Valuence Holdings Co., Ltd. President and CEO Shinsuke Sakimoto

Believe in your own potential and find joy in any situation

■ Profile

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1982. Former J-League player (Gamba Osaka).

In December 2011, he founded SOU Co., Ltd. (now Valuence Holdings Co., Ltd.), which runs sustainable businesses such as reusing brand-name products. In 2018, the company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Market (now the Growth Market), making him the first former soccer player to become president of a listed company.

President Shinsuke Sakimoto is a former professional soccer player who has become a business owner and is the first to achieve a stock market listing. We spoke with President Sakimoto about his journey from professional soccer player to entrepreneur, the secret to establishing a new business model through constant testing, his future outlook, and a message for university students.

■ I found my calling beyond soccer

Since elementary school, I had dreamed of becoming a J-League player, and I always put effort into practicing soccer. When I was in my first year of high school, I caught the eye of a scout who had come to see other players, and after graduating from high school, I joined Gamba Osaka and became a J-League player. However, even though I joined the team at the age of 18, the level of soccer I was playing was higher than I had imagined, and I was notified that I was no longer needed in my third year with the team.

After that, I was picked up by the Sagawa Express team in the JFL, and I started playing soccer while working. However, when I looked at myself objectively, I realized that my desire to continue playing soccer was just my ego, so I was able to let go of my dream of soccer. After retiring from soccer, I joined the company run by my father, and then my three brothers and I started a reuse business. When I was exposed to the business world for the first time, I found something even more enjoyable than soccer.

I feel that finding enjoyment in a given environment or situation is the same as when I was a soccer player. The level of happiness in life depends on how you perceive the situation. Depending on your way of thinking, you can find a way to enjoy any situation. That's what I learned at the time. My greatest motivation at the time was to become a person who could stand out, wanting to be praised by my father and brother. I also think that the disappointing experience I had as a soccer player, when I was cut from the team, is useful in my current job.

■ The first professional to become president of a listed company

When I thought about how the world would change in the future and how I should differentiate my company from others, I began to think, "I want to be loved not only by the local people, but also to spread throughout Japan."

My company buys and sells brand-name products, precious metals, antiques, etc. When I thought about how to differentiate myself from other companies, I established a CtoBtoB business model, which involves understanding the characteristics of each product, quickly selling off inventory, and selling it to rival companies. Because brand-name products are perishable goods, the market price of the product is determined by demand. The key to this business is constantly assessing demand, determining whether to sell at B or C.

Also, what you can do today will be possible tomorrow, but what you can't do today will fail again unless you improve it. That's why I think it was important to focus on lost sales. This gave us many opportunities to improve, and I think that's why we were able to go public despite being a latecomer in the industry. There are now many companies operating similar business models, but I believe we have been able to stand out from the crowd.

■Human resources who will shape the future

I am always looking at what other industries are doing, and I have always been conscious of bringing things from other industries into my own industry.

If you get too caught up in your own experience and knowledge, your business will not develop. In fact, people who have experience in other industries and are entering the reuse industry for the first time are often more creative. People who have been in the industry for many years tend to let their past successes become a hindrance, and the moment they define the reuse industry as "this is what it is," they are swayed by bias.

That's why it's important to create a self that isn't influenced by others. When hiring, one of our criteria is whether or not a candidate is too tied to their past experiences. Honest and humble people who are willing to absorb everything are better able to create the future. It's important to have achieved great results in the past, but I think what's even more important is how well they can shape the future from an unbiased perspective.

■Uncovering potential needs

What do customers want? I believe it ultimately comes down to human qualities, such as hospitality and communication, which are built up through trust. For this reason, I always feel it is important to understand the results customers want and listen to them. This is where the ability to ask questions and listen attentively becomes important. The essence of business lies in drawing out both their apparent needs and the latent needs that lie beneath. Our industry in particular is supported by repeat customers, who account for half of our sales. This is why we are conscious of training our appraisers to not just assess things, but also to be people who can properly draw out the hidden needs of others.

■ Experience as a professional team

Soccer and business share the common view that the team is important. No matter how talented one player is, they cannot win by themselves. How well a team functions is crucial, so it is important that all employees, who are players, are able to think as a company. I learned this perspective from soccer. The secret to understanding the company as a whole is whether or not you go out drinking with everyone. Everyone's expressions change when they are sharing information within the company and when they are communicating over drinks. I personally hold dinner parties specifically to bring key people together, and I believe that if employees can naturally create such opportunities for each other, the organization will grow even more.

■Message to university students

Each and every one of us has incredible potential. However, few people are aware of their own potential. It is ourselves who are robbing us of that potential. So please don't decide who you are. The moment you start to define yourself, you will only become an average person. Happiness and annual income are not proportional. I hope that people will realize their true selves and not be fooled by the convenient ideas created by adults.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on August 29, 2022 by Daiki Shimada, a third-year student at Kokugakuin University