Yesterday, I attended the “Amazon Ads Local Tokyo Business Accelerator” hosted by Amazon Ads. It was my first time joining an Amazon Ads event, and it turned out to be a very valuable opportunity to directly connect with the Amazon Ads team—who always support us—and with sellers who have shown interest in m19. In particular, during the one-on-one consultation sessions, I was able to hear “real voices” that don’t usually come through the inquiry form, and it was a big learning experience for me.

One seller shared the following concern with me:

“I’ve been running Amazon Ads for about a year and a half. During sales campaigns, I’m glued to the dashboard from morning until night, constantly fine-tuning everything. But this approach has become far too dependent on me. If something were to happen to me, ad operations would come to a halt. Looking ahead 5 to 10 years, I think it’s necessary to reduce this dependency by using AI-driven auto-optimization tools. I’d like to consider m19 as one option.”

I was deeply impressed by this seller’s perspective—thinking about advertising not only in terms of immediate results but also in terms of “what if I’m absent” and “long-term sustainability.” I then shared the following points:

Clarify must-have features and their priorities
Every tool has attractive features. That’s why it’s important to first make a list of the features you absolutely need, and rank them by priority.

Be mindful of where your know-how is accumulated
Once you adopt a tool, your operational know-how will accumulate on top of it. Considering risks like acquisitions or shifts in a vendor’s product direction, it’s important to think about how much dependency you’re comfortable with.

Choose the right timing for testing
AI-driven optimization tools require a certain number of conversions (CVs). If you test with products that have low daily CVs, optimization will naturally take longer. It’s more effective to run tests during sales periods or other times when CVs are higher, so you can compare and evaluate performance more easily.

After hearing this, the seller looked very pleased and said:

“This wasn’t a sales pitch for a tool—it was such genuinely useful advice. It really opened my eyes, thank you so much! Based on this discussion, I’d like to bring this back to my team and seriously consider a trial.”

It was striking to see how someone who started the session looking anxious and concerned ended up smiling with relief. For me, it was also a reminder: “This is exactly why I’ve been honing my consulting skills—to provide meaningful, practical advice like this.” It turned into a truly rewarding time.

Because I live in Nagano and balance work with housework and parenting, I don’t often get the chance to talk face-to-face with sellers or agencies. But once again, I realized how valuable direct, in-person communication is—something that online interactions can’t fully replace.

I’m truly grateful to the Amazon Ads team for providing such a great opportunity, and to the sellers who shared their candid concerns with me.

At SOPHOLA, we don’t just provide tools. We aspire to be a partner who listens carefully to challenges and concerns, and works together to find solutions. Encounters like this reaffirm my commitment to continue valuing that approach.

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc

P.S. Lots of sibling quarrels at my parents’ place lately. (laughs) I really wish they’d get along indoors the same way they do when holding hands on mountain trails!