Product details

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Abstract

This case follows the entrepreneurial journey of SmartHR founder Shoji Miyata as he led his company to become the leading cloud player in the human resources space and one of only a handful of tech unicorns in Japan. By automating, digitalizing, and streamlining traditional HR functions such as onboarding new employees and managing social insurance, SmartHR was at the forefront of reducing manual HR-related paperwork in the country. Among the 1.87 million business entities in Japan, most of which still relied on manual paperwork in their HR processes, SmartHR's product offerings quickly gained traction and the company experienced exponential growth. SmartHR grew to a 45.8% market share in the labor management cloud space overall and a 71.7% market share in the enterprise segment. Although Miyata felt it was an honor to have led SmartHR, he saw the merits of voluntarily relinquishing the CEO role and passing the baton to a successor as the company became larger and might seek an IPO in the future. He felt that he could not adapt to the changes in the macro environment, ultimately deciding to let go and focus on a new venture in a rare move in business succession.

Teaching and learning

This item is suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education courses.

Geographical setting

Region:
Asia
Country:
Japan

Featured company

SmartHR
Employees:
501-1000
Type:
Privately held
Industry:
Software and services

Featured protagonist

  • Shoji Miyata (male), Founder of SmartHR

About

Abstract

This case follows the entrepreneurial journey of SmartHR founder Shoji Miyata as he led his company to become the leading cloud player in the human resources space and one of only a handful of tech unicorns in Japan. By automating, digitalizing, and streamlining traditional HR functions such as onboarding new employees and managing social insurance, SmartHR was at the forefront of reducing manual HR-related paperwork in the country. Among the 1.87 million business entities in Japan, most of which still relied on manual paperwork in their HR processes, SmartHR's product offerings quickly gained traction and the company experienced exponential growth. SmartHR grew to a 45.8% market share in the labor management cloud space overall and a 71.7% market share in the enterprise segment. Although Miyata felt it was an honor to have led SmartHR, he saw the merits of voluntarily relinquishing the CEO role and passing the baton to a successor as the company became larger and might seek an IPO in the future. He felt that he could not adapt to the changes in the macro environment, ultimately deciding to let go and focus on a new venture in a rare move in business succession.

Teaching and learning

This item is suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education courses.

Settings

Geographical setting

Region:
Asia
Country:
Japan

Featured company

SmartHR
Employees:
501-1000
Type:
Privately held
Industry:
Software and services

Featured protagonist

  • Shoji Miyata (male), Founder of SmartHR

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