Entrepreneur Training Program – The 2nd Entrepreneur Seminar
CEO of Taste Local Inc.

Takaya Shinozuka,On Wednesday, September 9, the 2nd Entrepreneurial Seminar was held withMr. Takaya Shinozuka, CEO of Taste Local Inc., as a guest speaker.

Profile:Mr. Takaya Shinozuka (CEO, Taste Local Inc.)

After graduating from Toyo University in 2006, he studied in the U.S. for one year andtraveled as a backpacker in Japan and abroad.
In 2007, joined Recruit Co., Ltd. as a new graduate. Assigned to the Travel Company andexperienced sales of the travel reservation site "Jalan".
In 2011, founded Loco Partners, Inc. in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
In 2013, launched “Relux”, an accommodation reservation site. Relux joined the KDDI
Group in 2017 and the service has grown a merchandise value of 20 billion yen.
In 2020, he retired from the company and established TASTE LOCAL Inc. Appointed as
CEO and released the online gourmet site TASTE LOCAL.

College Days
When I was a student, I was just playing my life away. I chose the travel industry simply
because I liked it. There was no strategies or odds.
Every vacation, I went on a trip and visited 20 foreign countries and 46 prefectures inJapan excluding Okinawa. Then I realized that Japanese tourism had abundant assets suchas variety of food cultures and characteristic seasons. That was the starting point.
At that time, it was not easy to book airline tickets and accommodation online, so only
few students travelled abroad.
TASTE LOCAL
From Business Planning to Service Release
As I found out that an inn registered at Relux in Izu was in a predicament due to COVID19 pandemic, I bought 10 famous simmered red bream to support them. I wanted to help
more, so we envisioned TASTE LOCAL.
We quickly launched the service on April 10, a week after the conception had beenplanned, and it was captured the hearts of people who were tired of the self-restraint under
COVID-19 pandemic or stressed out about self-catering three times a day.
In only first month, we sold 2,000 red bream and sales amount was over 13 million yen(half of them were sold via TASTE LOCAL, and the other half were by direct phoneorder to the inn). As a result, it was featured in many media. The lineup we handle ranges
from affordable to luxury products, and currently we have more than 200 items. It can besaid that the e-commerce for selected food has great potential.
Securing Human Resources/ Future Prospects"People, goods, and money" are indispensable for any business. The most important ispeople, but TASTE LOCAL's service charge is very low (revised in August, service
charge is 10% excluding credit card commission. Before that, it was 10% including credit
card commission and net income is 6%). There tend to be a shortage of businesscontinuation fund. Therefore, through the blog, we recruit pro bono who agree with ourbusiness philosophy, and with their help, we are running the business.
The other day, we renewed our site using Shopify. It used to be difficult to provide
services with point back and mobile apps, but now it is possible to add such functions.
We want to improve usability so that new products are lined up every time customers
access our site.

Relux
From Business Planning to Service Release
When I was involved with Jalan in Recruit, I was often consulted by friends andacquaintances about the inn. They said "I don't need hundreds of thousands of information
about inns since I travel only once or twice a year. It's too many to decide". Relux's
concept is to create the awareness that "as long as you have a reliable source ofinformation, you don't need the amount of information."
Before the start of Relux, we raised 60 million yen from Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. andCyberAgent, Inc., and even after the service started, we succeeded in raising an additional
300 million yen from Recruit Holdings.
Turning Point
Like many ventures, Relux and TASTE LOCAL might be regarded as glamorouscompanies, but the reality is not that easy.
At the beginning of Relux, we were anguished because we didn't get any reservations.
We didn't know the cause at that time, but now that I think about it, I know what it was.
At the time of business launch, only 20 accommodations scattered throughout Japan wereregistered. Because they were all famous inn and was fully booked almost all the time,
when customer searched "no result" occurred frequently. So, we believed that we would
receive reservations someday and focused on increasing the number of registered inns.
I didn’t have a secret plan for the number of reservations to skyrocket, but I think thatthe increase in the number of registered inns has led to an increase in reservations.
As for sales, the annual occupancy rate is about 80 to 90% even for a very popular inn,
we persuaded to register by telling "Let's fill three more rooms on this day. We're bringing
in new customers."
In general, accommodation reservation sites are operated with performance-based fee
and do not charge fixed costs. Its maintenance is also hassle-free because it’s done byexternal services. Therefore, once the fuel is gained, it is not difficult to increase thenumber of registered accommodations. Relux's service charge is set higher compared toother sites (our site is 15%while other companies are around 12%), but we don't think theadoption hurdle is that high because filling vacant rooms will definitely increase profit.

Issues of Tourism in JapanThe travel industry is a big market, but DX is essential to further increase the market.
However, even major companies in Tokyo are not yet progressing with DX.
I think the winning strategy of the tourism industry is simply online. However, it is notcommon at present. Online sales accounts for only about 25% of the total sales and 75%
are in physical stores and on the phone. If you simply change the travel ledger fromhandwriting to an equipment such as iPad, it would bring a marked improvement in work
efficiency. I think something online will create absolute value in the future.
Industry With / After COVID-19 Pandemic
Recovering from COVID-19 Crisis
When we look back on human history, we can be confident that we will be able torecover from the COVID-19 crisis. An important point is considered to be the crustal
movement of the industry. However, the world would not be the same as it was before
recovery. Japan's GDP is down 30% compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic, but it is notdecreasing uniformly in all industries. We need to focus on the fact that some industries
are growing.
The recovery of the travel industry will take a lot of time, as it will require to have as
many country-to-country discussion as there’re countries. As for overseas travel, I thinkthat the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue travel safety information and the destination
will be limited.
Domestic travel is on a recovery trend, and small luxury is already back, but Tokyo andlarge hotels are still in a tough state. Domestic travel will take at least 2 years, and inboundwill take at least 3 years to recover. However, I think that it will grow again after therecovery.
Job Hunting in COVID-19 Pandemic
In order to make it the axis of job hunting, the company size does not matter. The mostimportant thing is the growth rate of the company. I don't think you should join a company
which mainly focuses on the industry with less growth potential.
Whether a large company or a venture company, it is difficult for new graduates tomaximize the company’s profits right away. Rather than aiming to be a short-term talent,joining a growing company with many opportunities is the key to growth for university
students.
Things you should do is to reach such an environment, Steve Jobs' commencement
address at Stanford University, "The dots are connected and becomes a line", I think that’slife.

When I was a student, I never thought that what I liked would be utilized in later life.
However, in my case, my travel experiences have led to the start-up of the travel business.
Those who make everything halfway can't connect the dots.
It's the same for everyone in obstructive situation due to the pandemic. On the other
hand, it is very important to look for something that can be done in this hard time.
Transforming the Way, We Work in COVID-19 Pandemic
Due to the pandemic, acceleration from job-type to project-type work, as well as remote
work and workation, have attracted attention. However, many companies, including
myself, think face-to-face is better than remote work. Currently, many companies arefocusing on remote work, but it is expected to return to the conventional way of working
when the pandemic is over.
DX will surely change. IT companies have been DXing naturally, but many businesses
have not. In future, DX will become a matter of course at many companies.