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Making Japan's DX the Easiest in the World! — Helping Everyone Take the First Step in Data Utilization[2025 ICT Startup League Member Interview: codeless technology Inc.]
codeless technology Inc. is advancing mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to easily tackle digital transformation (DX), driven by the mission of "Making Japan's DX the Easiest in the World."
Yoshiyuki Saruya, Representative Director & CEO, has experience managing diverse businesses, including a snowboard school and a smartphone repair company. Through this, he became acutely aware of a challenge faced by many Japanese companies: "The front lines are hardly using data at all." DX remains a high hurdle, especially for SMEs that lack both capital and human resources.
To solve this problem, the company developed "Sonomama DX," a service that allows users to build a system simply by taking and sending photos of their existing documents. It's a system that requires no IT staff, boasting a "perfect trifecta": instant setup, no changes for front-line staff, and simple management.
"Sonomama DX," which is low-cost and easy for anyone to use, has the potential to contribute to improving the productivity of Japanese companies and, ultimately, revitalizing society as a whole. We spoke with Mr. Saruya about the passion he pours into this business.
Yoshiyuki Saruya, Representative Director & CEO, codeless technology Inc.The Driving Force: A Goal of "¥250 Billion in Annual Sales" and a Desire to "Change the World"
You've managed a snowboard school, launched a business at a manufacturer, and run a smartphone repair company. How does this diverse business experience connect to what you are doing now?
Saruya: Looking at my resume, it might seem like I've jumped between various businesses. However, whether at the snowboard school or the smartphone repair company, what I was doing was largely the same. I have consistently focused on **"organizing operations to create systems that anyone can follow."**
What did that entail, specifically?
Saruya: When I was running the snowboard school, the challenge was that we had no foundation for training instructors. I spent my time creating manuals and systems so that even staff who couldn't snowboard could teach beginners, ensuring customers had fun and became repeat visitors.
I see. So it connects to your pursuit of making things "easy for anyone."
Saruya: It was the same at the smartphone repair company. When I started that business, repair work wasn't manualized; the attitude was just, "You'll learn as you go." I knew that wouldn't work. I created repair manuals for every phone model, mapping out everything from where to place screws to the customer intake procedure and every step of the repair process. This built a system where anyone could perform the work at a consistent quality without hesitation.
For example, I even considered the placement of a single shelf to minimize worker movement. By reducing the time workers spend thinking, "What do I do next?" I made it so everyone could focus on their job with confidence.
After 10 years of running the smartphone repair company, what motivated you to launch your current business?
Saruya: There were two things: a desire to "achieve my personal goals" as a startup founder, and a desire to "solve a social problem." I believe this kind of motivation, which keeps you going when your back is against the wall, is extremely important.
After the snowboard school and the manufacturer, I became an executive at a company I joined, but I ended up taking on about 20 million yen in debt, including from consumer loan companies. It was an incredibly painful situation, feeling hounded every month. My electricity, gas, and water were shut off. I couldn't even afford a 300-yen beef bowl. I truly hit "rock bottom."
That's an intense experience...
Saruya: In that situation, having nothing, I wondered what to do. I decided I should at least set a goal for myself. The supermarket where I bought half-priced bento boxes every day had annual sales of about 200 billion yen at the time. So, I set a goal: I would build a business with 250 billion yen in annual sales by the time I turn 65.
So that "¥250 billion" goal is the driving force that connects to your work today.
Saruya: Yes. I entered the smartphone industry because I thought it had a market potential of over 250 billion yen. However, I realized that achieving my goal would be difficult due to regulations and the number of physical stores, and I found myself stuck maintaining the status quo. During that time, I also took on contract work for manufacturers' repair factories and warranty centers, which made me acutely aware of how external factors can destabilize a business.
So you decided to sell the smartphone repair company and pivot to a new business. Were there any specific social problems you were focused on?
Saruya: Looking at society's future, especially in the coming AI era, I feel that Japan's delay in DX—particularly the lack of data utilization on the front lines—is a serious problem. To run AI effectively, you can't just read documents with OCR. You need to accumulate high-quality, tagged data—who, when, where. However, most Japanese companies, especially SMEs, lack both the systems and the resources to collect and organize such data.
If Japanese companies are to increase profits and improve society, they need to use data to boost operational efficiency and take swift action. I'm pouring all my effort into creating a service to make that a reality.
"Sonomama DX," a simple service that realizes the first step of DX, allowing users to manage data and create input forms just by sending documents.Utterly Simple! The Pursuit of Intuitive Use That Requires No Learning
Could you explain again what "Sonomama DX" is and what its key features are?
Saruya: The service itself is very simple. You just take a picture of a document and send it, and an input form with the exact same layout is created.
That really is simple.
Saruya: With "Sonomama DX," there's absolutely no need to learn how to use it step-by-step or create specification documents. We were relentless in our pursuit of a simplicity where "if you just do this one thing, it will work." This is the culmination of the "reduce thinking" approach to operational efficiency that I've been pursuing since my repair company days. We've eliminated any elements that could add complexity and focused on making it intuitively usable.
So, a tool that presupposes the user is "IT literate" just wouldn't work.
Saruya: Exactly. The smartphone generation, in particular, won't read a manual even if one exists. It has to be intuitive. "Sonomama DX" can instantly convert existing paper forms into digital input forms that store data. Because it becomes a system that keeps the familiar layout, people can start using it without any sense of unfamiliarity, making it much easier to adopt on the front lines.
