2004年度（2004.4～2005.3）　ワークショップ講演

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Entrepreneurship Workshop I (April 15, 2004)

Theme: Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

Guest speaker: Mr. Eiji Tanaka, C.E.O of BB Net Inc.

１．Brief overview of the guest speaker’s experience:
Mr. Tanaka created the “Prosperity Net” website as an IT business tool to support small enterprises. In the extraordinarily short space of just 2 1/2 years, he was able to establish his company and list it on the Japan NASDAQ Stock Index (currently the Hercules Index).

During the course of his career, Mr. Tanaka, who has worked for three different companies - Daihatsu Corporation, Funai Consulting, and the Chibori Group - has always envisioned having his own business.

２．Lecture Summary:
(1) Industry Information

The “Prosperity Net” website operates as a portal for small enterprises that have had to cut costs in their struggle to survive. The site collects a fee from its members, who, in turn, can then buy goods wholesale through the site. The website sells goods at reasonable prices as part of a plan to help small businesses cut costs.

When Mr. Tanaka first developed the site, he was involved in administration consulting and providing management support, and he targeted confectionary and baked goods companies. Soon, he expanded the website to provide the same kind of service to such specialty operations as ramen shops, bars, and liquor shops. His company also continues to support small businesses in a wide range of other tasks like remodelling, new product sales, product promotion, and personnel recruiting.

He is planning further expansion for his business, currently targeting the medical world with a “Prosperity Net” website aimed at Dentistry, while he works to establish alliances for products from medical equipment to medicines.

(2) Reflections on the founding of the Company

Touting the company’s development and listing on the stock market when it was founded, Mr. Tanaka employed his own engaging speaking style to continue in search of venture capital, presenting his ideas passionately to investment companies.

His first business model was designed to take advantage of every problem that came up in order to make the company evolve into a modern form. For Mr. Tanaka, the purpose of a business model is not to enforce a structure, but rather to see whether or not it helps small businesses. This is the stance he has continued to maintain. He also stated that it was easy to handle models for businesses, so they should be built on in the course of doing business. Business plans are only worth 1% of the effort.

３．Reflections on the lecture:

The lecturer’s persuasiveness and ability to engage his listeners was impressive. Mr. Tanaka’s ability to overcome the problems of the Internet bubble and achieve success probably comes from his gift of charisma and the effort that was behind his zeal. When you worry about what product you should engage in and which area it should go out to, nothing moves forward. Unless you continue to try, you will never find a new way of doing business. These were the messages that left an impression on us. It is important, especially in industry, to develop a business plan. However, a business plan won’t provide a cure-all for moving forward in these opaque times. This lecture really made us feel that it is important for a person to have a clear idea of what they hope to accomplish and be prepared to carry it out.

Yuko Shimoe
Sumiko Imai
Graduate students in charge of minutes

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