The One Simple Reason Why My Development Work Cannot Be Replaced by AI | Interview with EXest CTO

Hello! I am Akito Tsutsui, CTO of EXest Inc.

This may be sudden, but let me brag a little.All of EXest Inc.'s services are developed in-house!!!!!

However, in this day and age where no-code tools and AI technology are making remarkable progress,the era where in-house development is considered 'something you should be able to do' may be coming...

That is precisely why I want to cherish the parts that touch thecore of our corporate philosophy, such as 'why we build' and 'how to give shape to our thoughts.' I feel that human presence is still necessary to correctly understand this and express it with love.

Today, I would like to talk about'expressing corporate philosophy', which I have been thinking about a lot lately.

Specifically, I will talk about the following in order.

1. Concrete methods for expressing a vision through development

2. How to incorporate external opinions

3. The limits of expressing a vision through development

1: Concrete methods for translating our company's vision into code

First, let me talk about how we specifically translate our vision into implementation.

EXest's vision is to'create a place where people meet people'.

For this reason, even in implementation, we start by thinking about what kind of features can create 'encounters' and 'excitement,' and then connect that to implementation.

■ Implementation of SNS and comment features

For example, in 'Pocket Owners,' a service where you can discover and support your favorite farmers, we have built an SNS feature within the site.

Both farmers and users can post freely. We have created an environment for two-way interaction by allowing 'likes' and comments on each other's posts.

■ Implementation of highly detailed filter and matching features

WOW U is a matching service that connects tourists visiting Japan with guides.

We have set the filter features in great detail so that our main users, overseas travelers, can feel that it is easy to meet the guides they want to meet.

We have also recently added features such as a "guest login function" that allows users to interact using only SMS without needing to register.

Moving forward, I would like to focus on improving the accuracy of our matching and recommendation engines based on user interests.

■ Implementation aimed at making users feel "fun," not just showing off "cool features"

What I value in every service is the feeling that the service itself becomes a new place for people to belong.

I always think that the most important point when translating our vision into implementation is how to make users feel that "visiting EXest's services is fun." is not it?

That is precisely why I am careful about "not adding too many" features.

If users think, "There are so many features that I don't know what's going on," the excitement we worked so hard to create would be ruined.

■ Adding features appropriate to the scale of the service

I also believe it is important to add features that match the scale of the service.

At this point, when our user base is not that large, adding this and that feature will likely not lead to users feeling that it is "fun."

If that is the case, it might be better to focus on improving usability for now, and aim for a strategy of gradually adding more features as the scale grows.

I am always conscious of the flow and timing of feature additions.

Being able to do this might be a rewarding part of the CTO position, which allows me to move between the realms of management and technology.

2: How to incorporate external opinions and use them for implementation?

When asked when EXest's services can provide "value," I believe it is when users feel they have had a wonderful experience.

In other words, a UI/UX that improves the user experience is directly linked to the value of EXest. I always think this is the most important point where the skill of development is tested.

For that reason, how to get opinions from the user side is also a point I place great importance on.

■ We listen to staff as part of their "work"

For example, the easiest place to gather feedback is from our internal staff. Feedback from staff is not at the level of "please tell us if you like," but is conveyed quite strongly as part of their duties.

We hold internal meetings at least once a week, and we collect issues and improvement requests from staff as they arise.

■ I want every staff member to feel that they improved the service

This is a bit of a tangent, but I believe that having people check things as part of their work has a meaning that goes beyond just improving UI/UX.

I want the staff to feel that they are the ones building the service.

After all, if the staff doesn't love the service, improvements won't continue. I hope a culture of 'I raised EXest' will grow (laughs).

■ We are also actively soliciting feedback from customers!

Also, thankfully, we sometimes receive feedback from our users. We always discuss this internally and try to incorporate it as much as possible.

I would be very happy if everyone reading this article could also provide feedback on our service...!

3: The limits of expressing a vision through development

However, recently, I have also been feeling the limits of conveying a vision through implementation.

■ Areas like PR and sales are also necessary

The reason is that in order to realize the vision of "creating a place where people meet people," people have to be gathered within the service in the first place, right?

