Editorial Note: "Examination of hidden key players" is an irregular series that interviews people who know the people who know the domestic startup area with shadows.Every time, we approach the real face of the "shadow leader" found by East Ventures Fellow Takaki Oshiba.Resumed in 2020 as Season 2
REVCOMM is a startup that has won excellent prizes at many startup events held in recent years.The main service AI -analysis AI telephone "miitel" has attracted much attention in the "New Normal" situation centered on remote work.Today, we talked to Mr. Takeshi Hiramura, RevComm, who has played a central role in the development aspect since the early days of RevComm, and is leading the company's growth.He has been manipulating programming languages since he was a teenager, and has been active in major consulting firms after graduating from graduate school.He told me why Hiramura turned to the startup and Tips in remote work.
I was more interested in the "creator" than the "use side"
Oshiba: I've heard that "miitel" is all in -house development, but I would like to ask you first about what kind of background of CTOs, which boasts such high technical skills, will reach the present.After all, were you good at science since childhood?
Hiramura: I was good at it, but I was better at society and geography.
Oshiba: That's right.When did you touch your computer?
Hiramura: I think it was when I was in elementary school.Is it when Windows95 was released?I just used the Internet normally, but since I went to junior high school, I became interested in not only the "use side" but also the "creator".So I learned web language, Perl, HTML, JavaScript, etc.
Oshiba: Do you create a personal homepage?
Hiramura: Well, I don't have much memory, but I think I made it using a free homepage space.After going to high school, I studied Linux on my own and set up a server at home.I was able to make my own and provide games that move on the browser, such as play, as well as play.I also improved the open source.
Oshiba: It's a completely "creator"
Hiramura: That's right.I went to the laboratory from the first year at university, thinking "I want to acquire more skills" and "I want to be able to do more things".Normally, I can only belong to the lab from four years, but I begged for "programming" and went from the first grade.So I made a proper product for the first time.
Oshiba: What kind of product is it?
Hiramura: This is a Japanese test for international students.The problem was divided according to the ability of the test takers, and at first we made it with a lab teacher, but it has become jointly developed with multiple universities, and the scale has expanded.。I think that it was the first time in the world to use the Internet to estimate the ability of the test takers to determine the problems with different difficulties using the Internet, and it became a hot topic.。
Oshiba: That's amazing
Hiramura: Through this product development, the desire to "provide higher technology to the world" has grown, and I thought, "What should I do?"At the time, I thought that creating an OS, creating a new language, and creating a protocol was "providing high technology", but none of them seemed to be right for me.I thought about various reasons, but there is no clear reason for "this".But something is different.
Oshiba: I see
Hiramura: At that time, Gmail was starting to be a topic.I think it was still an invitation system, but the Gmail was good at the "spam filter".I think I was using Naive Bayes, but the Japanese test for international students we made was also using the technology that made Bayes statistics.That's why I felt that it would be a world that would automatically guide us using data.So I decided to go to graduate school because I wanted to learn more about the probability, statistics, big data, and machine learning.At one time, I thought about employment and actually got a job offer (laughs.
Oshiba: Is that so?
Hiramura: Yes.However, I contacted the job offer and proceeded to graduate school.There, we studied the theme of measuring "human abilities" that cannot be quantified.In my graduate school, I also studied abroad, and at that time I learned that "it is not enough to have high technology and have to create solutions to solve social and business issues."
From Accenture to Startup
Oshiba: After graduating from graduate school, you will be employed in Accenture.
Hiramura: Yes.I wanted to work globally, engineering, and work with a large impact in business, so I chose Accenture from some options.I worked for seven years in Accenture, but I tried various things.Launched new businesses that are not prior and launched a big data -related organization.
Oshiba: I wonder if I was sending a fulfilling day, why did you change jobs?Moreover, it is a job change from a large company to a startup.I think there were concerns
Hiramura: I felt that I did various things in Accenture.I was registered as a job change agent to change jobs.Then I received a scout email from Aida (REVCOMM CEO Takeshi Aida).As soon as I reply and met, I was talking about what he wanted to do with a machine gun talk ... (laughs.
Oshiba: The amount of heat was amazing.
Hiramura: That's right.However, he was convinced that he talked about the "inside sales industry", and I thought it would be useful for the world if it could be realized.So I gave advice on what he wanted to do, such as "I can do this" and "this is difficult."In addition, I made roadmaps up to the release.I talked for about an hour, but finally, "Let's do it."
Oshiba: "Let's do it"?
Hiramura: First of all, I decided to use my private time to help.The closed beta version was completed in about three months and the test was repeated.I realized that "if you make it more firmly, it will be acceptable to the world," and in June 2018, we officially joined as a CTO.
Oshiba: I think the initial response of the product is one of the factors that triggered the job change, but are there any other factors?
Hiramura: If you belong to a big organization, it's quite difficult to launch some new products and services.Especially at the time, I was only 30 years old, and there are many bosses on the second destination.In addition, many departments, such as group companies and back offices, are necessary to explain and coordinate, and after that, they will finally begin product development.After that, adjustments will occur in the phase phase.There are some questions that have been questioned.
