The Unsung “Supporters” Driving the Vision of Rapidly Growing Heralbony

Startups achieve dramatic growth by identifying societal pain points and needs, turning them into business opportunities, and scaling up.
Since startups are generally expected to achieve rapid growth in a short period of time, they must secure the business resources—people, assets, and capital—as quickly as possible.
Therefore, they must drive their business forward by fully utilizing not only internal but also external resources. And sometimes, the insights and experience of employees seconded from other companies can support that growth.

“The BUDDIES” is a series that spotlights Dentsu Inc. employees who serve as these “running partners”—seconded to startups, maintaining their Dentsu Inc. affiliation while fully committing to the business.
In the first installment, we go behind the scenes at “Heralbony, ” which aims to create a new culture in collaboration with writers with disabilities, to focus on the reality of life for these seconded employees.
We explored what kind of talent is essential for a startup’s growth and what the “Buddy” brought to Heralbony.

*This article is reprinted from a sponsored article by NewsPicks Studios.

The mission at my secondment is “Let your uniqueness shine.”

Heralbony was founded in 2018.
With the mission “Let Your Uniqueness Shine,” the company is a creative firm aiming to transform perceptions of disability and create a new culture.
The founders are twin brothers, Takaya Matsuda and Fumito Matsuda, who have an older brother with autism and severe intellectual disabilities.
Takaya Matsuda, one of the twins and a Co-CEO, says:

“We want to change the image that comes to mind when people hear the word ‘disability.’
These individuals already possess incredible talent (a unique brilliance), and I hypothesize that if we showcase that talent in the right setting—through design, PR, and other means—they can become part of the economy.” (Matsuda)

The company enters into art data licensing agreements with 334 artists with disabilities (as of July 2026)—artists who “shine with unique brilliance”—as equal business partners, and develops its business centered on their works.
The business is broadly divided into two categories: the “Brand Business,” which sells clothing and miscellaneous goods designed using the contracted artists’ work, and the “Collaboration Business,” which develops co-creation projects with companies and local governments centered on art.

The company continuously returns fair royalties to its contracted artists, and the cumulative amount of royalties paid has grown approximately 15-fold over three years (as of August 2024).
Its business model and creativity have been highly acclaimed both domestically and internationally, and in 2025, the company won the “Gold Award in the Glass category” at the “Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.”

While things may seem to be going smoothly at first glance, Mr. Matsuda also points out challenges.

“There are many hurdles. The challenge I feel most acutely is ‘impact.’
“Currently, while certain people are showing interest, if you ask whether we’ve actually created the kind of society we’re aiming for, we still have a long way to go,” says Matsuda.

While tangible results are beginning to emerge regarding the brand’s reach and business progress, the company’s ultimate goal is to establish a world where “unconventional” artists are no longer considered unconventional.
To achieve this, the company must develop both its cultural and business aspects in a more scalable manner.
Currently, the company is attracting talent from various industries who resonate with its vision and aspirations and are committed to overcoming the challenges at hand—and among them is a surprising figure.

That person is Shota Gennozono, on secondment from Dentsu Inc. He was originally a specialist in OOH (out-of-home and transit advertising) at Dentsu Inc. and had little prior connection to the art world.
So why did Mr. Gennozono become involved with Heralbony?

“I want to help someone I admire succeed through my involvement.”

Gennozono, who devoted himself to American football for seven years in high school and college, joined Dentsu Inc. in 2012.
After joining the company, he built his career in roles such as an OOH media planner. The turning point came when he was selected through an open department-wide application process to be assigned to the UK.

“Although I was assigned there for OOH work, demand for OOH advertising plummeted due to the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to about half of my local colleagues resigning.
“This experience prompted me to reevaluate the future of the advertising industry, and at the same time, I paused to seriously consider the question, ‘What is it that I’m truly passionate about and can do with all my heart?’” (Mr. Gen Oen)

After thorough self-analysis, what emerged clearly as both her strength and her true passion was “helping someone I care about succeed through my own efforts.”

After returning to Japan, he was seconded for 3 years and 8 months to “LIVE BOARD,” a digital platform company in the outdoor advertising industry, where he helped the company achieve profitability—a long-cherished goal. Then, in April 2025, he was seconded to Heralbony.

“I had a strong interest in the startup world, and I came across this company while considering where to go on secondment.
In addition to its mission, there were two charismatic CEOs, employees brimming with energy, and the unparalleled power of the writers.
The more I researched, the more I felt as if I’d been struck by lightning; I felt that if I didn’t work at this company, I might regret it for the rest of my life,” said Mr. Gen O.

How to Balance Social Impact and Economic Viability

So, what exactly does she do at Heralbonie?

Ms. Gen Wangyuan took on the role of Sales Planning Manager in the Account Division at Heralbonie.
Her primary role involves leveraging Heralbony’s assets to manage projects resulting from collaborations with partner companies.
However, in reality, she takes on a wide variety of responsibilities.

