JPort’s 5-Year Journey and the Road Ahead

Hi, Everyone!

I’m Hiromi Karahashi , the founder and CEO of SPeak Corp., the company behind JPort by SPeak corp. a platform dedicated to supporting young global talent in Japan. With just a month left in 2024, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on our five-year journey and share our vision for the future. 2024 has been truly transformative: we celebrated our fifth anniversary, completed another fundraising round, and grew our core team from two to four full-time members.

? Grab a coffee and enjoy this story in parts ? Let me start with my life journey to JPort??

日本語はこちら→ https://note.jporthr.jp/n/n8a41c4216ad5

From My Life to JPort

Early Years and the Seeds of Entrepreneurship

• As the youngest of three, I was born in Hachioji, Tokyo, and raised in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. My father’s passion as a real estate entrepreneur inspired me to one day start a business that could create meaningful social impact.
• However, my path wasn’t straightforward. I dropped out of high school due to challenges but decided at 15 to study abroad in the U.S. Looking back, it was a bold move to reshape my life, thanks to my supportive family. My time in America taught me the joys and struggles of being a foreigner, fueling my later commitment to helping global talent in Japan.

Education and Early Career

• I spent eight years in high school and university on the U.S. East Coast, earning a degree in forensic psychology while gaining a profound understanding of the realities of being a foreigner on foreign soil. Alongside my studies, I led the varsity NCAA division III soccer team as a captain, volunteered at prisons, and interned for the Boston Career Forum organization.

• After returning to Japan, I joined Daikin Industries, working in sales for six years. Meanwhile, my international marriage to my wife—whom I met on my first day in the U.S.—helped me experience the systemic barriers foreigners face in Japan. Everyday challenges like renting apartments, opening bank accounts, phone contracts, credit cards, and many other things often left us frustrated and determined to drive change.

The Turning Point

While pursuing my MBA at Keio University, I met talented international students struggling to navigate Japan’s job market—despite being fluent in Japanese and English. Hearing stories like Mark’s—a top-tier graduate who faced workplace discrimination and mental health challenges—convinced me to act. I saw an opportunity to address these systemic issues and build a platform that empowers young global talent.

Why I Started JPort: Market, Target, and Strategy

Life Mission

• I felt a sense of mission that I, who was born and raised in Japan, had experienced being abroad, living in Japan with a foreign wife, and knowing the challenges faced by many international students, should devote my life to this project. It was like a puzzle that fit my childhood desire to start a business that would impact people and society.

Market Growth and Potential

• In addition to my personal experiences, I was attracted by the market's growth potential and the challenges and potential of the foreign human resources market. The foreign human resources market in Japan is worth over 3 trillion yen and includes the three fields of "career," "finance," and "lifestyle."
• In the "career" sector, the employment rate of international students is only about 30%, even though there are many qualified candidates with outstanding language skills and rich experiences. Oftentimes, international students get lost in the traditional way of job-hunting "the Shukatsu" with not enough knowledge and lose their confidence along the way. No one has ever fixed this issue, which is the user's burning pain.
• I decided to start with the career business because it was obvious that there were so many corporate HRs who wanted excellent human resources regardless of nationality in the career field, while the " foreigners not accepted" situation still exists in finance and housing.

Target Markets and Priorities

• Our service, "JPort," targets 1.45 million "young global talents." This includes international students studying at Japanese universities, former international students and professionals now working in Japan, and their families and permanent residents.
• Our first target is international students. The number of international students studying at Japanese universities is rapidly increasing, and many excellent students are studying at universities that receive support from the Global University Creation Project and other programs. The number of international students who wish to work in Japan after graduation is actually very large.
• Ultimately, we aim to provide a social infrastructure that offers career, finance, and lifestyle inclusion to the 1.45 million students and professionals in Japan and also 2 million students who study at overseas universities and wish to work in Japan.

Deciding What Not to Do

• From the start, we consciously avoided lumping all “foreign workers” into a single category and never used the term “global talent” for the convenience of our business. We decided early on that we would not engage in the career business of the technical trainee system for the so-called blue-collar class in the foreign human resources market. More precisely, this isn’t due to any issue with the hardworking trainees on-site but rather because we have serious concerns about the design and structure of the system, as well as the intense global competition for blue-collar labor. We may provide services other than career business for trainees in the future, but our career business will not cover the technical trainee system.

Highlights of JPort’s Journey

Starting from scratch

• The very first thing I did to understand the challenges international students face was to offer free career counseling to over 300 international students in Japan. The reason is that no matter how supportive I am, "I am not an international student myself,” so the least I could do was to be the best mentor for international students in Japan.
• During one Zoom consultation, I saw an international student in tears, struggling with the challenges of job hunting in Japan and feeling conflicted about having become "Japanese-ized." Also through a series of JPort events, we recognized how having "role models" and "peers" can significantly boost students’ confidence to find the career they want.

• Since day 1 of JPort, we have supported more than 500 international students and gained many user insights from students like Ameera Azmi Anarha , Annie Hoang ?? , Sara CUCCHI , Nguyen Ha Linh and many others, who accelerated my motivation for pursuing this business. At the same time, we conducted a series of interviews with corporate personnel who are JPort’s business users and confirmed that the quality and quantity of the talent pool were the criteria for selecting the service.

Launching JPort Journal

A career support website specializing in international students

• JPort Journal customizes content and community about job hunting for international students in Japan and is available in English and Japanese for free. Now, more than 6,000 users from 146 nationalities use JPort Journal.
• Our community has 80 registered "Senpais," young global professionals from over 30 countries working in Japan. We regularly hold community events.
• Our content includes 79 job-hunting-related articles, 83 Senpai Tips articles, 14 JPort job-hunting video courses, 10 Senpais job-hunting videos, and regular job-hunting events.

• After raising seed funding, we felt the need for a website providing information specifically for international students and launched JPort Journal. I was anxious about releasing the site at a stage where it would not generate any money, but I was convinced by the advice of Ryosuke Kimura of Lifetime Ventures, an early investor, and other executives I respect in the HR business, who advised me from different angles that "creating a second to none community uniquely will become a competitive edge for our business." After several concept changes, we have become known as an "online career center" for international students.

Growing Through Challenges: The Pandemic and Beyond

• The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges but also spurred growth as international students turned to online resources due to border restrictions by the Japanese government. Our dedicated interns played a critical role in expanding our services and building a strong foundation for the future. Thanks to Mandukhai Erkhembayar , Eiru Eric Haneda , Ayumi G. , Lisong Wang , Rei Ando , Chika Yamasaki , Saki Nakayama and other interns who worked during this period. These interns have attracted the next generation of talented interns who will follow in their footsteps.
• In particular, Nicole Vizconde and Mandukhai Erkhembayar played a leading role in creating the intern organization. Many of the interns who have since joined us, including Karin Inoue , 中西ノア 里音 , Anna Yoko S. O. , Yushi Song , Otomi Tochika , Nazyra Tachiara Azla , Serin Hwang , Gaurav Kumar , Syamil Muharror , Sakurako Suzuki , Kao Toyama , Jun McInerney , Kimberly P. and many other interns have been instrumental in the success of the company. Now, when we open an internship position, it is filled immediately.

Meet Nicole - Senpai Community is born!

• Nicole Vizconde first joined as an intern after she participated at our online event "Job Hunting 101" and I entrusted her, who was still a student at Okayama University at the time, with launching the "Senpai Community" from scratch. She and another intern, Mandu, contacted 600 people, and after 50 orientations, the first 30 "JPort Senpai" were born.
• Words can’t describe how much we appreciate Mariya Polovinka , In Mo Hwang , Julapong Rojprasitporn , Anindya Pradipta , Adrian Robin Ngo , Reiko Ogi , Clark Lyndon Alda and many other Senpais who shared our vision and supported us since the beginning of the community, even when we had nothing to show for it. Now, more than 80 Senpai have joined the community and are working with JPort to support hardworking international students at the university.

