Graduate Interview
AirX Inc.
Kiwamu Tezuka（Graduated the School of Creative Science and Engineering in 2011, Graduated the Graduate School of Accountancy in 2013）
After using workshops to augment my lack of ability to involve others, I was able to start a business
Through AirX, the company I launched in 2015, I am engaged in the business of air mobility, which entails such areas as a helicopter charter service and rideshare service. I wanted to start my own business even back when I was a high school student, and my decision to enter the School of Creative Science and Engineering, and then the Graduate School of Accountancy, were motivated by a desire to acquire the financial and legal know-how needed for business management.
Separate from my aspirations to start my own business, while I was a student I also conducted a wide range of activities based in my own interests. Among those, in a Professionals Workshop that was conducted in collaboration with J-League, I helped conceive an education program for young football players. I have loved soccer since I was a child, and at one point even considered becoming a professional player, this was a heaven-sent opportunity for me. I worked hard with the other team members in formulating and presenting a plan, but at the same time I keenly realized I would need interpersonal skills and the ability to involve others when taking on future real-life challenges out in society. In order to hone such skills, after finishing graduate school I spent three years in an advertising-related software development company, acquiring experience in marketing and organization management, and then I launched the current company I have today.
I think that your time as a student is for tirelessly pursuing the things that stimulate your interest, regardless of whether or not they will prove useful in the future. Do not worry about the timing, or the reactions of others; precisely because your four years at university are so limited, I recommend starting things as soon as you think of doing them. The capacity you hone in this way will eventually become your advantage for living and working, as well as imparting a sense of meaning to your life.
【Encounters at WASEDA】All encounters and experiences have added to my own innate humanity
In the research lab at the School of Creative Science and Engineering, I was involved with research utilizing systems to achieve optimization for rail transportation. The basic principles of optimization that I learned there are today proving useful when I work on assigning aircraft equipment and matching equipment with users. Moreover, through the J-League workshop, it was a huge turning point for me that I realized what I lack. I proceeded to proactively contact entrepreneurs and ask them about what kind of future they envisaged for their work, and the choices that they made when they were students. This gave me a clearer idea about the path I wanted to take. I think that all the experiences I had in my student life, including my studies, extracurricular activities, personal relations with friends, and even tough experiences such as suffering heartbreak, added to my own innate humanity.
Waseda offers a diverse choice of programs, but if you feel that there is nothing that exactly matches your wishes, I think you can even proactively create your own opportunities and chances, and go out to meet relevant people by yourself. You can even broaden the possibilities when you are aware that the immediate choices are not only options.
【Current Job】Be aware of sharing an image of the future you aim for
In the first two years after establishing my company, I devoted time and energy to building the environment for getting helicopters in the air. This involved negotiating with aviation companies for making use of idle helicopters and developing sites for taking off and landing around the country. In getting people involved who were both inside and outside of the industry, I strived to specifically draw an image of what the world would look like after the start of this new service, which still didn’t even exist, and to share this image while conveying the benefits to the industry and potential partners. Such efforts have been greatly boosted by the inclusion of air mobility among the government’s growth strategies. We have started collaborations with major airline companies and the railway industry, and I feel that the seeds I patiently planted in my first two years are now finally starting to flower. I also intend to advance plans geared to utilizing helicopters for access to stadiums, and thereby realize collaboration with the football industry, something I have long aspired to achieve. From the viewpoint of improving people’s lives, I feel that I am making progress towards a better future while sharing ideas with people in various sectors, and I get a lot of enjoyment and reward from my everyday work.
※This article is reprinted from Future Design Guidebook 2021.
