What is the "Guild-Style Unit" that accelerates startup business growth?

After our first article, we received feedback like, "Dentsu Inc. offers revenue sharing and stock options?" and "What exactly is a guild?" This time, DGDU member Tomoharu Chida explains how Dentsu Inc. Growth Design Unit (DGDU) forms teams and approaches its work.

<Table of Contents>
▼ Solving Startup "Staffing Shortages" with Guild-Style Units
▼ Assigning by Skill from Inside and Outside the Company. What is the "Party" Formation of a Guild-Style Unit?
▼ Agile Proposal Style, Not Rigid Planning
▼Changing Expectations for External Partners
▼A System That Attracts Talented Individuals
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Solving Startup "Labor Shortages" with Guild-Style Units

The startup scene is currently booming. While startups attract attention from many large corporations and organizations, they have both strengths and weaknesses.

First, the strengths of startups lie in their ideas and speed. Their ability to generate truly original ideas—the kind that make you think, "I never would have thought of that!"—and their speed in creating products or services within a short timeframe, launching them into the market, and continuing to grow, are areas where large corporations simply cannot compete.

However, as introduced in Part 1, the weakness of startups lies in their lack of people, money, and resources. Furthermore, even when a truly innovative idea emerges, startups often stumble during the phase of bringing it to life, increasing its chances of success, and successfully permeating the market.

In other words, what startups need now is a structure capable of responding to each evolving phase while maintaining that overwhelming speed.

That's why at DGDU, we support startups by investing in people (talent), not just capital. Specifically, we select staff from within and outside Dentsu Inc. who can fill the "current gaps" in a project and assign them to the startup as a kind of assistant CXO.

Moreover, we provide this support not through teams based on the common siloed organizational structure, but by forming a "party" of members with diverse functional expertise gathered within our guild-like unit (the Dentsu Inc. Growth Design Unit). This enables us to support startups across all industries.

The term "guild" originates from medieval European merchant and artisan associations. It now refers to a collective that creates work as a team, respecting each individual's freedom and discretion while operating beyond the constraints of company regulations and frameworks.

Assigned by function from inside and outside the company. What is the "party formation" of the guild-style unit?

In advertising agencies like Dentsu Inc., work is typically handled by "department units" according to the project phase.

For example, market analysis and strategy development are handled by the marketing department. The creative department then takes charge of translating this strategy into concrete expressions. Execution is managed by the media department or the activation department. Furthermore, to ensure this is executed with consistently high performance, a department strong in operations takes over afterward.

【Traditional Workflow】
・Market Analysis & Strategy Planning → Marketing Department
・Expression/Communication → Creative Department
・Execution → Media Department, Activation Department
・Operations → Operations Department

Work is carried out in a baton-relay style.

On the other hand, guild-type units gather various professionals with the necessary skills for startup support from both inside and outside Dentsu Inc. Therefore, instead of assigning by department, we form teams by individually assigning members based on their functional expertise.

For example...
・Individuals with deep knowledge of startup management
・Individuals with the ability to verify business profitability and growth potential
・Experts with startup exit experience
・Individuals possessing expertise and know-how in product development

We assemble teams from both inside and outside Dentsu Inc., leveraging each member's background to match the client's industry and specific challenges, delivering perfectly tailored solutions. Our defining characteristic is redefining traditional team composition and working methods to adopt a startup-adaptive approach.

Illustration: Dentsu Inc., Creative Planning Division 1, Yuna Takemura

DGDU teams have no designated leader. Members connect like circles or spheres, flexibly adapting to each task as the most skilled individual in that area takes the lead to solve problems. In a sense, everyone is a leader. They move like an amoeba, changing shape to achieve the goal, making it similar to a Teal organization (※1).

※1＝Teal Organization
A concept proposed by Frederic Laloux, describing an organization that changes form and evolves like a living organism. Members make decisions and drive work forward for the purpose, without top management micromanaging.

Furthermore, to match the overwhelming speed of startups, DGDU employs OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) thinking instead of PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Action). This enables each member to proactively execute tasks in parallel, rather than passively waiting for instructions.

