aiESG Inc. is a Kyushu University startup established in 2022.

A society where happiness is linked and no wrinkles are left behind." With this vision, we provide our clients with optimal solutions to their various ESG assessment issues through the world's first comprehensive ESG analysis at the product and service level, based on our cutting-edge AI technology and solid research achievements.

In this article, we introduce Ms. Akiyama, who is in charge of marketing in the Business Solution Department!

Eri Akiyama
His interest in social contribution was sparked when he saw pictures of developing countries in high school. At the company he joined as a new graduate, he gained sales experience and was promoted to manager in his 20s. After returning to Japan, he worked as a co-working space producer, web marketer, etc. After joining aiESG in January 2025, he will be in charge of marketing.

Another face of Mr. Akiyama, who works full remote, is a "full-fledged vegetable gardener" who utilizes a shared field. He grows cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and other vegetables on such a large scale that people around him are surprised to hear that his vegetable garden is "beyond the level of a home vegetable garden. (Laughs) He showed us some of the cucumbers he had harvested during the interview, and it is true that the size and quantity of the cucumbers exceeded the level of a home vegetable garden! By the way, one cucumber plant can harvest about 60 cucumbers (^^)/.

What sparked my interest in developing countries was a single photograph

My first interest in social contribution was sparked when I saw photographs of developing countries at a school festival exhibition when I was in high school. While I was born and raised in Japan as a matter of course, I was so struck by the pictures that I decided to enter a language university to realize my original interest in "opening my eyes to the wider world. While in school, while studying English as my first language, my interest in developing countries led me to volunteer to build houses in the poor community of Udon Thani, Thailand.

At the time, I was just wondering if I could do something about it, and since I had a different career after college than I do now, it feels strange that I am working for aiESG now.

Managerial positions promoted in his 20s after employment.

First, after graduating from college, I worked for a venture company that developed the only business model of its kind in Japan. That business model is a franchise headquarters system in which sales are guaranteed 1001 TP3T to franchisees.

After gaining experience in sales, I was promoted to manager in my 20s and served in a managerial position for five and a half years. It was an environment where even young people could become managers if they produced results, and I think it was a very valuable experience for me.
Of course, I did not have management skills at first, and I did not know how to communicate with team members, so I experienced many failures. Nevertheless, my supervisor supported me and I gradually acquired management skills. Looking back, I feel that this was a company that valued "nurturing people" in both name and reality.

Studying abroad to regain original experience in your 20s, and then to a new career.

While I also found management positions rewarding, I began to feel a sense of discomfort that I was moving away from my mid-twenties career, when I was supposed to go straight into work as a sales player and improve my skills, and that my work was now focused on evaluating people. Considering my long career life, I began to feel that I wanted to spend more time improving my own skills.
I took the plunge and took a leave of absence from my company to study abroad in San Francisco for six months, where I learned about marketing and sales in addition to English. It is no exaggeration to say that San Francisco is a mecca for startups, with pitch events held every night, and I was able to learn about business by listening to various people.

The pitch events and other networking places I saw in San Francisco were so interesting that I thought, "I want to create a place like that," and after returning to Japan, I changed jobs at a co-working space company I met. After joining the company, I was in charge of producing the layout, concept, and customer attraction strategy for multiple locations from scratch, and gained a wide range of experience in planning business matching events and collaborating with TV programs. During this time, I had the opportunity to study web design, coding, and web marketing.

Due to a combination of the Corona disaster, there were a few things I could not achieve and several times I struggled to attract customers. I felt that a small nibble was not enough to develop the marketing skills I had always been interested in, so I moved to a web marketing company to gain serious experience. At a company where one person was in charge of everything from sales and purchasing to service delivery, I gained marketing experience while working in sales for the first time in a long time. Consulting for clients in diverse digital marketing phases was a learning experience along with the hardships.

When I had gained a full range of marketing experience, I decided to take the next step and change to a marketing position at an operating company.

Career change focused on marketing and corporate value

I think everyone has their own axes for changing jobs, such as job type, industry, income, etc. My main focus was on marketing. I also placed a lot of emphasis on the value of the company and the direction we were headed as a company.

Although I had not narrowed down my industry focus, the developing countries that had shocked me as a high school student and the feelings I had when I went there in college from there remained with me. I was attracted to the fun of challenging new markets and the product axis of "something useful for society," and decided to join the company to contribute to the realization of the mission and vision as a marketing manager of aiESG.

I especially like "Love the Unknown" and "Be Neutral" among aiESG's values.

Struggled with remote work at first

My partner is a foreign national and may not always be in Japan in the future, and I wanted a company where I could work remotely in order to have more freedom in the way I work.

In fact, since joining aiESG, I have been working fully remotely except for internal and external events such as exhibitions. I commute from the second floor (of my home) to the first floor every day, thinking, "I'm so comfortable working remotely, I'm so happy every day.

Since this is my first full remote, I was worried about when to talk to my boss and coworkers when I first started working here. I knew I could talk to them, but I didn't want to be cautious... (laugh) I also have experience in sales, so I think there are things you can learn only after talking directly to them or having casual conversations with them. I think there are things that can only be understood through direct talks and casual conversations. In online meetings, we only discuss what is necessary, so casual conversations are inevitably rare. About six months after I joined the company, I felt that I was getting to know the members better.

Role in the Department

I am currently in charge of marketing, inside sales, and sales planning. Currently, I am the only one in charge of marketing, but I promote my work in cooperation with members of my department and members of the public relations department.
As aiESG grows, we will eventually increase the number of members and grow it as an independent department, but for now, I would like to devote myself to creating a marketing mold as a player.

Incidentally, the member who recently joined us as a tele-apporter is a colleague of mine from the company I joined after graduating! We have always been good friends, but he is also very good at his job, so I asked him to join us and he has been very helpful.

The Business Solution Department is attractive to Manager Mukai.

Mr. Mukai, the manager, is able to incorporate the opinions of the members in a flat manner, even though there are members from various backgrounds.

The members of our department are on and off, but many of us enjoy our time off very much. During the Expo event, we all gathered together because it was the night before the event and went around the pavilions and had dinner in the evening (as a private activity) after a preview of the event. Sometimes we also call it a "club activity" and play games together at night (laugh).
There are tense moments at work, but because all members are open and honest, I think we are able to get along and have a lot of fun talking about things other than work.

I have great respect for Mukai-san, who accepts such members in a flat manner!

To do aiESG sales, you need to be able to listen and make proposals!

Since aiESG deals with intangible commercial products, we are required to listen to our clients and make the best proposals from our own technologies and services to solve their problems. We would like to have people who find it rewarding to grow through such experience and work to join us. We are also focusing on developing new clients, so we would be even happier if you have experience in this area.

We look forward to welcoming you with our unique members!

I asked the manager! What kind of person is Mr. Akiyama?"

Mr. Mukai, Manager, Business Solution Dept.

Mr. Akiyama is a powerful driving force! I am always being pulled along!
Mr. Akiyama joined us when we needed a full-time marketer. We entrusted him with a variety of measures from an in-house level of zero, and I am realizing day by day how much Mr. Akiyama alone can make a difference!

Interviews and employment opportunities are also available on Wantedly.
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/company_9232529/post_articles/1009491