西和彦さんは、会津大学とのつながりで一度でお会いしたことがあります。自分が親しくさせていただいていた会津大学や青山学院大学の教授をされていた村川久子先生が、自身の作った過去のコンテンツをデジタル化して販売したいということで、相談・プレゼンに行くというものでしたが(自分が資料を作り、プレゼンしましたが)、その際に「スマホを使ってちょこちょこやるよりも、メガネで見たものがその国の言葉に代わるようなものやったらいいんちゃう？」的なことを仰っており、かなり昔にウェアラブルカメラの発想を持っていたのにすごいなぁと感激したのを覚えています。
手土産で持って行ったお菓子をその場で開けてこちらにも「食べなさい」とわけていただくなど気さくな方で。オーバーオール？を着ている姿を見ていると、「かわいいな」というのが率直な印象でした。
モノづくり気質の人と会社を大きくしたい、お金を稼ぎたい気質の人は全く別の人種であることをこの本を読むと痛感します。モノづくり気質の自分は会社を大きくするのには向いていないかもしれません。
Reflection: What I Learned About Business from the “Hell” of It All, alongside Bill Gates
I once had the pleasure of meeting Kazuhiko Nishi through a connection with Aizu University. This meeting took place in Ueno, where I accompanied Hisako Murakawa, a professor at Aizu University and Aoyama Gakuin University with whom I had a close relationship. Professor Murakawa sought advice on digitizing and selling her previously created content. I prepared the materials and conducted the presentation for her.
During that meeting, Mr. Nishi said something along the lines of, “Rather than fiddling with a smartphone, wouldn’t it be better to create something like glasses that translate what you see into the language of the country you’re in?” It struck me deeply, as it was a visionary idea related to wearable cameras, long before they became a reality.
He was a friendly and down-to-earth person, even sharing the sweets we had brought as a gift and encouraging us to join him in enjoying them. Dressed in overalls, he gave off a charming and approachable vibe. My honest impression at the time was simply, “He’s adorable.”
Reading this book, I’ve realized how fundamentally different people who are passionate about creation are from those who aim to scale a business and earn large sums of money. As someone with a maker’s mindset, I’ve come to understand that I might not be suited for building a large company.
株式会社ASAP
及川知也
