Ex-chef says, “Atrae is like a zoo”!?

＊This article was originally written in Japanese as an interview for a new member.

Hello everyone!
Today, we’d like to introduce you to Taichi Kato, who joined Atrae in November 2019!

Taichi KATO
Joined Atrae as a mid-career in November 2019. Born in Gifu Prefecture where his family runs a Japanese restaurant. To become a chef himself too, worked at the Tsukiji market, sorting, closing, and wholesaling live fish. However, became interested in the job of an engineer and joined a contract development company, then came to Atrae. A hobby is cooking, recently considering buying a pasta machine.

- Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Kato: To begin with, I’m a former chef.

- We heard that your family runs a Japanese restaurant, right?
You’re an engineer now, wasn’t there any succession problem?
Wait, do you have siblings? What will happen to the restaurant? Is everything fine? (Sounds like a nosy auntie haha.)

Kato: First of all, there is no successor. Yes.
I have two younger sisters, but neither of them cooks. So there’s no successor.
One is working and the other is a student. I don’t know if my family’s restaurant is okay or not, but I think it will be closed in my parents’ generation.

My parents let me be free with my career and my future, and of course my sisters too.
In my family, every member makes their own decisions.
So I think it’s up to my parents to decide what they want to do with the restaurant in the future.

- I see it’s a little sad to hear that (the closing of the restaurant).
But you must be having a lot of fun being an engineer! How old are you now?

Kato: I’m 24 years old. Engineering is a lot of fun.

- You’re 24. That is veeery young… I thought you’re like 28.

Kato: I get that comment a lot. haha

- So, what made a chef become an engineer?
It looks like a completely different world to me. Tell me about it.

Kato: The trigger was a customer who came to the restaurant I worked in.

We had some regulars who were working in the IT industry. I always listened to them talk over the counter, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun.
I got also very excited just by listening to their story, and was kinda drawn in.

- Let’s summarize your path to becoming an engineer. First of all, do you go to college or something to become a chef?

Kato: Oh, I didn’t go to college, I went to a culinary school after high school.
After graduating from there, I worked at Tsukiji Market for a little over two years, mainly cutting fish by the orders of wholesalers.

Then I went to a Japanese restaurant in Ginza where I met the people from the IT industry.

I started thinking about changing careers while studying programming on my own.
I had no education or experience. Thinking about how I could become an engineer, I ended up applying to a contract development company.
I actually wanted to go to a company that developed its own software, but I didn’t think there was a chance without experience.
So I thought I’d start by gaining experience on a contract basis and think about a further way later.

- I see, what was it like working there? You finally managed to get into the engineering world you’ve always wanted.

Kato: It was fun. I think I’ve actually gained some skills.
And therefore I’m here at Atrae now. I think it was good overall.

- Was there anything that you struggled with when you were self-studying or when you first thought about changing careers?
There aren’t many people who think they want to be an engineer and can actually put it into action.

Kato: In my case, it wasn’t so much the hurdle of putting it into action as it was the study that I didn’t really understand.
I wondered how to study and where to start. That’s where I started (laughs).

- …hmm? Studying, is it?

Kato: Yes. I’ve never studied properly before.
After high school, all I did was cook all the time, and I didn’t have to study that hard in elementary and middle school before that either.

…or rather, I never thought studying would be necessary for me, might be the right way to describe it.

And when I thought, “I want to be an engineer”, at first I was a bit confused because I had to think about how to study efficiently.
But I had more fun than I thought I would, so it didn’t feel like a tough experience.

- Then, how did you meet Atrae?

Kato: Let’s see. I had acquired some basic skills so I was thinking of changing the company. I looked at a lot of job information but not having as much experience as other people, I didn’t feel like I could do the same thing as everyone else.

I was wondering what different route was there to find a job, and then found out about yenta.
From then on, I started using yenta to meet more and more people I was interested in.

And one of them was Konya-san from Green Team. That was our first meeting.

- It was Konya-san who first met! Incidentally, there was talk within the company about an interesting ex-chef.

Kato: It’s embarrassing!

And when I told Konya-san about my background, he said,
“That’s so interesting! You should come to Atrae Bar next time and talk to the others!”
A while later, I came to Atrae Bar, but at the time, I was so nervous that I don’t really remember what we talked about (laughs).

- …I have a hunch you’re shy! I knew it!

Kato: Yes. I’m sorry. (Laughs)

- No, no! There’s nothing to apologize for!

