$30 off During Our Annual Pro Sale. View Details »

(EN)Uzabase Integrated Report 2022

(EN)Uzabase Integrated Report 2022

Uzabase
PRO

June 07, 2022
Tweet

More Decks by Uzabase

Other Decks in Business

Transcript

  1. View Slide

  2. 2
    01
    Data that supports decisions
    People and companies need the right data at the right time.
    And they need it anytime, because the world changes, fast.
    We not only keep up, we stay ahead. Our infrastructure
    quickly identifies, creates, organizes, and analyzes data so
    we can support a world where businesses pivot and deliver,
    alongside and even ahead of people’s needs.
    02
    Content that creates change
    We believe in the power of content. It can teach, and it can
    inspire. A society never stands still, because its people are
    always looking to grow, always looking to be inspired.
    Content can bring that inspiration. It can provide the
    courage and motivation people and businesses need to
    change and to grow. And when they do, society reaches
    sustainable development. Let’s create that content and
    those businesses, together.
    03
    Knowledge that’s circulated
    Curated expertise, unique experience, and a passion for
    depth. We believe in the power of human knowledge that
    comes from these sources. And we believe in sharing that
    knowledge. When diverse people share their wisdom and
    ideas, it creates economic value that’s accessible to
    everyone and that helps promote the sustainable
    development of our society.
    04
    Technology that changes the world
    We believe that technology, together with people’s
    ingenuity, will change the world. That’s why we will keep
    automating our processes and combining our expertise
    with the best technology solutions to deliver value to the
    world.
    05
    Business that awakens play
    Everything in harmony: individual, business, and society.
    We believe in creating a world where everyone can enjoy
    business and life, and we strive to deliver products that will
    make that a reality. With content that conveys ideas and
    practices and data that delivers fresh insights, we will
    create that sustainable world.
    Awaken a world of play in business, with our insights
    Purpose

    View Slide

  3. 3
    01 Be free & own it
    02 Unleash ingenuity
    03 Thrill the user
    04 How fast? Wow fast.
    05 Don’t know? Choose brave.
    06 In it together. No matter what.
    07 We need what you bring
    Our team’s diversity—our divergent thinking—is the source of our competitive
    strength. That’s why we embrace creativity and new ideas. We want everyone
    to bring their best work, and we know that can only happen if every one of us
    has the freedom to be their best.
    The 7 Values give us guidance and bring our Purpose to life—
    “Awaken a world of play in business, with our insights”.
    7 Values

    View Slide

  4. 4
    4
    We Aim to Be a Company that Makes All of Our Stakeholders Happy
    “Business intelligence to change your world”.
    Uzabase has been committed to this mission since the company was founded in 2008.
    Starting with SPEEDA, our goal has been to create the business intelligence infrastructure that the world
    needs and to free all business professionals from labor-intensive tasks that use up a lot of their time. By
    doing so, we can offer more people the freedom to focus on more creative, high value-added work. This
    has been a part of the “change the world” challenge we took up as a company.
    At the same time, the three founders have always been discussing ways to make Uzabase into a workplace
    where all of its stakeholders can be happy. Uzabase is what it is today only thanks to the support of many,
    many people. That is why our goal has always been to create a sincere win-win relationship with our
    employees, their families and partners, business partners, investors, customers, and all other people who
    surround us.
    Now, fourteen years after the company’s foundation, we have changed our mission, focusing on a purpose
    instead—”Awaken a world of play, with our insights”.
    Although perhaps not clearly stated before, our ultimate goal is to make all stakeholders happy, even as
    the company has grown beyond the 1,000 people mark*, and the number of stakeholders keeps growing as
    well. We aim to be a company that can make all stakeholders happy without sacrificing the interests of
    society, the business, or the individual.
    A Message from Co-CEO & CTO Yusuke Inagaki (1/3)
    * Includes full-time employees, contract-based employees, and part-time employees (as of end-December 2021)

    View Slide

  5. 5
    5
    Harnessing the Power of Teams to Make the Purpose a Reality
    In order for us to make our Purpose a reality, we need highly collaborative teams
    that share the same values. From that standpoint, there are two things I focus on
    as a Co-CEO.
    The first is to establish an environment where each person can unleash their
    individuality and take on the challenges that they want to.
    The second is to create teams that combine different skill sets and produce
    results that none of us alone could ever achieve.
    These two factors help us awaken a world of play in our own business, if you will,
    and to continue to produce great results as a team. And I believe that with this, we
    will be able to give back even more to our stakeholders.
    The management team, including myself, is committed to creating this positive
    cycle and will work to fulfill the company’s Purpose.
    A Message from Co-CEO & CTO Yusuke Inagaki (2/3)
    “We Need What You Bring”: Our Greatest Competitive Edge
    Each of our products has been created through a combination of the unique strengths
    of each member involved. SPEEDA, for example, is powered by the expertise of our
    analysts and our engineers. NewsPicks is powered by the expertise of our journalists
    and engineers.
    Combining human knowledge and technology to produce new services is at the heart of
    what we do here at Uzabase.
    To deliver the value of our products to a diverse range of users and potential customers,
    we harness the power of sales, design, and other teams both in Japan and
    internationally. “We need what you bring”—this value is indeed our greatest
    competitive edge.
    However, it is not always easy for people with diverse backgrounds and different
    talents to work together. Even when Uzabase was just founded, we had occasions
    where things were not going so well, mostly because of a lack of mutual understanding.
    We even had fights because of small disagreements.
    This is why it is so important to have a highly collaborative team that shares the same
    values. If we share the same values, we can overcome any crisis via simple dialogue. We
    can believe in each other and join forces to tackle challenges head-on. A team working
    together amplifies the power of each of its members many times over, creating great
    value from everything that they bring to the table.

    View Slide

  6. 6
    6
    A Message from Co-CEO & CTO Yusuke Inagaki (3/3)
    “We Need What You Bring”: Even Stronger with Technology
    Now that Uzabase has grown to over 1,000 employees*, diversity in teams and
    businesses is bound to grow more in the future, and collaboration within Japan
    and across our branches worldwide will certainly accelerate. To make sure that
    our diversity continues to grow, it will be important to make full use of technology.
    At Uzabase, all of us share the same value: to do our very best for our customers
    and our own teams in each moment of our work. This is, of course, a great thing
    and something to be proud of, but if we get it wrong, we will only be responding to
    challenges on the spot, which would only create more labor-intensive work.
    For the customer, the ideal scenario is when a response can be delivered instantly
    by the product itself, and not one where a person had to spend time working out
    what to reply. For every team, the ideal scenario is to streamline all
    time-consuming tasks to avoid having to do the same work over and over again.
    * Includes full-time employees, contract-based employees, and part-time employees (as of end-December 2021)
    We want to ensure that each person’s actions and efforts in caring for our
    customers or their own team are not in vain, which we plan to achieve by
    promoting the use of technology to boost the power of our teams. Our ultimate
    goal is to give all Uzabase members the power to use technology more than ever
    before. We will help non-engineers to learn coding so that they can access data
    and execute scripts on their own without having to ask engineers every time they
    need to do it. On the engineering side, meanwhile, we will develop an overall
    system infrastructure to make it easier for non-engineers to code on their own,
    and create more time for people to dive into their own coding projects.
    To awaken a world of play in business, we will need to first awaken a world of play
    in engineering. By doing so, we will strengthen our value of “We need what you
    bring” and vastly improve the results achievable by each team. Through these
    efforts, we will do our utmost to meet the expectations of all our stakeholders.

    View Slide

  7. 7
    Share the Potential of Business Intelligence with the World
    On December 16, 2021, Uzabase announced its newly-created Purpose:
    “Awaken a world of play, with our insights”.
    Previously, Uzabase had a Mission: “Business intelligence to change your world”.
    Driven by this Mission, we have taken on numerous challenges over the years:
    ・2008: Released business intelligence platform SPEEDA
    ・2013: Released social business media service NewsPicks
    ・2017: Acquired startup information database JVR (now INITIAL)
    ・2017: Released B2B customer strategy platform FORCAS
    ・2018: Acquired international media service Quartz
    ・2020: Acquired expert knowledge platform MIMIR
    ・2020: Acquired new business consulting service AlphaDrive
    At the end of 2020, we made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Quartz business, and Yusuke
    Umeda took responsibility for it by stepping down from his position as CEO.
    Our other challenges, however, have produced significant results.
    At the heart of these challenges to change the world has always been the will of individual people and the
    power that united them. That is Uzabase’s biggest strength.
    We will continue to take on new challenges based around the will of individuals. In a sense, all of us can
    become entrepreneurs and contribute to bringing meaningful change to our world.
    7
    A Message from Co-CEO Taira Sakuma (1/2)

    View Slide

  8. 8
    8
    We Want to Awaken a World of Play in Business
    As a result of taking on so many challenges, we ended up facing a new dilemma:
    some challenges directly impede the challenges of others. The idea of “changing
    the world” itself has such a wide range of interpretations that it is difficult to
    ensure that your interpretation matches those of others.
    We decided to formulate what exactly we want to achieve and share this
    interpretation not only with Uzabase members, but also with the world. To
    achieve this goal, we will need to take on many new challenges, but those will be
    consistent both within and outside the company, and we could turn this
    momentum into a powerful force for changing the world.
    With this in mind, we decided to change our Mission from a highly abstract one
    that was oriented more internally, towards Uzabase itself, to a more concrete
    Purpose that is shared with the world and paints a more precise picture of what
    we want to achieve.
    “Awaken a world of play in business, with our insights”. It took almost a year to
    craft this Purpose, but during this process, we realized that all of Uzabase’s
    businesses have always had this Purpose in their hearts.
    Continuing Our Challenge Towards International Expansion
    I joined Uzabase in 2013. At that time, our office took up only one floor in Gaienmae
    (Tokyo), and I still remember how we had family gatherings there or watched the
    fireworks from the windows during summer festivals.
    About nine years have passed since then. We have been able to expand overseas, go
    public, and boost our sales to over 16 billion yen. However, we still have a long way to
    go if we are to truly awaken a world of play in business.
    We must accelerate Uzabase’s growth. Through the synergistic fusion of SaaS and
    NewsPicks, we can produce new, never-before-seen value, and create a world where
    people’s knowledge is utilized to its full extent, solving social issues. We will also
    continue to work on our challenge towards international expansion.
    “Awaken a world of play in business, with our insights.”
    We want to share this Purpose with everyone who reads this Integrated Report, and
    we promise to do our utmost to make it a reality. I believe that approaching this
    process with an element of play will also help me to awaken a world of play in
    business within myself.
    A Message from Co-CEO Taira Sakuma (2/2)

    View Slide

  9. 9
    Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
    This report may contain forward-looking assumptions, forecasts, and projections based on plans. These forward-looking
    statements are based on information currently available to the Company and certain assumptions that the Company believes
    are reasonable, and the Company does not promise that they will be achieved. There may be significant differences between
    such forecasts and actual results due to various factors in the future, including changes in economic conditions, customer
    needs and user preferences, competition with other companies, or changes in laws and regulations. The Company thus
    assumes no liability for any damages resulting from the use of the information in this document. The Company is under no
    obligation to revise any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information or future events
    and announce them publicly.
    Part 1
    Part 2
    Part 3
    Part 4
    Part 5
    Editorial Policy
    This “2021 Integrated Report for Uzabase, Inc.” is an integrated report containing financial and non-financial information on
    Uzabase, Inc. intended for all of its stakeholders. It contains information on the consolidated earnings of the company, as well
    as management policies and business strategies for mid- to long-term value creation.
    Report Coverage
    January 1, 2012 to December 31. 2021 (however, certain events preceding or following this period are also mentioned).
    Company Overview
    Our Approach to Sustainability
    Corporate Governance
    ESG Data Book
    Our Vision Behind Each Business
    Index
    10
    17
    60
    70
    73

    View Slide

  10. 10
    Company Overview

    View Slide

  11. 11
    Financial Highlights (FY12/2021)
    3.1
    4.5
    9.3
    12.5
    13.8
    16.0
    Consolidated Net Sales
    Consolidated EBITDA
    Margin
    FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021
    9.2%
    13.0% 12.7%
    -3.3%
    6.6%
    11.9%
    Unit: JPY billion
    CAGR
    38.9%
    (2016–2021)
    * Figures from August 2018 to October 2020 include the earnings of Quartz.
    Year Established
    billion
    2008
    Consolidated ARR
    12.3
    Group Employees
    806people billion
    SaaS ARR
    9.8
    NewsPicks ARR
    billion
    2.5
    Subscription
    Revenue Ratio
    69 %
    1. Figures shown are as of Decmber 31, 2021.
    2. All monetary amounts are truncated values. Progress rates and growth rates are rounded to the nearest whole (same applies for all slides
    that follow).
    3. Number of Group Employees is the total of full-time employees and contract-based employees.
    4. Subscription Revenue Ratio refers to the ratio of recurring revenue to total consolidated net sales.
    5. ARR refers to annual recurring revenue and represents the revenue to be earned via subscriptions for the coming year. It is calculated as
    the monthly recurring revenue (MRR) multiplied by 12 months.
    6. The ARR for SaaS is a sum total of ARRs of SPEEDA, INITIAL, SPEEDA Edge, FORCAS, FORCAS Sales, and AlphaDrive/NewsPicks.
    7. The ARR for NewsPicks is the ARR generated by premium subscriptions and NewsPicks Learning personal subscriptions.

