We covered 'SEEKS,' a student business plan contest with a prize of 3 million yen for the winner.
The event was targeted at students, and all the members of the organizing committee were students. We were able to hear a lot of different stories, including how this project came about.
SEEKS Executive Committee Chairman Yamada and Executive Committee Member Tatematsu.
How did the planning committee come together in the first place?
GIGAZINE (hereinafter referred to as G):
First of all, Yamada and Tatematsu are from Ritsumeikan University, while Fujimoto is from Kyoto University. How did you connect with each other?
Fujimoto (hereinafter Fuji):
In Kyoto, students have a lot of interaction with each other, organizing events and hanging out together, so when we came up with this project, we asked students who were interested to participate. In particular, Yamada-san is the executive committee chairperson, and her specialty is dancing, so we're looking forward to seeing her on the day.
G:
It's quite rare for a woman to be the executive chairperson of an event like this.
Yamada (hereinafter referred to as Yama):
It's rare to have an executive committee chairman who dances.
G:
There were other members on the executive committee, but did you all come together through connections at events like that?
Fuji:
That's right. We also reached out to members who gathered at a student IT development camp, and asked them to participate in the contest in an advisory capacity.
-How did the idea for the business plan contest come about?
G:
The idea of a business plan contest is common overseas, but I've never heard of one in Japan. There were a lot of IT-related contests during the dot-com bubble, but I haven't seen one since, so it's unusual. The amount of money raised in this contest is large, even compared to the dot-com bubble. I wonder where they raised the money.
Fuji:
This is thanks to the considerable support of our main sponsor, Celebrix Holdings, which has made it possible for us to run the event.
G:
I see, so that's how you raised the money. I thought you had to run around desperately trying to raise the money. So that's why there aren't many companies backing you.
Fuji:
It's still going strong. We have around 10 sponsors. We have several venture capitalists sponsoring us, which isn't the case for a regular business plan contest. Normally, venture capitalists don't fund student events because there's no benefit to doing so, but this contest has professional consultants involved in the students' plans, so there's the possibility of them growing in the future. It's an attempt to raise the standard expected of students by turning the business perspective of capitalists towards student events.
G:
This is the way it should be. In business plan contests overseas, venture capitalists are invited to do something as a startup, and this is an idea to try doing the same in Japan.
Fuji:
I agree.
G:
Certainly, it makes you wonder why this hasn't happened in Japan until now. Yamada-san, you were a first-year student and started doing this as soon as you entered university, but what kind of conspiracy led to you doing it? Were you vaguely interested in it before you entered university?
mountain:
I met Fujimoto-san at a networking event for a business plan contest called the Willcom Cup. I was dancing at the event when...
Fuji:
Yamada-san was more excited than the people who were drinking even though he wasn't drinking, so that's why he was chosen as a character to liven things up (laughs).
G:
I see, that's a very easy to understand reason. This is how it ended up when the character was adopted.
mountain:
I haven't been involved in business or stocks since high school, but I thought it might be possible for this character to be useful in business.
G:
It seems like she's an idol or a talent. How did you get involved?
Tatematsu (hereinafter referred to as Tate):
I joined because I was friends with Yamada and I was simply interested in business.
G:
So, in terms of the SEEKS executive committee, Yamada is the one who stands in the forefront and gets the event going, Tatematsu is the one who supports it, and Fujimoto is the one who works behind the scenes.
Fuji:
That's right. Since it was a contest to turn it into a business, people who actually run companies had the idea in mind of creating something they needed, so they gathered all the necessary items and left the rest up to the students to create it.
G:
I have a question for you, Mr. Fujimoto. You have been involved in various businesses since you were a student. Why did you first decide to start a business as a student?
Fuji:
Originally, I was involved in various investment-related activities, and when I saw what SoftBank and Livedoor were doing, I realized that it would be interesting to combine IT and finance. So I wanted to try it myself, and so I started my current company.
G:
From the very beginning, they had a strong vision and were very business-oriented.
Fuji:
I agree.
G:
So you had been doing a lot of different things before SEEKS, and you thought it would be fun to hold a contest like this through those connections?
Fuji:
This event comes from a completely different perspective. Students these days, especially those in the Kansai region, have no choice but to get a regular job after graduation. While there are other options, they rarely look at them. So, I thought that by seeing people with different options—for example, a friend starting a startup, making a living as a NEET, or blogging and turning it into a business—they might broaden students' horizons. To achieve this, the quickest way is to look at people who are taking action themselves, but Kyoto lacks many representative startups. The only way to increase the number of people doing this kind of activity is to increase it, but with students, it inevitably ends up at the study group level. So, by providing the seeds of entrepreneurship, I hope to increase the number of students with this kind of activity, and by observing these students, I hope to inspire them.
G:
That's a pretty noble purpose.
Fuji:
Not really (laughs). However, if we held it with that serious purpose in mind, it would just be a serious contest, so with the help of our dancing character committee chair, we make it so that it can be enjoyed as an event as well.
G:
How many entries did you receive for the contest?
Fuji:
We received 34 applications. All of the plans were interesting and of a very high standard.
G:
Mr. Tatsumatsu, you are a first-year student, but were you interested in business before you entered university?
Standing:
I was interested in business, but I played baseball throughout elementary, middle, and high school, so I was mostly focused on that, and I didn't have a clear idea that I wanted to do something like this.
G:
It's common to switch from baseball to business after entering the workforce, but it's rare to switch at the university level. What happened there?
