2022.11.16 Cocone

Establishment of “Web3 Team” and development of Cocone

※This article is machine translated.

In September of this year, Cocone launched a new department, the Web3 Team.
This is a cross-sectional organization in the development department of the Cocone Group, where multiple web3 projects are simultaneously underway.

Created a logo with the theme of “future, speed, and cuteness” for the challenge of the new area of web3.

We spoke with Ogawa, the team leader, and Fujisaki, who joined the company at the same time the team was launched, about how the team was established, its future plans, and how Fujisaki decided to join Cocone.

“Launch of Web3 team”

-The Web3 Team was established in September. Please tell us how it came about.

Ogawa: I think we are hearing more and more about metaverse, blockchain, and NFT around 2021.
The entire company is accelerating its movement toward the realization of a unique Cocone-like metaverse called “Metaverse of Sensitivity”.
In the Japan office, the Meta Business Division (a new business specializing in web3) has been launched, and the development team in the Japan office will also participate in the NFT marketplace and blockchain development at group company POST VOYAGER, which is now in full swing.
From this trend, we felt that web3-related projects would increase in the future, so we cut out the “Web Development Office” of the front-end engineering team and established the “Web3 Team” as a cross-functional organization of the group.

-What exactly do you do?

Ogawa: Cocone’s “Web Development Office” is a group of front-end engineers.
I am participating in the development of a marketplace for web3 business and group companies, and so far, the development content is not different from the usual way of creating web applications.
Since web3-related technologies are updated on a daily basis, we would like to continue to hold regular study sessions on web3 technologies, develop smart contracts using Solidity, and study other areas outside the front-end domain.

-It seems that the scope of our business will expand in the future.

Ogawa: The main role of the Web3 team at this stage is to develop applications using the “MOOI” blockchain network operated by POST VOYAGER. However, there is still room to improve the “MOOI” ecosystem itself, and the Web3 team would like to be involved in its expansion. For this purpose, I would like to deepen my knowledge and understanding of the core web3-related technologies.
I thought that if we had a larger team and included members other than front-end engineers, we could do even more things.

“Role in the Cocone industry”

-What do you think about the current web3 industry?

Ogawa: The web3 industry is in chaos. What’s going on?
In general, web3 has a strong image of “buying and selling NFTs”, and some of them have a negative image, such as scams.
I hope that the many digital assets we have at Cocone will be able to pop out from the world inside the application and become an entity with a positive image. Both for Cocone and for the web3 industry.

-It is still an unknown world, isn’t it? What position would you like to achieve in the web3 industry as a development of Cocone?

Ogawa: CTO Mr. Takayama described it as “a metaverse starting from the palm of your hand,” and he is right. Cocone’s customers use smartphone applications to express their own worlds within it.
I think that thinking of starting with the inside of a smartphone is not something that many other companies aim for. I think it is one of Cocone’s strengths and characteristics that we aim to create a digital world where customers can express their own world.
As an engineer, I think it would be an interesting position to be in if we could use technology to increase the enjoyment of our customers.

-It seems to me that the role of this team is to be the hub of the group companies.

Ogawa: Yes, that’s right.
A member of the Web3 team who joined the POST VOYAGER project talks with another member who joined the Meta division, as well as with engineers from other professions.
I think a front-end engineer is an important role because he/she is the hub between those who support the project behind the scenes and those who create the front part, such as the planners. We will continue to make these kinds of moves in the future.
Right now, we have more than half of the team members serving concurrently on the team, and we would like to hire people who are interested in web3 and grow the web3 team.

-This may be a basic question, but for someone who has been a front-end engineer all his life, is web3 development a completely different field?

Fujisaki:The definitions of “web3” and “front-end engineer” themselves are not necessarily the same, so it depends on what kind of experience each person has.
It may not make much difference, for example, if you are primarily working with HTML/CSS/JavaScript and design at the same time.
Those who seem to be designing the system to include communication with the server and even the UX need to change their way of thinking.

Ogawa: If you don’t take an interest and step into the world yourself, you may be talking about a completely different world.

-What qualities do you think make a good engineer at web3?

Fujisaki: I think the most important thing is the desire to do something new, as I did.
The way to make apps and websites is established and set in stone, so I guess I got tired of it (laughs).
As an engineer, you want to do new things.
Since the timing is changing, I think it would be good to be willing to create a new trend.

“The deciding factor in joining the company was an environment that is easy to work in and provides challenges”

-Please tell us about your background.

