The origin of our company name is to serve as a bridge between different cultures, like the ancient Silk Road, to spread emerging new IT technologies and solutions that are still known by a few, with our niche in the Japanese market.
Over the past 20 years, we have helped many foreign start-ups to spread their business in Japan. Recently, we have also been working with an increasing number of Japanese start-up companies that are expanding their solutions from Japan to other countries.
We are not an agent or a broker. When we find a company, technology, or solution that we believe is the right one, we continue to be involved from a medium- to long-term perspective.
There are many difficulties that foreign start-ups face when they first enter the Japanese market. During this early stage, we actively act as an evangelist and continue to search for companies that will become our first customers and/or partners in Japan. It is not easy to discover the first client in Japan with its risk-averse culture, but we patiently search for such encounters.
These valuable "encounters" lead to the first contract and the introduction of the product. Again, we overcome various difficulties, cultural barriers, and continue to be involved until the project is a success. In this way, we stay involved for as long as it takes for the first few projects to "take root" in Japan.
Once the venture company has achieved a certain degree of success in Japan and has become accustomed to doing business in Japan, we step back from the front lines and enter a "watch and wait" phase. At this point, more than 90% of the work is done by the start-up company and the Japanese client, but only when there are problems that cannot be resolved (most of which are communication and cultural issues), we are asked by the venture company or its client to sort out the issue. We enjoy solving difficult puzzles.
We always value a sense of "fun”. This sense of fun comes from our confidence that the companies, solutions, and technologies we are involved with offer special "value" that other companies cannot imitate, and also because we are blessed with great customers and partners who have the foresight to see that "value" in what we do. If we can continue to create value with various venture companies, visionary partners and customers, that is the reason for our existence as a company.
Born in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Moved to the United States with his family in 1988 at the age of 14.
After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 1996 (majoring in computer science), he worked as an IT engineer for a financial systems vendor in the U.S. He returned to Japan in 2002 to establish the Japanese subsidiary of Javelin Technologies, an American financial IT start-up.
He has been promoting digitalization of financial market trading in Japan as an evangelist.
In 2009, he founded Silk Road Inc.
His hobbies are anime, manga, and philosophy. He spends his days enjoying both business and himself as the object of philosophical study.
After graduating from J.F. Oberlin University, worked at the front desk and executive floors of three major domestic and UK hotels. Later, joined a large multinational IT company as a member of the support staff for sales and marketing promotion.
In 2008, joined C’BON Co., Ltd. and worked as an Executive assistant of the CEO during the intensive period leading up to IPO over 5 years.
In 2017, leveraging her expertise in organization and tidiness, began offering consulting services for creating “special spaces” for business people and executives.
In 2021, joined Silk Road Co., Ltd., which is run by her husband, and serves as a backstage support role, becoming a driving force behind the company's growth.
Graduated from International Christian University in 1969, After working as a retail and wholesale manager for Hanae Mori New York and a buyer for Bergdorf Goodman, a long-established department store in New York, she founded Savvy3 NY Inc. in 1979.
In 1983, established Savvy3 K.K. and started offering consulting services for fashion retail business companies from Tokyo, Paris, and New York offices.
Since 2010, working as an expert advisor for JETRO, providing guidance to overseas companies entering the Japanese business market.
In 2020, dissolved Savvy Three K.K. Currently, she is a senior advisor of Silk Road, based on her half century of retail and marketing experience and global network.
We work with selected number of partners and consultants who share similar core value with us. We are slowly and carefully expanding our list of partners - where we can collectively maintain and augment an “ecosystem”.
