I joined Reazon Holdings as a BizDev employee in April 2020 as a new graduate. My duties include driving new projects forward, designing app features, and managing team members, among other things.

After about a month of training, I was assigned to a team responsible for recruiting, managing, and operating delivery drivers for the food delivery service 'menu'. Our team's task was to devise and operate a system for efficiently matching orders received through the 'menu' app with delivery drivers. Around January 2020, although initially 'menu' delivery drivers were handled by part-time workers, the number of part-time workers gradually increased to around 200, making personnel management difficult and costs increasing. Therefore, we changed our policy to switch from part-time workers to gig workers and decided to join the project to launch the delivery driver network, which at the time was being tackled by Ninomiya-san alone, with three new graduates including myself.

Delivery driver apps and recruitment sites for delivery drivers had already been created by Ninomiya-san and the development team, so we, the new graduates, first designed the operations after the delivery driver application process. Specifically, we performed tasks such as screening application information, supporting operation after registration completion, and handling inquiries ourselves, while also creating manuals to assist the outsourced staff. However, as new graduates, we couldn't immediately become effective, so we learned everything from scratch, including how to create flowcharts and manuals, from Ninomiya-san. Additionally, we continuously checked if deliveries were going smoothly and even went as far as to deliver goods ourselves if things weren't going well. Since then, I have continued to be a member of the delivery driver team.

Yes, indeed. Our current mission is to 'allocate delivery driver resources to orders in a sufficient and efficient manner, and supply with high quality,' so we no longer count ourselves as delivery driver resources, but we still do deliveries.

Although it's not an episode, the chaotic atmosphere resembling a club activity during the team's formation was memorable. There was no order, but every day was chaotic, and looking back now, it was fun. If I were to mention something specific, although the service has been growing steadily, one thing that stood out to me was that the number of employees has decreased.

At first, we manually operated tasks such as checking the status of each order and ensuring deliveries were made properly, and we hadn't even been able to document procedures for part-time staff. However, these tasks gradually became systematized and automated, and responsibilities that were previously handled by employees were delegated to non-employees. As a result, the number of employees halved, and recently it's about a quarter of the peak number of employees. Instead of the organization growing as the service expanded, it felt more like it 'leveled up,' which was an episode that made me realize that.

Ninomiya and the development team played a significant role, but I also played a part. By the way, I mentioned earlier about the training of about a month, but now there is a properly designed training program, but at that time, there was no formatted training program like that, and I was the only one who joined the business planning and development department, so after the first day of joining the company, I immediately had meetings with senior employees in my assigned department, and a few days later, I attended meetings with external parties and took minutes.

Actually, I moved to Canada when I entered university. Canada was attractive to me because it was an English-speaking country, it was easy to live in, and I could major in marine biology by the seaside at Dalhousie University. I didn't speak the language much, and I didn't know anyone, but I felt like I was gradually establishing myself. It was tough, but I managed somehow, and it was enjoyable. Through such experiences, I gained the confidence that 'I won't die from most things, and I can live.' Also, by experiencing various values and cultures, I came to greatly appreciate the differences between myself and others and the uniqueness of each individual.

During my third year of university, I was considering going to graduate school, but my mentor told me, 'The door to academia is always open,' so I decided to try working once. Then, in my fourth year of university, I participated in local job-hunting events without any particular industry or job type in mind, and I asked everyone about their goals and motivations for work. Most of the responses were about social contribution, family, and money, but Mr. Sato from Reason, who I talked to at the time, immediately said, 'To create a world where my family can live happily even after I die,' and I was deeply moved by his words.

After that, although my axis wasn't clear, I continued job hunting, and I received job offers from several companies, including foreign consulting firms and major Japanese IT companies, but I couldn't forget Mr. Sato's words and the sight of Reazon employees passionately discussing work even during meetings with prospective students, so I decided to join the company. There was no pretense of trying to look good to job-seeking students, and I genuinely thought it was nice to see people so immersed in their work.

I don't particularly struggle with relationships with team members, but what I find challenging is assigning tasks and missions according to each member's strengths, weaknesses, skills, and levels. Giving roles that are too big or too small is not good; if it's too big, there's a risk of overwhelming them, and if it's too small, there's no opportunity for growth.

Although I've only recently become a VP, what I've noticed from observing various people is that when people are given tasks they excel at, they grow tremendously, but when they are given tasks they aren't good at, their motivation drops, and things don't go well. So, the important thing is to appropriately assign tasks and roles that match each individual. I think that's the job of a manager, and it's an area I still feel I need to improve on.

From the perspective of business development and management, there are different aspects. What I find fulfilling is the feeling that 'everything I do and think comes back to me.'

In terms of business development, because we are directly involved in the work and lives of the crew (delivery drivers), we can see the reactions to the service specifications and designs we came up with directly, for example, on social media. When a good feature improvement is made, we receive positive reactions like 'convenient!', and when it's not, there are harsh reactions. Sometimes, the reaction changes with just one email, and even if there's no reaction, we can clearly see how many crew members have been working with 'menu' afterwards, and whether it was good or bad.

I think this is a good thing about Reason, but there are hardly any instances where what I've thought of is twisted by someone else or doesn't get approved, so whatever I do ends up being reflected directly in the world. That's what makes business development interesting and exciting.

As for management, there's no giving instructions to subordinates under the approval of superiors. For example, as I mentioned earlier, if I make a mistake in dividing or assigning tasks, the motivation of the members will decrease, but if I change the assignment, they can work very energetically. This is also a matter of my judgment being directly reflected, and I find this aspect interesting.

The strongest feeling I've had while being involved with the crew (delivery drivers) is the respect for them and the desire to elevate their social status.

I remember well the first time I made a delivery. It was about two to three months after I was assigned to the delivery team. For the first time, I carried "that bag" on my back, rode a regular non-electric bicycle, and made a delivery. It was really hard, hot, and I was worried whether I could deliver it properly. When I was able to deliver it safely, I felt relieved, or a sense of accomplishment. The delivery took about 30 minutes, but I experienced various emotions during that time, and I was impressed, thinking, "The crew (delivery staff) are having this experience every day!" Until then, I had been interacting with the delivery staff and creating services based on some vague imagination, but at that time, I really felt what they were experiencing, and it sank into my body.

On the other hand, I feel that food delivery staff are still not fully recognized as a profession in society. I feel quite frustrated that despite doing such a hard and valuable job, and trying so hard, it is not fully recognized in society. Now, I want to do something to change that situation.

Well, it's the sense of being a "unique place, a group". There are strong individuals gathered here, and I'm one of them, I think I wouldn't have been able to work so freely if it wasn't for this company, though I can't say for sure since I've only experienced one company (laughs).

Also, to be honest, I think the service I'm involved in now still has a small impact on society and the value it provides. In the future, as I continue to pursue this path as a business planner and developer, I want to transform "menu" into a service with a greater impact on society and more value. And as I mentioned earlier, I have developed a kind of obsession with the crew (delivery staff), and I want to continue working hard with my current team until I can raise the social status and value of the delivery staff.

Just like how YouTuber has become the number one profession that elementary school students want to be... I don't go as far as to say that, but I want to continue working hard in my current environment until the day when food delivery staff are respected and recognized as a profession by everyone!