Once they enter the product, we can "connect people" through implementation, but... when considering increasing users in the first place, what is needed for that is not implementation, but areas like PR, public relations, marketing, and sales.

■ Verbalizing the vision outside of the product is also necessary

Also, I feel there are limits to the messages that can be conveyed by the product alone.

For example, regarding parts like "why it was built this way," "why this flow was chosen," or "why this wording was used," these are parts that are difficult to convey without verbalizing them.

There may be people who can read into it, but just waiting for that makes it difficult to convey the appeal to potential users. I feel that an attitude of actively sharing from our side is important. I want to continue focusing on this note, as well as dissemination through events and social media.

In short, it means not thinking that implementation should handle everything.

■ A perspective that overlooks the whole is needed, not just being "in charge of X"

Also, although I have the title of CTO, which is the person responsible for technology, I do not think of myself as being "in charge of technology."

I have always approached my work with the attitude of trying my hand at whatever I can do.

In the first place, if everyone in the company draws a line saying, 'My role ends here. Anything beyond this is not my responsibility,' then even if that is the best choice for individual departments, it might result in something disjointed as a whole. I feel there is not much merit in that.

Whether it is implementation, public relations, or sales, I hope to think of ways to convey our company's vision little by little in every area.

■ We also have outside directors who are strong in technology!

Also, an interesting aspect of EXest is that there are opportunities to interact directly with our outside directors.

For example, one of our outside directors, Hiroshi Saijo, is an active, hands-on engineer who leads the Special Projects & Strategy team at Panasonic Holdings' Group CTO Office.

Beyond that, there are many occasions at EXest where we can ask for opinions from people with broad and specialized engineering knowledge. There are quite a few features we have added after seeking advice from our outside directors.

I am proud to say that this depth of knowledge is a unique charm of our company among the many startups out there (laughs).

4: From an 'Ordinary SIer' to a CTO Who Carries a Philosophy

Finally, let me talk about my own thoughts on working as a 'CTO who can realize a vision while being involved in management.'

■ Becoming full-stack through the path of SIer → Freelance → EXest

To conclude, I find my current environment very rewarding and enjoyable.

I really like my current environment where I can work not just as a 'full-stack engineer who can write code,' but as a 'CTO who can realize a vision while being involved in management.'

It is fun to be able to develop with a sense of speed in a place where you can see the faces of the users. I always think, 'Good job, me!' for deciding to join EXest back then (laughs).

I myself originally came from an SIer background. I had no experience with starting a business, and I deepened my learning about management while working at EXest.

As for my background, after working as an infrastructure engineer at an SIer, I became independent and handled front-end and back-end development as a freelancer. After that, I joined EXest.

For what it's worth, I am capable of handling everything from infrastructure to front-end and back-end. In a way, I might be suited for a startup.

■ I can work this way because of my past work experience

There are many moments when I think that I am able to work like this now precisely because of my past experience.

For example, since my first job was in infrastructure, I have a particular focus on building stable and highly reliable systems, which is a characteristic trait of mine. I approach my work by thinking about system designs that prevent failures and mechanisms that allow for rapid recovery in the unlikely event that one occurs.

Also, because I have experience in both backend and frontend development, when ideas or requests come up, I can immediately grasp the technical constraints and propose more suitable implementation methods while keeping the big picture in mind.

■ Technologies I want to acquire in the future

However, there are still many areas where I am inexperienced.

Even while working on tasks, there have been many times when I couldn't grasp the thoughts of those around me or failed to convey what I wanted to say effectively. I am still in the process of exploring the balance between maintaining speed and carefully conveying my thoughts.

But as I mentioned, it is incredibly fun to work in an environment where I am not just a "full-stack engineer who can write code," but also a "CTO who can realize a vision while being involved in management."

Other than that, it would be perfect if the product becomes even more successful. I want to continue thinking about "conveying" and "verbalizing" things in the future.

…So, that is what I had to say about how to implement a vision and my thoughts on working as a CTO.

Thank you for reading until the end!

Thank you for reading until the end! I would be very happy if you could remember EXest or EXest's services at some point!

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Management: EXest Inc.