Hi, this is 725, co-founder of umu. It’s been two months since we launched umu in September—though the idea itself came about nearly two years ago. I procrastinated for almost two years, and then everything moved really fast: We started building the site in August and published it just a month later. It was a sprint, and many people helped make it happen. Since the launch, we’ve received so many warm messages—not only from people who appear in our interviews, but also from those reading the articles. “Thanks for giving us a place to speak.” “Thanks for giving me courage.” Every time I hear that, it almost brings me to tears. But honestly, the real magic is in the creators who share their stories and the readers who take action after receiving them. We’re just the bridge. When I first started as a self-taught designer, I wasn’t good at speaking and didn’t have anyone around me I could really talk to or relate to. So knowing that umu is becoming a place where someone can feel inspired and encouraged means a lot to me.
Still, umu has only just begun. I want to keep experimenting, trying new ideas, and growing with the advice and support we receive. One of the ideas we’re debating right now is the balance between “talk-based interviews” and “written interviews.” Each format has pros and cons, and we want to give interviewees the freedom to choose the style they feel most comfortable with. There’s also something that’s been on my mind: in the process of shaping stories into articles, a few layers of filtering naturally happen. As the interviewer, I get to hear their stories directly and feel their passion—it becomes an unforgettable experience for me. Sometimes it feels a little bittersweet that I’m the one who benefits most from that moment. It’s something I’ve realized through doing interviews and editing. That’s why I sometimes think, *if this were a podcast, that raw feeling could be shared as it is.* But we chose an article-based format first because we wanted to create a space where both the interviewee and I could speak freely and comfortably. With text, you can fix mistakes, adjust tone, and refine your thoughts afterward. You don’t have to worry about how you sound—you can just speak from the heart.
That said, if anyone *wants* to try a podcast interview, I’d love to make that happen. If you're interested in being featured, please reach out. We’ve also started interviewing companies, not just individual creatives. We imagine umu becoming a creative hub in Tokyo. There are so many fascinating creative companies out there, but it’s hard to truly understand what happens inside each one. Job listings and company profiles can’t capture everything—the culture, the intention, the energy. We want to listen from a third-party perspective and share those stories, connecting “people” and “organizations” across Tokyo. There’s a lot to do. But I genuinely enjoy it all. I’m excited to keep moving forward.