Yui Sato, who has been with the company for two years. She is usually responsible for branding, investor relations, and is also the second person to use the ASNOVA Challenge System, an in-house system that recruits managers for new businesses created by Corporate Planning Office.
How will Sato-san lead MIRAIVA in the future? We spoke to him about the details of the business and how he became the person in charge.
Text: Asuka Nakagawa
Photo: Itsumi Okayasu
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Eliminate the anxiety of general users and scaffolding contractors and support the ideal match
First, please tell us what kind of service MIRAIVA is.
Sato: This is a matching service that directly connects general users who want to use scaffolding, such as event companies, architectural designers, and artists, with scaffolding contractors. How do you find and choose a contractor? When in doubt, by using MIRAIVA, you can find a contractor that meets your desired conditions, such as the budget and time required for construction. Alternatively, if you are unsure about searching or choosing on your own, ASNOVA can act as a concierge and consult and mediate.
Scaffolding I imagine that there is a lot of anxiety for installers to do business with general users who are not familiar with scaffolding. Does MIRAIVA benefit to vendors?
Sato: As you said, I think that scaffolding contractors are also worried about whether they will be able to understand the story and whether they will be able to carry out the construction as they want without having all the prerequisite knowledge. In addition, there is a large difference between the busy season and the off-season, and the price competition has led to a decrease in the unit price of construction, resulting in a shortage of craftsmen and other issues for the industry as a whole. MIRAIVA wants to demonstrate its value in these areas as well.
By allowing general users to meet their ideal vendors through MIRAIVA, it should be easier to receive orders for new projects. In addition, if the contractor can receive stable orders for construction, I think that there will be no forced discounts. As the number of people using MIRAIVA increases, the size of the scaffolding market will increase, and employment can be expected to stabilize.
Scaffolding It's a service that could solve the concerns of both builders and general users. Is there a growing need for the use of scaffolding among general users in recent years?
Sato: In the first year of joining ASNOVA alone, we received several requests from individuals to lend us scaffolding, and several inquiries from high school students who said, "We want to use scaffolding for a cultural festival, but we can't assemble it ourselves, so we want to ask for construction as well." I think there is definitely a need for the general public to use scaffolding.
In the past, there was a service that connected the construction industry with scaffolding contractors. On the other hand, matching with general users is almost unexplored. ASNOVA, which is responsible for the rental and sales business of scaffolding, needs to expand the places where scaffolding can be used in order to expand the scaffolding market. MIRAIVA was born from Corporate Planning Office about one year ago with this idea. When the direction of the business was determined, a person in charge was recruited within the company with a view to full-scale commercialization.
Joining a company with a focus on "who I will work with" rather than "what I will do"
Before we ask you about how you came to be in charge of MIRAIVA, could you tell us why you joined ASNOVA in the first place?
Sato: I joined a securities company as a new graduate, but I had wanted to work in accounting and bookkeeping since I was a student, so I decided to change jobs at the three-year mark. At the time, I didn't have a strong interest in scaffolding, but I applied to ASNOVA because they were looking for an accountant. The deciding factor in joining the company was the personality of the Director and the boss. My previous job was in a rigid industry, so I was very nervous when I heard that I was going to have an interview with Director, but he talked to me in a friendly manner to ease my anxiety and created a fun atmosphere. The image of "Director" has been overturned in a good way.
Sato: My boss, Mr. Ono, who serves as Senior Manager at Corporate Planning Office, believed in the potential of scaffolding and worked hard to expand the range of its use, even though he had no connection with scaffolding before joining ASNOVA like me. I was involved in the planning and management of events in collaboration with a team led by a former Japan champion of parkour.
I want to work with these people. As I went through more interviews, I felt more and more strongly about it. At the same time, I was expected to have experience working for a securities company, and I was offered to be hired in IR. With ASNOVA, you can enjoy working in your own way, even if you are not an accountant. Intuitively, I thought so, and decided to hire Corporate Planning Office, which is in charge of IR and public relations. In IR, I am in charge of preparing materials and manuscripts for financial results briefings, and in the Public Relations section, I am in charge of preparing press releases and communicating with members of the press.
So you placed more importance on "who you work with" than on "what you do." How do you look back on the past year in which you worked in a position that was different from your intended field and in which you had no experience?
Sato: I feel like I'm doing my job in my own way. I was in sales at a securities company, so I worked from the perspective of "how can we appeal to the appeal of the company so that customers will be interested?" That perspective is also important in IR and PR, so I feel like I'm making use of my experience from my previous job.
I could see myself taking charge of the future of MIRAIVA.
I heard that the background to Mr. Sato's decision to be in charge of MIRAIVA's business was the "ASNOVA Challenge System," which recruits people in charge of new businesses created by Corporate Planning Office within the company.
Sato: It was introduced in 2021 when I joined the company, and I knew that it was a system that allowed people to be involved in the release of new businesses that had not yet been released to the world, regardless of affiliation or position. The person in charge of the ASNOVA STATION, which can rent ASNOVA scaffolding materials from partner companies, is also determined by this system. I never dreamed that I would be the second user.