    View Slide

  12. 12
    OCT
    IPO on
    TSE Mothers
    Company
    founded
    MAY
    2009
    Released
    SPEEDA
    2013
    2008
    OCT
    Launched
    NewsPicks
    1. INITIAL changed its name from Japan Venture Research in November 2019.
    2. Quartz has been excluded from consolidated results starting from November 2020. For details, refer to this press release.
    3. Enquire AI, Inc. changed its name from GlobalWonks, Inc. in September 2021.
    Uzabase
    itself
    M&A
    APR
    JAN
    SPEEDA
    expanded into Asia
    (Singapore, Shanghai,
    Hong Kong)
    2018
    FEB
    Established
    UB Ventures
    JUL
    Acquired
    Quartz
    JAN
    SPEEDA opened a
    research-focused branch
    in Sri Lanka
    2016 2017
    JAN
    MAY
    Released
    FORCAS
    Acquired
    INITIAL
    In Japan
    2021
    OCT
    Launched
    SPEEDA Edge
    JAN
    Established
    UB Datatech
    2019
    NOV
    Acquired
    AlphaDrive
    MAR
    Released
    SPEEDA China
    Launched
    FORCAS Sales
    2020
    APR
    OCT
    Business and capital
    alliance with Enquire
    MAY
    Acquired
    MIMIR
    OCT
    Withdrew
    from Quartz
    Company History
    Overseas

    View Slide

  13. 13
    13
    SaaS NewsPicks
    SaaS Products Offering Support for the
    Implementation of Agile Management
    Business Strategy:
    Business planning,
    competitive analysis, M&A,
    investment strategy, new business
    development
    Customer Strategy:
    Customer targeting, digital
    sales/marketing, new
    business development
    Organizational Strategy:
    Corporate culture transformation,
    employee training, talent search,
    new business development
    A Leading Business News
    Media in Japan
    NewsPicks delivers hand-picked business news from
    over 100 Japanese and international media outlets, as
    well as original articles and videos created by the
    NewsPicks Editorial Team.
    The content is accompanied by commentary from
    experts and business professionals from various fields.
    Our Services

    View Slide

  14. 14
    14
    Popularize a customer-oriented, highly adaptable
    approach to business management
    (Agile Business Management)
    Modernize and automate competitive analysis,
    enabling businesses to quickly adapt to change
    Modernize and automate customer analysis,
    connecting it to marketing and sales
    Help more people find a world of play in their
    work and take meaningful action
    Nurture more self-driven talent, creating
    teams that seek out new customer value
    Encourage more people take interest
    in the world of business and enjoy news
    Have more people take interest in
    societal issues, learn, and take action
    Create a society in which sharing information
    leads to new opportunities, and where
    individual knowledge can be properly circulated
    Awakening a World of Play in Business
    Finding harmony among societal, business, and individual purposes
    Business Individual
    How Our Services Help Businesses and Individuals

    View Slide

  15. 15
    15
    Shared Use of Business Intelligence, Our Core Asset
    The collaborative use of business intelligence and insights across the entire Group serves as our strong
    competitive edge.
    SPEEDA
    INITIAL
    AD/NP
    FORCAS
    Company and
    Industry
    Database NewsPicks
    NewsPicks
    Expert
    SaaS
    * Alpha Drive/NewsPicks business is planning to release a product that utilizes the company and industry databases as well.

    View Slide

  16. 16
    16
    Business
    Intelligence
    Data Content Knowledge
    Over
    200
    people
    NewsPicks
    ProPickers
    100,000
    people
    In Japan: 17,000
    Globally: 83,000
    Expert Network
    Over
    2,160
    News Media Sources
    (Global)
    Over
    3,000
    Industry & Trend
    Reports
    Over
    20,000
    Original Articles
    (Total)
    Over
    2,000
    Original Video Content
    (Total)
    Over
    10 million
    Listed/Unlisted
    Companies (Global)
    Over
    1.2 million
    Startups
    (Global)
    Over
    1,800 types
    Company Features
    332
    IP & Patent Trends
    1 2 3
    ● Long-term partnerships with top
    data suppliers in Japan and abroad
    (Morningstar, Tokyo Shoko
    Research, etc.)
    ● Original data (data on startups,
    software service usage statistics)
    compiled over a long period of
    time and stored on the platform(s)
    ● Top-class journalists, editors, and
    designers producing high-quality
    articles on a regular basis
    ● With a strong team of 70 analysts
    in Sri Lanka (since 2016), a large
    volume of reports are produced on
    a regular basis at a relatively low
    cost
    ● Value provided by numerous
    Pickers sharing their views via
    NewsPicks, and the community
    around them
    ● Major expansion of the expert
    network in Japan and abroad via
    the acquisition of MIMIR in 2020
    and partnerships with expert
    companies abroad
    The Three Core Assets Shared by Uzabase (Business Intelligence)
    1. Number of experts is a total of the number of experts of Uzabase and those of the partnering companies as of end-December 2021.
    2. All other figures are as of February 9, 2022.
    Competitive
    Edge

    View Slide

  17. 17
    Our Approach to Sustainability

    View Slide

  18. 18
    18
    Uzabase’s purpose is to “Awaken a world of play in
    business, with our insights.”
    Awakening such a world requires finding harmony
    between societal, business, and individual purposes.
    That would mean a world that is working towards
    solving environmental issues, such as climate change,
    through the development of business and society in a
    way that strikes a harmony between both. It would
    also mean a world that is working towards solving
    various labor-related issues, and, as a result, is able to
    awaken a world of play in business—where anyone
    and everyone can find joy in their work. This must be
    done through the development of business and
    individual talent in a way that strikes a harmony
    between both.
    A world where people feel joy when doing business is
    a sustainable one.
    Our Approach to Sustainability
    One of our goals is to reconcile economic and social
    interests and to prove that the two are not, in fact,
    mutually exclusive. In order to achieve that, we have
    formulated our high-priority topics that we need to
    address—our materiality issues.
    We aim to contribute to the sustainable development
    of the world through 1) our SaaS solutions, which in our
    mind could serve as solid infrastructure for
    management approaches rooted in sustainability, and
    2) our social business media, which would encourage
    individual people to make meaningful changes in their
    daily lives towards sustainability.

    View Slide

  19. 19
    19
    Awakening a world of play in business means…
    Finding harmony between sustainable society and business and individual purposes
    Sustainable
    Society
    Business
    Purpose
    Individual
    Purpose
    (Purpose in Life)
    Harmony between Sustainable Society and Business Purpose
    We believe that the pursuit of economic rationality and a sustainable society are not mutually
    exclusive. If the move towards sustainability gains significant traction among consumers, the
    market will actually start favoring companies that aim to create a sustainable society. Without a
    clear sustainability paradigm for social good, companies will not be able to attract talent. As a
    result, it will become more and more economically rational for companies to aim towards creating
    a sustainable society.
    Harmony between Business Purpose and Individual Purpose
    Finding enjoyment in work is often said to be an important part of finding enjoyment in life. There
    is a whole world of play that can be found in business, and awakening it can only bring more joy
    into one’s life. If you like the overall direction (=purpose) of the company you work at, if you find it
    relatable to your own purpose in life, work may become one of your many purposes in life, rather
    than simply a means to an end.
    Harmony between Individual Purpose and Sustainable Society
    Enjoying business and enjoying life is only possible when we have hope for the future—our own
    and our children’s. Contributing to the establishment of a sustainable society can bring such hope.
    Rather than working at the expense of our personal lives, we can create unique working styles to
    fit our unique lives, working styles that are sustainable and offer room for play. These can then be
    shared with the rest of the world!
    1 3
    2
    1
    2
    3

    View Slide

  20. 20
    20
    D&I Committee
    Business Execution Teams
    Board of Directors
    Consultation
    ESG Committee
    Committee Chairperson
    ESG Committee Members
    ・PICs for each Material Issues (executives in charge of materiality)
    ・Other experts to be involved as needed
    Activity
    ・Develop action plans for each Material Issue and monitor progress
    ・Hold a meeting at least twice a year, with the results reported to the Board of Directors
    Collaboration
    Collaboration
    Promotion of ESG
    Co-CEO
    Taira Sakuma
    CPO/CAO
    Shinobu Matsui
    External Director
    Masahiro Kotosaka
    CFO
    Daisuke Chiba
    Collaboration

    View Slide

  21. 21
    21
    ● Group Employees is the number of full-time and contract-based employees, including Executive Officers (as of Jan 1, 2022)
    Value Creation Process
    Economic Impact
    Input
    (Source of Value)
    Business Intelligence
    Knowledge
    Content
    Data
    People &
    Technology
    Awaken a world of
    play in business,
    with our insights
    ・Company data
    ・Statistics
    ・Market data
    ・Startup data
    ・Forecasts
    (for details, refer to P55)
    Sustainable
    Society
    Business
    Purpose
    Individual
    Purpose
    Output
    (Societal & Environmental Impact)
    Society
    ・Circulating human knowledge
    ・We need what you bring
    ・A world of play in business, for everyone
    ・Becoming a technology company
    Environment
    ・Addressing climate change
    Governance
    ・Sustainable management of data and content
    ・Synergistic fusion of SaaS products and media
    Strong management and synergy creation
    towards fulfilling the Purpose
    Consolidated
    Net Sales
    16 billion
    SaaS
    10 billion
    NewsPicks
    6 billion
    Group Employees
    806
    Diverse Job Types
    ・Content creation
    ・Technology
    ・Business side
    ・Corporate
    ・NewsPicks articles and videos
    ・Industry reports
    ・Trend reports
    (for details, refer to P55)
    ・Past experience and accumulated
    expertise
    ・Future projections as seen by
    humans—something that cannot be
    presented as data
    (for details, refer to P55)
    Purpose

    View Slide

  22. 22
    22
    Identifying Our Material Issues
     
    “Awaken a world of play in business, with our insights”.
    Towards making our purpose a reality, we have formulated a set of topics that are material to Uzabase, the issues we need to prioritize in order to
    create value, both societal and economic. By working to address these material issues, we aim to provide continuous value to society, business,
    and individuals, while also improving our enterprise value.
    Identifying social issues that
    need to be addressed
    The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set
    up by the United Nations were used as a
    reference point for discussions between our
    management team and independent experts to
    identify those social issues that are highly
    relevant to our company’s Purpose, business
    activities, and corporate culture.
    Assessing importance of these
    social issues to the company
    Social issues identified at Step 1 were
    then also discussed by the Board of
    Directors, assessing their relevance
    and importance to our corporate
    strategy.
    Formulating Uzabase’s materiality
    Based on the assessment done at Step
    2, and with the approval received
    from the Board of Directors,
    Uzabase’s 7 Material Issues were
    formulated.
    Our Approach to Materiality Assessment
    Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

    View Slide

  23. 23
    Societal issues we are actively looking to help solve:
    Society
    Circulating human
    knowledge
    Create a world where human
    knowledge is used to solve various
    societal issues
    We need what you
    bring
    Establish an organization where
    diverse talents are unleashed to their
    maximum potential
    A world of play in
    business, for everyone
    Create a world where children and
    future generations can awaken a
    world of play in business
    Becoming a technology
    company
    Establish a new, technology-driven
    business model for the company
    Governance
    Sustainable
    management of data
    and content
    Enhance and improve content and
    data, our shared strength, in a
    sustainable manner
    Synergistic fusion of
    SaaS and media
    Create tangible synergy between
    SaaS and NewsPicks
    Environment
    Addressing climate
    change
    Take concrete actions to address
    climate change, inspire other people
    and companies to do the same
    23
    ● ● ●
    ● ● ●
    ● ● ●


    ● ●


    Industry, Innovation
    and Infrastructure
    Reduced
    Inequalities
    Gender Equality
    Quality Education
    for All
    Decent Work and
    Economic Growth
    Climate Action
    6
    7
    5
    3
    4
    2
    1
    Uzabase’s 7 Material Issues

    View Slide

  24. 24
    24
    Circulating Knowledge
    Connecting one person’s knowledge with another person’s knowledge creates
    new value. A lot of knowledge lies dormant inside people, unavailable online.
    Creating a true circle where people can exchange their knowledge will surely
    awaken a world of play in business.
    MIMIR provides access to a network of experts, aiming to promote the circulation
    of knowledge within and outside the Uzabase Group. Our services aim to create
    opportunities for Uzabase members to interact with more experts outside the
    Group and leverage their knowledge. We also want to create a fitting
    environment and enough opportunities for members to provide their own
    expertise as a side job parallel to Uzabase. Through these efforts, we aim to
    properly circulate human knowledge, transcending the virtual boundaries
    between companies and organizations.
    We believe that this will help more people to gain access to the knowledge held
    by a diverse range of people, recognize the value of their own knowledge, and
    contribute that knowledge to society.
    Material Issue PIC
    MIMIR CEO
    Soshi Kawaguchi
    1
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  25. 25
    25
    Circulating Knowledge
    1
    1
    NewsPicks Topics
    Comments on news
    Expert
    Research
    ● Compensation
    ● Information on results
    ● Evaluations
    Providing knowledge via:
    ● Interviews
    ● Quick replies to questions (FLASH OPINION)
    ● Compensation
    ● Followers
    ● Posts on NewsPicks Topics
    ● Comments on news articles
    ● Communication with followers
    Experts
    Our goal is to expand our expert network with MIMIR at its center and establish an environment where experts can demonstrate their
    knowledge on both SPEEDA (towards enterprise customers) and NewsPicks (towards individual subscribers). This would get us closer to
    creating a society where knowledge is properly circulated beyond the rigid boundaries of companies and organizations.
    Circulating Knowledge via Uzabase Group’s Businesses

    View Slide

  26. 26
    26
    Circulating Knowledge Between the Society and Uzabase Group
    Circulating Knowledge
    1
    1
    Side-Job
    Opportu
    nities
    Internal
    Experts
    Promotion
    of the
    Expert-
    Related
    Business
    Access to
    Expert
    Knowledge
    Sharing of
    Information
    by Experts
    Society
    Promotion
    of Expert
    Activity
    Our goal is to offer side-job opportunities within the Uzabase Group, boost the use of expert knowledge within and outside the Group
    via MIMIR, SPEEDA, and NewsPicks, and finally promote expert activity in other companies. All of these initiatives combined will help us
    boost the circulation of knowledge in our society.
    SPEEDA
    EXPERT
    RESEARCH
    NewsPicks
    Topics and
    Comments