Agile Proposal Style, Not the Traditional Thoroughly Prepared Approach

DGDU abandons the traditional, meticulously crafted proposal style—where a presentation is delivered after weeks or a month of deliberation following client orientation. Instead, we adopt an agile approach, iterating proposals within short cycles of days to a week. By increasing the number of iterations within short terms, we focus on raising the probability of success.

Why? Because the speed of marketing in the market is accelerating rapidly. You've likely seen news stories where brands popular just a few years ago suddenly see sales plummet and go bankrupt. New success formulas are quickly imitated and become obsolete, rendering those success formulas ineffective in just a few short years.

The startup client I'm currently working with is moving at a pace where they complete new product development tasks—typically taking about a year—in just one month. They must adapt their approach, sometimes leading and sometimes keeping pace, to advance quickly. Otherwise, they risk being outmatched by the abundant resources of large corporations.

For startups to win, speed is paramount. As the term "winner-takes-all" suggests, where one victor dominates a specific category, sluggishness can be fatal.

Furthermore, even standard planning and creative processes must accelerate. New approaches like "live planning" and "live creative" are essential—where discussions with clients progress using handwritten materials on the spot. This means moving forward with proposals that prioritize ideas, even if they're a bit rough, rather than polished, polished presentations.

To drive these changes forward, it's also essential to replace everyday communication tools like email with timeline-based solutions such as Teams, Chatwork, or Slack.

What we seek from external partners is also changing

DGDU primarily targets seed, early, and mid-stage startups. At these stages, startups tend to avoid spending significant time and money on research.

This may stem from a startup-specific mindset: if there's money for marketing strategy, it's often redirected to advertising or sales promotion expenses that directly impact profits. However, for mid-to-long-term growth, user research and market research remain crucial. What's needed are research methods that align with the startup's pace, requiring low budgets and short timelines.

This involves bringing casted targets into the client's meeting room early on to gather insights and improve products or services while observing direct reactions.

The approach to media utilization also changes. Early-stage startups require investment from angel investors, VCs, and CVCs to secure funding. To attract capital from more investors, the startup's valuation (market capitalization) must be enhanced.

By not only providing foundational business growth consulting but also incorporating Human Resources (HR) and Sales & Relations (SR) through Public Relations (PR), effective Investor Relations (IR) becomes possible, creating a virtuous cycle of the 4Rs.

A System That Attracts Talented Individuals

The guild-style unit's work approach also stimulates members' desire for growth. The gaps inherent in any task must be filled collaboratively by members. This involves developing skills like creating business plans or writing catchphrases—exercising muscles not typically used—which also serves as member development. Training in "areas beyond one's own domain" in this way enhances market value by fostering BTC (Business, Technology, Creative) talent.

In startups, the proximity to executives allows members to gain pseudo-entrepreneurial experience by advancing the business alongside them, offering the benefit of experiencing the excitement of fighting on the business front lines.

Furthermore, compensation structures like revenue sharing and stock options increase rewards based on project outcomes, fostering a sense of responsibility and fulfillment from start to finish. This creates a positive cycle: effectively stimulating crucial motivation while channeling it back into startup operations.

Dentsu Inc.'s strength lies in its internal and external networks. Internally, it boasts one of Japan's largest talent pools, with thousands in sales alone and hundreds within my marketing division. This wealth of in-house talent allows us to swiftly find solutions even to the most challenging startup problems.

Furthermore, our diverse network, including clients and partner companies, provides numerous avenues for solutions. We can match dynamic startups with large corporations seeking connections, or link startups with key figures in fields where their innovative ideas can thrive.

Furthermore, Dentsu Inc. accumulates and shares diverse information. Specialized departments handle case studies, industry trend collection, and knowledge sharing. This overwhelming information capability translates into powerful support, guiding startups to success via the shortest path.

We at DGDU leverage Dentsu Inc. strengths to the fullest while maintaining the agility required to support startups. We operate as a "party" structure, providing daily assistance.

If you are a startup founder or a corporate business development professional interested in Dentsu Inc. Growth Design Unit, please feel free to contact us.
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Contact: dgdu@dentsu.co.jp