Yuma Saito, President and CEO, Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd.

Creating new companies through global projects

President and CEO, Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd.　Yuma Saito　(Yuma Saito)

■ Profile
Graduated from Keio University. Passed the Certified Public Accountant exam in 2006 and joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (now Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC).
In 2010, he participated in the business launch of Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd. (currently Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd.).
In 2019, he became the CEO of Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support. He is a certified public accountant.

Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd. is one of the largest providers of support for venture companies in Japan. Using his knowledge as an accountant, conversations with numerous managers, and a global perspective, the firm is working to support the growth of venture companies and develop the Japanese economy. We spoke to President Yuma Saito, who decided on his career path early on and launched his own business, about his new initiatives and future prospects.

When I was in junior high school, my father quit his job and started his own business, and when I was a freshman in high school, I read a book about certified public accountants, which inspired me to decide that I wanted to support business owners in the future. So, with the aim of becoming a certified public accountant, I enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at Keio University, which at the time produced many accountants. I think I decided on my future career path early on.
While I was in college, I focused on studying to pass the Certified Public Accountant exam. I attempted the exam while I was still a student, but failed. After graduating, I took the exam a third time, but failed again. While I had used up all my scholarship money from those three years, I received a job offer from a consulting firm, and I had considered joining that company. Then, my mother offered me some money, saying, "Just try for another year." This prompted me to give up on the consulting firm offer, work part-time, and study hard for 15-16 hours a day on weekdays. Finally, I passed the CPA exam. I was so unsure about the exam that I didn't even go to the results announcement. However, I still vividly remember breaking down in tears when I received a call in the evening from the auditing firm, which only calls successful candidates, offering me an offer. Those two years were tough, but they made me clearer about what I wanted to do.
After joining Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Audit Corporation (now Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC), I began supporting ventures by meeting with many business managers in the evenings and on weekends outside of work, listening to their needs and doing what I could. After a four-year preparation period, I participated in the relaunch of Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd. (now Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd., hereafter referred to as DTVS), which had been dormant as an internal new business venture, and I was able to turn what I wanted to do into a new in-house business. While 2006 was the most difficult time for venture companies, it was interesting to listen to the visions of business managers and provide support. Many of the companies that were founded during this period are still thriving today.

Creating new companies

In Japan, the top 10 and top 100 companies by market capitalization have remained unchanged for over 30 years, but if we look at the United States and China, companies that did not exist 30 years ago now occupy the top positions. The birth and growth of unprecedented companies is the driving force behind the growth of society as a whole. For this reason, we want to help create new companies that will rewrite the top 10 and top 100 companies by market capitalization in Japan by 2030. Our company is currently the largest venture support company in Japan, but by 2030 we aim to become a company of 1000 people and the number one innovation firm in Asia.
Our company's three pillars of business are supporting the growth of ventures, consulting for new businesses for large corporations, and implementing government innovation policies. We offer a variety of support services for startups, including fundraising assistance, partnerships with large corporations, PR, recruitment, and system development. For large corporations, we support the launch of CVCs, which invest in ventures through large corporations. We support new business development by leveraging venture capital and the capital and assets of large corporations with venture companies' new technologies and innovative ideas for open innovation. Previously, large corporations lacked departments dedicated to working with ventures, leaving venture companies unresponsive when they approached us for investment or collaboration. To change this situation, we have been hosting an event every Thursday morning at 7:00 AM, where venture companies pitch to large corporations for nearly 10 years. What started with an audience of just 10 people has now grown to 400. For government agencies, we create an environment where ventures can take on new challenges by making policy recommendations for venture support and undertaking policy implementation. We also supported the implementation of one of Asia's largest innovation conferences, hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in February of this year, which featured exhibits from domestic startups, and achieved great results, with 26,000 entrepreneurs and investors from around the world attending.

■ To become a company that produces entrepreneurs

By meeting entrepreneurs through our work, you can acquire the network, global work skills, and consulting skills needed to start and grow your own business. After three to five years, many of our graduates develop the mindset to start their own business, and many of our graduates have gone on to become entrepreneurs or CXO-class employees at venture companies. In this way, having former DTVS members active in the venture industry allows us to complement each other in various ways, and it actually improves our recruiting capabilities. Over the past few years, I've felt that it works better to keep the cycle going as a "company that produces entrepreneurs."
We hire new graduates based on their potential, so we hire people who have a strong desire to do something. Also, because we often work with government agencies, I think people who are socially oriented and want to improve society are a good fit. It's also important to have the ability to think backwards and take action.

■ Producing young presidents

Growing companies, such as venture businesses, can be challenging at times, but they also have a positive atmosphere. For this reason, I would like to provide various forms of support, such as regulatory reform, to help startups grow, and I would also like to promote entrepreneurial education to increase the number of people aspiring to become entrepreneurs. In the short term, I am supporting motivated young people, mostly in their 30s, from large companies to start internal ventures, with the goal of producing 300 presidents in their 30s of subsidiaries of large companies. As a result, we have produced 100 presidents in their 30s. When large companies have young people who can make decisions, business development can occur at a faster pace, which leads to even faster growth.

■ Message

The sooner you decide on your vision for what you want to do and your purpose in life, the more likely it will become a compass and the more likely it will become a reality. Also, even if you can't solve something on your own, having friends who can encourage you will help you work hard without getting discouraged, so it's important to have friends who make you feel positive when you meet them. It's a good idea to acquire these two qualities while you're a student.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on September 6, 2023 by Shiori Ohno, a second-year student at Sophia University Junior College

Information - About the UPDATE EARTH Competition -　

What is UPDATE EARTH?
This project will provide entrepreneurship training courses for children and students (elementary school, junior high school, high school, technical college, and university) from all over Japan, as well as working adults, to broaden the base for entrepreneurship, and will also collaborate with various innovation awards and business contests to collect business ideas from all over the country and discover entrepreneurs who will be eligible for support.The project will support the startups and entrepreneurs (including potential entrepreneurs, hereafter referred to as "entrepreneurs") selected from the discovery activities in commercializing their business plans and expanding their businesses with an eye toward overseas expansion.
Until now, the development, discovery, and growth support of entrepreneurs have been carried out individually by various institutions and organizations. This project is a challenging endeavor aimed at carrying out these activities on a nationwide scale in one go. The project has been named "UPDATE EARTH" with the aim of creating companies from Japan that will take the world by storm and bring about change for a better society.