Why did you decide to run?
Sato: In June 2022, when I heard from Corporate Planning Office about MIRAIVA and the recruitment of a business manager, I could imagine myself in charge of this business. This is because I am involved in the production of articles for owned media as part of public relations, and I have interviewed artists and athletes who use scaffolding. As I listened to their stories, I became more and more aware that "scaffolding is not only useful at construction sites."
For example, Noboru Kimoto of SPEMON, the representative of the parkour team SPEMON, which held a collaboration event with ASNOVA, said, "The scaffolding is perfect for a parkour stage where you can freely compose a performance because of its high degree of variability." In fact, on the day of the parkour event, when the scaffolding was assembled according to the planned blueprints, there was a desire for improvements, so the design was changed in a hurry. This is only possible because of scaffolding.
For example, Noboru Kimoto of SPEMON, the representative of the parkour team SPEMON, which held a collaboration event with ASNOVA, said, "The scaffolding is perfect for a parkour stage where you can freely compose a performance because of its high degree of variability." In fact, on the day of the parkour event, when the scaffolding was assembled according to the planned blueprints, there was a desire for improvements, so the design was changed in a hurry. This is only possible because of scaffolding.
Scaffolding is useful in situations other than construction sites, and I realized that it has a lot of potential.
Sato: The image of expanding the possibilities of scaffolding has been expanding more and more. So, when I heard about MIRAIVA, I had a sense that the significance and value of the business fell into my grasp quickly. It was also a time when I was thinking about advancing my career, so I wanted to apply for a business manager, but I was quite hesitant before making a decision. In my first year at the company, I wondered if I could really do my job because I had little knowledge of web marketing. How many times have I consulted with my boss, Mr. Ono? In the end, Mr. Ono's words, "If you want to do it, you should take on the challenge," pushed me to apply, and I applied in July 2022.
Every day is full of discoveries. Fueled by the encouraging support of those around me
It's been a month since you took over the business at MIRAIVA. Tell us about the business and where you are now.
Sato: I just finished explaining the business concept at the board meeting in late July. Corporate Planning Office will support us until we commercialize it, so we are aiming for a launch in April 2023 while confirming the setup together. We are currently in the process of creating a site with Corporate Planning Office. There has been talk of gradually formulating a sales strategy, but to be honest, there are many things I don't understand ....... In order to know what I don't understand, I identify all the questions and organize them one by one.
Did you make any new discoveries or learn anything new while you were building your business?
Sato: To be honest, before I was put in charge of the business, there was a part of me that was naïve, thinking, "Why don't we just create a website?" In fact, it's a lot to think about. I am thinking every day about what we can do to increase the number of registrations for general users and scaffolding contractors, what is important to increase the number of matches as a basic premise, and if one of the answers is "ease of use of the site", how to make it easier to use. Web marketing has a lot of technical terms, and it is difficult to catch up on what you don't understand, but I feel that every day is full of discoveries that lead to a sense of fulfillment.
Apparently, until the business is launched, he will be taking on this role alongside his regular duties, so I'm curious how he manages to balance this.
Sato: At present, we are focusing more on our daily work. Sometimes I find it difficult to find a balance, but it is reassuring to know that not only the Corporate Planning Office but also the members of Corporate Planning Office support and fully support this challenge. When I think about it, I don't think there are many companies that entrust a 26-year-old employee who has been with the company for two years to a single business. Regardless of your company history, you can actively take on new challenges and receive generous support. It's one of the charms of ASNOVA, isn't it?
Our goal is to create a portal site for searching 29 construction industries.
What kind of service would you like MIRAIVA to be in the future?
Sato: Our goal is to create an easy-to-use site for the most recent years, but in the future, we are aiming to create a portal site that searches for contractors in 29 construction industries, including painting and demolition, not just scaffolding. I would like to provide a service that allows not only general users but also contractors in the construction industry to search for the ideal contractor simply by entering the desired conditions.
Currently, using an agency can result in high intermediary fees, and there are cases where the cost exceeds the budget and you are forced to give up using a company. We are also considering a business model that will prevent this from happening.
As a result of these efforts, I hope that the image that "it is not difficult to contact scaffolding contractors and contractors in the construction industry" will spread throughout the world. Find a contractor who will fulfill your wishes and contact them. Even if this hurdle is lowered, the possibilities of the scaffolding industry, and by extension, the construction industry, will expand at once.
Finally, as the person in charge of MIRAIVA, please tell us what challenges you would like to take on.
Sato: If the business goes smoothly, new members may join the team. When that happens, I will not only be responsible for promoting the business, but also for leading the team. I have no experience in team management, so I am a little nervous, but I want to work hard to become a reliable presence. I want to be seen as a reliable presence by the people who made me want to work at ASNOVA, and by the people who are supporting this challenge. First of all, I want to make MIRAIVA a success and make a solid contribution.
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