Almost 20 years after working under billionaire Rakuten CEO Miroshi Mikitani, Japanese entrepreneur Soichiro Swimmy Minami is joining his mentor in the global billionaire’s club. Minami is the CEO and Founder of Visional, Inc., the human resources technology company that operates Japanese job search platform BizReach. His newfound fortune is a result of his company’s performance since joining the Tokyo Stock Exchange this past April—the stock’s surge since its launch on the exchange has led to a market cap of about $2.5 billion USD. So how do Rakuten and Mikitani play into Minami’s road to a billion?
In 2004, a young Minami found himself working for Rakuten—not the ecommerce giant itself, but the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles baseball team. He served in a number of roles during renovations and the franchise launch, working directly for CEO Mikitani. Under the tutelage of the hands-on head of Rakuten, Minami learned a key lesson: businesses should help address societal problems and benefit society at large. Mikitami’s primary contribution is the ecommerce empire now worth $1.5 trillion USD, but by inspiring the next generation, such as through his mentorship of Minami, his contributions grow wider. With BizReach and other innovations, young billionaire Minami hopes to revolutionize the outdated talent management industry.