    View Slide

  27. 27
    27
    Circulating Knowledge
    1
    1
    “DIVE” was launched in 2021 as a program that allows companies and
    individuals within the UB Group to sign outsourcing contracts between each
    other and receive remuneration for the services rendered. The program
    started with engineers, and there have already been a number of contracts
    signed. We set limits on how much you can work and require the exact
    working hours to be reported. We are also constantly working on
    improvements to help employees broaden the scope of their careers and
    discover new perspectives.
    Launch of Group-Wide
    Side Job Program “DIVE”
    Details on Current Initiatives
    Promotion of Expert
    Activities of Group
    Employees Outside
    Uzabase
    Promotion of Expert
    Network Business
    via MIMIR
    Providing Expert
    Knowledge via SPEEDA
    Experts who have conducted interviews and other expert activities in the
    past, are invited to an exclusive online gathering organized by MIMIR to
    celebrate highly knowledgeable individuals and provide an opportunity for
    experts to interact with each other. First held on February 25, 2022, MIMIR
    presented awards to 14 business professionals with expert knowledge, with
    around 230 experts in attendance. The event provided opportunities for
    experts to interact with each other, successfully reaching its goals.
    Organizing an Expert
    Award Ceremony
    In order to offer as many opportunities as possible for Uzabase Group
    employees to utilize their knowledge outside the company, we have invited
    all employees to register as NewsPicks Experts. This would provide them
    with opportunities to offer their services as an expert, such as via interviews
    or answers to questions asked through MIMIR’s expert network service.
    Many people have already joined and are active.
    MIMIR, which became a wholly owned subsidiary in 2020, has built a
    database of experts and is developing a service that provides expert
    knowledge to companies in Japan and abroad via interviews and Q&A
    sessions. Through this service, many companies have been able to utilize
    expert knowledge in their decision-making processes, providing many
    experts with the opportunity to offer their knowledge as a service.
    MIMIR and SPEEDA are collaborating on providing expert network services
    to SPEEDA users through SPEEDA EXPERT RESEARCH. In addition, we have
    begun posting select responses from experts on SPEEDA in the form of
    content. A wide range of users on SPEEDA now have access to the knowledge
    of a variety of experts, utilizing this expertise in their own businesses.
    In November 2021, NewsPicks released “NewsPicks Topics”, a new service
    where individual creators can create content based on their own personal
    knowledge and receive compensation for it. With this service, everyone can
    become an expert in something, share information on their area of expertise
    or specialty, attract readers, and communicate with other Topics participants.
    Launch of NewsPicks
    Topics
    In order to create opportunities for people to share their knowledge and
    expertise while belonging to a company or organization, and to expand
    opportunities for such external activities, we have been working on
    establishing partnerships with various organizations that would allow their
    members to register as NewsPicks Experts and engage in expert activities.
    Examples include Dentsu (announced in March 2021) and the Graduate
    School of Management, Globis University (announced in June 2021), with
    more to come in the future.
    Promotion of Expert
    Activities via
    Partnerships
    MIMIR shares information on the activities of our experts, focusing on what
    kind of knowledge they possess, via MIMIR’s owned media and other means.
    MIMIR also publishes the list of the Expert Awards winners and information
    on their achievements.
    Sharing Information on
    Expert Activity

    View Slide

  28. 28
    28
    “Awaken a world of play in business, with our insights”.
    In line with our Purpose, Uzabase aims to deliver value to business professionals
    around the world by creating platform solutions that cater to the needs of a
    diverse range of users.
    To achieve this, we ourselves need to be diverse. As one of our 7 Values says, “We
    need what you bring”. This means having respect for each other and creating
    opportunities to unleash the full potential of each and every person working at
    Uzabase. This thinking is what drives the growth of our business and our teams.
    We aim to create an organization where diverse talents have ample opportunities
    to unleash their full potential. By putting this goal into practice and spreading the
    news about what we learned from it, we believe we can help create a society
    where diverse talents can truly flourish.
    We need what you bring
    We communicate openly—expressing ourselves honestly and listening with respect turning our
    differences into strength. The unique way you see the world makes all of us smarter. The way you express
    yourself inspires us to be more creative. Speak your mind. Share from the heart. Express your talents and
    be yourself. We celebrate diversity of experience, thought, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation,
    and culture. Whatever your path, we need your point of view.
    We Need What You Bring
    2
    Material Issue PIC
    Board Director, CPO/CAO
    Shinobu Matsui
    28
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  29. 29
    29
    D&I Committee Launched in June 2021 and D&I Commitment Announced as a Management Objective
    Seeing how our company grew in size over the years and noting the changes
    in society’s views on sustainability and the role of businesses in it, Uzabase
    decided to launch a project on diversity and inclusion in FY2020. As a result
    of this project we arrived to the conclusion that D&I initiatives must be
    implemented in a more systematic manner, and, they are not something that
    only one company should be doing. In FY2021, we officially launched the
    D&I Committee and announced our own D&I Commitment as an official
    management policy.
    1 Ensuring information transparency
    ● Ensure that information is shared openly, with the exception of private and confidential matters
    ● All information, including executive compensation and company-wide salary tables, is fully disclosed
    internally; 360-degree feedback also implemented to ensure transparency of evaluations
    ● Enhanced interpretation and translation teams to overcome language barriers
    2 Set up a D&I Committee and disclose D&I-related metrics and policies
    ● Established the D&I Committee, including external directors
    ● Committed to regular disclosure of D&I-related metrics and initiatives
    3 Help people overcome hurdles arising from structural issues in society
    ● “Design Your Own Working Style” - freedom to choose where and when to work
    ● Childcare allowance for sick children, daycare fee subsidies, nursing care support allowance
    ● Partnered with an external consultation service for fertility treatment, held seminars for employees
    ● Same-sex partnership system and same-sex marriage & common-law marriage certification system
    ● COVID-19 vaccination organized by the company, paid leave after vaccination (including care for
    family members)
    ● Acceleration of employment of DiversAbility members (people with disabilities) and development of
    an onboarding system for them
    4 Reduce the gender disparity among regular employees and leaders
    ● Empowerment measures and mentoring programs to give people the courage to take the first step
    ● Support for internal communities, such as Career Juggling (for working parents) and Rainbow
    (LGBTQI+)
    We Need What You Bring
    2
    2

    View Slide

  30. 30
    30
    30
    * Data as of January 1, 2022
    Gender Ratio Among Employees
    Gender Ratio Among Managers
    Gender Ratio Among Executives
    Gender Ratio Among Board Directors
    Current Status of Diversity at Uzabase
    2
    2
    Uzabase Only
    Entire Group
    54.6% 45.4%
    56.6% 43.4%
    Uzabase Only
    Entire Group
    71% 29%
    74.1% 25.9%
    Uzabase Only
    Entire Group
    80.9% 19.1%
    85.3% 14.7%
    Uzabase Only
    Entire Group
    77.8% 22.2%
    87.5% 12.5%
    16
    Nationalities
    16
    Professions
    38.1%
    29.6%
    17.5%
    14.8%
    Corporate
    Technology
    Business
    Content
    Content Designers (UI/UX), analysts, editors, translators, etc.
    Business Sales, new business development, inside sales, marketing, etc.
    Technology Engineers, programmers, etc.
    Corporate Legal, HR, accounting, etc.
    Japan, Sri Lanka,
    China, South Korea,
    USA, Singapore,
    Thailand, UK, and
    more
    Uzabase Only Entire Group
    Male Female Male Female
    Gender Ratio Among
    New Hires in 2021
    53.4% 46.6% 58.2% 41.8%
    Parental Leave Taken 57.1% 100% 38.1% 100%
    Came Back to Work
    After Parental Leave
    100%
    Flex Time & Remote Work
    Implementation
    100%
    We Need What You Bring
    Female
    Male

    View Slide

  31. 31
    31
    1. Working style diversity gives the freedom to unleash
    individuality and talent across different teams
    In order to make our Purpose a reality, we need a diverse team composed
    of different personalities and talents. For these teams to coexist and
    respect each other, we need diverse working styles. By sharing the value
    of “Be free and own it”, we make it happen.
    2. Fulfill our job responsibilities in a way that fits
    individual lifestyles, making sure that everyone can
    work happily and perform to their fullest
    We respect the freedom of each team member to choose their own
    lifestyle, including that of their family and partners. This respect
    helps them focus on their work even better, achieve higher
    performance, and fulfill their responsibilities.
    Many employees are working parents,
    with 100% coming back to work after
    parental leave (both men and women)
    Various forms of employment and levels
    of work commitment to attract the best
    talent (incl. side jobs)
    Distinctive HR System to Fully Support the Value of “We Need What You Bring”
    2
    2
    Design Your Own Working Style
    Free to choose where and when to work
    Some of our employees work remotely
    from rural regions or from abroad
    We Need What You Bring

    View Slide

  32. 32
    32
    Our HR system at Uzabase has been designed to reflect the company's Purpose and Values. This handbook visualizes the
    ideas behind our HR system and serves to provide everyone with a deeper understanding of the concepts behind each of
    our systems and how they have been designed.
    Background
    In 2020, as part of the D&I promotion project, we conducted a company-wide survey to see if there is true equality of opportunity across the UB Group. One of the
    issues that came to light was a lack of common understanding regarding the background and details of the systems and programs in the company, leaving some
    employees unconvinced. This HR Handbook intends to address that issue.
    Click here to read the full HR Handbook (external website)
    HR Handbook
    Details on Current Initiatives
    2
    2
    This Handbook describes the application process for maternity/paternity leave within the Uzabase Group, tips on how to
    communicate that within the company, interviews with employees who have taken such leave, and other useful
    information to help address any concerns or uncertainties.
    The Handbook received an even better response than we anticipated, and a lot of our female and male employees reached
    out to the People Experience team to discuss these options. The reaction was particularly great from our male employees,
    many of whom expressed the desire to take a paternity leave in the future, even if they have no current plans to do so.
    We want everyone to work with a peace of mind: how the Maternity & Paternity Leave Handbook got made (Japanese only)
    Maternity &
    Paternity Leave
    Handbook
    Across the entire Uzabase Group, only 26% of our managers are women, while the overall share of women is at 42%. In
    reality, there is no lack of people, regardless of their gender, who really want to become leaders. The challenging part is
    that many of them can’t take that crucial first step towards making it a reality. To address this, we published 11 articles on
    D&I topics via UB Note.
    UB Note - Diversity & Inclusion (Japanese only)
    Thoughts from
    Diverse Role
    Models Shared
    Internally and
    Externally
    We Need What You Bring

    View Slide

  33. 33
    We have created a casual mentoring program that invites everyone to ask leaders from diverse backgrounds across the
    Uzabase Group for advice, even on a one-off basis.
    In our professional life there are moments when we feel doubts about our current career path or working style, but don’t
    know who to talk to. How do you manage both parenting and work? I’ve been asked to become a leader, but can I really do
    it? Such questions often come up, especially among those who are preparing to become leaders. The casual mentoring
    system is designed to help our employees feel more at ease to discuss any concerns they may have.
    A stress-free way to have a 1on1 chat with executives from another business: how the casual mentoring program was
    made (Japanese only)
    D&I Casual
    Mentoring Program
    Details on Current Initiatives
    2
    2
    Masahiko Yasuda, the CEO of We Are The People and a ProPicker on NewsPicks was invited as a speaker for a workshop
    aiming to start a conversation about diversity and recognizing unconscious biases. Participants mainly included board
    directors and company leaders.
    Participants were divided into small groups to discuss ways for organizations that value diversity to deal with unconscious
    bias based around the D&I philosophy of the Uzabase Group. This workshop provided an opportunity to think about how
    to apply D&I principles in their own daily life, both individually and as a group.
    Seminar on
    Unconscious Bias
    Across the Uzabase Group, there are many students working as interns and young employees in their 20s who are actively
    involved in the business. As part of this project, we have established a community of young employees from various teams,
    mostly targeting those under 25 years old or people in their first to third year of employment. The goal is to create an
    environment where young employees can support each other in the challenges that they tackle on a daily basis, moving as
    “One Uzabase” with the younger generation at the helm.
    With a meeting held once every quarter, the initiative is mainly designed to support the acquisition of soft business skills
    like self-management. In the past, we have held workshops to picture the future of the business and reflect on our values
    and the experiences that made us who we are.
    Next-Generation
    Empowerment
    Community 
    We Need What You Bring

    View Slide

  34. 34
    The Uzabase Group has offices in four countries, and more than 100 of our employees work outside of
    Japan. In addition, the Group has employees of 17 nationalities. However, a large part of
    communication is still done only in Japanese, resulting in an information gap between members who
    speak Japanese and those who do not. To help bridge this information gap, we are currently
    implementing a number of initiatives (listed on the right).
    Eliminating
    Information Gaps
    Due to Language
    Details on Current Initiatives
    2
    2
    As part of UB Care benefits, a counselling service for fertility treatment (Stork Benefit) was added in FY2021. A relatively
    high number of people have already used this service, and we have received several positive comments from Uzabase
    members, mentioning that it really helped them psychologically. In addition, we held a number of seminars on infertility
    treatment, basic knowledge on menstruation, and other sex and gender-related topics.
    About UB Care
    UB Care is a benefit program to assist people in various stages of their lives, in accordance with our value of “We need what you bring”. In life, there are times when
    we can work to our full performance and when we can’t, often due to various life events, such as pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, marriage, nursing care. or medical
    treatment. There are times when we can’t do it on our own, when we need someone’s help. And then there are issues stemming from the way society is structured. At
    Uzabase, we aim to be a workplace where our members can do their jobs with a peace of mind, even in trying times.
    Fertility Treatment
    Consulting / Seminars
    on Topics Related to
    Sex & Gender
    At Uzabase, we refer to the employment of people with disabilities as Diversability Hiring. Our hope is that
    our future Diversability colleagues understand that we really do need what they bring, and are able to make
    the most of their strengths at our company, delivering new value to our users by looking at things from new
    perspectives which we perhaps could not see before. We also believe that it is important for us to fulfill our
    social responsibility as a public company on our path towards a sustainable society.
    We are also trying to update our onboarding system on a daily basis so that Diversability members who have
    just joined are able to fit in quickly and without issues (specific initiatives are listed on the right).
    Diversability Hiring &
    Onboarding
    ● Company-wide Town Hall Meeting held in Japanese and English
    ● Separately organized an English Town Hall Meeting (once a month)
    ● Bolstered our interpretation and translation teams (simultaneous
    interpretation can be added to almost any meeting upon request)
    ● Minutes of the Board of Directors meetings and other internal documents
    shared in Japanese and English
    ● All major announcements made in Japanese and English
    ● Implemented machine translation to globalize communication on Slack
    ● Created the Diversability Hiring Handbook
    ● Created the Diversability Onboarding Handbook
    ● Partnered with external experts to consult the teams and Diversability
    members
    We Need What You Bring

    View Slide

  35. 35
    35
    At the end of 2021, NewsPicks launched a community-based project together with IBM
    Japan to take a closer look at career development opportunities for women and
    empower them to take the next step.
    ● Leadership development courses for women
    ● Content on female leaders who can serve as role models
    ● Case studies of companies leading in D&I initiatives
    ● Opportunities for women to exchange opinions and share
    knowledge on their work
    Through these initiatives, we aim to increase the share of women in decision-making
    positions across various companies and in the business world in general. This will help us
    contribute to the achievement of the 2030 goal proposed by Keidanren (Japan Business
    Federation) to ensure that 30% of executive positions in Japan are held by women.
    NewsPicks for WE
    To coincide with Gender Equality Week in June 2021 and further accelerate the
    movement for women’s empowerment in Japan, NewsPicks produced video content
    and Brand Story-type articles focusing on the initiatives of various companies who
    take concrete steps to address the issues faced by women in Japanese workplaces
    and the working styles that fit them.
    The initiative was jointly organized by Uzabase and NewsPicks, and Uzabase was also
    featured in one of the video interviews describing the various D&I efforts it
    undertakes as a company.
    Beyond Diversity
    Details on Business-Specific Initiatives
    2 We Need What You Bring

    View Slide

  36. 36
    36
    In order to awaken a world of play in business for everyone, the Uzabase
    Group will need to eliminate the information gaps that exist between
    different generations and different geographical regions. We will also need
    to provide more opportunities for people to enjoy quality content on
    business-related topics.
    We would like to guide users who enjoy business topics to quality content
    that interests them, and help them become content creators themselves.
    We believe that this cycle will help circulate knowledge in the business
    world and help us create a society where quality content on
    business-related topics is continuously being distributed across the globe.
    With our social business media NewsPicks at the center, we will work to
    collaborate with various people, including students and local communities,
    so that we can make high-quality content on business topics together, while
    also creating new ways to deliver information and create opportunities for
    those who need them.
    A World of Play in Business,
    for Everyone
    3
    Material Issue PIC
    NewsPicks CRO,
    Head of New Business Development
    Daisuke Sakamoto
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  37. 37
    37
    NewsPicks User Survey Results
    A World of Play in Business, for Everyone
    3
    ■ NewsPicks Users by Region
    Only 32.3% are outside of the Kanto region (with Tokyo at the centre),
    indicating significant room for growth.
    ■ NewsPicks Users by Age Group
    Our goal is to popularize the service among the younger generation,
    increasing the number of users in the 20-29 age group.
    32.3%
    Outside
    Kanto
    Kanto
    Under 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

    View Slide

  38. 38
    38
    Details on Business-Specific Initiatives (1) ── NewsPicks Education
    A World of Play in Business, for Everyone
    3
    NewsPicks aims to create opportunities for elementary, junior high, and high school students to experience news in an environment oriented
    towards learning, while also ensuring their safety and security. In the year since the NewsPicks Education service was fully launched, schools in
    more than 20 prefectures across Japan have used it, and the user audience is expected to grow further in the future. Students get to enjoy articles
    and video content on the publicly open part of NewsPicks, while also using a dedicated virtual space operated by each school separately to learn
    together with their peers.
    In April 2022, we launched “Cross-Border Piazza”, an online space for students from different schools to connect and learn from each other, as
    well as seeing a diversity of values and opinions. There are also opportunities to talk with NewsPicks reporters, ProPickers, and other
    professionals from various fields. It is also an important initiative for adults involved with NewsPicks to contribute to the next generation’s
    learning process via students, who represent the future of the world itself.

    View Slide

  39. 39
    39
    A World of Play in Business, for Everyone
    Details on Business-Specific Initiatives (2) ── Student Pickers 
    3
    We believe that news should be of interest not only to the working adults, but also to students who will be responsible for the future of the world.
    With this idea in mind, we launched the “Student Picker” initiative in October 2021, aiming to offer support to students in taking their big step
    forward with the help of meaningful content that helps them choose a career path and the power of a community with diverse values.
    A total of 43 students from Japan and abroad have been appointed as Student Pickers, and we are designing opportunities for interaction not only
    through connections among students themselves, but also by planning interviews with Pickers among working adults.

    View Slide

  40. 40
    40
    ▼ Business conferences organized in regional cities ▼Original content specifically for the Re:gion initiative
    A World of Play in Business, for Everyone
    3
    Details on Business-Specific Initiatives (3) ── NewsPicks Re:gion 
    3
    The Japanese economy does not revolve only around its capital. The “regional areas” as they are often referred to account for 90% of the
    country’s population and 80% of its GDP. We believe that awakening a world of play in business done in these areas will contribute to the
    development of Japan as a whole. Regional areas are not only the focal point of various social issues, but also possess unique resources that
    cannot be found in large cities. They have the potential to become the frontier of value creation required in the new era.
    NewsPicks Re:gion aims to connect local innovators with business resources in Tokyo, with plans to develop initiatives to expand the regional
    economy via co-creation not bound by artificial borders.

    View Slide

  41. 41
    41
    A World of Play in Business, for Everyone
    3
    Details on Business-Specific Initiatives (4) ── JobPicks
    These days, people are more interested in what the job will allow them to do, rather than how prestigious the company is.
    They want to move to a different job that has more future potential, not an extension of their current job.
    More and more people are trying to handcraft their own careers, but it is often difficult for them to see what each type of job actually entails.
    To address this issue, NewsPicks launched “JobPicks”, a website where “insiders” from each profession post a realistic description of their job under
    their real name. The service also offers free articles featuring people who can serve as role models, but who also actually feel human.

    View Slide

  42. 42
    42
    We want to be a technology company that awakens a world of play in
    business through the power of engineering.
    Since Uzabase’s founding in 2008, we have always aimed to combine the
    power of people and technology, drawing on the strengths of all team
    members to create must-have business intelligence services.
    Technology changes the way business professionals work by freeing them
    from labor-intensive tasks, allowing them to shift to more creative,
    value-added work instead. This is a vision that we would like to not only
    deliver to our users, but also to embody ourselves.
    One goal is to create a workplace where both engineers and non-engineers
    from a variety of backgrounds can leverage the power of engineering even
    further and enjoy taking on the challenges they desire.
    Becoming a
    Technology Company
    4
    Material Issue PIC
    Co-CEO & CTO
    Yusuke Inagaki
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  43. 43
    43
    Becoming a Technology Company
    4
    2021
    Co-CEO / CTO
    Inagaki
    2022
    Yusuke Inagaki, the person in charge of this materiality issue, has
    become the CTO of the entire Uzabase Group. With a stronger
    commitment to the technological side, he will be focusing on turning
    Uzabase into an actual technology company.
    Co-CEO
    Sakuma
    Co-CEO
    Inagaki
    Co-CEO
    Sakuma
    Topic 1
    Based on the three perspectives above, we advocate the creation of a technology
    company where everyone has even more freedom and finds greater happiness in
    their work.
    Topic 2
    Becoming a Technology Company the Uzabase Way
    Social
    Purpose
    Company
    Growth
    Individual
    Happiness
    Awakening a world of
    play in business with the
    power of engineering

    View Slide

  44. 44
    Becoming a Technology Company
    4
    To promote our transformation into a technology company that preserves Uzabase’s
    unique culture, we have launched a new project under the banner of “Play Engineering”.
    The goal is to awaken a world of play in everyone’s work via engineering.
    As part of this project, we will create the necessary mechanisms to leverage the power of
    engineering to assist both engineers and non-engineers of various professions in their
    daily tasks.
    More details here: https://tech.uzabase.com/play-engineering (Japanese only)
    Engineering Support System: Harnessing the Power of Engineering to Assist All Uzabase Members
    In addition to the base salary, this
    system provides a special
    allowance depending on an
    individual’s engineering skill. We
    are looking to implement this
    allowance from July 2022 and
    will consider reviewing the
    amount periodically when the
    need arises (at least once a year).
    Additional Allowance for Engineering Skills
    Under the supervision of the
    Uzabase Group’s Fellows and
    CTOs, we will plan and
    implement a training program
    that enables non-engineers to
    learn engineering skills in a fun
    and exciting way.
    Learning Engineering in a Fun & Practical Way
    We will hold an event where all
    Uzabase members can
    experience various tools that
    can boost their productivity
    and share and discuss their
    knowledge on more creative
    and productive approaches to
    work — all in a festive
    atmosphere.
    Enabling More Creativity in Work:
    A Festival of Productivity with No-Code & RPA
    “Play Engineering: Awaken a World of Play with the Power of Engineering” announced on April 15, 2022

    View Slide

  45. 45
    45
    Create a mechanism to help engineers enhance their
    performance and establish a cycle where
    engineering influences the business, boosting
    growth in new and existing businesses
    9 Executives and Fellows
    The people who improve
    the quality of our engineering
    Becoming a Technology Company
    4
    Assign teams of engineers to each business
    Engineers always participate in all management meetings
    Assign teams of engineers to new businesses
    Leads to the creation of new CTOs and Fellows
    *1: The figure
    also includes
    contract-based
    employees and
    outsourcers
    who meet
    certain criteria
    What Makes Uzabase Group’s Engineering Team Unique (1)
    New
    Business
    Acquired
    Business
    CEO Yusuke Inagaki also
    has an engineering
    background and is
    involved, particularly in
    hiring and building up
    external teams
    January 1
    2021
    January 1
    2022
    +56
    (net increase)
    135
    191 *1

    View Slide

  46. 46
    46
    Engineers can grow, take on new challenges in engineering,
    and be properly evaluated for it
    Becoming a Technology Company
    4
    What Makes Uzabase Group’s Engineering Team Unique (2)
    The evaluation system for the engineering team is
    created and update by engineers. The evaluation itself
    is done by engineers and is based on 360-degree
    feedback from other members involved in the same
    project, as well as direct managers. Grades and salaries
    are fully linked and openly disclosed.
    Evaluation System Focused on Fairness
    Uzabase provides high-spec machines required by
    engineers, including the newest Macbook Pro.
    Machines can also be replaced as needed to ensure that
    they do not hold engineers back.
    Company Provides a High-Spec Laptop
    At Uzabase, we work fully flexible hours, allowing
    everyone to choose when and for how long they work
    to the extent it does not interfere with our operations.
    There is also no obligation to go to the office and
    remote work remains the default.
    *Core times and requirements to go to the office are determined
    on a team-by-team basis
    Remote Work & Flex Time

    View Slide

  47. 47
    47
    Mission: Lead the business with the power of technology
    Becoming a Technology Company
    4
    Organization-Specific Features: SaaS
    Our team does not have a manager or leader. Based on
    the idea that “everyone is a leader”, we all share
    opinions not only on technology but also on
    organizational management, and everyone participates
    in discussions on hiring and team budgets. We aim to
    build an organization that values the autonomy and
    personal growth of our engineers.
    Shared Leadership
    We practice XP to achieve high productivity. We go
    through multiple iterations of designing, implementing,
    and testing software, while incorporating the opinions
    and requests of other departments and customers on
    an adhoc basis.
    Extreme Programming (XP)
    In Uzabase’s SaaS business, we are committed to pair
    programming and test-driven development (TDD) for
    everything related to software development. In
    addition to programming, all our tasks are generally
    handled in pairs. We also incorporate TDD in our
    development in order to continuously develop products
    and services at the required speed while also
    maintaining a high level of quality.
    Pair Programming & TDD

    View Slide

  48. 48
    48
    Vision: Making business more exciting with technology
    Becoming a Technology Company
    4
    Organization-Specific Features: NewsPicks & AlphaDrive
    One of our values is “Everyone is a product
    development engineer”. In line with this, a large number
    of our engineers are actively involved in multiple
    overlapping fields. Each of us is committed to our own
    area of expertise, of course, but the entire team works
    together on a full cycle of product development, from
    issue discovery to software development and its
    operation.
    Everyone is a Product Development Engineer
    We are constantly improving our development
    environment, based on the belief that great developer
    experience leads directly to increased value for users.
    We focus on safe and fast deployment, a wait-free and
    trouble-free development environment, open
    communication for consistency in decision making, and
    the democratization of data. Other initiatives include
    the promotion of Kotlin as a programming language and
    architecture renewal to foster more excitement among
    developers.
    Pursuing the Best Developer Experience
    In a fully remote environment, there tend to be much
    fewer opportunities for cross-team interaction. This is
    why our team has started using Gather, a virtual office
    service, to facilitate communication among team
    members. Since then, it has become a solid catalyst for
    casual communication not typically possible via Slack.
    A Virtual Office Accessible from Anywhere

    View Slide

  49. 49
    49
    Ever since the company’s founding, data and content have always been
    Uzabase’s core assets. We believe that we can contribute to the
    sustainable development of our society by, first of all, providing data that
    helps individual people and companies to make decisions quickly and
    accurately, and secondly, by offering content that can serve as a starting
    point for making changes to existing ways of thinking.
    As such, it is extremely important to make our data and content delivery
    system stronger and safer, and to improve its sustainability.
    We want to deliver better data and content—and do it in a better way.
    To make this mission a reality, we will aim to manage our data and
    content in a sustainable way. This will involve establishing strong
    relationships with content partners while also gathering more data
    ourselves, building up and expanding our security measures, ensuring
    that various policies and guidelines are properly implemented, and
    providing the necessary training to Uzabase members.
    Sustainable Data and
    Content Management
    5
    Material Issue PIC
    Group Executive,
    SPEEDA CLO
    Ayaka Takeda
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  50. 50
    50
    Sustainable Data and Content Management
    5
    Providing High-Quality Data and Content with Stability
    Acquisition, Creation, Effective Use
    ● Discovering new data and content partners and developing
    favorable relationships with them
    ● Improving our own ability to compile high-quality data
    ● Produce original content via a global content team
    ● Create new technologies and obtain patents for them
    Compliance
    ● Updating security policies, privacy policies, and data
    gathering guidelines in accordance with the latest
    regulations
    ● Raising company-wide awareness through regular
    training on information security and compliance with
    laws, regulations, and contract stipulations
    ● Implementing measures to prevent unauthorized access
    and other security incidents
    Data and Content Management Structure
    A Project Team of members involved in the data and
    content life cycle in various capacities

    View Slide

  51. 51
    51
    51
    5
    Create and Effectively Use High-Quality Data and Content
    A part of the data and content offered by the Uzabase
    Group through its platform and media businesses is
    provided by numerous data and content partners
    through licensing agreements.
    In order to provide continuous value to our users, our
    dedicated team is in constant dialogue with our
    partners to build mutually beneficial relationships over
    the medium to long term as new services and functions
    are implemented and changed.
    Strengthening Business Relationships
    with Data and Content Partners
    In order to create more flexibility and freedom in
    product design and enhance the value provided to our
    users, Uzabase Group is working on enhancing its
    in-house capabilities for data collection and original
    content creation.
    Leveraging our experience in processing big data for
    use on our platforms, we aim to collect data in safer and
    more efficient ways, accurately select and extract the
    data we need, and process and store it for easier access.
    We believe that building our expertise in this area will
    bolster our competitive edge.
    Enhancing In-House Capabilities for
    Data Collection
    In operating multiple software platforms and media
    businesses, we aim to provide value to our users
    through our business intelligence. At the same time, we
    want to find ways to utilize our data and content more
    efficiently while maintaining accountability to our
    stakeholders.
    In order to tackle this challenge, we established a
    project team that is working on developing a system
    that would ensure that all our data and content is
    managed and utilized appropriately. The project team
    includes members involved in various stages of the data
    & content life cycles, bringing their expertise in data
    processing, information security, content partnerships,
    and legal affairs to the table.
    Effective Use of Data and Content
    In October 2021, Uzabase and Proto Solution established the joint venture “UB Datatech”.
    By combining years of expertise in data collection and structuring with their respective human talent and technological resources,
    UB Datatech aims to create mechanisms and systems for the continuous and sustainable collection of high-quality data.
    Sustainable Data and Content Management

