Today we have started a “trial hiring” which will last for 2 weeks.
A candidate who had an interview with me in Tokyo a month ago and is participating in this trial program was born and raised in Nagano. He has a very rich experience at a very well-known Japanese company in digital marketing.
Because he has a family in Yokohama and will need to bring his family with him if he joins us, I had suggested this trial hiring.

We had a dinner party to welcome him, and I asked him the following question:
“Why did you become interested in SOPHOLA-a very start-up, though he can finish his career at his established company?” “Two reasons. Of course, it’s because your company is based in Nagano I have wished to come back. More importantly, at SOPHOLA, I thought I could get involved in projects where I can deal with state-of-art marketing/ad-tech. In this way, I can widen my horizon and continue to create some value even after my retirement,”
he said.  His words made me realize that age does not really matter, but ambition and ability to take action make people very attractive.

I’m really looking forward to working with him next week;)

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc