［&JAFCO POST］Polishing Products Together and Accelerating the Business: EventHub’s Challenge, Backed by JAFCO’s User-Centric Support

"Remove the hassle of running events and maximize results." With that ideal in mind, EventHub has developed a SaaS product that supports a wide range of events, from online to offline. From its early days through the business-defining shock of the pandemic, the company has weathered major shifts and continued to move forward. Supporting EventHub from the initial release of its service and helping refine its value while actively using its tools was JAFCO, whose dedicated sales-support team played a key role. In a conversation with Rie Yamamoto, CEO of EventHub; Yuichi Suzuki, Marketing/PR Manager in charge of Customer Success; and Atsushi Yamamoto from JAFCO's Business Development Division, we uncover the real story behind that partnership.

Rie Yamamoto, CEO, EventHub Co., Ltd.

After graduating from Brown University (Economics / International Relations), Rie Yamamoto joined McKinsey & Company's San Francisco office, working on projects in finance, healthcare, and the public sector. During her tenure, she was seconded to Teach For Japan, a certified NPO. She founded EventHub Co., Ltd. in 2016.

Yuichi Suzuki, Marketing/PR Manager, EventHub Co., Ltd.

Yuichi Suzuki graduated from Sophia University Graduate School in 2010. Began his career at an IT venture, then moved to en Japan's web services planning division. Later joined Kaonavi as employee No. 5 and its first marketer, helping launch its B2B marketing organization. After working at OLTA, a FinTech startup, he joined EventHub in May 2022 as Marketing Manager.

Atsushi Yamamoto, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Atsushi Yamamoto graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Shinshu University and joined JAFCO in April 2014. He was engaged in investments in startups in the Kyushu region for about five years at the Kyushu Branch (currently the West Japan Branch). After working at the Investment Division in the head office, he joined the Sales and Marketing Support Team in the Business Development Division in 2020. He is currently in charge of supporting the growth of startups and promoting collaboration with large companies. He is also focusing on lead generation through seminars and webinars to help portfolio companies expand business opportunities.

-First, please tell us how your connection with JAFCO began.

CEO Yamamoto：JAFCO invested in our company in November 2022, but if I recall correctly, the very first contact came roughly four years before that, when we had just founded the company.

A JAFCO investment professional reached out saying, "We'd love to hear what you're working on." At the time, we were still only a handful of members, and the product hadn't even launched. We weren't seriously exploring fundraising yet. It was more like, "Here's the kind of product we want to build." But from there, they continued to follow up. Several times a year we'd hear, "How's it going?" or "Here's some helpful information," and those steady touchpoints left a strong impression.

In 2019, we officially released our first service as a marketing tool for offline events. Only a few months later, COVID struck. Exhibitions, seminars, and all real-world events were suddenly canceled, and the strategy we had envisioned required a major pivot. In that environment, we quickly decided to focus on online events.

That pivot turned out to be right. Demand surged for our online-events-centered service. But as sharp as the wave was, it receded just as quickly. In 2020-2021, many VCs contacted us about investment, but once the heat around online events began cooling in 2022, those same firms suddenly went quiet. Even then, JAFCO continued reaching out.

It became clear they weren't just thinking "this company is hot right now," but truly believed the field had fundamental, long-term potential. That steady commitment naturally led us to feel, "If we raise funds, we want to do it with JAFCO." Their investment was the culmination of that long-running relationship.

-Atsushi Yamamoto, you belong to JAFCO's Business Development Division, a specialized department for sales support. I understand your connection with EventHub emerged partly because of changes in the business environment during the pandemic.

JAFCO Yamamoto：That's right. My role is to connect portfolio companies with enterprise clients. This includes organizing the value of their services/products and introducing them to large companies from a sales perspective, as well as supporting partnerships based on both sides' needs.

Before the pandemic, most of my work involved in-person meetings and follow-ups. But once that became impossible, we had to look for alternative communication channels. "Hosting webinars" emerged as a promising option.

However, in early 2020 we had no internal know-how. We built a system to hold 4-5 webinars a month, but the operations were highly fragmented: Zoom for streaming, Canva for visuals, Google Forms for registration and surveys. Managing multiple tools made everything complicated and dependent on individual effort. Preparing for each event, handling live operations, and following up afterwards required enormous labor. We constantly thought that there has to be a better way.

Around that time, one of our investment professionals who had been in touch with EventHub suggested, "There's a useful service... Why not try it?" Once we used it, we found it incredibly convenient, addressing even the smallest pain points. LP creation, registration, surveys, streaming, and aggregated reporting could all be handled end-to-end. It was honestly amazing.

-What specific aspects made you feel it was "a truly convenient tool that solves the tiniest of frustrations"?