• Nicole Vizconde joined JPort as the second full-time member and worked hard to expand the Senpai community, support students, and recruit core members. She is a person with a strong willpower who, despite being overwhelmed by my big ideas and sudden change of plans for users, wholeheartedly shares the same vision and is willing to face difficult challenges for "Global People".

• I never thought of having a "new graduate" as the second full-time member, but after seeing Nicole launch the Senpai community as an intern, I invited her to Tokyo a few weeks later and gave her an offer letter when she was a junior in college.
• Despite some failed attempts to hire the right talent in the early days after founding the company, having her as our second full-time member was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Read Nicole’s article on her third year with us. I'm looking forward to her future growth as our members expand and our business grows!

Launch of JPort Match

• In December 2020, we introduced JPort Match, an online job portal service for global students in Japan. Although we stumbled early on with pricing and B2B marketing and made plenty of mistakes after the launch, there were some silver linings.

• As we built relationships with our initial clients and gradually accumulated matching results, we were able to clarify the characteristics of the companies and industries in need. Thanks to this, we have reached the point where more than 40 companies have installed our service. Although we still have a long way to go, we have contributed to various projects, including the globalization of major companies and overseas expansion support for excellent local companies in Japan. We cannot thank our clients enough for their high evaluation of not only our products but also our unique community.

Recent Milestones and Recognition

Finalist at the IVS LAUNCHPAD 2023 KYOTO, one of Japan’s top startup pitch contests.

• We were selected as finalists for "IVS 2023 LAUNCHPAD KYOTO," one of the largest pitch events in Japan and a "gateway to success for startups," and had the opportunity to speak in front of thousands of audiences at the event.
• As this was SPeak's first pitch event and the timing to start fundraising, we prepared for the final pitch and had a lot of help from many people, starting with Xiqiao Liu Nakano and Daisuke-san’s advice on improving the slides. Tatsuya Kawamura of Headline worked with us many times to improve the delivery and structure of our presentation. Junichiro Kono , Erika Kanai and everyone at CirclebyANRI gathered for me to practice presentations and gave constructive feedback. More than 60 young foreign professionals in our JPort Senpai Community gave insightful tips and encouraging words at one of JPort’s networking events. Read this article for a behind-the-scenes look at this pitch competition.

??Actual Pitch Video (6 min.)

Recipient of the 8th HR Technology Grand Prize in the Notable Startup category.

• We were honored to receive an award in the Notable Startup category at the 8th HR Technology Awards, also sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Past winners include YOUTRUST and other highly regarded startups in the HR industry.

Collaborations with JETRO and over 16 universities make JPort a trusted career development partner.

• Since last year, the recognition of JPort's job-hunting content and the JPort senpai community among universities and educational institutions has dramatically increased. We have received many comments, such as "We tell our international students to make sure to use JPort" and "We posted JPort’s content links on our intranet for university students!”

• While the governmental policy for the internationalization of universities is also focused on promoting employment for international students, we have been collaborating with JETRO and more than 16 renowned universities. While many of the people at the career centers are very enthusiastic, many of them need more resources and know-how.

Fundraising Success

• In March 2024, we completed a pre-series A fundraising. We raised funds through a third-party allocation of new shares with Mynavi, KDDI Open Innovation Fund No. 3 (operator: Global Brain Corporation), Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, and ANRI as the underwriters. The cumulative amount raised is now more than 400 million yen. With this funding, we will focus on recruiting core members, expanding the number of C-users and B-users in the carrier business, and developing JPort into a social infrastructure for young global people in Japan.

2 Full-Time to 4 Full-Time Members

• At the time of our most recent fundraising, there were only two full-timers: Nicole and I. After fundraising in March this year, we began recruiting actively in June.
• On November 1st 2024, we welcomed two new full-time members, bringing us to a four-member team! Let me introduce the two new members.

• Shogo Taguchi ｜Sales Manager

Hello, my name is Shogo Taguchi, I joined SPeak as a Head of Sales on November 1, 2024. 　　https://speak-corp.com/team_shogo/jp

▼Profile

Name: Shogo Taguchi

Birthplace: Sapporo, Hokkaido

My childhood dream: Music composer

▼ Work history

2014-2019: en Japan Co.

