Starting a business can be a challenging and complex process, but with the right strategies, dedication, and perseverance, it can become a success. The first step is to identify a viable business idea and conduct thorough market research to determine its feasibility and potential demand. The next step is to create a solid business plan that outlines the vision, mission, goals, and strategies for the business. This plan should also include financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational plans. Once the plan is in place, securing adequate funding, hiring the right team, and developing a strong brand identity are essential for success. Consistent effort, adaptability to changing market conditions, and customer-centric focus are crucial for sustained growth and profitability. Building a strong network of partners, suppliers, and customers can also help to drive business success. Above all, a willingness to learn from failures and setbacks and continuously improve is key to achieving long-term success in business.
This article highlights a propelling business leader Yusuke Asano who has not just successfully established a promising business from scratch but also in an industry in which the competition is tremendously high and the nature of the market is continuously evolving.
Yusuke Asano was born in 1978 in Nara, Japan. He did his major in Business Administration from Kushiro Public University and later he studied abroad at Osaka Sangyo University Los Angeles.
Yusuke Asano began his career at Keyence, a company with the third-largest capital in Japan after Toyota and Sony. During his time there, he acquired the necessary knowledge to enhance the efficiency of the manufacturing process. Additionally, he successfully oversaw the launch of two venture companies, demonstrating exemplary management skills.
He established a bridal related web service company Act Marriage with friends and became a representative. In parallel with management, He provided management consulting at a consulting firm. In addition, He launched an ICT company as the head of the Tokyo business and managed a staff of 100 people. Afterwards, ACT MARRIAGE was transferred to management members.
He established One Act in 2013 and since then he is working with the company till now. He later established One Act US, Inc. in the US and One Act UK, Ltd. in the UK strengthening the international expansion of PieceX. Currently PieceX is a web platform used in more than 200 countries around the world.
Inspiration That Led To The Establishment of One Act
One Act Inc. was established in Oct, 2013. Mr. Asano believes that the greatest contribution to global society is to create new infrastructure. While transportation and logistics infrastructure are important, he aimed to create a new infrastructure for system development. All services in the world now require IT. Over the years, the development of IT systems has faced significant challenges of long development time and high costs. The world needs an infrastructure to solve this problem. Mr. Asano did not care whether he was an entrepreneur or an employee, but he started his own business. Mr. Asano states while describing the motivation behind creating his own company One Act,
“I believed that creating and leading a team myself was the shortest way to achieve my goal”.
One Act currently has bases in five countries, and their team is composed of skilled engineers from twelve different nations. This diversity enables them to develop their services in accordance with global standards. Their team is also incredibly flexible and agile, which sets them apart from larger companies, allowing them to adapt and evolve rapidly on a day-to-day basis.
The Distinguished Services One Act Offers
“PieceX”, a service provided by One Act, is the world’s first AI-powered source code marketplace. By trading high-quality source code (text files of computer programs) globally, it revolutionizes the traditional software development process. Buyer companies (any business or software development companies) can purchase ready-to-use software components with a guarantee, eliminating the need to develop software from scratch, and reducing traditional software development time and costs by over 80%.
Seller companies (software development companies or businesses that own the copyright to source code) can generate new recurring revenue directly from the source code itself and engage in high-profit-margin business.
There are several low-priced source code marketplaces such as WordPress templates and plugins in the world, but PieceX is the only high-quality, high-cost source code marketplace specializing in enterprises in the world.
PieceX already has a track record of transactions in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide, and by becoming an innovative web infrastructure that enables anyone in the world to quickly develop new services, it is creating a new economy in the world.
Keeping Pace With The Evolving World
In today’s fast-paced world, where technology and innovation are constantly advancing, the importance of improvement cannot be overstated. To remain competitive and relevant, individuals, organizations, and societies must continuously strive to improve their knowledge, skills, products, and services. Embracing improvement means staying up to date with the latest trends, technologies, and best practices, and constantly seeking ways to innovate and differentiate oneself from the competition.
