The DNA of Entrepreneurial Mindset: Being Stubborn but Flexible / Kyoichi Yasuda, Kasanare, Inc.
With its expertise in LLMOps and RAG, an AI startup called Kasanare, Inc. has been collaborating with large corporations. In this article, we dive into a conversation with the company's CEO, Kyoichi Yasuda, to ask about his personal side and aspirations.
Written by the Universe Editorial Team
In “The DNA of Entrepreneurial Mindset,” we pick a startup entrepreneur who is in the limelight to find out their current values and mindset from various angles.
Featured in this article is Kyoichi Yasuda, CEO of Kasanare, Inc. (Kasanare)
Kyoichi Yasuda
Kyoichi Yasuda is from Kyoto, Japan and graduated from the College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University. As a freelancer, he worked on customer experience management (CXM) for new business growth initiatives and various SaaS products. To “help companies optimize their customer experience by leveraging customer data,” he founded Kasanare at the same time as he started the development of an LLM-based AI platform.
──What made you start a company?
Before starting my own business, I was a freelance business consultant specializing in improving customer experience. I was also engaged in driving digital transformation within companies, where I saw many companies introduce the most suitable cloud services to solve the issues they were facing.
What I saw there was the reality of digital transformation efforts, which relied on strenuous support provided by the members in certain departments.
No matter how good a service is, if it is not used properly, it cannot demonstrate its full value. After seeing the reality of digital transformation, where services were not leveraged to their fullest extent, my determination to “make bothersome tasks easier” grew stronger and stronger.
Just around that time, I learned that my former colleague and current COO Nishida was working on LLM tuning as a freelancer. As I talked with him, I came up with the original idea of Kasanare, which was “automating human labor with LLM to make everyone happy.”
However, we could not materialize this new idea and system just by the two of us. We needed to involve more talented members. So I started Kasanare to bring together members who share the same vision and make an organization to venture into a new future.
──How do you face failures and setbacks?
I don’t think failure is a bad thing but rather proof that you have tried. That is why I always think about how I can turn it into a funny story.
When I go through a setback, I try to listen to my inner voice. I ask myself whether I’m frustrated, and if I am, then it is the biggest chance for me to become the new me. On the other hand, if I am not frustrated, it is time to move on. All you need is the courage to quit.
Come to think of it, failures and setbacks are not that bad after all.
──What are your non-negotiables?
Do not deny other people for who they are just because they have different values. This mindset is very important for me.
I spent most of my elementary school years overseas, and I experienced first-hand how people from different backgrounds can have very different ways of thinking and behavioral standards. In an environment where different values are mixed, you may sometimes find yourself in situations that are unreasonable and difficult, but such an environment is the right place to expand your own horizons and improve your human skills.
With this in mind, we have set out Kasanare’s value, which is “Team Kasanare: Layering diverse values.” It expresses our company’s vision to be a team of people who can understand other people’s values and transform ourselves.
Kasanare is a fully remote organization that does not limit its working location to Japan. I want to create an organization where each member can develop “the ability to make decisions that they feel are right” by not being constrained by their own common sense and by incorporating a global perspective on a daily basis.
──Can you explain your team in one word?
“A group of ordinary superhumans”
At first glance, our members seem like ordinary people, when it comes to work, they stand out.
Kasanare is a company where members with hidden superhuman capabilities can hone their talents and increase each others’ value.
──How do you recharge yourself when you feel tired mentally and physically?
I play with my two cats. I also like surfing, so I sometimes look at surf videos and check the waves of various places in Japan.
──What drives you forward?
It is typical, but my strongest motivation is positive feedback from clients and customers.
The generative AI sector has become a very hot market over the past year, and we hear various hypotheses everywhere. Big overseas tech companies and major Japanese companies are entering the market one after another, and if you include up-and-coming startups launched from university research labs, there are now countless “generative AI services”.
Clients who say that Kasanare’s service is the best even in this fiercely competitive environment are the source of all our energy.
──What does it take to become a CEO?
Whether you have the motivation to become an “understanding executive who can flexibly make decisions,” and the determination to always be a “stubborn guy who does not mind being disliked” at the same time. You need to have this mindset as a CEO.**
It is also important to make the right choice based on this mindset and take responsibility.
I think that “choosing” is not about choosing what to do but deciding what not to do. It is not about what you get but deciding what you give up. It is not about who you meet but deciding who you do not meet. It is not about making everyone happy but deciding who you can make happy. I feel that taking responsibility for the “things you have decided not to do” is an essential ability for a CEO who is responsible for business decisions.
──Lastly, please share your aspirations.
I am convinced that generative AI will become the technology infrastructure in Japan in the future. LLM will add efficiency to all industries and raise overall productivity.
During Japan’s economic boom, electrical appliance and automobile manufacturers grew to become major corporations, along with the development of infrastructure such as electricity and roads.
In the same way, we aim to be a digital transformation manufacturer that can make full use of generative AI, which is the infrastructure of the future. Our goal is to become a next-gen market leader by leveraging the advantages of the patented technologies we already possess to achieve “a society where AI can autonomously perform tasks on behalf of people.
Kasanare’s mission is to “make everyday work easier.” Based on this belief, we, as a group of professionals improving business productivity, aspire to transform people’s work styles.
Kasanare, Inc.
The company offers “Kasanare,” a professional service to replace human labor with generative AI. The service is characterized by its one-stop support from implementation to operation, with its strengths in LLMOps and RAG to enhance AI’s reasoning capabilities.