Interview with BOBG
What is BOBG?
Token issuance issuer business operated by Japanese founders. Singapore base
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: What kind of project is BOBG?
We provide token issuance, management and operation, listing on crypto asset exchanges, and related consulting services, mainly for Japanese businesses who wish to issue tokens. Currently, our clients are mainly companies involved in blockchain games.
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: Can you tell us about your background and a brief biography?
Kengo Masuyama
I am from a rural area where there are evacuation drills against wild boars in Hamamatsu City, and I was a soccer boy who has been playing soccer since I was a small child. However, in my third year of junior high school, I broke my collarbone before the last soccer tournament. That is when I got interested in studying and entered an advanced school, aiming to enter a certain university. However, even though I was a ronin, my efforts were not rewarded, and I failed in my results. After entering university, I joined Dream Incubator, aiming to work for a strategic consulting firm as an extension of my deviation score competition. I was elated after receiving the job offer, thinking that I had made up for my failure to pass the university entrance exam, but to my surprise, I fell into depression within a month of joining the company. At that time, my best friend from college, Shun Ishikawa (COO of Astar Network), invited me to join double jump.tokyo. From there, I worked as a producer for “My Crypto Heroes” and other blockchain games. So it was by chance that I entered the blockchain domain (laughs).
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: How did you come up with the idea for this project?
Originally, I had the idea that it would be tough to compete in a highly competitive market in order to prove my worth. In addition, at the time, I thought it was important to get into a growing market, how quickly, and how well I could achieve results, so I had no hesitation in continuing to commit to the blockchain industry in the first place. I have been working on My Crypto Heros for a long time because I found it interesting and I saw the potential in it. I felt the need to develop such a method.
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: Did you have any doubts about taking on challenges overseas?
I had always had the feeling that I would definitely challenge myself overseas. However, I had never studied abroad, so there was no time to make up my mind, and I had been working in Japan for a long time. I did a lot of research, and it wasn’t long before I decided that Japan was not the best place to do FT issuance business, and that Singapore would be a good place to do it. I had been thinking about it for a long time, but in the end, it was “just a feeling.” By May of 2021, the Singapore subsidiary existed only as a box, but from the time I made the decision to move to Singapore and start full-scale operations, it was about two months fast.
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: What is the status of the project?
We have received a great number of inquiries from both listed companies and start-ups, and we have multiple projects running side by side underwater. We were quite flat-footed at first, but the hiring of the second and third employees, which is often said to be so important, has been working properly, and we are now making good progress. In particular, right after the decision to establish the company, I called on Kimizuka, a senior university student, as the second employee, and he is a very stoic and nice person, so he has created a positive spiral in the team as well. In the beginning, it took time to sort out what legal and tax issues there would be, since there is no precedent for separating only FT issuance overseas.
ArribaStudio Myasaka: What do you think will happen to the crypto asset market in 2023?
Although there are various external factors that we can refer to, we honestly don’t know what will happen. considering the experience of the winter about 2–3 years ago, we believe that the market will recover in 2–3 years, and we are working on it. I believe that every winter is a good time to prepare content production in order to ride out the next wave of the market. I know it’s not good for our psyche to see various indicators decrease due to the market, but I feel like we have no choice but to do it.
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: What KPIs are you aiming for in the future?
I don’t have many quantitative numbers, but I think it is important to create killer blockchain game titles from Japan, and I hope to be involved in more blockchain games for that purpose. Of course, it is not limited to games. The other thing is how good of a culture we can create as an organization. I think the number of projects and employees will increase, but I want to create a culture that makes people feel happy and fulfilled every day when they work there.
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: Which corporations would you like to collaborate with?
I’m currently in the gaming area mostly due to my background, but I’m open to all corporations that may be involved in the crypto area, NFT area, and overall ecosystem expansion!
ArribaStudio Miyasaka：What kind of person would you like to hire?
I assume that you can speak English to some extent. I would like someone who is sharp in various ways, someone who ignores work and touches NFT/crypto, etc. We are also looking for “mature” people who work for Japanese game development companies. I think that Japanese companies have a unique culture, and I feel that this is something that I, as a start-up employee, have not yet been able to fill.
ArribaStudio Miyasaka: Finally, what advice would you give to people starting a business on the web3?
First of all, I think English is absolutely essential to expand your market. Also, the market, especially the crypto market, changes rapidly and has mental ups and downs, but I think you need to be prepared to keep committing no matter what. I think it would be good if you can have an axis that is unshakeable within yourself.