    View Slide

  52. 52
    52
    52
    5
    Protecting Data and Content Assets Through Information Security Initiatives
    In order to live up to the expectations and gain the trust of our customers and society
    as a whole, Uzabase Group has established a policy for information security to
    ensure that all important information is safe but still convenient to use when
    required. This policy will be used as a baseline for our approach to information
    security across the entire company, and we intend to continue to improve upon it. In
    the event of an incident, we will investigate its cause and make every effort to
    prevent it from ever happening again.
    Click here to see our Information Security Policy
    We have also established internal “Information Security Regulations” to clarify the
    basic ground rules for the appropriate use, maintenance, and operation of
    information assets that all executives and regular employees must observe in their
    work. These Regulations are intended to establish proper information security
    management across the entire Group.
    Additionally, in order to manage and use the personal information of our customers
    and employees in accordance with laws and regulations such as Japan’s Act on the
    Protection of Personal Information and to ensure that all necessary precautions
    have been taken, we have established separate “Basic Regulations for Personal
    Information Protection”, as well as a “Personal Information Protection Policy” and
    “Privacy Policy” for each product and service we provide.
    Click here to see our Information Security Policy
    Our Thinking Behind Information Security
    As part of our efforts to maintain and continuously improve the confidentiality,
    integrity, and availability of information, as well as to appropriately manage risks via
    organizational management and the operation of necessary systems, we have
    obtained and maintained ISO/IEC 270001 certification for the Information Security
    Management System (ISMS).
    To enhance the overall security of our company, we have implemented a SaaS
    solution for vulnerability assessment and established an internal structure for the
    implementation of such assessments. In addition, we have also started running our
    own penetration tests.
    Measures to Ensure Information Security
    Sustainable Data and Content Management

    View Slide

  53. 53
    53
    53
    5
    Compliance as a Cornerstone of Service Delivery
    In our work with data and content, we take the utmost
    care to protect any trademarks, copyrights, patents and
    other intellectual property rights, as well as privacy
    rights, portrait rights, publicity rights and any other
    rights held by third parties.
    In addition to checks by our in-house legal team, we
    have established a mechanism that allows us to consult
    with external attorneys who specialize in intellectual
    property whenever necessary.
    Our content creation teams have also established
    guidelines to ensure compliance with third party
    intellectual property rights, updating them and
    providing training to team members on a regular basis.
    Finally, our “Compliance Regulations” clarify our stance
    on any transactions and operations that are not socially
    acceptable, prohibiting patent infringement, the
    creation of counterfeit brands, and the production of
    imitation products.
    Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
    Uzabase Group provides regular training on
    information security to all executives and regular
    employees.
    In 2021, the information security team provided
    training on confidential and personal information, while
    the legal team provided compliance training on insider
    trading and other issues.
    We also aim to improve general compliance literacy
    through voluntary training programs that are tailored
    specifically to the goals and potential questions of
    individual executives and employees, including
    business-specific training to improve the understanding
    of laws, regulations, and contracts directly relevant to
    that particular business.
    Employee Training on Information Security
    To ensure compliance with license agreements with our
    data and content partners, Uzabase Group’s
    partnership and legal teams work together to
    formulate guidelines and make sure they are properly
    understood within the company.
    In addition, we have established a communication
    channel specifically for inquiries regarding any
    potential violations of license agreements in relation to
    the use of data and content in daily operations, such as
    product development, marketing, sales, or support desk
    tasks. This has helped us to ensure that anyone can
    check with the legal team and other relevant teams
    whenever they have any questions.
    Compliance System for Data and
    Content Contracts
    Sustainable Data and Content Management

    View Slide

  54. 54
    54
    We want our SaaS users to also become NewsPicks users. Our goal is to
    provide the necessary support to bring change to our society, offering it to
    people who have changed their actions in some way through our NewsPicks
    content. The SaaS solutions we offer have the power to bring about that
    change.
    We also want our NewsPicks users to become experts who share their
    knowledge with others. To those who have already demonstrated their
    expertise and their passion on NewsPicks, we can offer new opportunities to
    make the most of them. Our goal is to build a world where the expertise of
    people with different areas of specialty and with different passions is readily
    available and effectively utilized to solve social issues.
    Achieving these two goals will bring us closer to awakening the world of play
    in business. We also believe that by leveraging such an important business
    intelligence asset as human knowledge across all of our services within the
    Uzabase Group, we can establish a long-term competitive edge that will
    stand the test of time.
    New Business Model
    Fusing SaaS and Media
    6
    Material Issue PIC
    Co-CEO
    Taira Sakuma
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  55. 55
    55
    Towards our goals in 2025, we are shifting to a business model that fuses SaaS products with NewsPicks.
    With this transition, we are looking to produce tangible quantitative effects, such as improved marketing efficiency and higher user retention.
    Before Achievements in 2021 Towards 2025
    Implemented Shared User IDs
    User IDs for INITIAL and FORCAS Sales have been
    integrated with NewsPicks IDs
    Shared Use of Data
    Each product’s company information databases
    have been integrated, establishing a flexible system
    that facilitates data usage via APIs.
    Investment into Shared Data
    Established UB Datatech to improve data
    collection and structuring capabilities
    Churn rate significantly improved
    Increased paid user acquisition via video content
    Full implementation of a shared ID
    NewsPicks to become the largest
    marketing channel
    NewsPicks Experts to provide
    shared value to all SaaS products
    Increased investment into shared
    data
    Increased marketing investments
    Video content to become one of
    the main values provided by the
    service
    SaaS
    NewsPicks
    Each business
    growing separately
    Slowing growth in
    paid subscriptions
    New Business Model Fusing SaaS and Media
    6
    Shift to a Business Model That Fuses SaaS Products and NewsPicks

    View Slide

  56. 56
    56
    NewsPicks articles previously provided through SPEEDA were also added
    to INITIAL and FORCAS Sales in 2021, bringing the value of NewsPicks
    content to a wider audience—not only through the NewsPicks app but also
    through SaaS products. In the same year, the login process for INITIAL and
    FORCAS Sales was integrated with the NewsPicks ID system, completing
    the creation of a shared login across multiple products.
    New Business Model Fusing SaaS and Media
    6
    Synergistic Fusion Between SaaS and NewsPicks in 2021
    Connecting NewsPicks with SaaS on the Product Side
    SaaS’s largest marketing channels right now are its seminars and talk
    shows on business topics, the high quality of which attracts thousands of
    participants, mainly those involved in business management. At the end of
    last year, we also launched “NewsPicks Stage.”, an online video streaming
    business that offers these seminars and shows via NewsPicks.
    Our goal is to keep working on refining the funnel that converts NewsPicks
    users into SaaS users.
    Connecting NewsPicks with SaaS on the Marketing Side

    View Slide

  57. 57
    57
    A world of play in business awakened through our efforts should be a place of
    harmony, where the sustainability of society and the fulfillment of individual and
    business purposes are not mutually exclusive. Protecting the environment, a key
    issue on a global scale, is of great importance to achieving our Purpose, and we
    aim to address this issue through our combined efforts across the entire
    Uzabase Group.
    As part of this initiative, we will be creating ways to contribute to carbon
    footprint reduction without interrupting our business activities, be it via our
    office, IT tools, or work style changes.
    Additionally, as a company that provides information services and operates a
    business-related media service, we will be focusing on providing more
    information on global efforts towards environmental protection, including on
    the issue of climate change.
    We would like to offer content on climate change through our SaaS products
    and NewsPicks, and hope that this will serve as a starting point for business
    professionals to start changing the way they approach this topic. Our goal is to
    work with individuals and companies to create a truly sustainable society.
    Addressing
    Climate Change
    7
    Materiality Issue PIC
    Group Executive & CFO
    Daisuke Chiba
    Initiative intended to address the following SDGs :

    View Slide

  58. 58
    58
    * TCFD: A task force established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which includes representatives from
    central banks and financial supervisory authorities from major countries and regions around the world. It is an
    international initiative aimed at stabilizing financial markets by supporting businesses in disclosing information
    on climate change and facilitating an easier transition to a low-carbon society.
    * TCFD Consortium: An organization established in Japan in 2019 to discuss effective methods of disclosure and
    efforts to link disclosed information to appropriate investment decisions by the financial and non-financial
    sectors. The initiative is promoted by general businesses and financial institutions that have expressed support
    for the TCFD recommendations.
    Addressing Climate Change
    7
    Uzabase’s Initiatives to Address Climate Change
    The first of our 7 Values is “Be free and own it”. It is rooted in the idea that our
    creativity is at its highest in an environment that offers true freedom. This is why at
    Uzabase, everyone is free to choose when and where to work, and what dress code
    to follow.
    With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely has now become
    the default, but Uzabase had implemented a number of measures to address
    environmental issues even before that, such as reducing the need to move people
    and/or goods, as well as cutting down on electricity and paper use.
    Office Initiatives
    In November 2021, we expressed our full support for the recommendations made
    by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and in March
    2022, we joined the TCFD Consortium which includes general businesses and
    financial institutions that have expressed support for the recommendations.
    In line with these recommendations, we plan to collect and analyze the necessary
    data on the impact of climate change-related risks and opportunities in terms of our
    own business activities, business strategies, and financial plans, while also
    improving our disclosures.
    Full Support of TCFD Recommendations
    Remote work implemented
    company-wide
    Centralized control of
    air conditioning
    Cloud services used for internal approval, expense reimbursement,
    contract signing, and other operations, reducing the use of paper
    Automatic system to
    turn off lights
    Air conditioning operated only
    in certain hours
    No company dress code
    Introduction of a paper
    recycling service

    View Slide

  59. 59
    Through our social business media “NewsPicks” and other services we distribute
    articles and video content covering the topic of environmental issues.
    We have also formed a community to discuss climate change, global warming, and
    other issues with weather forecast specialists at the centre of it. One of our
    missions is to cover environmental issues, especially climate change, in as much
    detail as possible, and to encourage companies and individual people to make
    meaningful changes in their actions. We intend to actively continue this coverage
    in the future.
    59
    Addressing Climate Change
    7
    Uzabase’s Initiatives to Address Climate Change
    Producing and Distributing Content via Our Own Services, Particularly NewsPicks
    250+
    * A cumulative total number according to data from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022
    * The number includes content published on NewsPicks and SPEEDA
    Original articles and videos on environmental
    issues produced by Uzabase
    Decarbonization is one of the biggest topics of 2021. But does it mean?
    Published January 11, 2021 (Articles)
    Examples of Content Produced
    Bringing back mammoths to help stop climate change?
    Published April 4, 2022 (Video)
    “Woolly Mammoth Revival”, a project which
    aims to bring back mammoths by editing the
    genes of Asian elephants, is apparently also
    linked to combating climate change…
    Wait, what is even going on here!?
    This video will answer that question.
    Examples of other content
    (Japanese only)
    CO2 Reduction for Corporate Value. Carbon Credits, Explained
    Climate Change as a Science Discipline
    Yoichi Ochiai: The New Normal for Environmental Issues, with Shinjiro Koizumi (Minister of the Environment)
    The year 2021 can be called the year of
    decarbonization. The shift towards carbon
    neutrality that originated in Europe has now
    spread to China and the US, and is starting to take
    off in Japan. This series of articles provides a
    comprehensive, in-depth overview of the topic.

    View Slide

  60. 60
    Corporate Governance

    View Slide

  61. 61
    61
    1. Corporate Governance Principles and Overview
    Audit & Supervisory
    Board
    In addition to supervision by the General Meeting of Shareholders and
    the Board of Directors, Uzabase has established an Audit &
    Supervisory Board in order to leverage the advanced expertise of its
    members in efforts towards the globalization and diversification of the
    company’s management, and to further improve the company’s
    governance through the participation of Audit & Supervisory Board
    members in the decision-making processes of the Board of Directors.
    Mutual cooperation with the Internal Audit team is seen by the Audit &
    Supervisory Board as a means of ensuring the thoroughness and
    efficiency of business management.
    External Directors as
    Chairs of Boards and
    Committees
    In order to improve the quality of discussions and make the governance
    structure more effective and efficient, the Board of Directors, the Audit
    & Supervisory Board, and majority of the Nomination and
    Compensation Committee are chaired by external directors.
    Active Involvement of
    External Directors in
    Internal Projects
    The external directors are involved as advisors in various internal
    projects, committees, and management meetings with the purposes of:
    ● Improvement of business visibility for outside directors;
    ● Contribution to stronger governance;
    ● Improvement of the quality of the company’s policies;
    ● Creation of opportunities to learn from external directors.
    Double Reporting Line
    for Internal Audit
    Team
    Uzabase’s Internal Audit team employs a “double reporting line”
    system, whereby it receives direct orders both from the CEOs and also
    from the Audit and Supervisory Committee. We believe that this helps
    strengthen governance by the Audit and Supervisory Committee.
    We consider it our mission to provide value to all of Uzabase Group’s stakeholders, including
    shareholders, customers, users, suppliers, employees, and society in general, while also
    adapting flexibly to the ever-changing business environment. As one of our key management
    tasks, we aim to pursue and constantly improve the agility, transparency, and soundness of our
    management decisions through the enhancement of corporate governance.
    Main Principles and Structure Corporate Governance at Uzabase: Distinctive Features
    D&I Committee
    Business Execution Teams
    Internal Audit Team
    Risk Management &
    Compliance Committee
    CEOs
    Audit & Supervisory
    Committee
    Audit Firm
    Board of Directors
    Nomination &
    Compensation Committee
    (Voluntary)
    General Meeting of Shareholders
    Nomination,
    Dismissal
    Coordination
    Financial Audit
    Internal Audit
    Instructions,
    Reporting
    Instructions,
    Reporting
    Instructions,
    Reporting
    Instructions,
    Reporting
    Consultation
    Consultation
    Consultation
    Nomination/
    Dismissal
    Nomination,
    Dismissal,
    Supervision
    ESG Committee
    Reporting
    Coordination
    Audit/Supervision
    Coordination
    Coordination
    Coordination
    Instructions,
    Reporting

