CIRCULATION Receives Order for 'Pro Talent Matching Program (Practical Execution Type)' from STARTUP HOKKAIDO Executive Committee

CIRCULATION Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Yu Fukuda; hereinafter "CIRCULATION"), which operates a pro-sharing business that shares the experience and knowledge of over 30,000 professional talents across multiple companies to solve management issues, announces that it has been commissioned to operate the "Pro Talent Matching Program (Practical Execution Type)" (hereinafter "this project") as part of the "Expert Hands-on / Business Growth & Fundraising Support Program" aimed at supporting companies selected for "J-Startup HOKKAIDO" promoted by the STARTUP HOKKAIDO Executive Committee (Secretariat: Sapporo City, Hokkaido Government, Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, private companies, etc.).

Centering on its Hokkaido branch, the company will create co-creation between professional talent from the Tokyo metropolitan area and promising startups in Hokkaido, powerfully supporting their challenges in the global market and business growth.

Startups Required in Japan and the Situation in Hokkaido Currently, based on the "Five-Year Plan for Developing Startups" led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, an ambitious goal has been set to increase the amount of investment in startups to the 10 trillion yen scale by 2027, creating 100,000 startups in the future. As of 2026, the social implementation of advanced technologies and the creation of global unicorns have become the most important issues determining Japan's international competitiveness.

Backed by its vast land and abundant resources, Hokkaido is Japan's food base with a food self-sufficiency rate exceeding 200% (calorie basis). In recent years, it also possesses a space industry centered around the Hokkaido Spaceport (Taiki Town) and one of the largest renewable energy potentials in the country. Against this backdrop, the "STARTUP HOKKAIDO Executive Committee," an industry-academia-government collaboration organization, aims to develop Hokkaido into Asia's startup island.

On the other hand, in order to scale such deep tech and primary industry DX to a global level, management talent with high-level expertise (CFO, global BizDev, intellectual property strategy, etc.) is indispensable. However, securing talent within the region currently poses a challenge to growth.

Furthermore, CIRCULATION opened its Hokkaido branch in February 2025, accelerating the resolution of corporate issues and the promotion of growth. In this project, by utilizing the pro-sharing mechanism possessed by CIRCULATION to match and provide hands-on support from professional talent with optimal experience for the advanced management issues faced by startups in Hokkaido, we aim to contribute to the acceleration of business growth and the creation of unicorn companies originating from Hokkaido.

Specific Initiatives in This Project We will select target companies from among those designated as "J-Startup HOKKAIDO" and provide the following support.

1. Identification of Management Issues and Requirements Definition CIRCULATION consultants will dialogue with executives to identify top-priority issues (overseas sales channel development, IPO preparation, organizational development, marketing strategy, etc.) according to the business phase.

2. Matching Optimal Professional Talent and Team Formation From a database of over 30,000 individuals, we will select professional talent with the optimal practical experience to solve the identified issues and form a project team.

3. Value Creation Through Hands-on Support Through regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings and operational support, we will provide practical assistance that goes beyond mere advice. Additionally, we aim to return the knowledge and successful case studies gained through this project to the entire startup ecosystem in Hokkaido.