JAFCO Yamamoto：It may seem minor, but for example, entering dates into LPs. We used to input numbers manually and would occasionally make mistakes. This meant participants would point it out, or we'd have to send apology emails, which was unexpectedly stressful. With EventHub, selecting a date from a calendar in the admin panel automatically updates the LP as well as all email notifications sent to registrants. Mistakes practically disappeared.

These small conveniences accumulate into a major reduction in psychological load for organizers. It immediately became clear that the service was designed with genuine user perspective.

CEO Yamamoto：For us, too, our webinar-support features were still developing, so real operational feedback was extremely valuable. Mr. Yamamoto's comments were always concrete. Like "this requires one unnecessary click" or "a feature like this would really help." Those candid and urgent requests directly shaped improvements.

Suzuki：One episode that really stands out is the "bulk download function for attendee passes" when JAFCO used our service for an offline event. JAFCO prints participant passes (similar to name badges) in-house beforehand. Previously, you could only print them one at a time from the admin screen. Open one pass, click print; open the next, click print... repeating this across hundreds of attendees. When we heard this, we immediately went to developing a bulk-download feature. After that, we heard their operational workload dropped dramatically.

JAFCO Yamamoto：That feature truly helped. It let us focus on more productive tasks.

-It sounds like deep trust grew out of your heavy-user perspective.

JAFCO Yamamoto：I genuinely love this service and check update announcements all the time (laughs). So when I introduce it to someone, I can recommend it wholeheartedly. Rather than vague praise like "it's good," I clarify the value so I can explain concretely and even numerically what results the service delivers.

Suzuki：He's joined meetings with marketing teams at major companies, followed up via email or phone, and closely supported our sales efforts.

CEO Yamamoto：In autumn 2023, Mr. Yamamoto appeared in a case-study webinar we hosted. He presented clearly, using numbers and charts, how much labor was reduced and how many more events they were able to run. The positive reaction from participants was strong. His before-and-after comparison was compelling, and we continue to use his presentation as a sales asset.

(Slide used in the actual seminar, created by JAFCO's Yamamoto)

JAFCO Yamamoto：I'm glad it helped.

-Aside from financing, what other forms of support left a strong impression?

CEO Yamamoto：One example is the "CxO Coaching" program for HR system design and organizational development. JAFCO has an expert, Kazuki Tsuboi, who has deep knowledge of organizational management. I have monthly one-on-one sessions with him, now more than 25 times. I can speak openly, even about topics difficult to discuss internally, and it has been a major source of mental support.

JAFCO Yamamoto：Our Business Development team specializes in sales support, HR support, and back-office support. We have a dedicated structure for hands-on assistance. Out of 126 Japan-based members as of Oct 1, 2025, 15 belong to this team, which shows how seriously we take this. Many VCs do not have specialized support divisions at all, so our ability to go beyond financing and dive into actual operational support is a major strength.

-Your trust in each other is very clear. How would you describe your relationship with JAFCO, Ms. Yamamoto?

CEO Yamamoto：If I had to express it simply: "a relationship that lets us focus on the business with peace of mind." Among fellow business managers, I sometimes hear that investor relationships can create undue pressure. But with JAFCO, I've never felt that. They've never forced anything on us. They listen sincerely, give thoughtful advice, and ask the right questions when needed. When they don't know something, they honestly say so. That kind of sincerity is rare and gives us daily reassurance.

And they face us consistently in both good times and bad. As I mentioned earlier, during the peak of online-event demand, many funds approached us. We viewed that period as a temporary bubble and deliberately chose not to raise money then. Later, after the numbers stabilized, JAFCO invested. Their medium-to-long-term perspective of evaluating the real value of the business gives us the confidence to take on challenges.

JAFCO Yamamoto：If that's how you feel, I'm truly honored. We place the utmost importance on respect for entrepreneurs. And not just as words. We believe it only matters when expressed through action. We listen carefully, research thoroughly before offering opinions, explain logically, and never forget respect. We take these "obvious basics" very seriously.

CEO Yamamoto：That's exactly why we feel confident saying that we want to continue on this journey together.

-Lastly, what are your prospects going forward?

CEO Yamamoto：It's now been six years since we officially launched our service, and we finally have a set of features that allows us to say there is nothing we can't do when it comes to events. I feel that we have reached a point where we can respond to the growing variety of event formats, both online and offline.

At the same time, events require an enormous amount of work, from planning and preparation to day-of operations and follow-up. By removing as much of that operational burden as possible, we want to create a system that allows companies to focus on what they are truly meant to do: engage with customers and deliver value. And we believe that this will ultimately lead to higher productivity across the entire industry.

Events are not just places for attracting visitors. They are places "where people who share a purpose come together, and something is born." Through systems and support that help maximize that impact, we hope to help Japanese businesses reach more people and take flight on the global stage.

We would be delighted if JAFCO continues to accompany us with the same unwavering stance, and we look forward to your continued support.

JAFCO Yamamoto：Likewise. Please let us keep supporting you from here on out!