2019-2022: AND-PAD, Inc.

2022-2024: HQ, Inc.

• Tsevelmaa (Belle) Batnasan ｜Community Marketer

Hello, my name is Tsevelmaa (Belle) Batnasan and I joined SPeak on November 1st. I graduated from the Faculty of Law at the National University of Mongolia and received my Master's degree from Nagoya University School of Law. After that, I went through job hunting as an international student and experienced two companies before joining SPeak as a community marketer. https://speak-corp.com/team_belle/jp

▼Profile

Name: Tsevelmaa (Belle) Batnasan (Call me Belle!)

Born: Mongolia

My father was originally a nomad.

▼ Work history

1st company: Sales for a Japanese automotive parts manufacturer

2nd company: Legal for a foreign consulting firm in Japan

The Future of JPort

Expanding the Team

• As of November 2024, we’ve grown to a four-member full-time team, with plans to reach 10 members soon. Our new hires, Shogo Taguchi (Sales Manager) and Tsevelmaa “Belle” Batnasan (Community Marketer) bring fresh perspectives and energy to our mission.
• To achieve our short-term KPI and long-term vision "Global people make global companies and society", we are hiring 6 full-time members for 5 positions. Some positions do not require Japanese.

• CEO Associate　 1 position　＊JP & EN at native level.
• Product Manager　 1 position 　＊JP & EN at native level.
• Tech Lead　 1 position　＊Japanese not required.
• 営業兼CS　 2 positions　＊英語不要
• Junior Engineer 　1 position　＊Japanese not required.

Our Strategy

#1_Growing the career business: More companies on JPort Match

• We will accelerate the development of B-user companies. We have already fixed the personas for our target companies, and are now in the expansion phase. Shogo, the head of sales, has joined us, and we are now rushing to form a sales team.
• Increasing the number of case studies of international student employment will increase international students' employment rate and contribute to the expansion of employment and the globalization of Japanese companies.
• In the short term, we will increase the number of target companies with contracts to 300
• In the long term, we will raise the employment rate of international students from 35% to 70% using JPort Match alone.
• Creating more than 6,000 jobs per year = Introducing more than 2,000 companies per year will be the long-term KPI for our sales organization
• In the future, we will develop other businesses in addition to the career business, but the career business will continue to be the backbone of our company.

#2_Growing the career business: Sustainable system to retain C-users

• For international students who are our C-users, we have already completed the 0 → 1 phase with "Senpai Community" and "contents customized for international students." To make this a more sustainable and rapid growth, we are now in the phase of structuring our strengths. I won't go into specifics here, but hiring core members and structuring our strengths and partnerships will be key to accelerating this process.
• In the short term, increase the current number of JPort users to 10,000
• In the long term, the KPI of the student support organization is to increase the share of international students and overseas personnel studying Japanese and IT at overseas universities to 100%.

Start building social infrastructure｜JPort = Japan's Passport

• From 2025, we will begin preparing for the fundamental solutions to the “3 major issues: Career, Finance, and Lifestyle" in Japan for 1.45 million young global people in Japan and 2 million foreigners overseas who have the potential to work in Japan in the future.

• We will create a social infrastructure where young global people in Japan and Japanese service providers can feel secure. The population of non-Japanese nationals in Japan is expected to exceed 10% by 2060. JPort will become "Japan's Passport."

Closing Thoughts... ｜ Contact

JPort’s journey over the past five years has been a story of resilience, learning, and impact. We’re deeply grateful to our users, senpais, clients, investors, interns, employees, and partners who have supported us along the way. Here’s to the next chapter of empowering global talent & becoming the social infrastructure in Japan!

Our Vision：Global People Make Global Companies & Society.

Create a more inclusive society and make Japan a leading country for young global people.

We are hiring!

• Let's create a borderless Japan at a startup where your work will directly lead to business growth and solutions to social issues.

??Apply from the recruit page on our website

??Interested! but not sure about applying yet?

• Find my SNS on our website and shoot me a DM. Talk to you soon ?? Hiromi Karahashi