LLP Nagaoka Spotlight: From Failure to Grand Prize – The Reality of Fieldwork – Part 2

ケイ

“Hi! I’m Kei from Chuetsu Life!”

Continuing from our previous report, we interviewed the Grand Prize-winning team of LLP Nagaoka 2026! This time, we sat down with Ishii, the team leader and lead software engineer.

“I have technical skills and ideas, but I don’t know how to turn them into a business…”
“I’m worried whether my product is truly helping anyone…”

As the founder of the winning team “Babreach” at LLP Nagaoka 2026 in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, Ishii’s journey was far from smooth sailing. In fact, he suffered a devastating setback in the previous year’s program when his pitch failed to resonate with the audience.

👉 Read Part 1: Infiltrating the Field with Taimee – The Grand Prize Winner’s Customer Discovery with Kimura

👉 Read the 3-Part Interview Series with Lead Instructor Takashi Tsutsumi Here

Bouncing Back from Failure | Starting Over with a Hand-Drawn Sketchbook

Ishii had been nurturing his ambitious OS concept, “Bublys,” since April 2023. When he relocated from Yamagata to Nagaoka City in January 2025, he carried hand-drawn sketches everywhere, sharing his vision with everyone he met.

Ishii: “In our first LLP attempt, our engineer duo was far too tech-centric. We failed to communicate our value, and above all, we overlooked customer traction—the single most critical element in a business pitch. I realized the hard way that LLP is not a coding hackathon; it is a place to learn real business.”

Focusing on Concrete Pain | Deep Interviews with Middle Managers

Returning to LLP for his second attempt, Ishii pledged to “stay grounded and narrow down to concrete customer pain.” Joined by sales specialist Kimura, the project accelerated dramatically.

Ishii: “When asking executives, they would say, ‘We have no problems with shift scheduling.’ But interviewing the middle managers who actually sit down and sweat over shift rosters revealed intense, real-world pain. Those raw conversations sparked my own passion.”

Three Key Factors Behind the Grand Prize Win

• Identifying Middle Management’s Deep Pain (Insights): Uncovering the real struggles hidden behind surface-level claims of “having no problems.”
• Hands-On, Empathic Fieldwork: Approaching potential users with an interview mindset rather than pushing a aggressive sales pitch.
• Presenting an Inspiring Vision: Connecting immediate problem-solving (shift management) to a broader future roadmap (the Bublys OS concept).

The Ideal Harmony of Human Intuition and AI | Solving Frontline Chaos

In June, development began on “Shiftonton” (originally named Shift Puzzle), an application designed for hotels and Ryokans. Rather than relying on full automation that mechanically generates schedules, the software focuses on balancing human judgment with AI assistance.

Ishii: “Full automation strips away the nuanced human touch—like deciding who can handle an extra workload with care. We designed the software to hand heavy calculations over to AI while stopping at critical junctures to let human managers make final, empathetic decisions.”

To Future Innovators | The Essence of Business is Helping People

Ishii: “People often view entrepreneurship as glamorous, but at its core, business is simply about solving problems for people in pain. LLP Nagaoka teaches the precise methodology and Jobs-to-be-Done theory to accomplish that, giving you the ultimate push into practice.”

Kei: “Taking the initiative to conduct field interviews on your own can feel intimidating, so having a structured program with firm deadlines to push you forward is invaluable!”

Ishii: “Exactly! It is the best possible environment to push past your personal limits.”

Project Overview

Conclusion

“Engineering exists to help real people.” Ishii’s journey at LLP Nagaoka 2026 demonstrates that true innovation happens when advanced technical vision meets humble, boots-on-the-ground customer discovery. By stepping out of the coding bubble and listening to middle managers in pain, Babreach turned a painful past failure into a Grand Prize-winning success.

Chuetsu Life will continue to follow Babreach and the vibrant startup movement unfolding right here in Nagaoka City, Niigata, Japan!

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