How I Became a Jungler#4 Gachapin INABA's case

Introduction

This is the 4th article in a series of entries in which crew members=JUNGLER will tell you about the attraction and company culture of JUNGLEˣ and talk about their encounter with JUNGLEˣ and motivation for joining.
How I Became a Jungler#3 PdM Mutta SHIMIZU's case2022/5/9 7:142022/11/15 3:15
This article is by Gachapin INABA from the BizDev team at JUNGLEˣ. Please take a look.

How I Became a Jungler

My name is Gachapin INABA. I joined JUNGLEˣ in June 2018. I am currently working in Corporate Development. I have been interested in the sports business until now, and I would like to write about how I came to join the organisation.

1. Previous Job

I worked for a consulting firm and was involved in an industry with nothing to do with sports.
I enjoyed my job to a certain extent. But in an environment where I originally played soccer and knew people in high school and college who would become J-Leaguers, I felt uncomfortable that the salaries of players I should respect (especially J3 players) were lower than my starting salary. And I wanted to work to solve financial problems in the second career of players. So, I decided to leave before turning 30 to study for an MBA overseas.
(I had not studied English at all from the time since I entered university, so I even went on a rampage to study abroad in London for six months after I retired to get the English score I needed for my MBA application.)

2. Study Abroad

I studied abroad at the University of Liverpool, UK, for a Football Industry MBA (September 2016 enrollment - December 2017 graduation).
My main goal in studying abroad was to work for a sports company that focuses on overseas markets. In the beginning, I was actively looking for sponsorship from Japanese companies and applying for internships with club teams that wanted to consider entering the Japanese market. However, I was also interested in companies that offered solutions to the funding cycle that are commonplace overseas but not yet available in Japan.
While studying in England, I interned at a startup in London that sells lottery tickets at Chelsea and other stadiums to raise money for local athletic events and at Celtic FC in Scotland, which now has four Japanese members. From January to March 2018, after graduating from the MBA program, I also interned at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while exploring my future path.
A picture from a class visit to UEFA
A picture from a class visit to UEFA
Internship at AFC
Internship at AFC

3. Apply

While I was thinking about my next job while doing my internship, I began to feel that the sports world would not change unless I made the following assumptions.
  • The public is not as interested in sports as sports people, including me, think they are.
  • For ordinary people, it is bothering to go to the stadium.
  • For ordinary people, it is unlikely to watch a whole match.
  • We have to provide an attraction for people who are not interested in sports to pay $1/month.
 
During this situation, I came across one article in a sports context.
This article led me to apply, as I had no particular connections. I could successfully join JUNGLEˣ after going through a unique selection process that included a meal interview with the participation of the entire crew and having to write three letters of recommendation within 24 hours. (The name Gachapin was given by Panja during the interview because of the similarity.)
 
When I first joined, acquaintances often told me that "sports betting is somehow suspicious," but now the world has caught up with us, so I am convinced that I made the right choice.
If you are interested in changing the sports industry differently from the existing framework, we welcome your application.

Conclusion

How was this article?
If you feel that you fit Gachapin's last phrase, "If you are interested in changing the sports industry differently from the existing framework," please visit our corporate website.
 
If you wonder what kind of people are Junglers who work for such an organization, please access our Meety page.
・Mutta SHIMIZU's Meety(PdM) https://meety.net/matches/wMYoUodAEliY
・M MATSUMOTO's(Hiring)
 
Thank you for reading till the end. (Written by Gachapin INABA & M MATSUMOTO)