Asobuy's Challenge: From Zero Revenue During the Pandemic to a 323% Growth Rate Comeback

This series presents dialogues between startup entrepreneurs, executives, investors, CMOs, and others, and Dentsu Inc. employees involved in startup support, sharing how they overcame challenges encountered during the growth of their companies and businesses.

Continuing from the previous installment, Motohisa Hirota of Dentsu Inc. interviews Tomohisa Yamano, CEO of Asobu Inc., operator of the leisure reservation site " Asobu! ". What guided his decision-making as a leader while facing the threat of corporate survival during the COVID-19 pandemic?

【About Asobuy!】
A web service where users can search for and book "play" experiences, including entertainment facilities and leisure activities nationwide. It boasts Japan's largest scale, featuring over 600 types of activities across more than 8,800 facilities and approximately 6.3 million registered users.

Defying the rational decision to lay off employees, he devised a breakthrough solution

Hirota: Just as we were revising our mission statement and refreshing our corporate and service logos—ready to unveil Asobuy's new brand identity—the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Needless to say, the leisure industry suffered a massive blow due to stay-at-home requests. How we faced and overcame a situation threatening the company's very survival is detailed in Mr. Yamano's book, Tactics of the Underdog (Diamond Inc.). What particularly impressed me was the decision to "not lay off employees" despite revenue dropping to zero and "laying off employees" being the rational choice for management. Beyond that, I imagine you faced many close calls where decisions were split 51% to 49% – where did you base those judgments?

Yamano: First, regarding service development, decisions are relatively straightforward since you just need to assess customer-centric needs. However, as you mentioned, major strategic decisions like the fundamental direction were extremely agonizing.

Of course, we analyzed everything logically, but ultimately, I prioritized what I personally wanted to do. While laying off employees might have been logically sound, I chose a future where we didn't lay off employees. I simply hated the idea of layoffs, so I decided against them and then desperately sought ways to reduce costs.

Hirota: That's how measures like temporary closures and "in-house secondments"—where employees remain on Asobue's payroll while working at other companies—were born. Moreover, the secondment scheme wasn't just for our own company; it was expanded to support other companies through the activities of a general incorporated association. Even while facing the crisis of the company's survival, how were you able to focus your attention on supporting other companies?

Yamano: Precisely because it was a crisis, I felt we had to consider how we should conduct ourselves within society and contribute to solving problems. Not long ago, startups were often perceived as high-risk and somewhat dubious entities. We've all worked together to gradually improve their social standing, and we were finally starting to see signs of a movement taking shape. If startup leaders chose layoffs now, it could easily reinforce the old impression: "See, startups really are risky." That's precisely why I believed we should make decisions we could proudly say were cutting-edge among all companies and actively engage with society.

Hirota: That's incredible. You felt a sense of responsibility for the entire startup industry.

Yamano: I just took it upon myself (laughs). Asobuy itself had gained significant recognition within the startup community over its 10-year history, which only amplified that sense of responsibility.

Quickly grasping the needs of the government, businesses, and users, achieving a 323% growth rate

Hirota: While making such social contributions and continuously rolling out our own strategies, our B2B service "Urakata Ticket" became a huge success. What was the background behind creating this service?

Yamano: It all comes down to starting with the customer and solving their needs and pain points. When we spoke with leisure facility operators, their greatest fear was the reputational risk if a cluster outbreak occurred within their premises. So, we decided to create infection prevention guidelines for facilities, leveraging Asobuy's expertise in epidemiology and understanding of sales operations across multiple industries.

During this process, we consulted infection control specialists and learned that the absolute priority for preventing spread is avoiding crowding—specifically, "managing the number of people per square meter of floor space." We realized that providing an online function to limit admission numbers per time slot would align expert and government guidance with operators' needs, while also allowing users to visit facilities with peace of mind. The state of emergency was declared in April 2020, and the project started in early May. By June, we launched this service faster than anyone else.

Hirota: That's incredible speed.

Yamano: I'm not an engineer myself, but I understood this was a system that would normally take six months to nearly a year to build. But at that pace, both the leisure facility operators and we ourselves might go under. We had to provide a solution enabling them to safely resume operations as quickly as possible by June, when the state of emergency was lifted. We saw this moment of massive game-changing shifts across society as Asobuy's chance to turn the tables. So, instead of building a perfect product from scratch, we decided to aim for the highest possible quality within the limited timeframe. This meant reusing existing systems wherever possible and covering gaps with manual work where systems couldn't.

Hirota: And you made another major decision: waiving the implementation fee.

Yamano: That's right. While the company naturally wanted revenue as soon as possible, we decided to treat it as a marketing cost to rapidly expand the system's reach. We bet on this as an opportunity to grow our market share.

Hirota: That decision paid off, and within three months, you achieved an astonishing 232% year-over-year growth rate. Since this ratio compares to pre-COVID performance, it's far beyond a V-shaped recovery.

Yamano: It was incredibly gratifying. I'm truly grateful to our colleagues who supported Asobuy and to all the companies involved.

Through TV commercials, we want to restore a world where people can enjoy "play"

Hirota: One year after achieving that remarkable V-shaped recovery, you decided to launch Asobue's first-ever TV commercial campaign. What was the thinking behind that?

Yamano: While analyzing the market and considering how to gain customer awareness, we realized there was still significant room for growth in both category recognition and service awareness. It coincided with the timing of our funding round, so the main reason was deciding to try the largest mass advertising medium within the advertising market.

Hirota: You initially trialed this in Fukuoka, then expanded the area starting April 2022 to include Kanto, Kansai, Tokai, and Fukuoka. How did the trial go?

Yamano: We saw positive results not only in pure awareness acquisition but also in brand preference, where numbers shifted from passive to active intent. We also confirmed effects across multiple metrics, such as promoting repeat usage. Obtaining solid evidence regarding cost-effectiveness was a definite positive.

Therefore, we expect to achieve a certain level of numerical effectiveness with this area expansion as well. Another aspect we're hopeful about emotionally is that, given everyone has lived under constant restrictions for the past two years, we'd like this commercial to serve as a catalyst. We hope it helps society as a whole reflect on these past two years while fostering an atmosphere where people can enjoy having fun again.

Hirota: The tagline "What are you doing this weekend?" conveys our desire for people to enjoy play, not just through travel or long trips, but also through nearby outings. Speaking of which, I hear some European countries are trialing a three-day weekend system. If more companies in Japan adopt a three-day weekend in the future, the leisure market could grow to 1.5 times its current size. Thinking about that, Asobue's growth potential is tremendous, right?

Yamano: I firmly believe there's nothing but room to grow (laughs).

Hirota: We'd be thrilled to have your long-term partnership (laughs).

Yamano: I already consider myself part of the team. Before working with Dentsu Inc., I thought our relationship would be more transactional—since it's a smaller project compared to working with a major corporation, I was unsure how much passion they'd bring. But that view changed completely. They genuinely resonate with our philosophy, genuinely want us to grow, and stick with us through the tough, messy parts to solve problems together.

Hirota: I believe that stems from being genuinely moved by the company's vision, Yamano-san's leadership, and his character. We're committed to continuing to contribute to Asobue's growth as part of the same team. Looking forward to working with you all going forward!