2003年度（2003.4～2004.3）　ワークショップ講演

目次へ戻る

1st Workshop (April 10, 2003)
Entrepreneurship Study, Graduate School for Creative Cities, Osaka City University,
Guest Speaker: Mr. Takayoshi Toyoda, President & CEO, NextWare Ltd.

Key Words: Nasdaq Japan, going public, venture capital, database, visiting care support system

1. Lecturer Profile
Mr. Toyoda, 39, is president & CEO of NextWare Ltd., which was listed publicly on the Nasdaq Japan (currently Hercules of the Osaka Securities Exchange) in December 2000. The company deals in system development based on existing databases and the dispatch of SEs and programmers, and has undertaken the development and sales of visiting care support and Web-based POS systems.

2. Lecture Summary: Changes in NextWare’s Surroundings and Its Reactions to Them
1) Background to the Founding of the Company and Financing Difficulties
After graduation from high school, Mr. Toyoda went to work for JAPAN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING CORPORATION (JSE). (JSE is the sole agency in Japan for the world’s first database software for PCs, and in those days retained a large number of sole agency rights in Japan for database/knowledge systems. Mr. Toyoda often traveled to Silicon Valley in conjunction with contracts for many of those rights.) The backdrop behind the establishment of NextWare is rather unique. Mr. Toyoda was told by the then president & CEO of JSE to establish a Kansai SE, which became the precursor to NextWare. Kansai SE started business in a small office in Osaka with cheap second-hand desks and chairs. At the time, any section in JSE registering a deficit for three consecutive years could be subject to in-house merger and acquisition. Mr. Toyoda acquired the loss-making Nagoya branch office with the idea of attracting Toyota Motor Corporation as a possible client-Toyota’s affiliates are important clients of NextWare today.
Kansai SE, armed with saleable products and a strong sales force, performed favorably at the beginning, but later on ran into sudden financial trouble and deficits soon after the parent company carried out a diversification strategy. Labor comprises the lion’s share of the costs for an SE company, so it has to come up with the cash to cover salaries during the period from delivery to being paid by a client. Kansai SE was running a deficit of 20 million yen on the 10th of every month, and Mr. Toyoda spent busy days raising funds. A strong belief that he could never fail led him to contribute his own assets to the company to increase capital to 40 million yen. As Kansai SE canceled its funding relationship with its parent company, Mr. Toyoda tried indirect financing, even contacting remote regional banks. However, his efforts did not pay off, because banks rarely lend money to young people.
During this period, Mr. Toyoda renamed the company “NextWare Ltd.,” hoping for lasting prosperity of the company. He became aware of the existence of venture capital, and thought that he could find the means for survival in direct financing. Visiting The Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. to ask for financing (without an appointment), he was informed that a new VC, Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd., (FVC) had been founded in Kyoto. The strategy he developed consisted of funding the company initially through both Tokio Marine and FVC, then by FVC alone until finances stabilized and he could get more bank loans. He believes that his association with the VCs was beneficial because he learned a lot of things. However, he also thinks he was wise not to believe everything they told him. (You must plan your capital policy yourself.)

2) Management Philosophy, Elaboration of a Corporate Structure, and Recruiting
He believes that it is important to develop a management philosophy and policy, in other words, to define the purpose of the company. The philosophy and policy of NextWare were to contribute to society through customer-centered services, and, in order to accumulate know-how, to avoid becoming a subcontractor.
The elaboration of a corporate structure is also indispensable if a company is to grow rapidly toward going public. NextWare invited a person who for many years had been in charge of financial affairs at Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. to be a director (currently vice president & CEO), in order to handle banks, VCs and the development of corporate rules-Mr. Toyoda strives to bring on board those people he wants, and always keeps a list of their names on hand.
When hiring, it is essential to find out what reward each person expects. NextWare is not a good fit for those who just want a paycheck, and, in fact, such people tend to leave the company early on. He believes that it is important for a company to provide rewards for its employees in the form of new knowledge and the building of people networks through their work, recognition for their actual achievements and growth as human beings. He wants to recruit a good number of competent people who are seeking these kinds of rewards.
The company uses a unique reward system called “the needs salary system.” In this scheme, pay is determined by the degree to which the individual has contributed to addressing the needs of the world; how well the individual can convince management of his or her achievement is also important. The system pushes employees to improve their abilities voluntarily for the sake of their survival in the company, and those efforts also serve to support the firm.

3) Business Expansion through Disregard of Past and Present Work and Radically Customer-Centered Operations
Mr. Toyoda does not consider his company to be in a stable growth phase, and regards continuing to question what he is doing as an important factor in creating new ideas and expanding business. NextWare seeks to understand what a customer really needs in the large scheme of things, and to develop and present solutions from the customer’s perspective. In fact, it has even helped change the business flow of its customers. The company is elaborating a new style of business, which, unlike traditional outsourcing that puts priority on the internal logic of the SE company, is built around customer-centered consulting on software and in-house/on-site system outsourcing. Mr. Toyoda hopes that his firm will eventually be capable of proposing management strategy systems.
In addition to pursuing the development and sales of a visiting care support system utilizing its previous know-how (http://www.nextwellness.jp), the company has contributed to realizing Web-based real-time POS system management-while conventional POS systems show data one day behind, this system shows the sales status of each product instantly because each shop inputs the data directly to the Web. Mr. Toyoda believes that it is important to sniff out the needs of the world, to disregard past and present work, and to look ahead.

3. Mr. Toyoda’s Fundamental Values
1) Faith in one's ability to succeed and a strong determination never to give up
help control difficulties and crises.
2) Continued disregard of the past
keeps him from becoming complacent about previous successes.
3) Continuous efforts to reinvent himself
leads to the constant creation of new things.
4) Making it a rule to act quickly and never forget to keep a promise
helps him to look ahead and be trustworthy.

4. Mr. Toyoda’s Belief in the Importance of a Management Philosophy
On the significance of a management philosophy, Mr. Toyoda said:
“In managing a business, management philosophy is most important, and I want to advise people not to go to work for a company that lacks a corporate motto or creed. The management philosophy is the goal and vision of a company and an essential vehicle for uniting its employees. This is a universal truth. I learned it in Silicon Valley, where I went to acquire the rights to database technologies as an employee of JSE. Quality companies have excellent management philosophies and the power to move people. Before going public, we used to recite our slogan “Disclosure to everyone!” before every meeting and display yellow campaign flags around the company. I hope that NextWare continues to have a corporate climate in which we can exclaim the management philosophy and policy proudly.

5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Osaka (Mr. Toyoda’s answer to a student’s question)
In terms of establishing and managing a business, there are obvious disadvantages to Osaka. The biggest is that the financial institutions are concentrated in Tokyo, so we have to spend time traveling on the shinkansen to Tokyo. However, I think people in Osaka should be prouder of their pioneer spirit. In addition, the fact that they naturally keep their pride in perspective is a strength.

▲このページのトップへ