Hiring one IT lead: ¥13M in year one.
Not just AI.
From vendor quotes to the PCs on your desks.
An IT lead you don't have to hire.
Is that quote high or low? You simply never get the information you'd need to judge. We separate what you actually need from what's just padding. Start with 30 minutes online, free.
MINATO / LABIC
Selected for Minato City accelerator LABIC
Read the announcementOnly what can be verified.
40+
companies supported (incl. individuals)
9 yrs
at Toshiba's R&D centre
¥1.7M→1.0M
one quote we brought down
AWS Certified
All 12 earned
Selected advisory clients
Do any of these sound familiar?
Nobody in-house to ask about AI — or about computers at all
No way to judge whether a software quote is high or low
Buy it, build it, or drop it — nothing to compare against
Hiring an IT lead means ¥10M a year. That is out of reach
Explaining the same thing from scratch to a different firm every time
Can't brief the team while it's still in technical language
What people ask us
These three come up most.
Is that quote too high?
We flag features you don't need, padded labour, and risky approaches. One ¥1.7M quote came down to ¥1.0M. How many quotes do you sign in a year?
Where AI actually helps
Invoice checks, typing into Excel, document review. We decide together what AI handles and what a person still signs off.
Dealing with development firms
What gets built, and when it counts as done. Squeeze the price too hard and corners get cut somewhere — same as on a building site. We set terms both sides can live with.
Websites, servers, keeping your data safe, briefing your team — we cover the technical ground.
And no, we won't make you throw out your Excel or the software you already run.
30 minutes · online · free
What you learn in 30 minutes
Before signing a contract, you understand where to start and what it may cost.
What we confirm
- Company
- Topic
- Pain
- Volume
- Tools
- Budget
- Site need
What happens after the call
ROUTE 1
Monthly advisory
Ongoing judgment, quote review, adoption direction.
ROUTE 2
One-off review
Checking a quote, choosing between options, how to proceed.
ROUTE 3
Build it for us
If implementation is needed, scope first and quote separately.
ROUTE 4
Not a fit / hold
If purpose or budget is unclear, we do not sell.
CASE STUDY
What actually happened
A 1972 manufacturer, a construction supplier, a municipal project — none of them have an IT department.
Founded 1972 · 199 staff · no IT department
Nabel Co., Ltd.
"I was signing off without understanding it."
The client asked to pay us more
Offered before the renewal was even due
Read~90% share of large Tokyo construction sites
Rikiman Co., Ltd.
Time spent making shipping tags
Down 90%
Rolled out to every site
ReadMunicipal disaster-response system
Mizunara Inc.
Choosing the technology for a ¥60M, 3-year project
Seven options compared, approach locked in
"Cheaper than hiring, and you get a genuinely excellent mind." — Oda, CTO
ReadWhy Leach
Evidence behind the technical judgment
All 12 AWS certs
Infrastructure included.
Public accelerator selections
Selected for Minato LABIC and Tokyo support.
Runs own AI products
We operate Totsugo.com and more.
9 years at Toshiba R&D
Google and McKinsey project experience.
Engineering awards
Awarded at c0mpiled-7.
Press and talks
AWS CERTIFIED — ALL 12 CERTIFICATIONS
All 12 AWS certifications
SA Professional
DevOps Pro
SA Associate
Developer
SysOps
Cloud Practitioner
Networking
Data Analytics
Database
Machine Learning
Security
SAP on AWS
Academic & corporate awards
DICOMO2014 Best Presentation
DICOMO2014 Outstanding Paper
DPSWS2014 Outstanding Poster
Toshiba x UTokyo AI program award
Toshiba AI program certificate
Toshiba internal CTF 2022: 5/68
CTF top level across roles
From first call to contract
Six steps from form to start
STEP 1
Consultation form
Company, topic, budget
STEP 2
30 minutes online
Issue, tools, owner
STEP 3
Case routing
Advisory / one-off / build / not a fit
STEP 4
One-page proposal
Scope, first output, fee
STEP 5
E-sign / invoice
Invoice or e-signature
STEP 6
Online advisory
Meetings, chat, reviews
Sales and meetings are online by default — We meet in person only when needed.
Compare it against hiring
Are you going to hire an IT lead?
What year one costs — and the risk you can't interview for
Cost per year (all figures annual)
And if they leave, you pay it all over again.
Salary
¥10M
That's just the starting point
Recruiter fee
¥3M–4M
Typically 30–40% of salary
Year one, total
~¥13M
An advisor carries none of this fixed cost
And here's the hardest part. You cannot judge technical skill in an interview. Neither can people inside the industry. So we put forward only what someone else has verified: all 12 AWS certifications, a granted patent, nine years in Toshiba's R&D. And if we're not a fit, you can cancel at any time.
Plans & pricing
After the call we sort you into advisory, a one-off review, or a build.
Trying it out
Lite
Pricing
Contact us
- Monthly call
- Ask over chat
- Direction
- Technical calls
An ongoing advisor
Standard
Pricing
Contact us
- Two calls a month
- Quote checks
- Choosing between options
- Document review
Rolling it out company-wide
Pro
Pricing
Contact us
- Weekly call
- Design review
- Materials for your team
- Rollout support
A one-off review
Spot
Pricing
Contact us
- Quote review
- Choosing between options
- Design advice
- Connecting to what you already run
After the call we set out the scope and the price. The term is one year, but either side can cancel at any time.
"Having someone who understands IT, in your corner, inside the company. Isn't that actually cheap?"
CEO MESSAGE
Want to adopt AI,but unsure where to start?
After leaving corporate R&D, I saw people comparing documents with rulers and copy-pasting by hand. Generative AI can change that. With all 12 AWS certifications and 9 years at Toshiba R&D, I will partner on your first step.
Takuya Tominaga / CEO
Read moreFAQ
Q. Can we stop partway through?＋
Yes. The term is one year, but either side can cancel at any time. There's no need to carry on with something that isn't working.
Q. What can we ask on Slack?＋
Where AI helps, checking quotes, choosing software, rethinking a workflow, trying something small first, and connecting to the tools you already run.
Q. What does quote review cover?＋
We flag unnecessary features, inflated effort, and risks. One case went from ¥1.7M to ¥1.0M.
Q. Advisory vs development?＋
Advisory is judgment and review. Implementation is scoped and quoted separately.
Q. What we do not do＋
Scope is set at the door. In 30 minutes we sort you into: ongoing advisory, one-off review, a build — or none of the above.
Start with a free 30-minute conversation
We'll tell you where to start
AI, estimates, and systems — start with the one thing that bothers you most.