The opportunity to work for not just one, but two tech giants was “very rewarding” for Tsukemasa Kabayama.
After seven years at Lego Japan, he became Apple’s director of education and began using iPads in Japanese schools.
Then came an opportunity that Kabayama “couldn’t pass up” – to become the first president of Tesla in Japan, reporting directly to Elon Musk.
Launching the electric vehicle maker’s Model S was no easy task, but Kabayama was hungry for more.
He wanted to be an entrepreneur.
I was thinking, it would be more fun to really build something from scratch, from the ground up.
They are kabayama.
Co-founder and CEO of Uplift Labs
“[I was] “Actually responsible for sales and marketing, there’s very little impact on the product,” the 53-year-old told CNBC’s Make It.
“I was thinking it would be more fun to build something from scratch, from the ground up.”
In the year He moved to Silicon Valley in 2016, hoping to build “category-defining” products like Steve Jobs and Musk.
Six years later, Kabayama may be one step closer to that goal. Founded in 2017, health startup Uplift Labs is an artificial intelligence-powered platform that tracks and analyzes movement in 3D.
According to the company, it has since been adopted by some MLB teams and the NBA to reduce injuries and improve athletic performance.
Uplift Labs also offers self-generated reports to allow coaches and physical therapists to track an athlete’s or patient’s progress over time, Sukemasa Kabayama said.
Uplift Labs
“A lot of professional sports teams have these in-house multi-camera labs that allow them to capture real-time action,” says Uplift’s co-founder and CEO.
“However [with Uplift Labs] … All you need these days are two iPhones or two iPads. It’s portable and we can capture the action on the field, on the court or in the battery house.
The startup said it has raised $8.5 million, with a star-studded list of investors including NBA star Seth Curry, NFL player David DeCastro and Deepcore, a subsidiary of SoftBank.
With over 17 years of experience, Kabayama has three tips for managing a company. CNBC Make It knows what they are.
1. Attention to detail
Working for Apple and Tesla gave Kabayama an inside look at what it takes to build successful products.
“While the culture at Apple and Tesla is not exactly the same, [there’s a] Commonality, which is the need to really understand your business at a detailed level,” he said.
Kabayama cites one example: the attention to detail in the user experience is “unique and secondary” for both companies.
“For example, if you buy a new iPhone, the lid of the box is designed to be ‘gradually released’ to build an estimate of the unboxing time of your new phone,” he said.
“Unlike other products where you struggle with scissors or your fingernails, the cellophane wrapper is designed to be easily removed with your finger. That’s just boxing.”
2. Constant focus
The key to success for early-stage startups is all product-market fit, Kabayama said.
That’s what that trusted litmus test falls back on: “If you suddenly took your product or solution away from them, could they live without it?”
“Continuous focus is critical … understand what customer segment are you going after, what are their pain points, and do you have an effective solution to help solve that?”
Visionary leadership truly rallies the troops. All that hard work you do is for the greater good.
They are kabayama.
Co-founder and CEO of Uplift Labs
Kabayama added that while companies like Apple and Tesla already have a “high market share impact,” he is showing a “big vision” to push the envelope.
“They are all driven by purpose…or better yet, driven by vision. Take Tesla as an example, the company’s vision is to accelerate the world toward sustainable transportation.”
“Leading with a vision really brings the troops together. The hard work you do is going toward a common good.”
3. Receive feedback
Is there anything Kabayama likes to do for the company? Get as many customer calls as possible, he said.
“What really makes my heart sing is hearing what you love about the product, but also hearing what we can do better.”
He added, quoting LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who said, “There’s nothing like tough love… You’d rather have 10 or 100 passionate users than 100,000 users who say, ‘The product is okay.’
What keeps the kabayama going is that it provides a “critical missing piece” to understanding how athletes of all levels naturally move.
Uplift Labs was founded by Tsukemasa Kabayama, Jonathan Wills (left) and Rahul Rajan (right).
Uplift Labs
