INTERVIEW WITH RYUSUKE KANEKI, CEO OF UPWARD

Betting on the potential of GIS for business insights

When I was in my late twenties, I discovered a fascinating new technology: geographic information systems (GIS). Specifically, I felt that Internet GIS was an incredible innovation that would make it possible to display real-time geospatial information in the virtual world, facilitating shared spatial awareness among people. After much trial and error, I developed UPWARD, a service that delivers intuitive business insights by integrating GIS with Salesforce, a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Until around 2010, UPWARD was not a SaaS provider as it is today, but a software house that was contracted to develop various location-specific web systems. I was a "sales rep," a role that included sales, consulting, project management, marketing, and everything else I could think of, and I worked so hard that I found myself in the position of COO (Chief Operation Officer).

In 2012, I attended the Salesforce Dreamforce conference in San Francisco for the first time, where I was struck by the idea that SaaS is the future. During the event, I happened to be eating at the same restaurant as Akira Kurabayashi (currently Managing Partner of DNX Ventures), who had just joined Salesforce. I remember telling him, 'You should think about investing in us too!' Mr. Kurabayashi, who is now a leading SaaS investor, gave us the opportunity to take the first step towards creating what is now UPWARD.

A daunting challenge for UPWARD

As is often the case, when we began to pursue our own project on top of our contracted development work, we found ourselves with limited financial and staff resources. After the first round of investment, we ran into financial difficulties and had to scramble to raise new funds with very little leeway. At the time, few VCs were investing in SaaS, so it was difficult to find funding. The then-CFO and I were trying to figure out a way to make it work, and we visited dozens of VC firms, repeatedly reworking our pitch deck. The only ones that saw our potential were DNX Ventures and Nippon Venture Capital, and with their investment, UPWARD was able to continue operating.

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I want to make UPWARD a success for everyone involved

I don't think there are many SaaS executives in Japan who have seen that kind of turnaround, and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. Throughout the process of building UPWARD, I have come into contact with many people, and each and every one of them has been essential to our growth. UPWARD has overcome so many challenges, and I am determined to make it a success for everyone who has been involved.

The goal of UPWARD is to make our interactions with other people more creative

Compared to when we launched the UPWARD business, the environment for utilizing maps and location-based technology has advanced dramatically today. The performance of smart devices, the prevalence of cloud computing, and the accuracy of GPS have evolved to an extent that is unmatched 10 years ago.
I want to create a world where, "If you have UPWARD, all the information about encounters between people will be in a tangible form. I believe that making the world a better place starts when people meet each other and resonate with each other.
Compared to when I first came into contact with GIS, location-based information technology has become much more accessible. I can go to the cafe I went to yesterday or the tourist spot I happened to stop by a few years ago with my smartphone at logand go there anytime I want. Location information exists for all places, things, and people, including, of course, where I am now.

With UPWARD, which combines such location information and CRM (business relationship information), you can work freely anytime, anywhere. This is exactly our vision of "Go Smarter, Anywhere".
UPWARD is an "experience tool" to realize this vision, and we would like to be a part of making the world's "places where people meet" even more creative. We hope to be a "tool of experience" that realizes this vision.

This is just the beginning. Thank you for your continued support.