    View Slide

  62. 62
    62
    Corporate Governance Structure
    Board of Directors
    The Board of Directors holds regular meetings once a month, as well as irregular meetings when
    necessary, to ensure efficient and quick decision-making. The Board of Directors functions as a
    management decision-making and supervisory body in accordance with the Articles of
    Association and relevant laws and regulations, deliberating and making necessary decisions on
    important management matters (including matters relating to the nomination and
    compensation for Board Directors).
    Audit & Supervisory Committee
    Each Director who is a member of the Audit & Supervisory Committee actively participates in
    the Board of Directors meetings and other meetings to provide a professional perspective and
    opinions on the Directors' decision-making and business execution. In addition, the Audit &
    Supervisory Committee itself meets at least once a month, receives regular reports from the
    Internal Audit team at such meetings, and also meets regularly with the audit firm to ensure that
    the audit functions effectively and appropriately.
    Nomination & Compensation Committee (Voluntary)
    Uzabase has established a voluntary Nomination and Remuneration Committee to enhance its
    corporate governance by improving the fairness, transparency, and objectivity of procedures
    relating to nomination and compensation, and to ensure that the nomination and dismissal of
    the management team (Board Directors, business CEOs, incl. subsidiaries, and group Executive
    Officers) and their compensation are determined by members with in-depth knowledge and
    experience, particularly those among External Directors. The Committee’s task is to delve into
    each candidate’s performance by effectively leveraging human resources.
    The Nomination and Remuneration Committee is responsible for understanding each
    candidate's personality, competence, and reputation within and outside the company, designing
    a compensation package that works as an incentive, and creating frameworks for determining
    the exact amount of compensation. The Committee also works to address various other issues
    such as the selection and development of the next generation of business leaders. The
    Nomination & Compensation Committee convenes at least four times a year.
    Board of Directors:
    9 members
    Audit & Supervisory Cmt:
    3 members
    Nomination &
    Compensation Cmt:
    3 members
    Name Position
    Term in Office
    (As of March 2022
    Shareholders’ Meeting)
    Board
    Director
    Audit &
    Supervisory
    Committee
    Nomination
    and Com-
    pensation
    Committee
    Meeting Attendance
    (FY2021)
    Board of
    Directors
    A & S
    Committee
    Yusuke
    Inagaki
    Co-CEO
    13 Years
    11 Months
    ✔ 15 / 15 ー
    Taira
    Sakuma
    Co-CEO 2 Years ✔ 15 / 15 ー
    Shinobu
    Matsui
    CPO/CAO 1 Year ✔ 15 / 15 ー
    Yusuke
    Umeda
    Part-Time Director
    13 Years
    11 Months
    ✔ ✔ 15 / 15 ー
    Masao
    Hirano
    External External Director 3 Years ✔ ★ 15 / 15 ー
    Saki
    Igawa
    New External External Director ー *1 ✔ ー *1 ー
    Shintaro
    Asako
    External
    Audit & Supervisory
    Board Member
    2 Years ★ ✔ 15 / 15 ー *2
    Shinsuke
    Matsumoto
    External
    Audit & Supervisory
    Board Member
    6 Years ✔ ★ 15 / 15 16 / 16
    Masahiro
    Kotosaka
    External
    Audit & Supervisory
    Board Member
    6 Years ✔ ✔ ✔ 15 / 15 16 / 16
    Yukari
    Sakai
    Retired ー ー 3 Years *3 ー ー ー 15 / 15 16 / 16
    *1: Appointed and assumed office at the General Meeting of Shareholders in March 2022.
    *2: Appointed and assumed office as a member of the Audit & Supervisory Board at the General Meeting of Shareholders in March 2022.
    *3: Resigned at the General Meeting of Shareholders on March 2022.
    Information as at March 25, 2022 (except for attendance), where ★ indicates chairpersons, while ✔ indicates regular participants
    4 Inside
    Directors
    5 External
    Directors
    Chair
    Co-
    CEO
    Co-
    CEO 3 External
    Directors
    Chair
    1 Inside
    Director
    2 External
    Directors
    Chair

    View Slide

  63. 63
    63
    2. Directors and Board of Directors
    Board of Directors Led by Independent
    External Directors
    Focuses on supervision and decision-making in regard
    to the most important business matters, such as
    medium- and long-term business targets and
    strategies, monitoring of company-wide business
    performance, important personnel and capital-related
    policies and investments, and design of internal control
    and compliance systems.
    Management
    Monitoring
    Supervisory
    Separate Functions
    Executive
    Considering the nature of the business environment in which the Uzabase Group operates, we
    consider it appropriate to provide the management team, led by the Co-CEOs, with greater authority
    to make quick, high-quality decisions, while at the same time establishing a system to properly control
    it. With this goal in mind, we have separated management functions into Supervisory and Executive.
    As such, the Board of Directors, led by the independent external directors, serves primarily in a
    Supervisory role, while also acting in an advisory role to the Executive function whenever necessary.
    Although the Board of Directors places emphasis on its monitoring role, Uzabase appoints four Inside
    Directors (three full-time Directors). The primary reason behind this structure is the desire to avoid a
    reliance on a single “perfect” CEO, but instead to ensure that the entire management team has a deep
    understanding of each other’s competencies and is able to complement each other’s strengths and
    weaknesses. Other than the Co-CEOs, the full-time Board Directors include a Chief Administrative
    Officer, who complements the knowledge of the Co-CEOs with her own professional expertise and
    helps drive the Execution part of the business with direct monitoring from the Board of Directors.
    Responsibilities of Directors and Delegation to Management Team
    All candidates for the Board of Directors are nominated by the Board of Directors in
    consultation and with the consent of the Nomination and Compensation Committee established
    voluntarily by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors consults with the Committee and
    makes decisions based on the results of the Committee's deliberations, in an effort to improve
    the objectivity and transparency of the process.
    The Board of Directors elects and nominates (and dismisses) candidates for the Board of
    Directors who it believes have the ability to tackle the Company's management challenges and
    who demonstrate outstanding competency to achieve the Company's medium- and long-term
    goals, based on comprehensive consideration of the candidates' qualifications, including factors
    (1) through (6) below. Note that factors (4) through (6) are to be considered only with respect to
    candidates for Executive roles in relation to business operations.
    (1) Embodies Uzabase’s Purpose and Vision, and has a strong understanding of the Group's
    history, corporate culture, and employees;
    (2) Possesses a high level of expertise themselves, while also having respect for the expertise
    of other people;
    (3) Demonstrates the ability to express themselves, communicate their thoughts and respect
    the opinions and achievements of others, while maintaining healthy relationships with
    others without any fear of conflicting opinions and/or disagreements that inevitably
    accompany such communication;
    (4) Has the capacity to show the direction for the future development of the organization that
    they are in charge of, and take responsibility and ownership for the results;
    (5) Able to delegate the decision making to others, while still delivering results;
    (6) Capable of self-disclosure and deep understanding of others to a degree that conforms
    with the principles of team-based management.
    Nomination and Dismissal of Board Directors
    Business Management Team
    Led by Co-CEOs
    Flexible and quick decision making that meets the
    needs of the business’s frontline members and
    customers.

    View Slide

  64. 64
    Inside Directors
    Chair of Nomination &
    Compensation Committee
    Effectiveness
    Assessment
    Masao Hirano
    Chair of Audit &
    Supervisory Cmt.
    Masahiro Kotosaka
    Compliance
    Committee
    Audit & Supervisory
    Cmt. Member
    ESG Committee,
    D&I Committee
    External
    Director
    Saki Igawa
    Chair of Board of
    Directors; Audit &
    Supervisor Cmt. Member
    Shintaro Asako
    CPO/CAO
    Shinobu Matsui
    Co-CEO
    Taira Sakuma
    Part-Time Director
    Yusuke Umeda
    Uzabase’s Board of Directors comprises business professionals with knowledge, experience, and skills in a variety of areas, as illustrated below. This includes Directors with in-depth knowledge of
    finance and accounting, as well as lawyers with extensive practical experience. We believe that nine is an appropriate number of Board Directors to allow for active discussions, while also
    providing instant access to both professional expertise and the analysis of the current state of the business.
    Board of Directors: Balance, Diversity, and Size
    Independent External Directors
    Position
    Name
    Co-CEO
    Yusuke Inagaki
     
    Skillset
    Experience as CEO ✔

    ✔ ✔
    ✔  
    International
    Business


    SaaS ✔ ✔
     
    Media ✔

    Technology ✔ ✔
     
    Accounting,
    Financials, M&A
     


     

    ESG, D&I
     

    ✔ ✔
    Risk & Compliance ✔
     



    ✔ ✔ ✔
    ✔ ✔








    Shinsuke Matsumoto

    View Slide

  65. 65
    65
    Compensation Sufficient to Attract Excellent Talent
    In order to “Awaken the world of play in business, with our insights” as described in our Purpose,
    Uzabase needs to attract the best talent from Japan and abroad to join the company as directors and
    contribute to the sustainable development of our corporate value. In order to achieve that, we need
    to set our compensation packages to a level that is competitive but fair at the same time, reflecting
    the actual scope of responsibilities, any risks, and contributions of the role in question.
    Simple, Transparent, and Global
    In order to attract the best talent from around the world, the compensation package should be simple
    and easy to understand, and designed in a way that can also be used outside of Japan. Our goal is to
    ensure the transparency, fairness, and rationality of compensation packages to establish sufficient
    accountability not only to the individual receiving this compensation but also to all other
    stakeholders.
    Commitment to Growing Together
    The compensation system is also designed in a way that incentivizes Directors to work further
    towards increasing Uzabase’s corporate value, whereby benefits from such an increase can be seen
    both by our shareholders and the Directors themselves. To achieve this, part of the compensation
    package for Directors is offered in the form of non-monetary compensation (RSUs and/or SOs).
    Compensation System Based on Freedom of Choice
    We believe that true creativity is born in an environment that offers the freedom to set your own
    commitments and design your own work style. As such, our compensation system is designed to
    reflect the intentions of our Executives.
    Agile
    The system is designed to be updated flexibly, in accordance with the current business environment,
    the business model of each product, and the local characteristics of each country or region where
    they are offered. It is reviewed annually by the voluntary Nomination and Compensation Committee.
    Compensation for Board Directors and Executives: General Guidelines
    General Guidelines on Compensation for Directors and Executives
    The Company has established a voluntary Nomination Committee for the purpose of
    enhancing transparency, objectivity, and fairness in the determination of candidates for the
    positions of Board Director, business CEO (including CEOs of subsidiaries), and Executive
    Officers, thus improving corporate governance. Meanwhile, the Compensation Committee
    aims to deliberate the standards for the compensation offered to Board Directors, business
    CEOs (including CEOs of subsidiaries), and Executive Officers, as well as performance targets
    and the amount of compensation in accordance with the achievement of such performance
    targets. The joint Nomination and Compensation Committee is chaired by an independent
    External Director, and the majority of its members are also independent External Directors, as
    a measure to ensure objectivity and fairness.
    The results of discussions by the Nomination and Compensation Committee are reported to
    the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors then determines the specifics for each
    individual Board Director, with respect to the decisions presented in the report of the
    Nomination and Compensation Committee.
    The compensation for Directors who are members of the Audit & Supervisory Committee is,
    according to it’s judgement, first determined via deliberation by the Nomination and
    Compensation Committee and finalized by the Audit & Supervisory Committee. The
    compensation for each Audit & Supervisory Committee member is then reported to the Board
    of Directors.
    The compensation for Board Directors is determined in consideration of factors including
    social conditions, market standards, and competitiveness compared to other companies. It aims
    to be at a level that is appropriate as compensation for fully exercising their management
    decision-making and supervisory functions at Uzabase.
    Process to Determine Appropriate Compensation

    View Slide

  66. 66
    66
    Compensation and Cash/Stock Ratios for Uzabase’s Board Directors
    (Grades 4 and 5) in FY2022
    Number of Shares Owned by the Three Executive Directors and Outstanding Stock
    Options (as of December 31, 2022)
    Position
    (Grade)
    Compensation
    (JPY)
    Monetary Compensation
    (Base)
    Non-Monetary
    Compensation (RSU/SO)
    Co-CEO
    (Grade 5)
    Base 40 million
    50% 50%
    Max 60 million
    Min 35 million
    Full-Time Executive
    Director
    (Grade 4)
    Base 27 million
    70% 30%
    Max 40 million
    Min 25 million
    Part-Time Director,
    External Director
    (No Grade)
    Base
    N/A
    70% of compensation (base) is to be paid in cash and 30%
    in stock. However, the full sum may be paid in cash if
    there is a rational reason for it.
    Max
    Min
    * 1: Excludes treasury stock.
    * 2: The call options issued by utilizing the common stock held by Uzabase’s founder Yusuke Umeda (announced in February 2021) are
    not considered a part of incentives issued by Uzabase directly, and are thus not included in Outstanding Stock options.
    * 3: Shares Owned includes the actual number of stocks owned under the Executive Stock Ownership Plan.
    Name
    Shares
    Owned
    Percentage of Total
    Number of Outstanding
    Shares *1
    Outstanding Stock Options
    Not Linked to
    Performance
    Linked to
    Performance
    Yusuke Inagaki 2,483,214 6.76% 109,488 0
    Taira Sakuma 60,829 0.17% 81,864 243,800
    Shinobu Matsui 6,902 0.02% 30,000 153,600
    The following is a brief outline of main principles behind the compensation packages for External
    Directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory Committee).
    1. Fixed compensation, not linked to business performance.
    2. Base compensation + additional predetermined amounts paid to Directors serving as Chairs of
    the Board of Directors, Audit & Supervisory Committee members, Nomination and Compensation
    Committee members, or in other additional roles.
    3. Stock-based compensation also introduced with the aim of incentivizing Directors to adopt a
    perspective aligned with that of shareholders and contribute to medium- to long-term growth of
    corporate value from the governance standpoint.
    4. Generally, 70% of total compensation is to be paid in cash and 30% in stock. However, the full sum
    may be paid in cash if there is a rational reason for it.
    Compensation for Audit & Supervisory Committee members shall be determined via consultation with
    the Directors who are members of the same Committee. According to it’s judgement, compensation for
    Audit & Supervisory Committee members may align to above outline.
    Compensation for External Directors
    The following is a brief outline of main principles behind the compensation packages for Board
    Directors with Business Executive functions (Executive Directors) and Executive Officers.
    1. Total amount of compensation and ratio of stock-based compensation for each Grade
    a. Five executive Grades are based on the scope of supervision, responsibilities, and skills.
    b. Total amount of compensation is determined in relation to the previous year’s performance
    and current year’s commitments, with the upper and lower limits set for each Grade.
    c. The higher the grade, the higher the percentage of total compensation paid in the form of
    stocks.
    2. Directors may set the ratio of restricted stock units (RSUs) and to stock options (SOs) as a
    percentage of total compensation.
    3. All of the above is to be proposed to the voluntary Nomination and Compensation Committee and
    approved by the Board of Directors.
    Compensation for Executive Directors and Executive Officers
    *: In exceptional cases, the proportion of stock-based compensation and cash-based compensation may change. For further
    information, please refer to the “Remuneration for Directors” section detailed in the Corporate Governance Report.

