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Bringing the Power of Teamwork to the World with Kintone

Cybozu has gained wide recognition in Japan over the years, but our vision is to become the world leader of the most commonly used groupware. In 2014, Kintone, a universal platform which has the potential to adapt to any culture, began sales in the U.S. where no one knew the product. Dave Landa, the CEO of Kintone Corporation, a subsidiary of Cybozu, Inc., told us about successes and challenges in the U.S. market, his business prospects and relationship with Cybozu, Inc.

Meeting Cybozu, a unique and innovative Japanese company

Nakae: Could you please explain how you joined Cybozu, Dave?

Dave Landa (CEO, Kintone Corporation): Kintone Corporation is a San Francisco-based subsidiary company of Cybozu, Inc. I joined the company in 2014 when Cybozu was about to expand into the U.S. market. Osamu Yamada, now the Executive Vice President, reached out to me knowing I had been working in the software industry with vast experience in Asia-Pacific businesses since 2004. I tried out Kintone and instantly fell in love with it. And, I was fascinated by the company itself; Cybozu seemed progressive and interesting. So, I wanted to be part of an effort to expand Kintone to the U.S. market. I made the decision quickly and two months after Osamu first contacted me, I was already working with him as COO.

Nakae: Why did you make your decision so quickly?

Dave: More than anything, it was the product. I'm not really a coder, but after talking with Osamu and trying out Kintone, I knew within half an hour that Kintone was a very cool platform. The application I built was live, powerful and a solution that materialized my ideas

Nakae: Back then, no one really knew what Kintone was. Did it bother you?

Dave: Kintone exemplifies the spirit of globalization that Cybozu offers. It's designed to empower diverse communities in different countries and to provide solutions that meet their specific design needs and UX expectations. The functionality is very clear and intuitive. It didn't strike me as a software that would be exclusive to Japan. I was convinced that there would be a significant demand in the U.S. market—it was ready to go.

Nakae: You mentioned you liked Cybozu culture, too.

Dave: Yes, I thought it was phenomenal and inspiring. When I first visited Cybozu’s office in Japan for the Cybozu conference event, I could see and feel the exuberant and diverse culture. I was pretty amazed by their efforts in gender issues as well. Most technology companies are very male dominated, but that’s not the case at Cybozu. Bedsides, the products are loved by many people in Japan, who are also supportive of the company culture. I was very impressed.

Nakae: Now you are the CEO of Kintone Corporation, leading the U.S. business.

Dave: I worked as COO for two years, focusing on sales and marketing while building the structure to succeed in the U.S. market. At the beginning of 2017, I started to take in more and more responsibilities while Osamu expanded his responsibilities to include not only the U.S. but also businesses in Australia, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

How Kintone began sailing and expanding in the U.S.

Nakae: Who are the Kintone clients now? And, what do they tell you about Kintone?

Dave: Our client base is pretty broad, including a major U.S. space agency and small mom-and-pop companies. Kintone is an interesting platform that allows people to solve various problems unique to their businesses regardless of the organization and industry.

Our clients are usually amazed by the product because they instantly see the value of it, just as I did when I first tried Kintone. It can solve problems, create better teamwork, provide transparency with a full view of your information very quickly, and generate reports and analytics easily. All in all, it's a super powerful tool that's quite cost effective. Kintone is at the forefront of the 'no-code solution revolution.' It's a concept of being able to build a sophisticated application without coding. The more people and companies that use the product, the more widely this concept gets accepted. A top IT research firm recently reported a significant growth in this industry segment; the segment is definitely gaining awareness.

Nakae: How do you compete with the technology giants in the West Coast?

Dave: There is a wave of various companies competing for the no-code/low-code business model now. Many of them have been around for a long time, offering traditional solutions, so to speak, to help developers or those professional coders build applications. However, Kintone Corporation is smaller in size and more agile which allows us to regionalize our efforts. Kintone is built to allow anyone to develop an application on their own from a regular business user’s standpoint.

Nakae: Who are your competitors?

Dave: Salesforce, which is a tech giant. Other competitors include QuickBase, which used to be a part of a major company called Intuit, and PODIO, which is a part of Citrix. Under these major companies, our competitors tend to have different priorities and approaches. We are small and agile so we can focus solely on the market, which is our advantage.

Nakae: Is an open API platform like Kintone a new trend in the market?

Dave: Open API enables users to build additional features such as extensions and customizations. Coders can get involved in the Kintone eco-system and be a part of it. We charge the clients a monthly subscription fee.

Nakae: How do you collaborate with the sales and marketing teams in Japan?

Dave: We have drunk the Kintone Kool-Aid and use it every day to communicate not only with our U.S. team members but also with the Japanese teams. Our communication goes across the Pacific Ocean. The time difference between Tokyo and San Francisco is half a day, meaning when it's daytime here, it's night time there. Having persistent digital interactions is the key to being one team regardless of the location.