Standing:
I think the motivation that underlies business is no different from that of sports, and organizations are also not that different in that they are team sports.
G:
I see, now I understand why Fujimoto-san included Tatematsu-san. What kind of activities have you been doing since joining SEEKS?
Standing:
At SEEKS, I visit companies with Yamada and Fujimoto and talk about what kind of students would be interesting.
G:
Were there any students who seemed interesting?
Standing:
It's interesting to see students starting their own businesses or working in student organizations.
・How did you get to know IT?
G:
Now, next question is, this may be a strange question, but do you use computers, Yamada?
mountain:
Of course, I'm proficient at using mixi and Google.
G:
Business plan contests are now inseparable from IT, so I think it would be difficult to judge without some knowledge of IT, but what made you start using computers and the internet? When did you start using them, and how did you start using them?
mountain:
I had information education classes at school, so I started using a PC from then on. I didn't start using the internet in earnest until I entered university and bought a Let's note. That was the trigger for me to start using PCs a lot. I'm a total 'Google girl,' and at first I used Yahoo!, but gradually I became drawn to Google Earth. I love traveling, and if you look at Google Earth, you can go anywhere. I found that fun, and that was the start of my addiction to Google, using Google Calendar and Gmail, and now I'm hooked on PCs.
G:
method.
mountain:
Originally, my computer skills were so poor that I didn't even know how to delete a single character, but after I bought a Let's note with my own money and started using IT, I was able to talk about it and began to understand it.
G:
I see, being a 'Google kid' is quite interesting. So, what about you, Tatematsu? I heard you played baseball up until high school. Did you start playing after you entered university?
Standing:
I started using a computer when I was in the first or second year of junior high school. I got cable TV and started using the internet at the same time. At first, I just looked up reviews of my favorite artists on Yahoo!
G:
So that's how you got into it, and it's been quite a long time. Did you start doing it more seriously after you entered university?
Standing:
I started using Office and other programs after I entered university.
G:
I see, it does seem to have a long history in a way. How did you get started in the IT industry, Mr. Fujimoto?
Fuji:
We got a PC at home a little late, when I was in my third year of high school. When I graduated and started attending a cram school, I started a long-distance relationship, and because of the phone charges, I had no choice but to use the chat service with Telehodai, and that's how I started using the internet.
G:
That's amazing, so it was all out of necessity. I see, each of you is different. I thought they all had similar patterns.
What does the plan you received look like?
G:
Are most of the people who apply to the contest university students?
Fuji:
Yes, most of them are first-, second-, and fourth-year students. It seems like fourth-year students who have already received job offers have not yet given up on their ideas. As expected, fourth-year students have carefully thought out their plans and are submitting serious proposals.
G:
Are there any that make you scratch your head?
Fuji:
No comment on that (laughs).
G:
What are the key points of the review?
Fuji:
At first glance, students will classify the ideas as likely to become a business, and then have entrepreneurs look at them to check whether any of the remaining plans are actually good, in two stages.
G:
I see, looking at the ones that are rejected is a pretty thorough process. How many of the applicants do you expect to make it through the first round?
Fuji:
We are planning on 12.
G:
So, by the time I go to judge, those are the 12 remaining.
Fuji:
Yes. A professional consultant will come in and review those 12 plans, which will then be put together into a proper plan.
G:
Do you have any requests for how the judging will proceed on the day?
Fuji:
We are currently in the process of selecting the remaining three judges, and will decide which aspects to focus our judging on while looking at the balance of the judges.
・The reason why I asked GIGAZINE to review it
G:
What prompted you to ask GIGAZINE?
Fuji:
Because I was a reader first.
G:
When did you start reading it?
Fuji:
It started about a year ago, before the renovation.
G:
It's quite old, when the titles were still listed in one line. Most of the people who have contacted me recently have been after the renewal, so it's rare to find someone who has been reading it since before the renewal. What made you start reading GIGAZINE?
Fuji:
I have a friend who is a bit of an internet nerd, and he recommended it to me, saying it was interesting and that I should check it out.
G:
I see.
・Appealing points
G:
Are there any selling points?
Fuji:
The judges are people you wouldn't normally meet if you were just working in the business world, and I think the appeal is that you can pit your business plan against them.
G:
Is there anything you would like to say as the Executive Committee Chair?
mountain:
I am doing my best thanks to the support of Fujimoto-san, Tatematsu-kun, everyone else, and the company. One thing that made an impression on me was when Celebrix's Chairman Mito taught me about the word 'mistake,' saying that it is divided into 'miss' and 'take,' and that even if you make a mistake, by taking it and absorbing it, you can create more value than you made, so you shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes. So I am working hard with the mindset that I will do my best even if I make a mistake.
G:
Mr. Tatematsu, do you have any selling points?
Standing:
It's not a selling point, but when I do this kind of activity and meet all kinds of people, I start to feel like I might never be able to go back to normal university life.
G:
Fujimoto-san runs a company, but have the other two of you thought about what direction you want to go in your careers?
mountain:
I haven't decided yet. I said I'll dance, but I don't want to make a living as a dancer. I think I'll have fun dancing with people who are working hard in business when I have time off. Fujimoto-san took me into the business world, and I found that people in business are good at talking and getting people excited, so I'm supported by that kind of thing.
So, we look forward to seeing you at the final judging on Monday, March 12, 2007. If you're a student who's interested, you can come to the venue on the day, or you might even be able to meet someone from GIGAZINE in person...
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