On October 22, 2025, the 4th "Startup League Academy" was held.

This event featured a special session with committee head Mr. Fukuda and guest Mr. Yasushi Kobayashi, President and CEO of MarketEnterprise Co., Ltd. Additionally, two selected companies held "value-up" sessions, sparking lively discussions. 

■ Special Session: "Initiatives of an 'Optimization Trading Company' Aiming for a Sustainable Society"

   Before Mr. Kobayashi's presentation, committee head Mr. Fukuda explained that modern marketing has changed significantly from traditional theories taught in school, and that platform strategies and how to capture the "C" in "BtoBtoC" are now crucial. 

   Next, Mr. Kobayashi of MarketEnterprise Co., Ltd. took the stage. Under the theme "Initiatives of an 'Optimization Trading Company' Aiming for a Sustainable Society," he shared his experience of entering the reuse market with a "market-in" mindset and establishing a new standard. 

   Mr. Kobayashi described his journey from founding the company at 23 to its IPO, starting in a niche area (initially EC site flash batteries and flea market operations) and pivoting to the online reuse business. He spoke about his consistent strategy of capturing market needs and systematizing operations, including running 30 specialized purchasing sites, building his own logistics network, collaborating with Yahoo and Amazon, expanding through M&A, and partnering with local governments (currently 283 municipalities) via the "Oikura" platform.

   He also pointed out that the growth of the reuse market is directly linked to macro social issues like demographic shifts (downsizing due to an aging population, end-of-life decluttering, vacant homes, and farm abandonment). He added that, based on data analysis, the company is also expanding overseas (particularly into the African market).

   Mr. Fukuda concluded that "making evidence-based hypotheses and repeatedly taking on challenges," and "avoiding gray areas and building open systems" are extremely important for startup growth.

■ Value-Up Session by Blue Farm Co., Ltd.

    Mr. Daisuke Aoki, CEO of Blue Farm Co., Ltd., took the stage. Focusing on the sustainable value (CO2 reduction, biodiversity conservation) of mountain tea fields that have become abandoned farmland, he introduced "ChaaS (Tea-field as a Service)," a service that helps companies improve their ESG ratings by replacing their corporate beverages. 

    Challenges raised included partner strategies for scaling the business (especially potential competition with major beverage manufacturers' business models) and the need to increase the resolution (granularity) of the plan to achieve the target sales (2 billion yen) at the current price (120 yen per bottle). 

   The experts engaged in a multifaceted discussion, offering advice such as, "You should leverage the historical background of being a 400-year-old tea farmer," "You should clarify the value as an ESG solution rather than just selling it as a beverage," and "Isn't collaboration with major distributors essential for scaling?"

■ Value-Up Session by AtoJ Inc.

    Next, Mr. Nobuo Tomita, COO of AtoJ Inc., took the stage. As an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider certified by the Ministry of Justice, the company offers "OneNego," an ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) service that resolves small-value unpaid claims (1 million yen or less) online. 

    However, challenges were raised regarding expanding awareness to other industries (medical, real estate, energy, etc.) and countermeasures for security risks (such as phishing scams) accompanying business expansion. 

   The experts provided specific recommendations regarding potential partners and risk countermeasures, such as, "You should partner with servicers (debt collection agencies) in the financial industry, as it's a very good match," "Speed is crucial to prepare for competitors, even though the Ministry of Justice certification is a strong barrier to entry," "You should establish a brand value that 'anything else is an imitation' and proceed with security measures simultaneously," and "We can expect expansion into new markets, like addressing unfair billing and low-balling issues in the freelance industry."

   Mr. Kobayashi, who was on the panel, also expressed strong interest in adopting the service, stating, "I'd like to implement it as a function to resolve disputes between sellers and buyers on our platform," suggesting a promising future collaboration that could lead to value-up.

■ Get the Full Report and Event Buzz on Social Media!

    More detailed contents of the heated sessions will be shared in a full report scheduled for later release.

    We will announce the latest information on our official X (formerly Twitter), so please follow us and stay tuned for updates.
Official X Account:https://x.com/startupleaguejp

    You can also search the hashtag to feel the real-time excitement of the event!
Recommended Hashtag:#StartupLeagueAcademy

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