Hi! Welcome to a subscriber-only edition of Asian Century Stocks – a newsletter about Asian value stocks. For a complete list of all previous posts, check out the Table of Contents.
Disclaimer: Asian Century Stocks uses information sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The information contained in this publication is not intended to constitute individual investment advice and is not designed to meet your personal financial situation. The opinions expressed in such publications are those of the publisher and are subject to change without notice. You are advised to discuss your investment options with your financial advisers, including whether any investment suits your specific needs. I do not hold a position in Visional at the time of publishing this article. To reiterate, this post and the presentation below are for informational and educational purposes only—not a recommendation to buy or sell shares.
Visional (4194 JP — US$1.9 billion) is a Japanese HR-tech company run by Soichiro Minami, also known as "Swimmy".
Minami grew up in Japan but moved to Canada at age six. He grew up in a non-Japanese environment and always felt like an outsider. To ease his nerves, a teacher in Canada gave him a book about a fish called Swimmy, who overcame the challenges of being a minority. Feeling like an outsider, he eventually adopted "Swimmy" as his middle name.
That outsider mentality has served him well in a career where he's challenged existing business practices. His first job after graduating from college was as an M&A analyst for Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. After that job, he helped Hong Kong telecom company PCCW set up its Japan operations. Followed by a period during which he helped set up the Japanese professional baseball team Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
In 2009, back in the job market, he was frustrated by how headhunters operated like black boxes. So he set out to disrupt the industry by forming BizReach, the predecessor of Visional.
BizReach is a typical 2-sided network. Over 3 million job-seekers have submitted their resumes to the platform. Employers and headhunters then search this database for the roles they're hoping to fill.
The revenues from BizReach come from subscription fees and a 15% cut of the first annual salary of any person hired through the platform. Submitting your resume doesn't cost anything, but if you subscribe for about US$30/month, you'll get greater visibility.
What makes BizReach unique is that the database is completely private. One peculiarity of Japanese culture is that they're not comfortable sharing personal information online, such as on LinkedIn.
Another unique selling point is the high signal-to-noise ratio. The pay-to-play model ensures that both employers and job-seekers are serious.
The industry is moving away from traditional job boards toward BizReach's direct scouting model. Employers can now find job seekers who perfectly match their criteria. If employers were to list a job on Indeed.com, they'd have to sort through thousands of applications, which would cost them time and money.
){kind=link}