Vertex Partners Inc. handles strategy formulation, new business creation, and execution support across all industries and sectors. Aiming to be “a true partner to clients,” the company accompanies clients through their challenges with a side-by-side support style.
What is the vision of a company that pursues results through a scopeless support style unconstrained by the boundaries of any particular domain? And what kind of people is it looking to hire? We spoke with Yuta Honma and Keita Shibata of Vertex Partners Inc.
Yuta Honma
Joined a consulting firm as a new graduate and worked in IT consulting. Subsequently built experience in digital marketing and new business development, and decided to make a move in order to deepen his expertise in those areas. Has been part of Vertex Partners since 2017.
Keita Shibata
Joined an IT consulting firm as a new graduate. After accumulating hands-on practical experience in system development including design and programming, he made a move with the goal of engaging in more upstream consulting work. While working in consulting, he was invited by a junior colleague who was active as a founding member, and has been part of Vertex Partners since 2016.
Committing to Clients’ Challenges Through True Side-by-Side Support
— Could you tell us about Vertex Partners’ business?
Honma: We support primarily large enterprises with new business creation, DX promotion, generative AI adoption, and more. We handle a wide range of consulting engagements regardless of industry or sector.
Recently, we have also seen an increase in inquiries from companies actively working on SDGs and social issue resolution. While SDGs and social issue work used to carry a strong CSR connotation, more and more companies in recent years are seeking to pursue both social impact and business success simultaneously. One of our strengths is our ability to respond flexibly to these kinds of emerging client needs — areas where there are still no established answers in the world.
Shibata: Recently there has also been a rise in clients looking to launch digital businesses premised on an understanding of cutting-edge technology. But securing talent with deep technical expertise is difficult, and it is not uncommon for companies to be unable to translate how advanced technology connects with market needs into concrete action. The reality is that it is not always easy for clients to make digital businesses succeed on their own resources alone.
To address this, our stance is one of comprehensive support for clients venturing into new territories. We drive clients’ new business and DX projects around three axes: “scopeless” (not drawing boundaries around our scope), “commitment” (always seeing things through), and “leading edge” (the relentless pursuit of technology). Rather than simply responding to what clients ask for, we place the emphasis on deploying every means available — and continuing to execute — in order for the client to succeed.
— In new business development, I hear that many companies launch businesses that then fail to proceed as originally planned.
Honma: New businesses are sometimes compared to living things — situations change at a dizzying pace in the early days after launch.
In that kind of environment, we clearly define what the business is aiming for and what it considers success, while at the same time working toward a state where the client can drive the business forward independently even after our involvement ends. Building an organization in which the people responsible for the business have a clear sense of purpose and can take ownership of the goal is what we see as our role. Our goal is ultimately the client’s success. We keep that front of mind and strive to provide support that has genuinely thought through what it takes to get there.
— What does that kind of support look like in concrete terms?
Honma: We are committed to “side-by-side support.” In the traditional consulting model, teaching-style support — where consultants pass on frameworks, methodologies, and industry knowledge that were once the exclusive province of the consultant — has been the mainstream.
Against that backdrop, our company has been a pioneer in “side-by-side support” from the time it was founded, handling engagements whose goal is helping a wide variety of clients become self-sustaining.
In recent years, against a backdrop of talent shortages on the client side, there has been a growing number of consulting firms that claim to offer “side-by-side support” but in practice amount to little more than task delegation — supplementing client resources. We draw a clear line between our approach and that kind of accompaniment. Our goal is to install our know-how in the client, and to bring them to a state where they can achieve sustained, repeatable business growth and organizational transformation even after we step away.
For us, side-by-side accompaniment is a support style, not an end in itself. The value we deliver is “self-sufficiency support” — simultaneously generating results and transforming the organization.
Shibata: At the heart of our side-by-side support lies our key message — “a true partner to clients” — deeply embedded in everything we do. Despite being a consulting company, we deliberately chose not to include “consulting” in our name. That choice reflects our desire to be a partner that genuinely thinks about the client’s joy, and that walks or runs alongside the client hand in hand. Being able to approach our work with a true sense of ownership as a partner supporting clients’ challenges up close is, I believe, the very essence of what we do.
