[Customer Interview] Mr. Takuya Kubota, CTO of mui Lab Inc.

When we entered a phase of business expansion, we lacked development resources. Being a startup based in the Kansai region, it was difficult to secure talent within Japan. We did consider options like part-time/side-job engineers, but we wanted a deeper, more integrated partnership. As one of the options, we began exploring offshore development partners. 

As part of our search, we visited several companies in Hanoi. We received various proposals and evaluated them from multiple angles. SYP stood out because their proposal most accurately captured our requirements. 

In fact, there was another vendor that scored exactly the same overall, but when it came to making the final choice, the decisive factor was CEO Ngoc’s commitment and drive. We expected that not everything would go smoothly, but we felt we could trust this leader and this company—that made a big difference. 

We anticipated communication would be the biggest challenge, so at project kick-off we had SYP’s PM and engineers travel to Japan to stay on site, absorb the requirements, and align on expectations. We also visited Hanoi at each major phase to hold thorough in-person meetings, which allowed us to correct course quickly whenever issues arose. SYP’s members have strong technical capability—once we shared the architectural direction, they were able to produce solid designs without needing step-by-step instructions. This was an important reason the project progressed smoothly. 

We are also truly grateful that, when problems occurred right before release, the team responded promptly even outside working hours and on weekends.

Despite difficulties along the way, we successfully launched the system, and SYP has continued to support us with operations and maintenance. By establishing this partnership, we have been able to focus and prioritize our in-house development resources where they add the most value. 

The environment around development continues to change. While keeping an eye on these shifts, we hope to keep exploring the most effective form of partnership and build a relationship in which both sides can keep growing together.