From TIMEWELL
This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL.
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Breaking Out of the Box
"Is this really the right path for me?" "I want to try something new, but where do I start?" If those questions sound familiar, this story is for you. Yuna Takahashi is an engineer by profession who also works in beauty industry DX and talent development. Activities that look unrelated from the outside are actually creating tremendous value together — and the secret is her philosophy of "just say yes for now." How do diverse experiences connect and open new possibilities? You'll find your first step forward here.
Six years into her career at an IT company, where she changes roles approximately every year — an unusual career track that has given her broad technical expertise. Alongside her main job, she participates in WARP as a supporter and speaker, works part-time in a "Hero Interview" venture, provides facial massage treatments at a beauty salon, and is tackling a beauty industry DX project through WARP. Her motto — "just say yes for now" — fuels a relentless pursuit of challenges that break conventional molds.
Profile:
- Breaking Boundaries — The Challenge of a Multi-Role Engineer
- Turning Field Insights into Technology — Tackling Beauty Industry DX
- Synergy Born from Cutting-Edge Knowledge and New Connections — What WARP Unlocks
- The Future That "Just Say Yes" Opens — The Philosophy of an Engineer Who Dreams of Working at an Onigiri Shop
- Summary
Breaking Boundaries — The Challenge of a Multi-Role Engineer
— Could you tell us about your current work?
Takahashi: In my main job, I work primarily in IT, developing programs. I started with application development when I joined the company, then moved to building enterprise applications. Currently I handle a broad range of technical areas: AWS server setup and migration, web application development, and new builds and maintenance of low-code systems using ServiceNow.
Recently I've also been involved in a new business creation project within the company, including research, testing, and building out virtual machine infrastructure. Now in my sixth year, I've had the unusual experience of changing my core responsibilities approximately every year.
— What kinds of activities do you pursue outside your main job?
Takahashi: Several things. Through WARP, I've had opportunities to provide support and speak at events. I also work part-time at a venture company focused on talent development, contributing to their "Hero Interview" service. That's a service where I spend two hours with a person, listening carefully to their life story and then creating a personal card that makes their individual strengths and character visible.
The essence of that work is sincerely listening to the other person and drawing out their best qualities. I value the philosophy of "finding and communicating what's good about people," and strongly resonating with that company's vision is what led me to join.
I've also obtained a facial massage certification and provide treatment support at a beauty salon. That hands-on experience eventually fed into the development project I took on through WARP.
Turning Field Insights into Technology — Tackling Beauty Industry DX
— What did you work on through WARP?
Takahashi: The beauty salon I use is a community-rooted salon offering facial treatments, body care, and hair removal. They don't run advertising and rely on word-of-mouth for new customers — but their appointment management was still entirely paper-based.
In the beauty and medical industries, digitization has been slow due to concerns about customer data confidentiality and the cost of migrating from existing systems. I chose addressing this challenge through application development as my WARP project theme.
For development, I used WARP's regional dispatch program to visit not just Tokyo locations but also affiliated salons in other prefectures, conducting interviews with everyone from management to frontline staff.
— What challenges did you uncover in the field?
Takahashi: The most striking thing was discovering that staff were managing all customer interactions — appointments, administrative communications, skin concerns — through their personal LINE accounts. Maintaining close communication with each customer is valuable, but the line between personal and professional life was becoming blurred.
Large corporations provide dedicated work devices, but that kind of investment isn't realistic for small and mid-sized beauty salons. So I thought developing a business-dedicated communication app could contribute to improving work-life balance for staff.
I also drew up a concept for a platform that would integrate multiple functions: tracking records of customer skin conditions, sharing treatment know-how, and managing appointments.
— What were the struggles and lessons from the development process?
Takahashi: The biggest challenge was prioritizing features. The list of what I wanted to implement was extensive: appointment management, information sharing, knowledge accumulation, interfaces for both customers and staff.
But a key insight from WARP mentoring was: "Start by narrowing down to core users and the minimum viable feature set, then expand incrementally." In practice, management-level interviews revealed that "there are cost and operational barriers to introducing a booking system," while frontline staff said "we want it" — making the gap in enthusiasm by level very clear.
In the end, I used the Cursor development environment with AI assistance to complete a prototype booking app in two days based on requirements documentation. But after further consideration, I pivoted to starting with an information-sharing feature that had a lower adoption barrier.
Synergy Born from Cutting-Edge Knowledge and New Connections — What WARP Unlocks
— What did you find most valuable about participating in WARP?
Takahashi: The biggest gain was access to a diverse network and the latest technical information. Joining WARP led to various certifications, event participation, and the relationships that connected me to my current side work.
Especially stimulating is the interaction with TIMEWELL staff and engineers like Naito-san and Ando-san, who are deeply versed in cutting-edge technology. In my primary organization, we have to be cautious about adopting new technologies due to security and compliance considerations. But the information I get from them is a valuable guide for understanding tech trends and thinking about where I want to go.
— Who would you recommend WARP to?
Takahashi: I'd strongly recommend it to anyone interested in IT or wanting to try something new. Even without programming experience, the hands-on experience of actually building an application gives tremendous confidence.
Through the development process, you gain not just technical knowledge but a broader sense of "this kind of thing is possible." I want as many people as possible to experience that feeling of a new world opening up when you engage with technology.
The Future That "Just Say Yes" Opens — The Philosophy of an Engineer Who Dreams of Working at an Onigiri Shop
— What's your vision going forward?
Takahashi: I want to become someone who can create value through my own abilities, without depending on a single organization. Honestly, I'm not sure that working within an organization completely fits my personality. I think it's important to maintain independent thinking and sometimes challenge existing frameworks.
My ultimate goal — and this might surprise people — is actually to work part-time at a certain onigiri chain, making onigiri at the counter. I grew up in Niigata, so I love rice deeply, and I find the dedication of a company that sincerely produces delicious onigiri day after day genuinely attractive. Behind the scenes, of course, other things might be happening too.
— A message for those who want to take their first step toward something new.
Takahashi: My motto is "just say yes for now." This isn't about being a yes-person — it's about approaching opportunities with a forward-looking attitude. When you say yes willingly, the other person starts offering you more and more opportunities in return.
Overthinking slows you down. If you feel even a little interested, I recommend taking that first step. Don't aim for perfection — keep the spirit of enjoying it.
And you don't have to carry everything alone. There are always people around who will support you. The combination of "I'll take responsibility for what I commit to" and the flexibility to "ask for help when I'm stuck" is probably the key that leads new challenges to success.
What impressed me most in speaking with Takahashi was the limitless possibility born from the "just say yes for now" attitude.
With engineering as her foundation, activities in talent development, beauty industry DX, and more — things that look unrelated from the outside — are actually influencing each other and generating new value. That was genuinely surprising.
In particular, her willingness to experience challenges firsthand as a practitioner — and then tackle them with technology — feels like a true model of how innovation happens.
Her way of living, challenging without boundaries and following her interests, gives those of us navigating a time of rapid change something important to hold onto.
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