Stepping Inside the Client’s Organization and Taking on Risk to Drive Projects Forward
— I’d like to ask about the specifics of the work. Could you tell us about typical project durations and team compositions?
Honma: When we are supporting from the strategy formulation stage, the planning phase typically takes about three months, and the business launch phase takes somewhere between six months and a year. Teams are generally made up of three members, with me often serving as the person in charge. Because we operate with relatively small teams, each person’s performance has a direct bearing on the quality of the project and, by extension, on the client’s outcomes.
Shibata: For IT-related support, one example unique to us is that rather than assigning members to specific projects, several members join the client as an integrated unit, and each person handles multiple projects rather than being dedicated to a single one. That said, junior-level consultants are in principle not asked to handle multiple projects simultaneously. We ensure that only Senior Consultants and above — those with a certain level of experience — take on multiple projects at a time.
— You mention providing side-by-side support from planning through to business launch. Is there a particular secret to making that kind of support succeed?
Shibata: I believe scopeless engagement is what leads to success.
We don’t restrict ourselves to consulting only on the specific domain we’ve been asked about. We make a point of providing comprehensive support that encompasses the various external factors surrounding that domain as well. For example, when advancing a new business development initiative, we identify every barrier that could stand in the way of making that new business succeed, and go beyond supporting just the new business development division to tackle challenges that cut across departments. Equally, rather than limiting ourselves to the business domain, we provide “scopeless” support that crosses into operational, IT, and PR domains — and it is that kind of support, I believe, that brings success to clients.
Honma: The secret to success is thinking about the client’s company even more deeply than the client does, and engaging with the business as one team. Our consultants don’t just advise clients — they immerse themselves deeply in the entire business.
At different moments we become external specialists, at others organizational coordinators, at others intermediaries with outside parties — flexibly adjusting our domain of support and stance, becoming hands, feet, and mind, to provide essential support as one team.
Shibata: In order to prioritize a working style that goes deep into clients’ operations, we make deliberate use of a hybrid of on-site presence and remote work, adapting to the client’s own approach. At the same time, because internal communication is also an important element of any organization, we deliberately set aside at least one day per month for staff to come into the office, making a point of facilitating smooth communication among employees.
— What specific kinds of growth can someone expect from joining your company?
Shibata: Beyond acquiring the standard skillset of a consultant, the experience of taking on challenges in unfamiliar territory through your work is, I think, a significant catalyst for personal growth. That unfamiliarity may bring anxiety. You may fear failure. But being in an environment where you continually have these kinds of experiences will, I believe, lead to remarkable growth after you join.
Honma: Because we are a small organization, you will undoubtedly feel a direct connection between your own growth and the growth of the organization and the company. That tangible sense of impact becomes the motivation to keep growing. Working with a high degree of autonomy is also something I believe powerfully accelerates personal development.
Never Stopping the Pursuit of Challenge — Growing Beyond the Boundaries of Consulting
— Could you tell us about each of your career backgrounds?
Honma: I joined a consulting firm as a new graduate and worked in digital marketing and new business support. As I accumulated that experience, I felt a desire to develop deeper expertise in new business development, which led me to move to this company.
I had no original intention of joining a consulting firm — I was hoping to go into media. But I came across an article featuring the president of my previous employer and thought “maybe I’m cut out for consulting after all,” and chose that path.
Shibata: Unlike Honma, I had been thinking about joining a consulting firm since my university days. That said, my reasons were fairly vague — something along the lines of “it’s well-paid” or “it seems cool” — without any particularly clear motivation. But during my time as a student, I came to feel that I wanted to do business with the people who build systems, rather than building systems myself, and consulting started to take shape in my mind as a path worth pursuing.
I joined an IT consulting firm as a new graduate, but found it far removed from the stylish image I had held as a student — it was gritty, unglamorous work. And yet, I later came to feel keenly that this unglamorous work was what had built the foundations of who I am as a professional — an extraordinarily important and irreplaceable experience. After that, wanting to accumulate more experience as a consultant, I moved to another company, and it was while working there that I was invited to join Vertex Partners — which brings me to where I am today.
