Atsushi Toriimoto

Giving up your seat on the train, picking up litter… The small “good deeds” we do are always seen by Otento-sama, the sun, as a Japanese saying goes.
OTENTO Co., Ltd. (OTENTO), which put that feeling into its company name, makes the daily efforts of people working mainly in the service industry visible and creates an environment where they are fairly evaluated. How does it do this? And what kind of society is it aiming for? CEO Atsushi Toriimoto spoke passionately about it.

Making everyone happy: workers, employers, and customers

When you receive pleasant customer service or attentive service at a restaurant, for example, have you ever felt you did not fully express your thanks? Our business is about “sending feelings of gratitude to the other person and making them visible with digital technology.”

Employees become more motivated when gratitude reaches them directly from customers, which also leads to higher wages. Employers can evaluate staff fairly, and as employee retention rises, they can raise productivity and sales. Customers also find it easier to discover shops with good service. By making hard-to-see gratitude visible in this way, OTENTO’s business makes everyone happy: the people who work, the people who employ them, and the people who receive the service.

Customers scan the QR code on a display in the shop and send employees thanks, praise, and tips called “smart tips.” Employees receive them in a dedicated smartphone app. The information is analyzed with our own AI algorithm and compiled into a report as that person’s evaluation. Employers check the information every day on an admin screen and use it for performance evaluations and service improvements. For employees, the information is an evaluation by third parties that builds up through their daily work, and it also helps them discover “their own strengths.”

After finishing a marketing period, we started charging and launched in earnest in February 2023. Currently (August 2023), 1,500 trial member stores and 75 paid member stores, mainly in the service industry, have joined.

Building a society where the effort you have built up leads to your future

In recent years, more companies in Japan have been asking for references when people change jobs. We are considering using the reports of gratitude and praise received from customers through OTENTO as objective third-party references for career advancement.

For example, Person A, who works part time at an izakaya chain, earns the top rating in the country from customers on OTENTO. Person A can then use that report to move to the company they hoped to join.

In surveys of university students, about 80% reportedly say, “I have no career to be proud of,” and when asked, “What did you put your effort into as a student?” most answer, “My part-time job.” But there is nothing to prove the effort they put into their part-time jobs.

OTENTO makes visible a person’s effort and spirit of hospitality, which cannot be measured by résumés, qualifications, or academic background. We aim for a society where the effort built up to please the customer in front of you opens up your future, and where the parts of you that shine can be made visible and used for your next step.

For OTENTO’s references to have social value, our business needs to be trusted. One way to achieve that is to go public. We are working toward listing by December 2027. We also want to expand this business overseas, where tipping culture is established.

Making universal values such as “justice” and “morals” visible with the latest technology

I did not go to university; after high school, I worked at a factory. Later, I moved to a staffing services company. In the group interview there, while others talked about brilliant backgrounds such as their education, sports achievements, and sales results at previous jobs, I had no achievements to talk about.

But I always give up my seat on the train when I see someone who needs it, and I pick up litter of my own accord. I was also confident that my colleagues at my previous job trusted me a great deal. There was just nothing to prove it. That was when I began to wonder whether justice, morals, and character, which matter in social life, could be linked to careers.

People cannot be measured only by education, sports achievements, or sales results. Small daily “good deeds,” such as being kind to the person in front of you or simply saying thank you, surely show a person’s character. Yet there was nothing that could evaluate them. So why not create one? That was how OTENTO began.

I sometimes find it hard to explain OTENTO’s business and the society we aim for. But the only reason we have come this far is that there were people who said, “That sounds great,” about the dream we talked about, and supported us. Aiming for a society where the “things that matter as a person,” which never change in any era, are properly evaluated, we will put this into practice in a form suited to today, using the latest technology. OTENTO will keep moving forward.

How We Used OIH

In 2022, we took part in the OIH acceleration program “OSAP” as a company selected for its 14th cohort. I met two passionate, dependable mentors who helped me organize my ideas and create pitch materials. When the materials were almost finished, they honestly told me, “Your personality doesn’t fully come through in the materials yet,” so I reworked them once more and was finally able to make something I was satisfied with. They supported me when I was struggling and helped me notice my own strengths. It was a truly fulfilling four months!