Hi Take! Thanks for joining me for this interview today. Can you give us a short introduction?



Hi, my name is Take, short for Takehiro. I major Law at Waseda University. One of my hobbies is to watch 
きまぐれクック on YouTube. He filets fish and cooks.


Oh wow. He seems pretty popular! Do you like cooking?



No, I don’t like cooking in particular… but I love watching his videos. You can call me a きまぐれクック evangelist.



I’ll make sure to include that in the article (laughs). So, what were you doing before Zenport?



I was an organizer for 学生のための政策立案コンテスト(Policy Making Contest for Students), from freshman year to sophomore year. I mainly worked on PR and marketing, to gather more student participants and attention for the events.
 I also worked as a cram school instructor at 東進ハイスクール, helping students and doing curriculum consultations. I guess you could say I was interested in education.



What brought you to join Zenport?

Three reasons: First of all, I wanted to know what it was like to work at a startup: the vibe, the working culture, and I also wanted to work on systemizing work processes. Second, I wanted to work in an international environment, which Zenport definitely had. Third, I wanted to work in IT.



Did anything make you hesitant from joining?



I wasn’t so sure about what the company was doing, and I guess I was a bit worried about the English. But what made me decide to join the team was because the mood/atmosphere was so energetic and friendly. On my first day on trial, all the members went to Saizeriya together. There wasn’t a quiet moment, everyone was talking and laughing constantly. 



Have you noticed any differences after actually joining the team?



Not really. The team is still bright and friendly as ever. One thing I noticed was that the interns are really smart. 



I totally agree! I’m always learning from the other interns as well, and trying to catch up.

Yeah. But it’s really stimulating to work in this kind of environment. Members are proactive, and I’ve really learned to turn my thoughts into actual actions that lead to results. I’ve also learned a lot about teamwork and communication. Members here are able to voice their opinions and get things done in a way that the whole team can agree on. In other words, we’re able to disagree, talk it out, and get work done. It’s a lot more efficient than trying to get things done while trying to avoid stepping on each others’ toes. 



That is true! We’re very comfortable with disagreeing, and it actually increases productivity in the long run. So Take, what’s your role at Zenport?



I used to do a lot of work for the back office, but now I’m working in Sales and Marketing. I contact companies that do trading, or have any import or export processes and try to gain their interest in our software. It’s pretty difficult to find and market to the specific people who work in the trading department. A lot of times our marketing attempts may completely miss the decision making people in regards to using new software. So one of my goals at Zenport is to find a better marketing channel to reach those in charge of those trading procedures.

Getting the word out there in regards to our product is definitely a challenge, and one that we will be continuously working on. Do you have any personal dreams or goals?



Nothing specific for now. But I’d originally had been working in data analysis, 
so I want to work in something related to data and IT. I’ve been studying machine learning since last year as well. One very vague goal, is to become a person who can be happy for and with others. I want to multiply that happiness with others.


That’s so important. I feel like a lot of people these days get caught up in their own lives and forget to share the happiness with others. Last question, what kind of members would you like to work with at Zenport?


I want to work with someone who has their own expertise. 
It could be work; it could be one area of interest; it could be anything! But expertise really increases the comprehensive capacity of a team, and members can learn from each other from their respective area of expertise. I’m glad I joined Zenport, because it truly is an environment where you can work in collaboration with others. There’s always interaction; you’re not tapping away on your laptop alone for the whole day alone. You’ll be surrounded by members who you can learn so much from!