— As two people who are thriving at Vertex Partners, what kind of people do you think are the right fit and will succeed here?
Honma: In new business and strategy engagements, the people who thrive are those with the “mental stamina for thinking” — who can work things out for themselves. Raw intellectual ability and the fundamental aptitudes of a consultant are of course important, but people with a genuine drive to see things through on their own tend to grow relatively quickly and are a natural fit.
We support a wide variety of clients across all industries and sectors, which means we sometimes take on engagements in areas where we have no prior experience. The people who thrive are those who aren’t thrown by a lack of experience or knowledge — who can just keep thinking for themselves regardless.
Shibata: I agree with Honma — I also think people with persistence and an undiminishing desire to grow are the ones who develop in this environment. Of course there are times when a consultant has to point out difficult things to a client, so communication skills are needed. But more than communication ability or raw intellect, what we value most here is the fundamental quality of always wanting to grow.
Honma: Our logo features a seven-pointed star that also embodies the aspiration to “produce sharply distinctive talent,” and I think people with broad experience and a wide range of knowledge are particularly well suited to what we do here.
— Finally, could each of you share your vision for the future?
Honma: I want to keep taking on challenges that go beyond the framework of consulting — things like creating our own new businesses and working on talent development.
What makes this company special is that it can stand alongside the intentions of people who want to take on challenges. As well as supporting clients’ challenges through side-by-side accompaniment, we also create space for employees within the company who are enthusiastically tackling unfamiliar territory. By immersing yourself in this kind of environment, I hope to be someone who draws stimulation from many directions and never stops pursuing challenges, no matter how much time passes.
Shibata: My immediate vision is how to lead the current organization to success. If the members who join our company can work here and feel happiness and growth, there is nothing more that could make me glad. That, I believe, is one form of what organizational success looks like.
Beyond that, I want to build an association with our company such that even when people graduate from here and move on to other organizations, those around them think “if they’re from Vertex Partners, they must be excellent.” I want to firmly establish the foundation of a company that is committed to challenge and supports people’s growth.
【Post-Interview Note】
Listening to Mr. Honma and Mr. Shibata, both of whom aspire to be “a true partner to clients,” I felt an overwhelming commitment — the determination to see things through to the end with a “scopeless” approach that refuses to draw boundaries. Installing know-how and driving clients toward self-sufficiency is the hallmark of their “true side-by-side support,” and a source of real professional pride. There is a culture here that values the “mental stamina for thinking” that enables people to grow, and that courageously takes on new business creation and talent development well beyond the bounds of conventional consulting.
What came through most strongly in the interview was an overwhelming sense of ownership — thinking about the client’s company even more deeply than the client does, and stepping into the heart of the business as one team. Because the organization is small, the tangible sense of your own growth driving the company’s growth is significant, and there is a warm perspective of standing alongside the intentions of people who want to take on challenges. I strongly recommend this company to anyone who wants to expand their own possibilities and grow in step with the organization’s success. A team of colleagues who never stop their scopeless pursuit of challenge is waiting for you to join them.
ConsulNext Senior Consultant
Masahito Tsukada
Vertex Partners Inc. — Company Information
| Company Name | Vertex Partners Inc. |
| Head Office | Midtown Tower 18F, 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-6218 |
| Founded | July 1, 2015 |
| Capital | ¥40,000,000 (including ¥5,000,000 in capital reserve) |
| Officers | Representative Director: Masatomo Yamaguchi |
| Employees | 72 (Group total, as of January 2024) |
| Business Activities | Consulting services covering strategy formulation through execution support, new business creation, business process improvement, and digital transformation; startup, CVC, and regional revitalization support through business co-creation; open innovation solutions utilizing cutting-edge technologies; cross-border M&A support; new business production |
| Group Companies | CONVERGENCE Inc. (100% subsidiary / formerly Luce) Vental Partners Inc. Vertex Entertainment Inc. |
