“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

 

Reading the article by Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS on Harvard Business Review, above quote struck my head.

 

Why?

 

Because it is exactly how Akimoto started the company.

 

The recent coverage of Akimoto by Toyo Keizai magazine, the oldest and most prestigious economic magazine in Japan, revealed his life in details.

 

There were two days of interview with Akimoto himself, PLUS more interviews with people around him, and more phone calls to me confirming the figures.

In the article, Akimoto describes why he had to start the company:

1. Outsourcing of building process deteriorated the status of Daiku carpenters

2. The art of Daiku carpenters will be in severe shortage in the near future

 

With the assumption and prediction, Akimoto starts collecting pieces one by one.

In 28 years, we now have over 500 employees, of which over 200 are Daiku carpenters.

 

Now, Akimoto wants 1,000 Daiku carpenters.

We will see.