2004年度（2004.4～2005.3）　ワークショップ講演

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Entrepreneurship Workshop I
(May 6, 2004)

Theme: Message to young people aspiring to be entrepreneurs - from my own experience in starting and managing a business in Osaka

Guest Speaker: Mr. Takuro Inoue, Advisor, Usac System Co., Ltd.

1. Personal profile
After graduating from the Faculty of Law, Doshisha University, Mr. Takuro Inoue served a live-in apprenticeship at a stationery wholesaler. In 1971 he set up his own business in office computer sales and software development with 8 million yen in capital.

2. Summary of speech
(1) Background of business startup
Through his first job experience, Mr. Inoue fully realized that a practical sense of business - such as product knowledge and a deep understanding of customer information - was much more important than a desk-drawn business plan. With a proposal for calculator distribution (1963) as his turning point, he set his sights more on computers and started dealing with microcomputers in cooperation with the supplier’s staff. However, surfacing personnel issues and restrictions in new business developments became an obstacle to further advancement, and this led him to establish a new company with key personnel that he recruited through his own personal network.

(2) Establishment of Usac System Co., Ltd.
Under a management concept of “Human capital is the key to success,” Mr. Inoue, as company president, pours his energy more into the search for vibrant human resources with which to collaborate. He makes it a point of taking in people who aspire to be president in the future or who show an independent spirit. From the start he has also made various efforts to earn the trust of his employees, with the introduction of performance-based personnel systems as part of those efforts. Training of sales skill for employees reflects his ideas on stabilization, development and utilization of human resources. While most big companies put priority on self-defense or risk aversion, Usac puts much of its emphasis on the creation of a working environment where a venture spirit can be displayed.

(3) Setup of software development center
The Software Development Center was opened in 1982 to research, develop and apply original software that is new to the industry and can gain the top share in the market. Under the catchphrases of “Creation is the key”, “The customer is the key” and “Quality is the key,” the Center has been developing differential software for multi-faceted needs.

(4) Response to collapse of IT bubble
To survive bankruptcy, Usac spun off two business functions as independent companies - merchandise distribution, and development of custom software with the transfer of authority to younger staff - while carrying out restructuring measures. Other group companies, such as an application software business targeting a niche market of animal hospitals and independent companies were started later. Usac will continue to streamline its operations, focusing on distribution cost-cutting while reinforcing its capabilities of system development and proposals based on a thorough development of user needs.

3. Comments on speech
Most notable in his speech was his idea of creating a “software development center” in 1982. Though he did not enter into a strategic discussion about it, I understood that he set it up to implement his strategy of generating profits in anticipation of the IT industry’s huge growth potential, through his insistence on the industry’s first launch. The introduction of Linux, a free and open OS, at its initial phase is another good example to follow.

More noticeably, Mr. Inoue as a president with an arts rather than a science background, clearly stated that he left technical matters in the hands of professional engineers, and focused on acquisition and development of “human capital.” This management approach serves to arouse enthusiasm and self-motivation of each employee to participate in the business, leading to the development of a bottom-up corporate culture.

His entrepreneurial perception in assessing the positioning of his own business in the industry - as well as his emphasis on leadership that takes into account his own characteristics and ability - were full of valuable suggestions.

Hiroshi Harada
Graduate student in charge of minutes

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