HataLuck and Person

HataLuck and Person Inc. is a Japanese HR technology firm specializing in digital transformation and employee engagement for the service industry. Founded in March 2017 by Takeshi Someya, the company initially operated under the name Knowledge Merchants Works Inc. The firm rebranded to HataLuck and Person in April 2022 to align its corporate identity more closely with its flagship product, uniting the concepts of technology for work (HataLuck) and the people who perform it (Person).

The company's founder and CEO, Takeshi Someya, brings extensive experience in HR and organizational consulting. His career began at the Recruit Group in 1998, followed by a role at Link and Motivation in 2003, where he rose to Executive Officer in 2012, leading the division for service industry consulting. This deep background in addressing the specific personnel and organizational challenges of the service sector directly informed the company's mission to revitalize this core part of Japan's economy.

HataLuck and Person's primary offering is the "HataLuck series," a suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products designed to improve the productivity and job satisfaction of shift-based workers. The business serves multi-store retail, food service, and hospitality enterprises, providing a platform to streamline operations from headquarters to individual store staff. Revenue is generated through subscriptions to its software solutions. The core product, the "HataLuck App," is a mobile-first, all-in-one tool for store management. It consolidates features for communication, training, shift scheduling, and performance evaluation, which are often handled by disparate, inefficient systems like paper or multiple apps. This integration allows for real-time, remote management across numerous locations. A key differentiator is its ability to measure the engagement levels of frontline shift workers through app usage data and surveys, providing management with actionable insights for workplace improvement.

The company has achieved several key milestones, including a prototype release in 2018, followed by a full launch in 2019 with initial adoption by major clients like GENDA GiGO Entertainment and Ozeki Supermarket. It has successfully completed multiple funding rounds, with Series A in 2018, Series B in 2020 bringing in investors like Mitsui Fudosan, and a Series C extension round in 2024 with participation from entities such as Hankyu Hanshin Holdings and H.I.S. By 2023, the HataLuck App had surpassed 200,000 users.

Keywords: HataLuck and Person, Takeshi Someya, Knowledge Merchants Works, service industry DX, retail tech, restaurant tech, hospitality tech, shift worker management, employee engagement platform, HR technology, SaaS, store management software, workforce management, productivity tools, Japan, HataLuck App, employee communication, shift scheduling, digital transformation, frontline worker, employee experience, retail operations, food service operations, multi-unit retail, staff training, performance management, labor productivity