Boa tarde！
Oops! My Portuguese came out! Hi, I’m Ai, Colorkrew’s PR manager.
Today’s article is about Daniel from Brazil!

Goalous debut in Brazil!

He worked for Colorkrew in Japan until 2019 and now he’s in Brazil, to promote Goalous and other Colokrew’s services in Brazil

In September 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis,
Goalous, an SNS-type objective management tool, has started the first service in Brazil. This is exactly thanks to Daniel!

We’re going to ask a lot about him and Colorkrew, his stories about business in Brazil, and so on!

Mr. Worldwide, Daniel

Ai:
Daniel, long time no talking to you!
But honestly, I’ve seen your activities often on Goalous, so I hardly feel like it’s been a long time.

Daniel:
Yeah, same here. I’m seeing how you are doing from Brazil, too!
So, I don’t feel I’m lonely.
Oh, sometimes I feel lonely when I cannot reach you because of the time lag and you’re all asleep.

Ai:
Yeah, there’s 12 hours of time-lag between here and there. Thank you for taking the time for this!

Let me start.
Could you tell us about the career you had built up before coming to Japan?

Daniel:
In my student days, I did internships at my father’s restaurant and also at a bank.
After graduation, I had experienced marketing, consulting, and project managing.
I worked in the fields of financial marketing, banking, telecommunication, consulting, and technology.

I also have experience of working in the United States.

Ai:
You’ve worked all over the world!
What brought you all the way over to faraway Japan from Brazil?

Daniel:
My wife came to work in Japan as a part of her duty and I decided to come with her.

Ai:
You were working in Brazil as well, right? Didn’t you hesitate to quit your job?

Daniel:
Not at all!
You can’t have such an important opportunity often.
I thought I would regret it if said ‘No’ here.
So, quitting my job at that time was the right decision!

As a result, I had a chance to work for Colorkrew. Given my career, I could start a business in Brazil and I’m happy that I’ve been to Japan.

Meeting Colorkrew: a circumstance even better than Brazilian companies.

Tasuku:
It must’ve been a good decision.
By the way, was it your original plan to work in Japan?

Daniel:
Japanese companies don’t hire applicants who cannot speak Japanese, do they?
I couldn’t speak at all, so I didn’t mean to work.

Ai:
I guess a lot of Japanese companies require Japanese ability.
How did you come to work for Colorkrew after that?

Daniel:
My wife and Keiji (Colorkrew CEO, Keiji Nakamura) had a friend in common and that was the connection.
After talking with Keiji, I thought Colorkrew was a good company to work for.

It is unique, it is a bit like a startup company, and even more flexible.
Of course, there are lots of companies with a good environment in Brazil as well, but they have some sort of complicated organization or hierarchy.
Colorkrew didn’t have any of them with open-minded employees, and I thought this is a good circumstance to work in.

Also, Keiji, the CEO, was a very open-minded person and I liked it too!

Ai:
I see. I don’t think there are that many unique companies like Colorkrew!
Keiji is really open, sometimes even surprisingly!

Tasuku:
Right.

Go Global! Colorkrew to the world

Ai:
While you were in Japan, what had you been doing for Colorkrew?

Daniel:
You know, Colorkrew is trying “Go global.”
My challenge was to spread Goalous and Mamoru Biz to the companies outside of Japan.

A year ago, online meetings weren’t that usual. It was quite tough to make appointments.
Now, after the COVID-19 spread over the world, online meetings became quite popular, and making online appointments is much easier.

Ai:
So, you were giving challenges to “go global” when your time in Japan was about to over.
I heard you had other work options. Why did you choose to work for Colorkrew in Brazil?

Daniel:
I felt it regrettable that I couldn’t make good sales results while I was in Japan.
During my time working for Colorkrew in 2019, I made many connections with global companies. Although I couldn’t get a contract, there are still lots of companies I saw future possibilities.

Brazilian IT market is huge, I knew Goalous has the potentiality,
and I already had materials for overseas sales.
Why would I not do it in Brazil? Let’s do it!

That’s how it came.

The story started in a co-working space in Brazil

Ai:
You believed in the potentiality of Goalous in the Brazilian market!
Still, starting from zero sounds quite challenging. What did you start with?

Daniel:
First, to build a network here, I started going to ‘WeWork (co-working space)’ in Brazil with my laptop.
I found someone with whom I can make a partnership.

He shared his customers and leads with me. I think he played the most important role in my startup in Brazil.

Tasuku:
So, you started by meeting with people.

How did you expand your business after that?
Right now, you’re not only selling Goalous but doing consulting with companies as an OKR trainer.
I guess Goalous introduction is in a good flow.

Daniel:
When I first came back to Brazil, I just meant to sell Goalous and Mamoru Biz.
However, because of the coronavirus’ prevalence in Brazil, most companies came to make employees work at their homes. Mamoru Biz is a great product, but it could fully demonstrate in offices. It is difficult to sell it under this circumstance.

Then, I decided to focus on Goalous for now.

While I was trying to sell Goalous, I thought of using OKR.
The GKA concept which Goalous adopts is an advanced version of OKR. So, I thought I could use OKR in selling Goalous.
Also, the partner I met at WeWork was an OKR trainer. That’s another reason.

Ai:
Considering the Brazilian market, Goalous seems to be in more demand as you say!

Daniel:
I thought people need to understand “what OKR is” and its structure before using Goalous.
There are a few companies that know OKR.
So, I thought first of becoming an OKR trainer and spread OKR into companies and then let them use Goalous. That’s how my strategy started.

Besides, I already knew that my partner makes a lot by doing OKR training.

Tasuku:
I see.
How did things go after that?

Daniel:
About Goalous, I did hundreds of demonstrations and I can present good, convincing sales talk.
I can clearly explain the value of Goalous, how to use it, and how it would change your company.

About consulting, I prepared OKR materials for each type of occupation such as HR, marketing, sales, legal, accounting, or management.

One of my biggest challenges was to present 150 hours of OKR training for 250 trainees.
It was a good experience.
It gave me confidence that I can propose any department to use OKR.

Tasuku:
150 hours! That’s amazing!
You know, creating something from zero, and making a big challenge is Colorkrew’s favorite kind of story!
Daniel, you’re indeed a Colorkrewer!
*Colorkrewer = one who embodies Colorkrew spirits. I will make this term popular. lol

Daniel:
Thanks!
Thanks to all the things I have done for free, these days I’m receiving more and more contacts.
They are like, “Hey, you’re doing consulting, aren’t you?” “I heard you have a good tool, right?”

Ai:
You held lots of seminars and workshops.
Finally, what you’ve been doing has started bearing fruits after 6 months!

The future he pictures in Brazil.

Ai:
How many companies do you have contracts with right now?

Daniel:
Four. Two for Goalous, and two for consulting.

Ai:
And what are your future goals in Brazil?

Daniel:
Right now, I’m concentrated in increasing customers.
Although the economy is in a bad condition, the Brazilian tech-market is still huge.
There are a lot who are interested in OKR, so it is easy to introduce Goalous. I want to try much more.

When people are back in their offices, Mamoru Biz” would also start to sell.
It’s a great tool that I’ve never seen in Brazil!

I want to expand Colorkrew products more and more in Brazil.

Ai:
I see how you grow up your business in Brazil, by yourself and with the connections you made there. We will be watching and supporting you on Goalous!
Let’s keep moving forward together, as Colorkrewers!

Conclusion

Not only Daniel, but everyone in Colorkrew will accelerate “go global”.
Please be looking forward to seeing the Colorkrew in three, five, and ten years!