PieceX is evolving day by day with various AI technologies such as price control, quality control, and individual recommendations. In addition to enterprise source code, the source code PieceX handles continues to increase, such as OSS (open source software) and source code specialized for hardware such as IoT. Next, they are also looking to add prompts to help Generative AI.
While describing the goals for the upcoming decade Mr. Asano states, “we need to expand the reach of PieceX worldwide. Although we are a small startup, our market is global, and we aim to target all countries”.
To accomplish this, they are actively seeking cooperative partners in each country. They have already established partnerships with major companies in Japan and South Korea and are seeking to do so in other regions such as the US and Europe.
One Act’s Strategic Vision to Facilitate the Entire World
One Act has a mission to contribute to global society through innovative technologies. Their vision is to create a world where anyone, no matter who or where, can create new innovative services. That is why they build PieceX, an innovative service that is positioned to become a new social infrastructure for software development.
They do not do headhunting and do not hire referrals. Employees are attracted to their philosophy and services and join the company because of their own motivation, which is always high.
“Our goal is to create a new value proposition that doesn’t currently exist in the world: facilitating the buying and selling of enterprise source code. While we recognize that this endeavor is not without its risks, we are committed to pursuing it with the right strategy and effort”, says Mr. Asano.
Foreshadowing On The Upcoming Industry’s Challenges
Talking about the upcoming challenges Mr. Asano states, “The software development industry has always faced the same pain over the years: a huge amount of development time and cost that always exceeds expectations. Additionally, there is currently a shortage of IT engineers worldwide. The solution to these problems is PieceX, the source code marketplace that distributes source code”.
A Leader’s Way With Empathy & Vulnerability
When people work together, rationality is undoubtedly important, but it alone is not sufficient for success. It’s equally essential to maintain a human element. Says Mr. Asano, “I try to be transparent and showcase all aspects of myself, and for areas where I am not proficient, I rely on my team members. I ensure that I provide clear reasoning for all decisions, which is usually based on economic rationality, but at times may also stem from my personal values whether they are “cool” or not”.
The Key to Deal with Disagreements & Criticism
Dealing with disagreements and criticism is an essential part of personal and professional growth. By handling these situations constructively, one can develop better communication skills, build stronger relationships, and become more resilient in the face of challenges. Criticism, when provided in a respectful and constructive manner, can be a valuable source of feedback and help us to identify blind spots that we may not have been aware of.
Talking about disagreements and criticism Mr. Asano emphasizes, “as we have members from 12 different countries, we each bring our own unique cultures and values to the team, making it crucial to respect one another. I believe that differences in opinions are healthy, as they promote growth and development. Therefore, I always strive to remain neutral when interacting with team members, as doing so ensures that no valuable opinions or decisions are overlooked”. Their team’s motivation stems from the fact that everyone is a skilled professional, who supports and respects one another.
Clients Review and The Company Values
Client feedback is crucial in any business as it provides valuable insights into how customers perceive a product or service. Feedback can highlight areas where improvements can be made, identify strengths to be emphasized, and help to gauge overall customer satisfaction.
Mr. Asano states,
“Customer feedback is crucial to us as it creates awareness for the necessary improvements. We welcome good strategies that may arise from it, but we will not alter the fundamentals of our business model. We understand the value of our service better than anyone”.
Advice to Aspiring Business People
Mr. Asano advises aspiring young people by saying, “I recommend that you must believe in your own values and hard work. While work-life balance is important, hard work remains the key to achieving greater success in business than others. If possible, you should be willing to work 24/7. This will give you time to explore your services and yourself. And rather than focusing solely on immediate profits, let’s work towards making the world a better place. That’s our goal, and we’re determined to achieve it. It would be great if we could collaborate and support each other along the way. When looking to quickly develop new services, be sure to check out PieceX first. You may find source code there that is useful for your needs”.