    View Slide

  67. 67
    67
    Measures to Enhance the Effectiveness of the Board of Directors
    External Director as Chair of the
    Board of Directors
    On March 25, 2022, Uzabase decided to appoint Shintaro Asako, an independent External Director, as Chair of the Board of Directors, continuing from FY2021. The Chair of the
    Board of Directors has significant influence over the discussions of the Board of Directors through their decisions on time allocation and proceedings, and we believe that by assuming
    the responsibilities of the Chair of the Board of Directors, Shintaro Asako will be able to operate the meetings of the Board of Directors with the objectivity required for the task.
    Meeting of External Directors
    and Offsite Meetings for the
    Board of Directors
    In order to ensure the effectiveness of discussions at the Board of Directors meetings, Audit & Supervisory Committee meetings, and voluntary Nomination and Compensation
    Committee meetings and to avoid turning them into a formality, Uzabase has established the practice of holding meetings exclusively for External Directors, where they can share
    information to avoid compartmentalization. In addition, Uzabase has established offsite meetings, which are held separately from the Board of Directors meetings, where both the
    Inside Directors and External Directors can engage in more in-depth deliberations on medium- to long-term strategies and other, more time-consuming discussions. This practice has
    successfully increased the substantive significance of discussions among Directors, and was also positively evaluated by multiple participants in the Effectiveness Assessment.
    Effectiveness Assessment 1. Questionnaire Format and Outline of Results
    Each Board Director, Executive Officer who regularly participates in the Board of Directors meetings, and member of the Board of Directors Secretariat responded to a detailed
    questionnaire and described their reasoning behind each of the responses. The respondents generally agreed that the Board of Directors was effective and indicated that the Board
    of Directors meeting is demonstrating continuous improvements, as demonstrated by positive evaluations of “the quality and quantity of agenda items and materials submitted to the
    Board of Directors”, “activeness of discussions”, "the progress in consideration of proposals”, “the size of the Board of Directors, the ratio and diversity of External Directors”, and “the
    degree of contribution made by each Director”.
    2.Actions to Address Issues Identified in the Effectiveness Assessment Conducted in January 2021
    (1) Implementation of Performance-Linked Compensation
    As an incentive designed to motivate the management team to contribute to the increase of corporate value in the medium- to long-term, Uzabase determined that it would be
    appropriate to replace a portion of monetary compensation with RSU and SO packages (awarded without performance conditions). In accordance with this policy, the Company
    has implemented this system for its Directors since April 2022.
    (2) Policies and Procedures for the Nomination and Dismissal of Executive Officers
    In order to ensure the effectiveness of discussions at the Audit & Supervisory Committee meetings and avoid turning them into a formality, Uzabase has established the practice
    of holding meetings exclusively for External Directors, where they can share information among themselves to avoid compartmentalization, which has led to the improvement
    of nomination procedures. On the other hand, although Uzabase has a basic policy for the nomination of Executive Officers, as per the feedback received, more detailed criteria
    and policies still need to be formulated.
    (3) Human Resource Strategy (Selection and Development of the Next Generation of Business Leaders)
    In December 2021, we introduced the Group Executive Officer system, one of the objectives of which is to select and develop the next generation of business leaders. Under
    this system, an Executive Officer is selected from among all Executive Officers of the Group in each fiscal year to address management issues from the broader perspective of
    the entire Group. In addition to selecting executive officers who possess expertise in certain areas connected with important management issues that need to be tackled in that
    fiscal year, this system also takes into consideration the development paths and diversity of Executive Officers from a long-term perspective.
    3.Issues Identified in the Effectiveness Assessment Conducted in January 2022
    As a result of the improvements made based on the findings of the Effectiveness Assessment in FY2021, no serious concerns have been identified in 2022.
    However, the following issues have been identified as potential areas for long-term, continuous improvement:
    (1) Management team development and training;
    (2) Human resource strategy in relation to External Directors (selection of the next generation of External Directors);
    (3) Operational improvements for the Board of Directors meetings.

    View Slide

  68. 68
    3. Audit-Related Initiatives
    68
    Each Audit & Supervisory Committee member attends meetings of the Board of Directors, audits
    compliance with laws, regulations, and the Articles of Incorporation, as well as the status of
    management decision-making processes and internal controls, and expresses their opinions on the
    above. They also attend important meetings such as the Management Meeting and Risk Management
    Committee meetings as necessary, and conduct hearings with business teams. Based on the findings
    and impressions obtained through these auditing activities, the Audit & Supervisory Committee holds
    discussions with the Co-CEOs to exchange opinions on the situation and makes recommendations as
    necessary.
    Audit Team
    In FY2021, Uzabase aimed to 1) halt the decline in net sales growth rate and 2) make investments
    towards achieving 30% growth from 2022 onwards. We also believed it to be of great importance to
    define priority investment areas for SPEEDA, NewsPicks, new businesses, and the engineering team,
    and for these investments to be properly executed. At the same time, establishing a governance
    structure that is appropriate for future growth was also determined to be an area of priority for the
    future development of the company.
    The latter in particular was considered an urgent task, and we worked to improve the operation of the
    risk management system by making it a part of the OKRs for the Corporate Division. Furthermore,
    the Nomination and Compensation Committee discussed stock-based compensation, which is
    scheduled to be implemented in FY2022, and the development of the next generation of business
    leaders, among other issues. In addition, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and remote work
    becoming the norm in the company, new labor management issues were also considered to be likely
    to arise.
    As such, we monitored and supervised the management’s executive decisions, focusing on the
    following high-priority audit matters:
    (1) Strengthening governance by establishing and improving the operation of the Board of
    Directors and the Nomination and Compensation Committee;
    (2) Enhancement of the operation of the risk management system;
    (3) Execution of investments into priority areas;
    (4) Labor management.
    Audit Policy and Key Audit Matters in FY2021
    The Internal Audit team is an organization under the direct jurisdiction of the Co-CEOs and the
    Audit & Supervisory Committee (a “double reporting line” structure). It conducts internal audits
    of all management activities of Uzabase from an independent and objective standpoint,
    assessing legal compliance, appropriateness of financial reporting, and effectiveness and
    efficiency of operations, while also strengthening internal controls through proposals for the
    improvement of the effectiveness of such controls.
    The results of the internal audit activities are reported to the Uzabase management and Audit
    & Supervisory Committee members, who then exchange opinions on the status of internal
    audit activities, if required. In addition, the Internal Audit team shares information with the
    audit firm wherever necessary regarding the status and evaluation of internal control over
    financial reporting, and the progress of internal audit activities, in order to facilitate mutual
    cooperation.
    Internal audits are conducted using the framework for internal control over financial reporting
    (J-SOX standards). When auditing company-wide internal controls, in addition to confirming
    the control environment, the team conducted sample tests on the actual operations related to
    the joining and leaving the company by employees, as well as other aspects. In addition, when
    auditing controls over business processes, the team’s key audit matters included confirmations
    on the status of payment processing related to sales recognition and receivables/purchase
    management for key business units, as well as each company's approval systems.
    In addition to the apparent risks revealed as part of the regular audit activities, the team also
    identified potential risks and “added value” matters requiring continuous improvement,
    compiling then into a risk management chart. This chart was then used by members of each
    division of the company, including business units, to continuously implement countermeasures
    throughout the year, and the results of this activity were then checked by the Internal Audit
    team.
    Status of Internal Audit

    View Slide

  69. 69
    4. Compliance Initiatives
    69
    Uzabase has established Compliance Regulations that provide the basis for appropriate
    conduct when working with customers, business partners, shareholders, and other relevant
    parties. In order to cultivate compliance throughout the entire group, Uzabase itself, all of its
    officers, and employees have committed to the proper understanding of and adherence to
    these Regulations, towards establishing a solid compliance system and putting these corporate
    ethics into practice.
    Specifically, this includes the prevention of illegal acts restricting competition, prevention of
    bribery, prohibition of insider trading, prohibition of discrimination and prejudice (whether
    conscious or unconscious), prevention of internal and external harassment, implementation of
    proactive social contribution initiatives, and blocking of relations with organized crime groups.
    Compliance Initiatives
    The Company has established an internal reporting (“whistleblowing”) system for the purpose
    of ensuring the early detection and timely correction of any compliance violations and other
    issues, which contributes to the strengthening of compliance management. The whistleblowing
    system is open to all Executive Officers and regular employees of Uzabase, as well as anyone
    engaged in business partnerships with the Uzabase Group companies. Whistleblowers can
    report any act of noncompliance involving Executive Officers and regular employees of the
    Uzabase Group.
    As part of this system, we have established an internal contact who is independent of the
    management; additionally, we have also established contact points both in Japan and overseas
    that are staffed by independent external attorneys. The method of reporting to the contact
    point, the clarifications on the protection of the anonymity of the whistleblower, the
    prohibition of prejudicial treatment, and additional details concerning investigation, reporting,
    and disciplinary measures are described in the Whistleblowing Policy Guidelines.
    Internal Reporting System (Whistleblowing)
    In 2021, we conducted training sessions on confidentiality and personal information protection
    (Information Security team), insider trading and the whistleblowing system (Legal team), and
    harassment prevention (People Experience team).
    In addition, we provided a number of optional training programs for regular employees and
    Executive Officers in line with their wishes and questions. As part of our commitment to
    diversity and inclusion, we held workshops with external lecturers on topics including
    unconscious bias and the understanding of menstruation. Additionally, we conducted lectures
    for newly appointed Executive Officers on internal regulations, and business-specific legal
    training to improve the understanding of laws, regulations, and contractual obligations directly
    relevant to their business.
    Compliance Training for Employees
    In principle, Uzabase’s Compliance Committee holds a meeting once a year to discuss the
    compliance status and any potential issues across the Group.
    In addition, in the event of a violation of the Compliance Regulations, a Compliance Committee
    meeting chaired by a Director appointed by the Board of Directors is convened.
    In the event of a whistleblower report, the contact person in charge investigates its content,
    compiles a written report, and submits it to the Compliance Committee.
    Compliance Comittee

    View Slide

  70. 70
    ESG Data Book

    View Slide

  71. 71
    71
    Employee Metrics
    Uzabase Group Total
    Male Female Male Female
    New Hires by Gender 53.4% 46.6% 58.2% 41.8%
    Employees by Gender 54.6% 45.4% 56.6% 43.4%
    Managers by Gender 71.0% 29.0% 74.1% 25.9%
    Executive Officers by Gender 80.9% 19.1% 85.3% 14.7%
    Board Members by Gender 77.8% 22.2% 87.5% 12.5%
    Child Care Leave Utilization 57.1% 100.0% 38.1% 100.0%
    Return from Child Care Leave 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
    Flextime/Remote Work 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
    Diversability Hires
    (Employees with Disabilities Quota)
    9 Members (100%) -
    Engagement Metrics Group Total
    Evaluation of Company by Employees (*1)
    Score in () is the industry average
    4.47
    Top 1% of companies
    (3.37)
    Percentage of Positive Answers from Employee
    Engagement Portion of Organizational Survey (*2)
    85%
    (*1) From Uzabase’s company page on the OpenWork platform (as of April 2022)
    (*2) From the most recent organizational survey conducted by Qualtrics targeting all
    employees of the Uzabase Group.
    *Figures current as of January 1, 2022
    Social

    View Slide

  72. 72
    Environment
    72
    Governance
    Board of Directors FY2021
    Members
    Total 9
    External 5
    Independent 5
    Female 2
    Attendance
    Yusuke Inagaki 15/15
    Taira Sakuma 15/15
    Shinobu Matsui 15/15
    Yusuke Umeda 15/15
    Masao Hirano 15/15
    Shintaro Asako 15/15
    Shinsuke Matsumoto 15/15
    Masahiro Kotosaka 15/15
    Yukari Sakai (*1) 15/15
    Audit & Supervisory Board FY2021
    Members
    Total 3
    External 3
    Attendance
    Shinsuke Matsumoto 16/16
    Masahiro Kotosaka 16/16
    Yukari Sakai(*1) 16/16
    Nomination & Compensation Committee FY2021
    Members
    Total 6
    External 5
    Attendance
    Masao Hirano 6/6
    Shintaro Asako 6/6
    Shinsuke Matsumoto 6/6
    Masahiro Kotosaka 6/6
    Yukari Sakai (*1) 6/6
    Yusuke Inagaki 5/6 (*2)
    Employee Training FY2021
    Information Security Training
    No. of Sessions 1
    Participation 100%
    Compliance Training
    No. of Sessions 1
    Participation 100%
    Carbon Footprint/Electricity & Water Consumption FY2021
    Scope 1 Emissions (kg-CO₂) 0
    Scope 2 Emissions (kg-CO₂) 65,030
    Total Carbon (Scopes 1+2) Emissions (kg-CO₂) 65,030
    Carbon Emissions to Revenue Intensity (JPY 100 Million) 405
    Electricity Consumption (kwh) 132,986
    Water Consumption (m3) 10
    (*1) Yukari Sakai voluntarily resigned from the board in March 2022.
    (*2) Yusuke Inagaki was unable to attend one committee meeting as a result of being on child care leave.
    (*) Figures are for the 3rd and 13th floors of the TRI-SEVEN ROPPONGI office.
    (*) Scope 1 emissions are direct carbon emissions related to the use of gas at the office.
    (*) Scope 2 emissions are indirect carbon emissions related to the use of electricity at the office.
    (*) CO2 emission factor calculated using Minato Ward’s emission factor of 0.489 for FY2021.
    (*) “No. of Sessions” refers to the number of company-wide sessions. Sessions for new hires are excluded.

