During my time at Rakuten as the head of new business development, I successfully launched new ventures that generated hundreds of millions of yen in revenue with profit margins of around 40-50% within just 1-2 years. This experience naturally led me to believe that “turning new business ideas into reality in a short period of time” is crucial. After founding my own company, the initial services I launched also achieved early success, which further reinforced this mindset.

However, there came a point where, in my later years, I experienced the challenges of new business development not taking shape as quickly as anticipated. Additionally, family circumstances made it difficult for me to fully focus on work. In the span of five years working in new business development, I had to face the reality of “new ventures not coming together in the short term.” It was through this experience that I learned to think in the long term when approaching new business development. This shift in perspective allowed me to calmly address various unforeseen challenges and issues related to new ventures. I also became more willing to embrace failure as part of the process and take on new challenges. In the tech products I’m working on today, even when timely preparations haven’t been made or when a PoC (Proof of Concept) is delayed beyond expectations, I remain patient and focused on the long-term goal.

Of course, this shift in mindset is only possible because I have an established foundation in existing businesses. But I’ve reached a point where I genuinely believe, “Even if the company goes under, it will all work out somehow.” This belief has given me the confidence to approach new business development with a steady hand and a long-term view. Both new services in existing businesses and new ventures will take shape by the end of this year, and I would be thrilled to introduce them to more B2B and B2C clients starting next year. While I care deeply about the company’s growth in terms of revenue and profit, I’ve begun to feel the true social impact of what we’ve been doing and what lies ahead. I hope we can continue to create a broader and deeper impact.

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc

P.S. The other day, when I went hiking with my daughter, she climbed a rugged rocky area using only her hands and feet. Watching her, who had previously struggled on gentler trails, climb this tough terrain on her own was a powerful reminder of her growth. Parenting, like business, should be approached with patience and a long-term view, but witnessing such growth is always moving and rewarding!