Kunihiro Tanaka is President and Representative Director of SAKURA internet Inc., which listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2015. An engineer who had originally wanted to build robots as a boy, Tanaka founded the company with its current business of “renting servers to customers” as a third-year student at the National Institute of Technology, Maizuru College (1996). “It was fun deciding the specs, updating features every day, and supporting everyone’s ability to share information,” Tanaka recalls.
“I love servers.” “I’m happy when the people who use them are pleased.” These feelings from the founding have not changed, even now that the company is listed on the First Section. Having realized a dream and gained status and wealth, everything seems to be smooth sailing, but reaching this point involved all kinds of conflict and anguish.
In 1998, after graduating from the college, Tanaka set up an office in Osaka City and established a stock company. With the tailwind of the IT bubble, sales grew steadily, but the organization grew accordingly, and covering fixed costs such as rent and labor became a challenge. Tanaka had started the business because managing servers was fun, yet more and more time went to scrambling for funds. And after receiving investment from a VC in 2000, “going public” became the organization’s goal. With more stakeholders, the freedom was gone. Wondering, “Is this really what I want to do?”, Tanaka stepped down as president in December 2000.
While Tanaka remained involved in management as vice president, the company listed on the TSE Mothers market in 2005. But two years later, in 2007, the slump in its expanded businesses left it with liabilities exceeding its assets. Tanaka returned as president for the first time in seven years to lead from the front.
What became the anchor amid the hardship was “providing services that please users at low prices,” the company’s founding principle. Catching the waves of the collapse of the IT bubble and the changes in social structure brought by smartphones and tablets, Tanaka devoted everything to solving customers’ problems. In managing the organization, Tanaka valued conveying intentions. “Dissatisfaction usually comes from communication loss. That is why, rather than stopping at ‘they should understand,’ we talk until we understand each other.” Even now, with nearly 500 employees, Tanaka talks with employees and takes care that the workplace is easy to work in.
Finally, we asked what is needed for success.
“Even if you make plans, things don’t always go as planned. What matters, of course, is daily effort, but also the resolve to absolutely seize the luck that appears in front of you, and the passion to make it happen no matter what. You don’t know whether you will succeed until you try, but people who don’t make an effort and people without passion will never succeed.”
The calm way Tanaka says this conveys an inner strength.
A stance of always dealing with people with a smile and courtesy, without becoming arrogant because of the listing. We felt this gentle character is the deciding factor in the success.
Interview year: 2017