"Ideas" and "connecting people" come from a genuine concern for the happiness of those connected.
~Interview: Akihiro Hanawa (FourQuest Co., Ltd.)~

Our guest on this edition of "Metropolitan Ruler" is Akihiro Hanawa, CEO of Four Quest Co., Ltd.
He has known Monosus' Hayashi since before he founded FourQuest in 2009, and he has been a master salesman ever since they first met. And to Sakamoto in the marketing department, he is like a sales mentor.

(Interviewer: Kensaku Saguchi)

Hanawa (right) and interviewer Sakamoto (left)

Being rude and accepting things is
Because it's a word that is spoken with genuine consideration for the other person.

Hanawa-san (hereafter, titles omitted)
The connection with Monosus... Our human relationships are deep, but when you think about our connections through projects, they've been thin lately (laughs).

Sakamoto
You met our company's Hayashi through a project at the company you worked for before founding FourQuest, right?

wreath
That's right. But what was impressive was that one of our employees later married Hayashi-san. So, Monosus has a feeling of being like a relative.

But in the early days of FourQuest, we did a lot of work with Monosus. When our company was established eight years ago, we were getting work, but we didn't have anyone to make a website. We decided on a project and asked Monosus to make it.

I guess that relationship lasted for about two and a half years. Monosus and Mr. Hayashi were the ones who supported me during those difficult times. Until then, I was a salesman at an advertising agency and in charge of the web mail order business, so I didn't have much knowledge about web production. So Mr. Hayashi taught me a lot of basic things like "How to make a website?" and "What is the concept of web marketing?"

Although he is younger than me, there are many aspects of him that I respect and I think he has influenced me.

Sakamoto
To be honest, the impression of our relationship after that was so strong that I don't remember much about the first time I met Hanawa-san...

wreath
I think it was when I went to a client's office with Sakamoto-chan (Sakamoto), who had just started working in sales at Monosus. We had a strong commonality in that we shared the same birthday, and that's when we became good friends.

Sakamoto
We have the same birthday, so it feels like a really strange connection. Every time my birthday comes around, I always think of you.

wreath
I agree.

Sakamoto
At that time, Hayashi told me, "There's a great guy called Hanawa, so follow his example." So when I actually saw how Hanawa worked, I was impressed by how much he enjoyed doing sales. I remember honestly wanting to emulate him.
How did you hone your sales skills?

wreath
What is sales? When I think about it, it's not that difficult for me. I think that "you can become a good salesperson by being on the customer's side." I'm quite talkative, so I say some rude things, and if I think that a measure is really meaningless to the customer, I'll tell them "it's meaningless." But if I say it with the customer's happiness in mind, I think they will accept it.

Sakamoto
Certainly, Mr. Hanawa is very forthright. At first, I thought sales was a tough job that required you to be humble, so I was surprised.
Seeing how he built relationships with customers while firmly insisting things like "It's pointless" made me want to work in sales myself. I was really influenced by him.

wreath
At first, I also had a tough image of sales. I thought that the people I would meet at my sales destinations would all have devilish looks on their faces and say, "What on earth are you doing here, you bastard?" But when I started working in sales and met people, I found that everyone was kind.
Even people who are considered scary will open up to you if you talk to them with consideration for them, and there's no one who doesn't laugh in the first place.

All we think about is "making our users happy"
The mindset that creates shocking catchphrases

Sakamoto
Also, Hanawa-san, you don't just write sales copy but also product copy.

wreath
I'll write it.

Sakamoto
That was funny. "You've already bought it!"

wreath
It was the catchphrase that was written in the email newsletter of an online shopping site.

Sakamoto
That was also shocking, but there was also a copy of a down jacket.

wreath
Ah, "That down is puffy" (laughs). Usually, there is a writer who writes the main copy, and they think about various things. A suitable reason. But I can only think about what users think is interesting.
It would be nice if they laughed at "Pan Pan Down" or "You've already bought it!" When I show this kind of copy to customers in meetings or consultations, they sometimes look at me with a "Hmm..." look, but when I say "Users will be happy," they understand that I'm not joking, and surprisingly, they accept it, saying "That gets the point across."

Sakamoto
That way of thinking and the way I write catchphrases have influenced me. Especially the opening sentences in proposals like, "So, Hanawa thought!" I use the phrase, "So, Sakamoto thought," exactly.

wreath
It's like the picture-story show that Tekken does. The world isn't complicated. Everyone has a complicated look on their face, but if it's funny they'll laugh, and if you take them by surprise they'll be happy.

