New Student Entrepreneur Emerges from Kaishi Professional University: Yoshihito Sato, Second-Year Student, Establishes GOODBASE Inc. to Tackle Job-Hunting Challenges

Yoshihito Sato (Sato Yoshihito), a second-year student in the Faculty of Business Creation at Kaishi Professional University (hereinafter "the university"), New Niigata Comprehensive Academy, NSG Group School Corporation (Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture; Chairman: Shogo Ikeda, President: Shigeo Kagami), established GOODBASE Inc. on June 3, 2026. This marks the 13th venture officially recognized as a "Kaishi-originated startup."

Since high school, Sato has aspired to become an entrepreneur. After enrolling at the university, he refined his business plan through the entrepreneur development program "Entrepreneur Dojo" and participated in the youth business idea competition "Open Gate NIIGATA 2025." Despite being a first-year student at the time, he won the preliminary round and received a sponsor award at the final event, accumulating achievements that culminated in the establishment of his company.

GOODBASE Inc. operates under the mission of "Making the uncool cool," launching its first initiative: JOBPON (Jobpon), a new job-matching platform. The platform aims to revolutionize job hunting by enabling students and companies to meet authentically, as their true selves.

Turning High School Setbacks into Motivation for New Challenges

Sato's inspiration to pursue entrepreneurship stemmed from his father, who is also an entrepreneur.

In high school, he enrolled in a school in Miyagi Prefecture aiming to become a professional soccer player. However, facing the intense demands of the sport, he had to abandon that dream. Determined to channel his passion into a new challenge, he resolved to "create value for society through my own hands."

From his second year of high school, he began self-studying management and economics, repeatedly challenging himself by making proposals directly to active entrepreneurs.

Achieving Company Establishment Through Practical Experience During University

Seeking an environment conducive to entrepreneurship, Sato enrolled at Kaishi Professional University. Immediately after enrollment, he joined the "Entrepreneur Dojo," refining his business ideas with feedback from faculty and gaining practical experience both within and outside the university.

As a result, he won the preliminary round of the youth business competition "Open Gate NIIGATA 2025" and received a sponsor award at the finals. The connections he made with companies and entrepreneurs during the competition provided significant momentum, leading to the establishment of his company during his second year of university.

Changing the 'Norms' of Job Hunting with 'JOBPON'

GOODBASE Inc.'s first challenge is to update the job-hunting process.

Currently, job recruitment primarily focuses on 'gakuchika' (activities emphasized during student life) and self-promotion. However, this often leads to mismatches: students may exaggerate their qualities, while companies are forced to make judgments based on short interviews.

To address this, they developed JOBPON, a job-matching platform.

JOBPON accumulates 'third-party evaluations,' such as peer character assessments among friends, alongside evaluations from companies gained through one-day projects or open-company experiences. By visualizing students' strengths and personalities that cannot be conveyed through self-promotion alone, the platform aims to create a space where students and companies can meet authentically.

Student Entrepreneurship Made Possible by a 'Practice-Oriented University'

Sato said, "I was able to achieve my long-held goal of entrepreneurship because I was in an environment that supported and encouraged challenges. My experiences in the Entrepreneur Dojo and Open Gate NIIGATA, along with the many people I met, directly led to the establishment of my company."

He also shared his future outlook: "As a current student, I can see the real issues in job hunting. First, I want to expand JOBPON from Niigata to create an environment where students and companies can meet honestly. In the future, I aim to update outdated customs and systems in society one by one, not just in job hunting."

About Kaishi Professional University

Established in April 2020 in Niigata City, Kaishi Professional University is a comprehensive professional university that cultivates professionals for growing industries through practical education, including over 600 hours (approximately five months) of long-term in-company internships and small-class instruction. Over four years, students acquire specialized knowledge, skills, and practical abilities in their chosen fields, preparing them to become immediately effective professionals in a changing society.

<Academic Departments and Fields of Study>

Faculty of Information: AI / IoT / Data Science / Game Development / App Development / Robotics / Cloud / Cybersecurity

Faculty of Business Creation: Management / Economics / Marketing / Commerce / Product Development / Entrepreneurship / Business Succession / Accounting & Finance

Faculty of Anime & Manga: Animation / Manga / Character Design / Game / 3DCG / Publishing & Editing / Advertising Planning

<Kaishi Professional University Official Website> https://kaishi-pu.ac.jp/

<About NSG Group> https://www.nsg.gr.jp/

NSG Group is a corporate group comprising 101 organizations, centered on education, medical care, welfare, and nursing services. It operates across diverse sectors including health and sports, construction and real estate, food and agriculture, trading, advertising, ICT, hotels, apparel, beauty, human resources services, and entertainment. Committed to making each local community "the world's richest and happiest town," the group works from a private-sector standpoint to create initiatives that revitalize regions, using 'people,' 'safety,' 'work,' and 'charm' as key concepts.