    View Slide

  73. 73
    Our Vision Behind
    Each Business

    View Slide

  74. 74
    A Business Intelligence Platform Helping Businesses Implement Agile
    Management
    SPEEDA is a service aimed at helping users successfully implement an agile model of business management—one that is customer-oriented
    and highly adaptable.
    An agile model of business management is one in which the company’s own growth towards fulfilling its Purpose and the job satisfaction of its
    employees go hand in hand. In order to achieve this, companies must instill a shared Purpose and foster an environment conducive to
    autonomous decision making in the field.
    The competitive landscape today is undergoing drastic changes, and one of the reasons behind it is the use of software. In order
    to maintain growth fueled by autonomous adaptability under such circumstances, companies must continue to ensure that all of their
    employees are happy with the work they are doing.
    At SPEEDA, we strive to provide a shared platform of knowledge for executives and employees alike, offering users an overview of all
    competitive landscapes affecting their business, not only in their current state, but also with an eye on how they might change in the future.
    In doing so, we are confident that the potential for solving social issues, achieving company growth, and ensuring the individual happiness of
    employees can be fully realized.
    CEO
    Taira Sakuma

    View Slide

  75. 75
    (*) SPEEDA Expert Network comprises 100,000 experts (17,000 in Japan, 83,000 outside of Japan)
    (*) Number of experts includes those employed by partners with capital ties to Uzabase as of end-December 2021.
    560
    Industries
    Covered
    Experts (*)
    17,000 (domestic)
    83,000 (abroad)
    Support Desk
    30mins
    Chat Response
    Time
    Over
    10 Million
    Public/Private
    Companies
    Over
    3,000
    Industry
    Reports
    Over
    292,000
    Startups
    Business News
    200 (Japanese)
    2,300 (English)
    Media Sources
    IR/Statistics
    100,000
    Data Points
    Patent Trends
    496
    Categories
    Trends
    96
    Reports
    Over
    228,000
    M&As
    External
    Content
    Original Content
    Engineers
    Experts
    Business Analysts
    SPEEDA is one of the world’s largest
    business intelligence platforms,
    providing users with all the
    information necessary for company
    and industry analysis in a way that is
    comprehensively and systematically
    organized, with additional access to
    expert opinions. From data
    collection and analysis to the
    creation of related materials,
    SPEEDA offers a one-stop solution
    for data seekers.

    View Slide

  76. 76
    B2B Customer Strategy Platform
    FORCAS is a customer strategy platform for B2B businesses, operating under the vision of “Expanding Co-Creation with Customers”.
    We have been providing data-driven support to businesses for many years and have heard from many of our users that, without a common
    understanding of the customer within an organization, different departments struggle to work together
    in a customer-focused manner— and business can stagnate as a result.
    FORCAS makes it easier for everyone in a single organization to identify the customers that they should be targeting and to take
    customer-driven actions in all business scenarios.
    In contrast to one-sided sales and marketing techniques of the past, FORCAS offers a new approach to business growth that is based on
    “co-creation”, helping people feel like they are creating a business together with their customers.
    We believe that this focus on co-creation will help us awaken a world of play in business.
    CEO
    Shingo Taguchi

    View Slide

  77. 77
    Customer strategy platform for B2B businesses that supports advanced
    analysis through rich data
    Main Purposes of Use:
    ・To execute data-based, customer-driven strategies and measure their effectiveness (sales/marketing DX)
    ・To enhance company-wide understanding of customers (customer-driven management)
    ● Auto-linking of customer data
    ● Target list extraction
    ● Analysis of customer contracts/
    appointments/leads
    ● Target segment design
    ● Target segment evaluation
    ● One-stop customer research
    ● Sharing of customer strategy planning
    ● Sales research analysis
    ● Auto-linking of customer data
    ● Auto-assignment of company data
    ● Auto-assignment of target flags
    ● Synchronization of contracts/
    appointments/leads (*)
    ● Automatic lead conversion (*)
    ● ABM dashboard (*)
    Unique algorithm optimized for
    customer data analysis
    Jobs Info
    830,000
    Unique
    Scenarios
    300
    Services Used
    1,100
    Websites
    20
    million
    People Power:
    Analysts/Editors/
    Researchers/
    Translators
    (*) Salesforce AppExchange only
    Salesforce
    Microsoft
    Dynamics 365
    Adobe Marketo
    Hubspot
    Industries
    560
    Domestic
    Companies
    1.45
    million
    IR Data
    4,400
    Companies
    A customer strategy platform for
    B2B businesses, FORCAS makes it
    possible to easily link internal and
    external data on customers and
    engage in customer-driven
    strategy planning, execution, and
    evaluation. It provides
    comprehensive support for the
    implementation of highly accurate
    sales strategies and ABM.
    In contrast to one-sided sales and
    marketing techniques of the past,
    FORCAS offers a new
    customer-driven approach to
    business growth that is based on
    “co-creation”, which helps services
    reach those who need them as
    quickly as possible.

    View Slide

  78. 78
    A Leading Japanese Startup Information Platform
    As one of Japan's largest startup information platforms, INITIAL's vision is to make startups more accessible
    and encourage people to take on more challenges.
    Even as Japan's workforce declines in the face of falling birthrates and an ageing population, and large-scale
    natural disasters and pandemics give rise to unprecedented challenges, startups continue to believe in the
    possibility of greater prosperity and individual happiness.
    Of course, the creation of new industries involves not only startups, but also a wide range of other parties such
    as VCs, CVCs, general businesses, governments, and financial institutions. Activity in the startup domain is
    continuing to accelerate, with both the amount of funding being raised and the number of partnerships with
    general businesses corporations rising steadily.
    By defining, structuring, and visualizing data on startups, INITIAL aims to further accelerate this activity and
    increase the number of people involved in creating new industries.
    CEO
    Nobuaki Chiba

    View Slide

  79. 79
    Japanese
    Startups
    17,000
    Non-Japanese
    Startups
    1.33
    million
    Investors
    16,000
    Investment
    Rounds
    100,000
    Funds
    27,000
    INITIAL Enterprise, INITIAL’s paid enterprise plan, focuses
    on VCs, CVCs, and general businesses
    400
    Used by more than
    INITIAL is a startup information
    platform that allows users to search
    for and browse data on startup
    businesses, funding, investors,
    startup-related news, and analytical
    reports.
    The platform is used by for a variety
    of purposes, including research into
    startup investment, business
    partnerships, sales, and support
    activities.
    companies
    received in 2021

    View Slide

  80. 80
    A Leading Japanese Business News Media
    NewsPicks is a business news media that aims to make world of business more engaging and give professionals the
    tools to share their knowledge and expertise.
    NewsPicks believes in the power of content to rouse people's hearts and minds, inspiring them to bring about real
    change. Its own editorial team and video studio produce original content and deliver it to users.
    Users can share their knowledge and expertise by commenting on articles, which is the key feature of the platform.
    These comments deepen the readers' understanding of the news, promote new learning, and even encourage people
    to take action in their own lives.
    NewsPicks aims to awaken a world of play in business by getting more people interested in the economy and business
    topics, helping them share their knowledge with others and make their own mark on the path towards resolving the
    various issues we face in society today,.
    CEO
    Taira Sakuma

    View Slide

  81. 81
    Curated Japanese and
    international business
    news
    Original articles
    and video content
    Media
    ProPicker comments,
    social media functions
    (picks, follows)
    Community
    Platform
    NewsPicks provides readers with
    curated business news articles and
    original content, as well as
    comments from experts and
    specialists in various fields, which
    are known as ProPickers.
    Users/Subscribers
    6.89
    Million

    View Slide

  82. 82
    Creating New Businesses and Driving Change on Individual and Organizational Levels
    AlphaDrive/NewsPicks (AD/NP) is a joint venture between AlphaDrive, a company providing support for new business development, and the
    social business media NewsPicks. AD/NP's goal is to support value creation for both individuals and organizations by providing solutions for
    those struggling to create new businesses and revitalize their operations.
    This support is based on the philosophy that business development is people development, and leverages a scalable model that is guided by a
    large number of practical cases. We use not only left-brain approaches such as strategy and finance, but also right-brain approaches based
    around the power provided by content and creativity. These are combined with the power of NewsPicks’ business news media, as well as the
    data and technology provided by Uzabase's SaaS products. AD/NP provides the comprehensive support required by both companies, as well as
    each individual within these companies, to drive change.
    Society today is facing unprecedented social and environmental challenges. AD/NP's support is changing companies by changing each individual
    within them, and these companies are helping to drive change in Japanese society. By increasing the number of people who enjoy their work and
    have the drive to create value, we can bring about a Japan in which more and more companies innovate "from within". It is our belief that this
    internal innovation can lead to solutions for all kinds of social and environmental problems and, in turn, create a more prosperous and happier
    society in Japan.
    AD/NP provides organizations with the methodology and opportunities to create self-sustaining teams and drive the innovation needed to turn
    this belief into a reality.
    CEO
    Yoichi Aso

    View Slide

  83. 83
    Driving Individual and Organizational Reform
    New Business Creation/Existing Business Expansion
    New business development consulting
    Comprehensive support tools for
    new business development
    Support for local business and
    HR development
    HR Development/Organizational Reform
    Video-based learning services for
    corporate clients
    NewsPicks corporate subscription
    plan
    Practical
    DX HR development programme
    HR and organizational reform
    platform
    HR training programme
    Media Business
    DOCOMO’s new media
    for corporate clients
    Media supporting intrapreneurs
    112 companies (85% public companies)*
    Services provided to:
    (*) Cumulative total as of end-March 2022
    Co-creation
    community support services
    Collaborative support services
    for businesses
    AlphaDrive/NewsPicks aims to
    drive change on individual and
    organizational levels by providing
    services to support personal
    development, revitalize
    organizations, and develop new
    businesses.
    Leveraging NewsPicks' business
    media and Uzabase' SaaS products,
    AD/NP develops a formula for
    organizational reform and the
    creation of new businesses
    throughout Japan.

    View Slide

  84. 84
    An Expert Network and An Information Platform, All-In-One
    MIMIR has created an Expert Network Platform, providing a service that allows companies to interview experts that match their
    requirements or ask questions to such experts via the service.
    MIMIR integrates knowledge into the corporate decision-making process. With the right infrastructure, knowledge can become
    democratized, enabling companies to make more agile and proactive decisions based on multiple perspectives.
    They say that human life expectancy is expected to rise to 100 years in the future. This means that our society will need to look for new
    ways of thinking about careers. With this in mind, MIMIR aims to change working styles and lifestyles via new methods of sharing human
    knowledge.
    People’s knowledge is used for decision making, which gives value to their experience. People are valued and trusted based on their
    expertise and knowledge, which gives them the freedom to work in their own way. This value is not limited to a particular company or
    position, and people can continue to develop their expertise and learn.
    This creates a new form of collaboration between companies and individuals, bringing more free, rich, and proactive working styles and
    encouraging people to awaken a world of play in business for themselves.
    Representative Director
    and CEO
    Soshi Kawaguchi

    View Slide

  85. 85
    85
    A database of experts
    developed and operated in
    collaboration with NewsPicks.
    An enterprise service developed and
    operated in collaboration with
    SPEEDA that helps companies utilize
    expert knowledge to support their
    research activities and bring about
    organizational change.
    Social business media targeting business
    professionals. Over 6.6 million subscribers and
    hundreds of Pro Pickers.
    One of Asia’s largest business information
    platforms, used by 1,900+ companies, mainly
    corporate planning departments.
    Joint Operation Collaboration
    E X P E R T
    C L I E N T
    Expert Database Enterprise Service
    An expert network business.
    Develops and operates expert
    platform NewsPicks Expert, which
    gathers expert knowledge in
    collaboration with NewsPicks.
    Develops and provides SPEEDA
    EXPERT RESEARCH, a corporate
    service that provides expert
    knowledge for business in
    collaboration with SPEEDA.
    Consulting Firms & Think Tanks
    Advertising, Publishing, IT
    Financial Institutions
    Banks, securities firms, investment funds,
    insurance companies
    Manufacturing
    Trading Companies,
    Logistics, Retail
    Corporate Services & Other
    60+ 40+ 40+
    50+
    60+
    50+
    Total
    300+

    View Slide

  86. 86
    Broadening Horizons for Uzabase with the Power of Data and Technology
    UB Datatech aims to compile key data that can then be used by businesses within the UB Group.
    Our goal is to collect and structure business information from both Japan and overseas through the use of technology and a
    wide network of people, producing valuable information that is timely and of high quality.
    There are many people who live in rural areas who are unable to find a working style that suits them, due to childcare or other
    commitments. Via remote or crowd work, we aim to provide such people with solutions that allow them to fully utilize their
    strengths.
    Representative Director
    Takuya Hayashi

    View Slide

  87. 87
    87
    Business Intelligence
    FRCAS INITIAL
    Compiled Data
    A business that collects, structures,
    and compiles data that cannot be
    easily acquired from other
    suppliers for services under the
    Uzabase Group, such as SPEEDA,
    FORCAS, FORCAS Sales, and
    Initial.
    UB Datatech collects and organizes
    the information required by each
    service, compiling it into timely and
    high quality data covering both
    Japan and overseas. It is a joint
    venture with Okinawa-based
    PROTO SOLUTION, a data
    collection business that boasts a
    diverse range of personnel, such as
    remote workers and
    crowdworkers.

    View Slide

  88. 88
    Representative Director
    and Managing Partner
    Osamu Iwasawa
    Venture Capital Company Offering Industry Knowledge to Entrepreneurs
    UB Ventures is a venture capital company that specializes in investment and growth support for subscription-based
    businesses.
    Our purpose is embodied in entrepreneurship, in other words the creation of businesses as an individual.
    We are committed to helping entrepreneurs achieve their aspirations and create new industries via three axes;
    1) Experience — Practical knowledge based on business experience;
    2) Content — Sharing of knowledge-driven content based on our research capabilities;
    3) Community — Community-based growth support for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
    Rather than simply providing growth capital, we aim to offer more support for the future generation of entrepreneurs by
    sharing insights and experience in business management from the venture capitalists on our team, as part of our efforts
    to contribute to the development of the industry.

    View Slide

  89. 89
    89
    UB Ventures is a venture capital
    company that specializes in
    subscription businesses, utilizing
    its real world business experience
    in subscription businesses for B2B
    and B2C.
    It helps startups create sustainable
    relationships with users, helping
    them to grow together through
    subscription-based solutions, such
    as B2B/SaaS and digital media.
    Experiences Content Community
    Growth support from venture
    capitalists with startup management
    and business experience
    Educational content including macroeconomic
    analysis, knowledge based on business
    experience, and global trends via the Uzabase
    Group’s datasets
    Thinka, a closed community where the next
    generation of entrepreneurs gather, learn, and
    communicate
    Our venture capitalists Sharing knowledge gained from
    business experience
    Executive Officer/
    Asia Business Director
    Happy Elements
    CSO/Director and
    Japan Representative
    Founder/CEO
    Executive Officer
    Managing Partner
    Osamu Iwasawa
    Venture Partner
    Yoichi Aso
    Managing Partner
    Chiamin Lai
    Sharing global trends
    Supervised translation of
    PLG commentary

    View Slide

  90. 90
    90
    Company Overview
    Company name
    Uzabase, Inc.
    Date of establishment
    April 1, 2008
    Address
    Mitsubishi Building, 2-5-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo, 100-0005, Japan

    View Slide