UPWARD, Inc. (Location: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Keisuke Kaneki; URL:https://upward.jp), whose mission is to "Innovate the Last One Mile for Field Workers," announced that its CEO, Kaneki, will be speaking at "B Dash Camp 2021," one of the largest invitation-only startup events in Japan, on October 22, 2021. In a special session titled "SaaS Companies: Growth Under Headwinds," he discussed methods for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, along with Mr. Hiraoka from XICA and Mr. Fukuoka from Sansan.
Field sales "sales engagement" is now gathering attention from Silicon Valley. UPWARD entered this market early and overcame challenges such as "sales staff refraining from going out" and "heavy reliance on large deals" during the COVID-19 pandemic. UPWARD was also selected as a "J-Startup Company" this year (*). We will share the trajectory of UPWARD's business growth, its efforts, and its future vision, as discussed by Kaneki. (*)
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000036.000015260.html
The SaaS business, which originated from Salesforce.com in the United States, is rapidly expanding. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, SaaS stocks in the United States continued to rise. In addition to revenue growth rate, the key factor being emphasized is "whether long-term growth can be foreseen." Overall, SaaS companies, both domestically and internationally, tend to have high market capitalizations.
However, even under these circumstances, the adoption and investment in SaaS for sales and marketing in Japan were partially hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. UPWARD, Inc., which provides SFA for field sales, was also affected by the restrictions on going out, and in fiscal year 2020, MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) did not reach its target, resulting in a challenging year. Kaneki reflects on the strategy at the time as follows:
"We anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic would halt the introduction and consideration of our services. Therefore, instead of focusing on acquiring new ACV (Annual Contract Value) from new deals, we shifted to a strategy of increasing the 'satisfaction level' of our existing customers. We reassigned almost all Account Executives who were engaged in new business development to Customer Success, responsible for customer support and success, and completely switched to upselling and cross-selling. We continued to engage with companies (those in areas less affected by the pandemic and enterprises) that were still conducting in-person sales and various forms of last-one-mile communication, and through product feedback, we dedicated ourselves to improving functions to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic."
(Reference: Press release issued on March 1, 2021: "UPWARD AGENT Adds New 'Telephone Activity Recording' Function ~ Streamlining Visit and Telephone Activity Recording to Accelerate DX in Sales Field ~"
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000022.000015260.html)
"After spending a year in a 'defensive' period, enduring through retention, upselling, and cross-selling while continuously refining our product in essence, we entered an 'offensive' period, securing strong talent by working with CFO Aramaki to overhaul the company's operations. One of them is Ishida, who is currently serving as CSO (Chief Sales Officer). With Ishida's joining as a catalyst, we have been strengthening our sales team at once. The sales team, which initially consisted of four members, has now grown to 17 in half a year, and our pipeline (sales forecast) has surged."
(Reference: Press release issued on March 22, 2021: "UPWARD Appoints CSO with Shortest Promotion Record at Salesforce ~ Strengthening Sales Department to Respond to Rapid Expansion of Sales Tech Market ~"
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000024.000015260.html)
"Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have learned to change our basic business continuity know-how and our attitude of refining our products to address the essential issues of our customers. We believe that if we continue to create things that are valuable to our customers, the market, and society and prepare to provide them in a timely manner, we will naturally return to a growth trajectory once the defensive period is over. The COVID-19 pandemic was a very difficult time for us, but we hope you will look forward to our future growth."
From the left: DNX Ventures Managing Partner, Head of Japan, Kurabayashi; Saica Corporation Representative Director and CEO, Hiraoka; UPWARD, Inc. Representative Director and CEO, Kaneki; Sansan Corporation Director, Executive Officer, CRO, Fukuoka
B Dash Camp is one of the largest invitation-only conferences in Japan, bringing together leading entrepreneurs and prominent figures in the internet industry. It has created numerous encounters and new business opportunities. The theme for B Dash Camp 2021 Fall in Fukuoka is "Japan, No More Waiting!" The goal is to clarify how Japan should move forward in the with-COVID era and what updates are necessary to win from now on.
B Dash Camp 2021 Overview
https://camp.bdashventures.com
UPWARD CO., LTD. PROVIDES DX SERVICES SPECIALIZED IN SOLVING ISSUES OF FIELD WORKERS WHO VISIT THE FIELD AND CREATE VALUE THROUGH OFFLINE CONTACT WITH CUSTOMERS, BASED ON ITS PURVIEW OF "DRAWING OUT THE CREATIVITY OF FIELD WORKERS AND ACCELERATING THE GROWTH OF COMPANIES AND SOCIETY". BY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH WORKERS CAN PERFORM THEIR TASKS WITH A SINGLE MOBILE DEVICE, WE AIM TO CREATE A WORLD IN WHICH THEY CAN BE ACTIVE REGARDLESS OF WHERE AND HOW THEY WORK.
UPWARD, Inc., Corporate Group Headquarters, PR Team
*Company names mentioned in this text are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.
Please feel free to inquire about UPWARD's services and company information.We welcome your questions.