Was there anything you were particularly conscious of during development?
Saruya: When you're involved in system development, you tend to think in terms of "one-stop" solutions that can handle "this and that" in response to various requests. But while "one-stop" sounds good, it often leads to features that users can't actually master or results in feature bloat.
In the past, when introducing a new company system, there was a trend of thinking that "having separate software is bad because it complicates management." It was normal to map out the entire system architecture before starting development. But that slows down the speed of business. Moreover, with traditional development methods, even a tiny change at the end requires an enormous amount of time, cost, and coordination. You can't make adjustments easily.
So, we need to change the traditional mindset about system development.
Saruya: That's right. The traditional system development mindset was about "raising switching costs"—that is, building something complex, turning it into a black box, and ensuring that once a client adopted it, they'd have to keep using it forever.
However, with the evolution of AI, many things will become much easier to achieve. When that happens, I believe that if you don't *lower* your switching costs, your proprietary technology will be shut out of the market.
We must shift our mindset to presume that "we can be easily replaced" and instead provide value that makes clients stay "because we are convenient." To do that, I think it's vital to specialize our functions and thoroughly refine what our core value proposition is.
Just by sending a familiar document, a system with the exact same appearance is automatically generated.What Lies Beyond Making Japan's DX the Easiest in the World
You mentioned the current service focuses on "data accumulation and management." Why is that?
Saruya: You could say it's a current limitation, but our service currently stops at high-quality "data management and accumulation," rather than providing a "data utilization" solution. By specializing the functional scope, we can offer it at a low cost. We see data utilization as the next step.
The first thing I want to do is eliminate the "specification document culture" in system implementation. If we can get rid of that step, we'll increase speed, lower costs, and broaden the scope for new challenges. By turning a paper form into an input form, we make the goal of the final system crystal clear, which allows us to eliminate the specification document.
What do you aim to achieve with "data utilization" in the future?
Saruya: After we've gathered the data, I want to provide solutions by using it. For example, think about disaster preparedness. We are good at responding *after* a disaster, but preventing one is difficult, isn't it? Recently, there were land subsidence issues in Yashio City. Preventive measures, like drone inspections, are expensive, making it difficult to conduct them frequently and continuously.
That's why I thought a system that utilizes reports from residents would be effective.
That's the "Smart Government AI Dashboard," your research theme for the ICT Startup League, right? What kind of service is it?
Saruya: We use the "Sonomama DX" service to put a municipality's existing forms online. This allows us to efficiently collect reports and damage claims from residents, and then use AI analysis to predict and visualize potential risks for local roads and facilities.
In reality, local residents are often the first to notice the signs of an impending disaster, thinking, "This area is getting dangerous." The ideal is to create a system that properly captures those voices so we can act early. Simply put, it's a modern-day suggestion box.
It sounds like you can do some fascinating things by thinking about data utilization and system design. Please tell us about the future outlook for your business.
Saruya: In the future, I want to make the current service free, creating a world where anyone can easily possess data. Then, with that collected data as a starting point, we will thoroughly explore how to make it easier for SMEs to utilize data. To achieve this, we are deciding our future path while constantly considering our mission—"Making Japan's DX the Easiest in the World." Will it be by developing our own user-friendly services, or by linking with other companies' services to deliver value to customers faster?
Making it free will have value because it's built on a service that people are already willing to pay for. However, jumping to a free model immediately is difficult from a capital standpoint, so for now, we are focused on securing revenue through paid subscriptions. We also recognize the importance of a PR strategy to raise awareness. I feel that marketing has become extremely difficult in the last 10 years or so, and I want to strengthen our website and our system for disseminating information. I am also hoping for support in that area from the ICT Startup League.
56% of citizens who used "Sonomama DX" opined that they would like other documents to be digitized in the same way, with only 9% having a negative opinion.Editor's Note
The clear concept of "Making Japan's DX the Easiest in the World," and the service that embodies this simplicity, "Sonomama DX." Mr. Saruya's strategy, which has long anticipated the AI era by focusing the service on collecting high-quality foundational data, is extremely persuasive.
While facing practical hurdles like fundraising, Mr. Saruya speaks passionately about "changing the world" with an intensity that is palpable. We look forward to seeing his company make Japan's DX the easiest in the world, casting a significant stone that ripples out to improve all of Japan's productivity.
■ICT Startup League
A support program started in FY2023, triggered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' "Support Program for R&D in Startups."
The ICT Startup League supports startups through four pillars:
① R&D Funding / Mentorship
Up to 20 million yen in R&D funding is provided as a subsidy. Additionally, in mentorship, the selection committee members who selected the League members stay on to promote their growth. For companies that committee members "absolutely wanted to select," a "cheering" (oshikatsu) support system is built, where the members themselves provide ongoing support, advice on business plans, and growth opportunities.
② Discovery & Nurturing
We provide learning and networking opportunities to foster the business growth of League members.
We also work to discover those who aim to start businesses in the future, aiming to expand the base.
③ Competition & Co-creation
It's a place for positive competition, like a sports league, where startups learn together and compete, winning the funding they truly need (up to 20 million yen). It also provides a place for co-creation, where League members collaborate and expand their businesses through various opportunities, such as sessions by the selection committee.
④ Promotion
We will promote the initiatives of League members in collaboration with the media! By getting many people to know about their businesses, we aim to expand opportunities for new matching and chances.
■Related Websites
codeless technology Inc.
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codeless technology Inc. (LEAGUE MEMBER)
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ICT Startup League