So you met Konya-san, came to Atrae Bar, and talk to everyone even though you’re nervous.

- How’d it gone? I wonder what happened from there?

Kato: At first, we talked about working in the Green team, but wevox might also be a good fit, so we decided to have a meeting with Moriyama-san, the project leader of the wevox team.

- Oh, Moriyama-san. How’d you feel?

Kato: I thought, “He’s got a lot of momentum,” and I was like, “What is this guy?

- What do you mean by “strong momentum”? Did he just talk about himself, like selfish?

Kato: No, no, that’s not what I meant! (Laughs)
Rather than talking about himself, he conveyed his enthusiasm for what he was doing, such as “this is what I think” or “this is what I’m doing with my values”.

Moriyama-san clearly said, “I hate doing the same thing as other people the most”. That’s the most memorable part of the interview.

By hearing Moriyama-san say his thoughts clearly, I also remember thinking that this company was amazing.
If it comes to a good friend, I would be able to speak my mind without any hesitation, but I don’t think that’s the case with my colleagues at work.
I thought the company was a place where there were all sorts of strings attached, so it was hard to talk honestly about your thoughts.

- Ah, I see. Did you think that people in the company generally don’t give their personal opinions?

Kato: That’s right. I didn’t have the image of asserting my ideas much.
I’m the type of person who wants to do things this way or that way, and I want to value my own ideas, so I thought it would fit with the values of Moriyama-san and Atrae.

- You wondered about Moriyama-san, “What’s up with him?” and thought it might be a good fit.
I see people are quite contradictory, aren’t they?

Kato: In the beginning, I was just pushed by Moriyama-san’s momentum (laughs).

- So, you met Konya-san, participated in the Atrae Bar, met Moriyama-san, and is it time for the president to appear?

Kato: No, I met Oka-san before that.
Isn’t Oka-san the CTO, after all? That’s why I thought he would ask me a lot about my technique, but he didn’t ask me at all (laughs).

- What did you talk about in the interview?

Kato: Well, Oka-san, Moriyama-san, even Konya-san, all they asked about in the interview was my career so far.

They don’t seem to be interested in what I can do, what services I’ve created, or the languages I can write.
Why is it? Is it because I’m inexperienced? I wonder what other people get asked.

I talked about the episodes I had when I was a cook, what kind of things I enjoyed doing, and why I wanted to be an engineer.
Quite similar things as I’m asked now, like what’s important to me.

So maybe I was accepted just because I was a “former chef” (laughs).

- Well, it is catchy, a former cook (laughs). But you know, it’s not just a career!
Because Atrae is a company that considers culture match is more important than skills. We hire for the potential that includes humanity, past experience, values, and more!

So you met the president too, right? How was it with him?

Kato: I get really nervous, so I don’t remember much about that time.
The president looks scary, and he’s kind of pushy.

- I know what you want to say (laughs).

Kato: But in reality, he listens to me and is very kind.
He looks people in the eye when someone talks to him, doesn’t he? I remember thinking that it made me comfortable talking to him.
And, I don’t remember what I talked about though (laughs).

- It’s a little sad that you don’t remember what you talked about, but that’s okay.

Finally, how do you feel joining Atrae?
Now that you’re on the wevox team, what do you think?

Kato: Well, let’s see… wevox is like a zoo (laughs).

- A zoo? Does that mean you’re getting woozy? Well, I kinda get that though.

Kato: Each one of them is different, edgy, and assertive.
It’s a strange feeling that even though they look like they would never cross paths in private life, somehow teamwork is born.
Everyone has a strong individuality, and they seem to have a lot of fun every day.

It’s different from the people I’ve seen in the previous company, or the image of people who belong to the company.
The people here are like “team” or “members”.
I don’t feel like I’m an office worker and there is a concept of a boss or subordinate.

- Great to hear that.
Lastly, what would you say about Atrae is suitable for this kind of person, or if you have any idea of what kind of person you want to work with?

Kato: I would say, someone who needs a team, I guess.
No matter how great a person is, what a person can do is limited.

So if you want to do something worthwhile together as a team, I think Atrae would be a good fit. Although, I’ve only been with the company for a short time yet, so it’s a little uncomfortable for me to say that (laughs).

That’s it!
At Atrae, we are looking for members who can pursue their ideals!
If you are even slightly interested in Atrae, please contact us anytime.