Fujisaki: I was originally in sales and then became an engineer, starting as an engineer at a SIer and then switching to web engineering 12 or 3 years ago. Recently I worked as a full stack engineer. There were many companies with small numbers of people, so I was like “I’ll do it all”.
I joined Cocone in September of this year after receiving an opportunity to work at Cocone.

-Have you been in the apps and games industry so far?

Fujisaki: I was not in the game industry. I was in a company that provides services dealing with online payments and operates a real estate portal.

-What were your expectations when you joined Cocone?

Fujisaki: Before I joined the company, I had high hopes for the world years from now that might be changed by blockchain technology, and I wished I had a connection to a company that was working together to achieve such things.
In fact, I had received job offers from three companies, all of which were in the process of establishing new departments and teams to develop their blockchain and metaverse businesses.
What attracted me to Cocone was its focus on a comfortable work environment, including free meals and a gym, which made me want to join the company.

-You got the message that we are taking proper action to make it easier for employees to work.

Fujisaki: For example, I thought that after having prepared the environment so far, they would not say, “For budget reasons, we can only choose this model of computer” (laughs).
I felt that they were thinking about the workers, and that was the best part.

-You have been with the company for about two months now. The company offers services that are different from your previous experience.

Fujisaki: What I am currently working on is not significantly different from what I have been involved with in the past.
I am involved in a new web3 business, but I don’t feel a gap in my work.

-Are there any challenges you are facing in your current work?

Fujisaki: I am in charge of the web side of a newly released product, and since it will be a service using blockchain, I am developing it while understanding concepts such as “Mint”, “Burn”, and “Creating tokens”.
As I found out when I tried it, the blockchain mechanism is clearly more difficult to use than existing databases and web servers.
The system itself is designed from a different vector than efficiency, and I feel that development speed will not increase if we continue to use the methods we have used up to this point.
I feel that is the challenge, because it is not just about us, but about the productivity of everyone involved.

-What kind of work would you like to do in the future as a member of the Web3 team?

Fujisaki: “web3” is used in various ways by different people, and it is not yet clear how it will have value in the world in the future.
There are several products being developed at Cocone right now, but there are many other possibilities. Since no one has found the right answer yet, we would like to create them while considering what will be acceptable in the future.
So it is “not decided”.
I think they will work on it as they think and try it out on their own.

-Do you feel that there is an environment at Cocone where you can take on such challenges?

Fujisaki: I strongly feel that.
There are already big services centered on NFT, but other than that, there are no companies in the Metaverse that are “here!” in the Metaverse.
I think it is difficult to take on this challenge unless you have a separate core business other than web3.
Cocone has a strong existing CCP business* and digital assets.
We believe that the environment is very conducive to working with blockchain.

CCP = Avatar Business. CCP is defined by Cocone as a service that has “Character”, “Coordinate” elements, and “Play”.

“As the development of Cocone”

-As an engineer, what makes you feel comfortable at Cocone?

Fujisaki: Basically, all I can say is that it is easy to do… (laughs).
I believe that engineers should concentrate on development as much as possible and not consume their time on anything else.
There is no point in using low computer specs, either, if you are going to go out of your way to reduce productivity.
But this company is properly designed to be easy to work with, and they provide what you need right away.
Engineers, in particular, can work in this environment without worrying about other things.

-In your interview with the CTO, you mentioned that “teamwork is important for engineers at Cocone.

Ogawa: The key phrase “Cocone engineers are kind” is often used.
Cooperation between job types is easy, and there is no “don’t talk to me because I’m an engineer. I often discuss with the person in charge of service planning.
Many of them are in their 20s, but they are all able to explain things properly and facilitate smooth conversations. I often tell my team members, “Don’t ignore a project you are participating in just because it is not your area of responsibility,” and “I want you to try to get the information yourself”. I think we have an environment where team members can talk and proceed without me (the supervisor) having to leave the room.

-Thank you very much. Changing the subject a bit, what is the CTO like?

Ogawa: He is easy to talk to and passionate! Not to mention your passion for technology, I think you do more things on your own than any of the engineers at Cocone. He creates his own services, writes blogs, and publishes them as open source. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with you.

We asked him about the role of the “Web3 Team” and what kind of position Cocone is trying to achieve in the industry. We also spoke with Fujisaki, who joined Cocone at the same time the team was launched, about why he chose Cocone and the working environment.

Cocone is actively hiring for its web3 business and development team!

As Fujisaki said, we have an environment where it is easy to work as an engineer and challenge yourself in new fields, so if you are interested, please take a look at this page!

Click here for information on recruitment of front-end engineers for web3 business.

Click here for other open positions.