Sakamoto
For a while, I used to come to Four Quest all the time. I wanted to become friends with Hanawa-san. I got a guest Wi-Fi account and I would eat lunch there while I worked.

wreath
Sakamocchan has the communication skills to jump into any situation, and I think he's much better suited to sales than I am, who is actually quite shy.

In his graduation anthology, he wrote that his dream for the future was to become a civil servant.
I never thought I would become president.

Sakamoto
I think this is your first time meeting most of the Monosasu editorial staff, but you're very frank, making us laugh and trying to put us at ease. Has that style changed since your student days?

wreath
I've always been a talkative person, and I don't think my desire to make people laugh hasn't changed. However, the dream I wrote in my graduation essay from the sixth grade was to become a civil servant. I really wanted to have a stable job for the rest of my life.

Sakamoto
What?!

wreath
The reason is that my father also ran a company. He was the president of a woodworking company called Hanawa Mokko. I don't think it was unprofitable, but it seemed like a tough business.
When the economy was good, I was excited and said, "Let's go on a trip!", but when the mood was bad, the house was dark. When a major client went bankrupt, we experienced a chain of bankruptcies, and my life, which had been like that of a small boy in the countryside, suddenly took a dark turn. It's tough being a president. I was imprinted with the idea that ups and downs are scary.
So my dream for the future was to become a civil servant, but I was determined not to become a company president.

Sakamoto
Were you looking for stability?

wreath
When I was looking for a job after graduating from university, and when I was looking for a new job after that, I was looking for stability. But when I met Sakamoto-chan and the others, the company I was working for went bankrupt. So I felt it was a shame that the people in my department were drifting apart.
This is because we were a team that shared the experience of consistently planning, developing, constructing, and promoting EC sites in the early 2000s. And it was at this time that FourQuest was born.

Sakamoto
And then I became president.

wreath
He didn't intend to become a president, but he ended up becoming one. In reality, it's hard to run a company, and I think it's easier to just get a salary. But he's started to feel more alive and have a sense of meaning in life.
Sakamo-chan, do you feel like you're alive? Well, I guess you do. Because you're alive (laughs).

Sakamoto
(laughs) So it's been eight years since then.

wreath
When I think about what has changed about me in those eight years, I guess it's that I've come to realise that there is very little one person can do to create something.
As a salesman at an advertising agency, I sold media plans to my clients. I was selling TV and newspaper slots, which were packaged. I thought I was selling them on my own, and I felt it was boring to sell something that someone else had prepared.
But I was still able to sell, because I guess I had developed a knack for selling. I thought that if I combined what I could sell with the ability to sell, I could get by anywhere, that maybe the world was actually pretty simple...

Sakamoto
I see.

wreath
But when I started my own company, things were different. Even if I did sales and got projects, there was no one to make them. The customers were not happy. I realized that my own abilities were only a small part of the whole, and that it was only with the combined efforts of the people around me that things were finally born.
I really felt how important the people I had met were to me.
When you watch TV, you will see people being introduced as "this person is the developer of a service called 'XX'."

Sakamoto
yes.

wreath
When you watch such a program, you think, "I haven't accomplished anything compared to this person." But in reality, there are many people around that person who help them and act on their thoughts and ideas. It is only with the cooperation of the people around them that a service like "XX" can be developed.
There is only a small area that you can do by yourself. It may be a simple thing, but I feel this more and more every day.

To make our customers happy,
What I learned from Yankee manga

Sakamoto
Could you please introduce FourQuest's business areas to us again?

wreath
Web marketing and production are the two pillars of my work, but what I value most is being happy together with the customers that I have had the opportunity to work with. I believe that if the customers that I meet aren't happy, I won't be able to continue working.
I think our strengths are our sincere love for our customers, our analytical and proposal capabilities, and our drive to make our ideas a reality. We are a company that is a little bit passionate and has a lot of ideas, but we genuinely want to help the people we connect with find happiness.

Sakamoto
The keywords are "passion," "energy," and "happiness."

wreath
Looking back on my experiences talking to you today, I realize that I've been influenced by many things. I think about Mr. Hayashi's way of thinking, and the marketing knowledge I've heard from people, books, and TV. I've also learned a lot from manga. I think there's something to learn from yankee manga in particular.