Oshiba: I see
Hiramura: internal adjustments and negotiations with the outside are tasks that use very effort, and basically I was not good at it.However, REVCOMM is a startup, so of course there are few such adjustment work, and Aida does negotiations with the outside.It is a very difficult task to find a company that uses the closed beta version in the test, but in Miitel, Aida pioneered it.The fields that are not good for me are also good areas that Aida is good at, so I think I can build a complementary relationship.Is that one of the decisive factors for changing jobs?
Oshiba: From Mr. Hiramura, where did Aida feel good as a president?
Hiramura: I think that the point that there is a sense of speed and the fact that you are trying to create a fun organization is a good point as a leader.On the other hand, it is good that you are trying to create a proper organization, not an organization like a fun circle.After all, it is a company that provides products for companies, so I am thinking about making an adult organization with a sense of security and trust from the outside.It may be a part with such a good balance.
Oshiba: I see。逆に會田さんにここを直してもらいたいとかありますか？（笑
Hiramura: I have a lot (laughs. I don't want you to fix it, but when you compare it to a car, there are occasional aspects like "cars with only accelerator". There is tremendous propulsion.The sales power is amazing, but it will not be established without a handle or brake role. I hope that he can handle him well as an organization.
The culture is that "the important thing is share" and "the behavior for customers is ahead of approval"
Oshiba: There is an emergency declaration, and I think that you are mainly remote work, but are there any difficulties around that?
Hiramura: We are originally remote main.In particular, the developers have members nationwide since the founding.So I didn't panic in this situation.
Oshiba: That's right.So, do you have know -how in doing work with remote work?
Hiramura: Revcomm has not been able to share a part of the matters determined by the headquarters with engineers in various places and make only a part of it.I always try not to be biased anywhere.
Oshiba: When I talked to your company before, "I was talking about an improvement, etc., just before joining the company, but Mr. Hiramura said," Let's do the future discussion in Slack. "I was surprised to stop the conversation on the spot and resume the discussion on Slack. "
Hiramura: I felt it was a very important discussion, so I thought it would be better to remain, including the exchange, so I might have said that.I think I have to share the important things, and I want to eliminate "I didn't know that information".
Oshiba: Sure, it's important
Hiramura: Also, this is the case in remote, and I think it is important, but I wanted to reduce the number of times or just to reduce the number of meetings and meetings, so I decided from the founding of RevComm.There are rules.
Oshiba: It's interesting
Hiramura: When you decide something, first think about yourself and decide in advance.At the meeting, just check it.For example, let's make a new micro service.In that case, before the meeting, I thought about what I had to decide on programming languages, frameworks, system configurations, and other services, and at the meeting, "The technology used in the upcoming service ... why ..."I will announce it.If you think in advance, the meeting will end with just fine adjustments.Inevitably the meeting time is shorter.
Oshiba: The meeting is a place to confirm
Hiramura: That's right.We believe that the quality and productivity will be improved by discussing the maximum thinking as much as possible.The image is that if you write the minutes earlier and rewrite only the details of the fine adjustment at the meeting, it will be completed.
Oshiba: It's a tips that can be used not only in remote work but also in various situations in business.Are there any other tips or initiatives unique to RevComm?
Hiramura: The speed of improving the product may be competitive.For this reason, it is an organization that immediately executes requests from customers and ideas they come up with.For example, in the most recent case, the customer contacted the morning, and in the afternoon, the development policy was determined, and the development was started, and the next morning was already implemented.We are able to realize such a sense of speed.With such small stacks, the trust of customers is born, and I think it is very important.
Oshiba: I see。でも、他の会社とかでも同じように「要望に対して速やかに対応したい」って思ってると思うんですよ。でもそれを実現できてる会社って少ないのかなと思うんです
Hiramura: I want to be a company that is evaluated as "I did it".Of course, there is a mechanism to stop the demerits and risk renovations before implementation, but it is unavoidable to take the time to execute, and I would like to make a company that highly evaluated to go ahead.
I want to aim for a 1 trillion yen company by reconstruction of communication
Oshiba: Finally, please tell us about the dream you want to achieve in the company.
平村：そうですね、M&AやIPOがゴールだとは考えたことはなくて、1兆円企業を作りたいなと思っています。日本に100社程度ありますが、そういった企業にまずは肩を並べる存在になりたいですし、コミュニケーションの再発明によってそれを成し遂げたいと考えています。そのためには、連続的にプロダクト、サービスを作っていかないといけないし、もっと多くの人に使っていただけるようなものを作らないといけない。今のサービスをどんどんアップデートしていき、全てのコミュニケーションをデータ化し、そこで発見した気づきをもとに新たなサービスを作り上げていく。新型コロナウイルスの影響で遅延しましたが、今月1月にインドネシアでテストマーケティングも開始しました。日本のみならず、東南アジアなど海外展開もしていきたいですね。
Oshiba: What is the task?
Hiramura: As a CTO, I would like to create an organization that allows everyone to be more efficient and easy to work, and to make it more valuable to customers, but there are still more issues in organizations.I still move my hands as a player, but I think I need to be able to focus on maximizing customers.
Oshiba: REVCOMM has won numerous awards, 2019, 2020, but what do you think about this?Is it as expected?(smile
Hiramura: There is a real feeling that it is better than expected.However, I think that the situation is recognized as a "startup", but I would like to continue to grow so that it is recognized as a company that provides great social value beyond that category.
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