Leading Mark

Leading Mark, Inc. is a human resources technology firm focused on enhancing employee well-being and tackling recruitment challenges in Japan. The company was founded in January 2008 by Yuji Iida, who was a student at the University of Tokyo at the time. Iida was motivated to start the company after conducting a survey and finding that only 21% of professionals felt fulfilled in their work, a figure that mirrored a national survey showing only 18% of Japanese people felt a sense of purpose in their jobs. He started the company, initially named ist Co., Ltd., with his personal savings of 600,000 yen. The company was rebranded as Leading Mark, Inc. in September 2011.

The company operates on a B2B and B2C SaaS model, offering a suite of products under the "Mikiwame" brand. Its core offering is the "Mikiwame Aptitude Test," a personality assessment that helps companies analyze their corporate culture and identify candidates who are a good fit, thereby reducing hiring mismatches. Another key product is the "Mikiwame Wellbeing Survey," a tool designed to prevent employee turnover by visualizing the mental health and happiness of employees and suggesting actionable improvements. For students and new graduates, Leading Mark provides "Mikiwame Shuukatsu," a job-hunting platform, and "NEXVEL," a members-only career support service for students aiming for top-tier companies. Revenue is generated through subscriptions to these services, which are used by over 5,000 companies, from large corporations to startups.

A significant milestone for Leading Mark was overcoming a period of crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted its initial business model of in-person job-matching events. The company successfully pivoted to online events and launched the Mikiwame services, which led to a 15-fold increase in sales and a reduction in its own employee turnover rate from over 30% to single digits. Recently, the firm has integrated AI into its platform, with features like "Mikiwame AI" offering unbiased recommendations for talent management. In February 2025, Leading Mark announced a significant funding round of ¥1.62 billion, bringing its total raised capital to over ¥3 billion, to further develop its AI capabilities and expand its services.

Keywords: HR Tech, employee wellbeing, recruitment support, SaaS, personality assessment, talent management, employee turnover prevention, corporate culture analysis, job matching platform, career consulting, Yuji Iida, Mikiwame, aptitude test, employee survey, human resources, talent acquisition, organizational development, predictive analytics, employee engagement, student recruitment