Nakae: In order to expand the U.S. business further, what kind of support do you need from the Japanese teams?

Dave: We often reach out to Cybozu's development and customization teams for their advice based on their experience, insights and resources. Cybozu has a much bigger client base and broad experience with tackling challenges that clients have faced, so we count on them.

Nakae: Do you have any challenges in terms of Kintone sales?

Dave: The U.S. is the most competitive software market in the world, so that itself is a huge challenge. Kintone enjoys a great reputation in Japan, but not many people know the product here in the U.S. We need to invest in brand awareness, so we have had advertisements on the radio, buses, and participated in well-known IT conferences in addition to hosting our own Kintone conference in San Francisco.

Nakae: How many people out of 10 would you say know about Kintone in San Francisco?

Dave: Maybe one or two in 10? Compared to brand awareness several years ago, it has grown quite a bit through advertisements. For instance, we’ve tripled our website traffic.

Work-Life Balance in the Bay Area

Nakae: Why did you change your job and join Kintone Corporation?

Dave: I was ready to come back to the Bay Area. With my previous job, I spent half a year overseas so I wanted to spend more time with my family. As CEO, I still travel to visit Japan a couple of times a year but I enjoy my trips. I totally agree with Yoshihisa Aono (CEO, Cybozu, Inc.)’s ideas about work-life balance as well. The timing was right for me to change my jobs.

Nakae: Could you tell us about your work style?

Dave: I was ready to come back to the Bay Area. With my previous job, I spent half a year overseas so I wanted to spend more time with my family. As CEO, I still travel to visit Japan a couple of times a year but I enjoy my trips. I totally agree with Yoshihisa Aono (CEO, Cybozu, Inc.)’s ideas about work-life balance as well. The timing was right for me to change my jobs.

Does job-hopping make sense in this day and age?

Nakae: In the U.S., it's common to job-hop to pursue new careers. What do you think of job-hoppers?

Dave: I don't have anything against them. Rather, I think it makes sense because they are improving their skills and income through different careers, which means they’re constantly evolving. Job-hopping happens all the time, especially in the Bay Area. They pursue opportunities to meet new people and acquire different skills. It's easy to find a new job in the Bay Area.

There are different reasons behind job-hopping, too. If someone is trying to quit his job even though the situation isn’t that bad, it might be because he does not agree with the structure or leadership. In that case, moving to a new company makes more sense than being stuck in a situation and feeling miserable. Consistency in leadership is important because leaders acquire knowledge over time, which helps their employees. Leaders in the Bay Area need to look at their businesses from the perspectives of the employees and stakeholders while they accept the reality that some employees leave for their careers. Companies need to provide employees with opportunities for growth and learning, and try to align their career paths with the company's needs so that they don't leave their jobs in order to continue growing. Smart and engaging leadership achieves that goal. I also need to figure out the way in which every team member can learn and grow while they contribute to the company. That's a big part of management and leadership.

Nakae: Cybozu is now known as an employee-friendly company with various support and policies to offer, but it used to suffer from a high turnover rate of 28%. Is this figure high in the U.S. as well?

Dave: It's pretty high even in the U.S., too. It must have been a very difficult time for Cybozu.

Nakae: Cybozu is known to have unique policies for a Japanese company. Did it have any impact on the way you view the Japanese culture?

Dave: It was refreshing to me. I have worked in Asia, mostly in China where owners have strong authorities over their employees with an extreme top-down approach. Cybozu is very different. For example, you don’t need to guess other divisions’ budgets because that information is made available. Every company should seek transparency. The culture of Cybozu definitely changed my view of Japanese companies and culture. At Cybozu Days (*multi-day company events with thousands of visitors), I heard CEO Yoshihisa Aono's speech about the LGBTQ community. Can any other company leader do that? In the Bay Area, we consider ourselves liberal and progressive, but that speech was mind-blowing for us, too. It was incredible to see a company leader give such an inspiring speech.

Nakae: What kind of qualities do you seek in prospective employees of Kintone Corporation?

Dave: Curiosity, a desire to learn and experience. In the U.S., Kintone is like a big, blank canvas. Cybozu is the same: the employees can try out new things in various ways.

Kintone Corporation is hiring to expand our business and we now have 43 employees. Our team has come a long way and grown quite a bit compared to the beginning of the corporation. As a part of Cybozu, we share the same vision to make teamwork better globally. As Kintone Corporation is in the biggest market in the world, we have very ambitious plans to grow further. I’m very excited to increase the number of Kintone users worldwide.

Nakae: I’m pretty excited about the future of Kintone in the U.S. as well. I wish you the best!

＊Content as at the date of the interview.