Yuto Nagatomo's Ally Reveals Business Tactics #02

The terms "venture," "startup," and even "intrapreneurship" have been in use for quite some time. Amid the "Work Style Reform" movement, major corporations—indeed, major corporations especially—are being compelled to fundamentally reexamine their personnel and evaluation systems. However, the reality is that they are still groping their way forward. In this series, Yuta Tsumura, who runs Cuore Inc. in tandem with Yuto Nagatomo, will delve deeply into the essence of this issue over three installments.

Cooperation: Kohei Shiraishi (Dentsu Inc. CDC)

Yuto Nagatomo is definitely not a superhuman

As mentioned previously, Yuto Nagatomo is by no means a superhuman. However, I believe he possesses something that sets him apart from ordinary people: a spirit of inquiry.

This curiosity is about how deeply one can delve. In Nagatomo's case, he never compares himself to others. He doesn't blame himself for what he can't do or dwell on it. Except when dealing with the media or interviews, he doesn't care about others' opinions at all. What drives his desire to "become this way" is curiosity—or rather, dreams and romance, I think. But Nagatomo is extremely level-headed. He believes that giving his all can only lead to growth, and he doesn't want to have regrets. So he meticulously analyzes what he should and shouldn't do, continuing to explore. I believe that is his greatest strength.

A photo taken at San Siro during the filming of the Nippon TV program "Another Sky" right after the company was founded. On the left is Shingo Kondo (a classmate of Nagatomo's from Meiji University's soccer club), who is currently Nagatomo Yuto's manager. All three were classmates.

The key to a startup is identifying your own "strong points"

When starting a business with Yuto Nagatomo, we began by thoroughly identifying his "strong points." It was about finding how to make his personal philosophy and methodology as versatile as possible. Then, you multiply that by an era, like the "health boom." A "story" centered around Nagatomo emerges from that.

I believe the same principle applies to intrapreneurship. Rather than launching with a wild idea, it's about re-examining the resources that are already readily available within the company. There are always discoveries to be made there.

This approach also shapes how I choose partners. For me, the primary consideration is: "Is this partner a good fit for Nagatomo's story?" I don't select partners based on whether teaming up with this person or company seems like it would expand the business. Instead, I choose partners based on whether they will help expand Nagatomo's story.

Furthermore, since Cuore is a company that embodies Nagatomo's experiences and vision, we can naturally collaborate with him as a business partner. This also allows us to streamline promotions that would normally require enormous costs and time. Of course, if the products and services we bring to market lack value, it won't last. That's where we're challenging ourselves alongside our team.

A two-shot photo of Nagatomo and Chef Kato. During Nagatomo Yuto's time at Inter Milan, he lived in Milan and worked in support. He later relocated to Istanbul, Turkey, following Nagatomo's transfer to Galatasaray, contributing to Nagatomo's back-to-back league titles and double crowns during the 2018-19 season. Recently, traveling between Japan, the UK, France, Belgium, Australia, and other countries, he has begun providing dietary guidance not only to soccer players but also to top athletes across various sports.

(Related Site)

The Fat Adapt meal plan recipe site is here.

The FLOWIN website is here.

CUORE ONE online fitness site is here.

Yuto Nagatomo's official site is here.

Superya Kato's Instagram is here.