Chikahiro Terada: Creating Encounters That Change the World

2018/07/30

To start with a sudden question: how often do you use business cards in your daily life? It is said that currently 10 billion business cards circulate annually worldwide, with one billion in Japan alone. In other words, that is how many "business encounters" are being born. However, if you simply put a business card in your desk drawer after exchanging it... you will likely never look at it again, and a precious encounter goes to waste. Perhaps among them, an "encounter that changes the world" is lying buried.

Founded in 2007, Sansan was built on the desire to "support encounters that change the world" through business cards. We have provided "Sansan," a cloud-based business card management service for corporations that allows users to easily digitize business cards just by taking a photo, and then manage and share them within the company. We have run commercials featuring Yutaka Matsushige and his catchphrase "You should have told me sooner!" and thanks to this, our service is now used by 7,000 companies, including megabanks and major corporations.

In 2012, we launched the business card app "Eight" for individuals. This is a free service that not only digitizes business cards but also allows users to use a business-only SNS with the people they have exchanged cards with. It is used by 2 million users as a service to leverage business encounters.

Currently, we are taking on new challenges using the power of AI to innovate business encounters. We established our own R&D department, the "Data Strategy & Operation Center (DSOC)," where 20 data scientists analyze and research the accumulation of hundreds of millions of business cards. For example, features like "Smart Recommendation," where AI suggests the next person you should meet, have been developed and are already being provided for corporate clients.

Life is a series of encounters. It is said that even the famous Beatles were born from a chance meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. "Encounters that change the world," like theirs, are still buried everywhere. Perhaps you, the readers of this article, could create an innovation that surprises the world with the person you exchanged business cards with yesterday.

We will continue to take on challenges to support such encounters that change the world.