Realgate Co., Ltd. Representative Director Yutaka Iwamoto

Adding new value to old real estate

Representative Director of Real Gate Co., Ltd.　Yutaka Iwamoto(Yutaka Iwamoto)

■ Profile

A first-class architect, he graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo City University (formerly Musashi Institute of Technology) and worked as a site supervisor and American football player for a major general contractor. He then worked for a developer, gaining experience in everything from land procurement to planning and sales. In August 2009, he founded the company to manage "the SOHO." He became the representative director and joined the CyberAgent Group in July 2021, where he remains to this day. His hobbies are bass fishing and weight training (he can bench press 150 kg).

Realgate Co., Ltd., which started out as a small shared office, is a company that renovates unused real estate. We spoke to CEO Yutaka Iwamoto, who started the company after working for a general contractor and developer, about how he started his own company and went public, and his thoughts on his work.

Since I was in high school, I had been thinking about studying architecture in college. At the time, I liked studying science, and at the same time, influenced by my mother, who is a painter, I also liked drawing. Gradually, I began to think, "If I like science and drawing, maybe architecture is the right fit for me in the future." Furthermore, I wanted to play a sport that was relevant to college, and remembering the professional wrestling and martial arts I used to watch as a child, I began to think that I wanted to play American football, a competitive sport that puts your body on the line. So I wondered which university had an architecture department and where I could play American football, and I went to Tokyo City University (formerly Musashi Institute of Technology). However, I became so obsessed with sports during my university years that I hardly studied at all (laughs). As a result, I went into materials science, which was the least popular field in the architecture department.

■As a businessman, I don't want to lose

At the time, there were several general contractors that created American football and rugby teams, and I got a job at one of them, a major one. I was a construction site supervisor, and it was common to work on weekends. I would lead the craftsmen in radio calisthenics from 8am, and do drafting and other work from 5pm. I also had American football practice on Wednesday nights and on weekends, so my days were really tough.
However, the experience of working on-site, bringing together craftsmen from various trades such as rebar, formwork, and interior construction to create one thing, was really useful. At the time, I was able to balance work and American football, so I mistakenly thought I was a good worker. Three or four years after joining the company, famous American football players joined the company, and my opportunities to play in games gradually decreased. When it came to work alone, I wasn't very good, so I decided to change jobs, thinking, "I need to level up again as a member of society and as a businessman so that I don't lose out."

■ I want to sell things I made myself.

I started job hunting while using up some unused paid vacation time. At the same time, I also obtained qualifications as a real estate agent and a first-class architect, and got a job at a major condominium developer. While obtaining qualifications doesn't necessarily mean I can draw blueprints or perform practical tasks, it somehow gave me a sense of confidence. At my new company, I also supervised construction work for the client, but it was the sales department where I was most likely to receive recognition. I wanted a job where I could be recognized, so I volunteered to move to the sales department in my second year. Thanks to my previous technical work, I was able to explain things more clearly than others and achieve results in sales. I found it fascinating to outsell others and receive recognition, so I became engrossed in sales. However, I gradually began to find my work boring. After obtaining my first-class architect qualification and gaining a certain understanding of the technical and sales aspects, I eventually began to think, "I want to purchase land and sell it myself." This led to my second job change.

The looming Great Depression and the founding of Realgate

My next job was at a smaller company, so it was an environment where I could easily do what I wanted. It was a company where I could truly take the initiative and buy land, sell it, and make a profit, just as I had envisioned. However, with the Lehman Shock of 2008, the company I was working for at the time went into civil rehabilitation. At that time, I considered changing jobs again, but I saw this as an opportunity to become independent, so I founded Real Gate.
My first business was a small shared office business. Around 15 years ago, it was possible to register a corporation in real estate for as little as 1 yen. This led to a sudden increase in the number of people wanting to register a corporation in an apartment building, but since it is not legally possible to register a corporation in a condominium, I thought there would be a need for a small shared office where corporation registration could be easily done, and so I started my own business. Now, based on the philosophy of "adding value to old things, creativity to real estate, and freedom in work styles," I am developing a business that renovates old real estate into profitable real estate.

■ The joy of creating something as one team

Real Gate's strength is that we handle all aspects of real estate revitalization, from planning to design and construction, and subsequent management. I believe this is possible because we have experts from each field working as one team, and we can complete the revitalization business almost entirely in-house. Furthermore, I think it is a really enjoyable process to propose to each other what we want to create and then create something together. I think we have created an environment where new graduates can also voice their own opinions as part of a team and work independently.

■Message to university students

Many people may think, "I want a stable job that suits me" when thinking about their future careers. However, I don't think there is a job that suits me. Looking for a job that suits me is like looking for money lying around somewhere; it's not easy to find one. However, once you get a job at a company and become more capable, you will begin to understand what you are and aren't suited to. So I think it's important to just take on challenges, try them out, think about them, and then act on them. I think that repeating this process to gain true skills will lead to what the world calls "stability."

Student Newspaper Online September 20, 2023 Interview by Rikkyo University 9th year student, Sudo Kakuto