For example, he is leveraging his existing relationships to promote initiatives aimed at bringing Heralbonie to a wider audience.
One day, Mr. Gen Oen visited LIVE BOARD, an OOH platform company where he had previously been seconded.
He was there to attend a meeting regarding an advertising campaign for Heralbonie planned by the company, which operates numerous digital signage installations nationwide.
Among the several proposals presented there, the idea that particularly captured Mr. Genouen’s attention was to display works by local artists on digital signage in their respective communities.

“I sense a strong desire among parents—whether their children are creating art within the limited circles and environments of welfare facilities, or simply because their sons or daughters are artists—to have the local community recognize their children’s work.
That’s precisely why I think a project that gathers and displays the works of artists specific to the local area is a wonderful idea for Heralbonny,” said Gen Ouen.

Another initiative Ms. Gen’ōen spearheaded to raise awareness of Heralbony was placing advertisements on a large digital screen at a commercial facility directly connected to Otemachi Station in Tokyo.
The idea is to display videos showing the creative process and works of unique artists in a location where many people, including businesspeople, pass through.
In addition, he participated in and helped bring to fruition a project to wrap a train with artwork.
Having worked in out-of-home (OOH) advertising for many years, he says it’s easy for him to visualize what kind of content should be displayed in which locations.

On the other hand, as he commits himself to Heralbony with a sense of fulfillment, he is realizing that the more his business acumen improves, the more challenging the work becomes.

“In the art world, it’s not uncommon for works to take a very long time to complete; some even take five years to finish.
While handling such works, we are also required to work at a tremendous pace in order to grow as a startup.
I find both the unique challenges and the appeal of Heralbonny in balancing the quality and social significance of art with speed and economic efficiency,” says Gen Oen.

Strengthening Heralbonie from a Business Perspective

How do Heralbonie’s team members view the changes and achievements since his secondment?
One employee says he gained a new perspective on setting goals with partner companies.

“We had been working with a client company for several years and were thinking about where we should be heading in the future, but we hadn’t really discussed the ‘metrics’ needed to achieve that.
When Mr. Gen Oen joined us, he brought a new perspective on which metrics we should be tracking.”

Another employee said they came to understand the importance of quantifying the projects they’ve been working on.
“Thanks to Ms. Genouen, we’re now able to make proposals to clients with numerical evidence and persuasiveness—such as the specific marketing effects a given initiative will have.
In that sense, I feel that Heralbony has given us a reliable ‘weapon.’”

Drawing on his experience as an OOH professional who has thoroughly analyzed advertising ROI on the front lines of business, Mr. Genouen himself is said to be highly conscious of the importance of “numbers.”

“While this is a world where intuition is valued, I believe it’s precisely for that reason that it’s important to quantify what we can and prove that value through numbers. So, for example, we’ve prepared survey packages and introduced measures to quantitatively measure the changes partner companies experience before and after collaborating with Heralbony,” says Genouen.

In this way, Ms. Gen’ōen’s involvement has strengthened relationships with many partner companies, and Heralbony’s brand and presence are steadily expanding.

“With Ms. Gen Ouen on board, our data and persuasiveness have increased, and we are now able to offer proposals that include PR as part of the package. This is incredibly significant in terms of ‘influence.’
Ms. Gen’ōen is leveraging the insights and network she cultivated at Dentsu Inc. to bring in a variety of projects and initiatives.
We aim to internalize those resources and skills so that, going forward, Heralbony itself will be able to carry out such initiatives.” (Mr. Matsuda)

Becoming the “Number 1” in the “Number 2” World

As she runs from place to place, Ms. Genouen is also feeling the various changes in herself.

“First of all… my style of dress has changed (laughs).
To be honest, I used to dress rather plainly, but I’ve become interested in clothes, and now I wear stylish Heralbony shirts and even tie scarves.
I’ve probably changed so much from before that it surprises the people around me. I still feel a bit out of place at times, but people tell me, ‘That looks really good.
In addition, my perspective on startups has changed dramatically.
I used to have the image of a glamorous world or a flashy drive toward going public, but the reality was, in a good way, down-to-earth.
They approach every opportunity with the mindset that it might never come around again—as if it were a once-in-a-lifetime chance—and give it their absolute best.
“The level of focus and energy they bring to every single opportunity is truly amazing,” (Mr. Gen Oen)

Speaking of changes, Mr. Matsuda still remembers these words from Mr. Gen Oen:

“What made me happy was that, some time after we joined forces, Mr. Gen Oen said this to me:
‘At first, I intended to stand between Dentsu Inc. and Heralbonie and manage things so that both sides would benefit, but now I’m fully committed to Heralbonie,’" (Mr. Matsuda)

Mr. Gen Oen threw himself into a growing startup from Dentsu Inc., literally becoming one with the company and dedicating everything he had cultivated to it.
Once again, one wonders: Where does that passion come from?

“Just looking at Heralbonie’s two CEOs, I realize there are truly amazing people in this world—visionaries who attract others and lead the way.
But rather than aiming to be one of them, I want to become an ‘indispensable person’ by supporting them.
I want people to say, ‘That person’s success is only possible because that other person is by their side.’ Becoming the ‘Number 1 in the world of Number 2s’—that is the source of my passion.” (Ms. Gen’ōen)

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Written by Akihiro Tajima
Design: Kimie Tanaka
Editor: Ryoya Kaita
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