Sakamoto
Is this a Yankee manga?

Masanori Morita, Rokudenashi Blues (volumes 1, 2, and 5), Shueisha Jump Comics, 1989

wreath
Yes. Perseverance and humanity. Treating people with care. And the attitude of everyone diving in even though they knew they would lose. That kind of passion is a good reference when you're working.
The people I like have at least a little bit of a passionate side to them. I feel like those people have influenced me to become who I am today.

Sakamoto
I can see that you have a passionate side. What do you think FourQuest is aiming for in the future?

wreath
Actually, I don't really have many personal dreams.

Sakamoto
That's surprising.

wreath
If I have a dream for the future, it is to continue to grow together with my clients. What I am proud of in these eight years at FourQuest is that there are very few clients with whom we only work on one project. Most of our projects are ongoing, such as monthly consulting and monthly production. This is because we can only continue to build rich relationships with our clients.
I think the reason our customers choose to work with us is because they appreciate our genuinely thought-out ideas and our ability to connect with people.

Sakamoto
Connect people?

wreath
I'm trying to connect all the places I know. If there are companies A, B, C, and D, and I think that A and D are a good fit, I'll just move forward without thinking about it. It can be difficult for people in a company to go and negotiate with another company as an employee.

But in reality, if all the companies had the same way of thinking and principles, I think they would want to connect with each other. And more than anything, I think it would be really interesting if that were to happen.
Rather than having my own philosophy, I'm the type of person who can agree with other people's philosophy. I simply think that other people's philosophy is "nice," so I think that being a bridge between companies that share the same philosophy is one of my strengths, and I would like to continue doing it.

Connecting people, both those you have met and those you will meet in the future, will make the world a better place

Sakamoto
You said at the beginning today that you felt like the company was like a relative's. What do you think of Monosus now, Mr. Hanawa?

wreath
From the perspective of a web production company, our company and Monosus are similar. No matter how hard we try, our sales don't grow dramatically. This is because we are a contract industry. On the other hand, the ones who are making a lot of money on the Internet are those who use a system to gather as many customers as possible on a simple platform and move them around.
I know this is profitable, but I want to grow together with my customers. The contract industry is not growing easily, but this job is fun. To use the words I said before, it's easy to feel alive.
Because we worked and worked and worked hard on each project, we received the next order. Because we grew together, we both felt like we had grown. It's a good job.

Sakamoto
I understand.

wreath
Well, when I think about things like business stability, I do think I want a big win. But if the money I get with that mindset is easy money, the reward I get for working hard to meet my customers' needs is irreplaceable money. In that sense, I empathize with what Hayashi-san is talking about as "Tomohata."
Monosus started with 8 or 9 people, and now we have 70? 80? It's growing with the good times, but I think the root of what we do remains the same: "for the customers." When I see companies like this working hard, I think there is still a future for the Web. Including ours (laughs).

Sakamoto
thank you.

wreath
And finally, relating to the title "The Rotating Ruler," I think whether we are individuals or companies, if we work with all our might to make the people in front of us and beside us happy, the world will become a much better place.
Just connecting the people I've met with the people I'll meet in the future makes a lot of people happy. I'll continue doing this, and I hope the people at Monosus will continue doing it too.

After the interview

Hanawa-san is always full of humor and puts those around him at ease. Through the interview, I learned that behind that is a very serious, gentlemanly, and passionate person. Sakamoto, who has been close to Hanawa-san for a long time, also shared his passionate feelings with Hanawa-san, and there was a scene where they seemed to share their feelings (or so we thought).

Finally, after finishing the interview, Sakamoto would like to conclude with a message for Hanawa.

I don't really remember when we first met,
Hanawa-san was far from the image of a "salesperson" that I had in mind at the time.
I remember being shocked that there were salespeople like that out there.

I don't remember if I wanted to learn about Hanawa's way of thinking and behavior after that, but
I had fun being with her, and I felt like I was always sticking close to her in everything.

The impact and influence of Mr. Hanawa on my life was huge.
If I hadn't met Hanawa-san, I might not have chosen a career in sales.

Today, I feel like I have learned a little more about the roots and background of Hanawa's thinking, which he doesn't usually talk about much.
Please tell me more about it later.
And please take me out for drinks for the first time in a while (laughs).

Yasuo Sakamoto